English in Sri Lanka

Three classes taking place in the same room, rows of kids in excruciatingly clean, well-pressed white uniforms copying endless sentences off the board in silence, and a teacher clad in a neat shirt and tie, standing stiffly next to a blackboard. You'd be forgiven for thinking that a mortarboard and cloak would fit well into this image, but this is not the 1950's classroom it appears to be, but a classroom in Sri Lanka in 2006!

English in Sri Lanka is a compulsory subject from grade 3 (8yrs old) all the way to GCSE (16 years old). The skills of spoken English and I.T. are the gold standard for getting a decent job in Sri Lanka, and escaping from the fate of becoming one of the 25% unemployed in this beautiful yet financially hampered country. However, you quickly see from chatting with many English teachers, this dream is sometimes completely unattainable due to the limited English (or "Sringlish", as we've named it) that is spoken even by the "experts".

The Role of the Volunteer

The volunteer's role in Sri Lanka is not to follow a syllabus, the English department can do that, but rather to inject a bit of life into English lessons, to improve their listening and speaking skills and to give the kids the confidence to use the English that they've been copying down all these years!

Teaching Methods in Sri Lanka

The usual method of teaching in Sri Lanka is delightfully old-fashioned, being based almost entirely on copying sentences from the board that have no real meaning, and containing words the kids can't pronounce. Learning is by rote, and this is another area you can help with. Sri Lankan teachers will be fascinated by your teaching methods, and hopefully take some of the more active learning hints on board to use in the future.

When repeating words off the board as a class, it's easy for shy pupils to fade into the background, meaning that no matter how hard they study, they'll never have the confidence to use their knowledge. By involving the kids more in speaking English, and making your lessons fun and interactive, your students learn much faster, pay more attention, forget their shyness and actually speak!

Spend a little time here and you'll soon realize how desperate every Sri Lankan is to practice their spoken English skills. Not only does this afford you the opportunity to chat to people from all walks of life, and to learn plenty about Sri Lankan culture in the meantime, but also makes you comprehend just how valuable the gift is that you are giving them.