A_STUDY_ON_THE_ISSUE_OF_CHANGING_THE_MED.doc

A STUDY ON THE ISSUE OF CHANGING THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION TO ENGLISH AT
JUNIOR SECONDARY LEVEL AND THE PROBLEMS THAT STUDENTS ENCOUNTER IN RELATION
TO PSYCHO SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education, University of Colombo,
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of
Education, Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
K.A.M.Peiris
B.A., PGDE(TESL)
M.Ed.(TESOL)/2004/13

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Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background to the study
Every human acquires a language or learns a language. Many prefer to learn a second
language (L2) in the present day context. Researchers reveal that English is the most
frequently taught and learnt foreign language (FL) or L2 in the world at present. In
Commonwealth countries, it is said that there is a rapidly growing trend towards learning
in the English medium. In ‘Future of English’, Graddol (2000) points out that the
English medium education is accused of undermining the attempts at improving
educational disparities rejecting non-elite groups. When we consider the English
medium, we find that one of the statements, made by the Hong Kong Education
Commission (1999) is very much relevant to our education system as well.
‘It is easier for students to learn through their mother tongue and to
continue their Secondary Education without a switch to a Second
Language. However if the aim of the education system is to produce
students with a high level of English language proficiency; then
English medium instruction can achieve that aim, Chinese-medium
instruction will not’. (P.10)
Many educationists in Sri Lanka too argue for and against the above fact. English has
been a main phenomenon since 1796, the year in which British colonization began in Sri
Lanka. After the British invaded Sri Lanka, English gradually became the superior and
the dominant language not only in the field of administration, but also in every other
field of human activities. Gradually, Sri Lanka became a country where the medium of
instruction was English. Although vernacular languages prevailed in this era, English
became the dominant Language.
Walatara (1965) in ‘The teaching of English as a complimentary language in Ceylon’
says that the British government introduced English medium education to Sri Lanka in
1831. Although in 1946 the mother tongue (MT) medium in primary education was
compulsory, there was a tendency for English education even in primary grades
especially by the affluent class of people in the Sri Lankan society.

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The following lines quoted from the Colebrooke Report in Jayasuriya (1969)
shows how English medium education was important at that time.
‘The effect of this proposal, though it meant for the time being a
reduction in the number of government schools, was that English was
made the medium of instruction and, for sometime, the only
government schools opened were English schools’ (p.394)
Even today, we could find people who claim that English as a medium of instruction has
done a great service to the entire country. But at the same time, there are many people
who still claim that English medium has a great number of disadvantages.
Kanannangara (1943) in his reports states that English language became the L2 when
vernacular languages were made the medium of instruction. In 1956, Sinhala was
made the official Language and antagonism towards English became significant at that
time. But in 1990’s once again English began to perform a major role in education in a
society where international schools started functioning actively.
In the 1997 educational reforms, English medium was suggested, but its actual
implementation began in 2001. National Education Commission (NEC) 2003
presenting proposals for a ‘National Policy Framework’ emphasizes that, English should
be given a prominent place. Since English has been functioning as a major medium of
communication at national level and international level, NEC in its report states that a
bi-lingual policy in education should be introduced in junior secondary classes. It claims
that all students, irrespective of socio-economic and regional disparities, should have
equal rights to enjoy the bi-lingual policies. Although the teaching of Science,
Mathematics, IT, Health and Physical Education, Environmental Studies and Social
Studies in English medium have been introduced already in grade 6 and 7 in schools and
it is confined to certain schools, it was scheduled to be extended to all schools through a
five year phased programme from 2004 to 2008.

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Today, it is important to discuss how English medium is being implemented. Since
junior secondary level is a period when “concrete development” is taking place, the
researcher conducts his research based on this stage. This research aims at identifying
the psycho-social factors, which affect learning and teaching through the medium of
English at junior secondary level.
The importance of psycho-social factors in language learning is clearly shown by the
‘acculturation model’ of Schumann (1978a). It is further discussed in detail by Gardener
and Miller’s (1999) and Dorney’s (2001a) language models. It will be discussed in detail
in chapter 2.
Contradictions appear when the above models are applied to some L2 environments.
The researcher finds that some of the above mentioned concepts become controversial
though they are well suited to European backgrounds. The researcher investigates
whether these language models are applicable to the Sri Lankan context.
1.2 Significance of the Study.
English medium has been an area for most of the educationists to focus their attention
on, for many a decade in Sri Lanka. It is clearly proved by the reports such as
Colebrooke, cited in ‘A centenary volume 2’ (1969) and NEC (2003).
The role of English in Sri Lanka has been discussed comprehensively by Lanerolle
(1973) in his commission report, “A place in the sun”. This report reveals that,
“What we have tried to do is to reconcile a great demand for
English with an equally great lack of the means to provide it. It is a
wise policy to bite off only what you can chew and meanwhile
sharpen your teeth for bigger mouthful later if necessary”. (P.94)
This report has made some predictions about the present, and also about the future of
English in the Sri Lankan education system. One of the assumptions that the report
makes is that, “teaching English as a second language” (TESL) has economic as well as
social and cultural implications. When English becomes the basis of an education system
or of a certain society, they claim, TESL creates a favourable climate for change.
He further shows that variables like urban-rural distinctions, the quality of teaching and
distribution of the time factor, the availability of facilities should be given a prominent
place in implementing TESL. It further suggests that classroom teaching, without being

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confined only to the class, should be extended beyond the class into the school and
community and beyond class hours into weekends and holidays. It is certain that all
these reports seem to be emphasizing the importance of either English or English
medium.
The latest report on English medium, “National Consultancy on Amity Schools Project,
teaching of selected subjects in the English medium” Subasingha (2004) shows further
relevant guidelines to this research on English medium.
In this report, Subasingha (2004) shows, as a result of segregation as Sinhala and Tamil
medium schools, the children of the three communities; Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim
have got isolated and with no common medium to communicate with each other. They
have begun to think of each other as competitors for educational facilities, jobs and other
benefits as citizens of the country and have become suspicious of each other.
Perhaps we could agree with the writer’s argument that the different ethnic communities
have been thinking of their own communities and not as members of a unitary nation.
The inability to communicate with each other was identified as one of the main causes
that led to the ethnic conflict. The writer further says that the necessity of using a
common language in all activities has been identified as a high priority for maintaining
unity among people.
As a result of all these reports on the Education system in Sri Lanka, it seems that the
tendency of education is now turning towards either English or English medium. The
attention of the general public is also focused on the English medium. It is speculated by
Graddol (2000) in “The Future of English” that the coming century would see either
death or doom of 90% of mankind’s languages; He reveals that it will not be surprising
if anti-English movements worldwide would begin to associate language loss with the
rise of global English. Hence, he reveals that whereas in the past, poverty has been
largely a matter of geography, class, gender and ethnicity, now it may also depend on
access to the lingua franca of the global elite. Since the attention of public is focused on
bilingualism and English medium in the field of education in Sri Lanka, the researcher is
interested in identifying the factors related to those concepts. In this perspective, the
researcher of this research will conduct his research in relation to the English medium.
Since the psycho-socio aspects of children directly affect their education, more attention
of this research is focused on those aspects.

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Gardener and Miller (1999) show how learner’s motivation has an interrelationship with
other factors such as attitudes towards learning the L2 and L2 teacher.
The interrelationship between school and society is clearly shown by Dornyei (2001a).
Similarly, Littlewood (1996) shows how Asian students’ attitudes are influenced by L2
learning. He categorizes these factors into ten points (see chap 2.8).
The aim of this study therefore, is to investigate how social and psychological factors
contribute positively and negatively in the learning process at junior secondary level.
Researches have proved that psycho-sociological factors affect teaching and learning
English as a foreign language (EFL). This problem is aggravated in the teaching-
learning process through the medium of English, as it is a FL medium.
Therefore, this research will be conducted to investigate and identify the factors related
to all these phenomena, focusing more attention on psycho-social problems. The
researcher believes that the findings of this research would lead to suggestions and
recommendations as to how remedial measures are to be taken to facilitate learning in
the English medium and make the medium of instruction more productive.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The study will have the following objectives.
 Identify theories that relate to socio-cultural aspects of learning ESL
 Analyze different social backgrounds of children involved in bi-lingual learning
in relation to the theories.
 Examine the different psycho- sociological problems that students face learning
in English medium.
 Find out how the students’ socio cultural backgrounds influence in their learning
in English medium.
 Suggest remedies to minimize the effects of psycho-socio problems.

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The researcher will achieve the first objective through the Literature Review. Other four
objectives are to be achieved through the research. The sample, instruments and the
methods that the researcher uses to achieve these objectives are discussed in brief in 1.4.
1.4 Methodology of the study
The sample of this study consists of hundred and fifty students in grade eight and nine,
and twenty teachers teaching in English medium in Negombo educational zone. The
researcher hopes to conduct an in-depth study of twelve students in grade nine of
English medium at St.Peter’s college, Negombo, as it is the pioneer school that started
English medium in 2002 for grade six students in Negombo educational zone. He
expects to distribute 150 questionnaires for students and 20 questionnaires for teachers
in four schools in Negombo to conduct a survey. The four schools are St.Peter’s college,
Newstead Girls College, Maris Stella College and Harischandra College. All are 1AB
schools. The researcher hopes to observe two classes in grade eight and nine. Interviews
with parents too are on the schedule. He expects to gather data through School Based
Assessments (SBA) as well.
The data collected will be analyzed using descriptive and statistical data analysis
methods. As this is also an in-depth study of twelve students in St. Peter’s college,
selected students are going to be interviewed. The Director of Education in Negombo
education zone, an Assistant Director of English (Negombo zone), Teachers’ Manager,
Sectional Heads of English of the four schools, the Director of Education (English
medium) are to be interviewed. The researcher also expects to interview the National
Co-coordinator of the English medium, a lecturer of Shiane, a National College of
Education and some trainees of this institute.
1.5 Limitations of the study
The research is limited only to Negombo education zone. Although the researcher wants
to collect data from hundred students in grade nine, it will not be possible, since out of
four schools considered as the sample, only one school has grade nine English medium.
It is St. Peter’s college Negombo. The sample of this research might have had more
validity, if it had been conducted, selecting a quota sample from many provinces.
Because of the limited time given, the research is limited only to one zone in Western

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province. Since there is no English medium in Tamil schools in Negombo, this research
is confined only to four Sinhalese schools. There would have been more data, if more
observations had been conducted. But, due to the limited period, the researcher regrets,
that it was impossible.
1.6. Definitions, Technical Terms and Abbreviations
Bilingualism
Stern (1983) defines bi-lingualism as follows;
It suggests simultaneous language learning process in two languages which is analogous
to first or native language acquisition in one language. Being bi-language is usually
understood to mean that two languages are available to the bi-lingual on a par. It
implies a high level of proficiency in two languages.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, including remembering,
problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to
adulthood.
English Medium subjects
Only four subjects are taught bilingually. They are English, Mathematics, Science and
Social Studies. In the Srilankan educational context, they are taught in English. Thus SL
and the bilingualism are the same.
Extrovert
Bainbridge(2010) defines extroverts as follows.
Most people believe that an extrovert is a person who is friendly and outgoing. While
that may be true, that is not the true meaning of extroversion. Basically, an extrovert is a
person who is energized by being around other people. This is the opposite of an
introvert who is energized by being alone.
Introvert
Bainbridge(2010) defines as introvert is not simply a person who is shy. In fact, being
shy has little to do with being an introvert! Shyness has an element of apprehension,
nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is

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not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and
whose energy is drained by being around other people.
Junior Secondary
Programme of public education immediately following primary schooling. It generally
begins at the age of 11 and continues for four years. In Sri Lankan context Junior
Secondary starts from grade six and continues up to grade nine. Secondary schooling
usually involves both academic and, increasingly, vocational education.
Parish
An administrative part of a diocese that has its own church in the Anglican, Roman
Catholic, and some other churches.
The members of such a parish; a religious community attending one church.
Psychosocial
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc.,
defines Psychosocial as follows,
‘Of or pertaining to the psychological development of the individual in relation to his or
her social environment’
1.7 Outline of the thesis
Chapter two explores the theoretical background of the study and the review of the
related literature regarding psycho-social aspects. In this chapter, more attention is given
to the language theories stated by Schumann (1976), Gardener (1999) and Schumann’s
(1978a) acculturation theory is also discussed in detail in this chapter.
Chapter three discusses the methodology of the research, the design in advocating the
instruments. The process and the implementation of the research too are elaborated in
the chapter.
Chapter four contains the analysis of the data, gathered. How social and psychological
backgrounds affect the teaching –learning process is stated here.
Chapter five gives the conclusions and the recommendations of the study.
It discusses the suggestions in relation to survey and a case study.

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Chapter 02
Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
No man in the pluralistic society can remain ‘an island’. Everyone is a ‘part of the
continent’; which, today, is very complex multi-cultural, multilingual entity. Hence, to
communicate across the “continent’, L2 becomes imperative. Enlish, the reseaches
reveal, dovetails well into this necessity. It is taught in many a part of the world as a L2
or a FL. In Sri Lanka too, the same situation prevails. Many educationists claim that
most parents in Sri Lanka educate their children either in English or in the English
medium. It is in this context that the researcher conducts this research. The researcher
claims that few researches were geared to study the social and psychological problems
of students. Even the few researches available in relation to socio-psychological aspects
were mostly conducted in a European background. Of those researches only a few are
concerned with the Sri Lankan background.
Thus, the researcher is interested in conducting his research to gather data related to
socio psychological factors in junior secondary level. The relevant literature is reviewed
in relation to this aspect.The researcher is concerned with several critical comments,
made on the English medium by some educationists. In this teaching-learning
environment, many educationists have made several critical comments regarding
English medium.
As discussed in chapter 01, attention is drawn on one of the statements made by the
Hong Kong Education Commission (1999).
“It is easier for students to learn through their MT and to continue
their secondary education without switch to a L2.”

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When we consider the Hong Kong situation, we feel that we are also in a critical
state regarding English medium. None, it seems, has a clear idea about the present
English medium in the local school system, although we, Sri Lankans, too are facing
a similar situation as in China. In Sri Lanka too, the prevailing situation apparently
runs parallel to that in Hongkong.
Certain educationists show that the aim of most of the parents of students involved
in English medium is limited only to improving their children’s English
knowledge.This poses problems to the education system. How does the system
produce individuals with high skills and competencies? What would happen to the
national goals in education? These are some pertinent points to be considered
regarding the outcome of this process.
Like many other social institutions, education is crucially important in maintaining
societal integration and continuity. Schools are a vital link between the individual and
society; deliberating, inculcating youth with the values of society and teaching them the
skills necessary to fit into a society.
Eitzen (1980) claims that the school does the most important part of the child’s
personality development and the school ‘sifts and sorts’ children, so that they will find
and accept their appropriate niches in the societal division of labour. Thus, we could
well imagine that not only in Europe and in America but also in Sri Lanka, school has a
major role to perform in education. He further reveals that there is a ‘hidden curricular’
in schools. He says some of them are learning to follow orders to be quiet, to please
people in authority, regardless of the situation. In short, students learn to fit in, to
conform. This may be functional for society and for students who will act out their lives
in large bureaucracies but the writer argues that it is not conducive to personal integrity
and to acting out against situations that ought to be changed. So, it appears that there are
some moot points even in Sri Lankan education system in relation to English medium.
Not many researches have yet been conducted regarding psychological and social
background of the learners who learn in English medium in Sri Lanka. Since attention
of public is focused on bilingualism and English medium in the field of education in Sri
Lanka. This research is interested in identifying factors related especially to these

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concepts. The researcher uses facts about English medium in other countries to get an
overview of the topic. The researcher discusses facts about English medium under the
title of ‘The role of English medium education in other countries’ in chapter 2.2.
2.2 The role of English medium education in other countries.
In postcolonial countries such as India and Malaysia, English medium education
provides a different role in distributing social and economic power. Both parents and
children often see English medium education in such countries as means of economic
success. But Graddol (2000) has argued that if teachers are not fully proficient in the
English language, where there is little use of English in the community, the ‘aspirant
language learner’ will be condemned. In ‘Future of English’ he further reveals certain
criticism against English medium of instructions. English medium education is accused
of undermining attempts to improve educational disparities rejecting non-elite groups.
He claims that due to globalization, most of the countries focus on English as their
popular language or medium of instructions.
Sri Lanka could also be considered under that category where some people’s ultimate
target of education is either English or computer literacy. Sometimes it is both. Some
people in Sri Lanka also argue that English has formed or is forming elite in the
country. It is to be in this English ‘club’. It is said, that English medium has come into
being, accelerating the motivation of common people even in outskirts of urban areas.
It is clear now that the trend towards English is attracting students to International
schools. But some educationists argue that English as a medium of instruction would
cater to common people in order to bring their children up in the power nexus in Sri
Lankan society. Certain writings from other countries too corroborate this fact.
Concerning the system in China, Pennycook (1994) states that the lack of access to
English education is a disadvantage to young Malays, compared to their Chinese
counter parts. He claims such interaction of local cultural politics with global trends
could result in an unpredictable political enthusiasm for English.

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We could get a clear idea of the comparative position of Sri Lanka with the world, if the
facts and figures regarding English medium education in Sri Lankan history are taken
into consideration. So the researcher in chapter 2.3 discusses how the history of English
medium education affects the present day society.
2.3 English Education and Sri Lankan History
Discussing this topic unearths certain major concepts that could be identified as key
features to be discussed. One of them is the medium of instruction in English. It is
enlightening to know how the medium of instruction ‘English’ came into being in the
history of Sri Lanka, to get a clear view of the present day society. It would help the
researcher to conduct the research without any bias.
A research, conducted in 1969 by the ministry of Education, A centenary volume 2
(1969) states, that using the term ‘college’, Colebrook had in mind an institution
similar to a university, for, it was to serve the needs of those who up to this time were
sent abroad. He even suggests that the government should maintain an English
professorship. It is mentioned in the centenary volume as follows,
‘On the other hand, he had in mind institutions such as the seminary of
the American Mission at Vaddukodai [Jaffna] and of the church
Mission where a superior education was imparted along with English.
The Colombo seminary or Academy, run by the government was
nothing more than a secondary school where English was taught’
(P.391.)
Colebrooke led the Education Commission inquiry and Cameron submitted the report in
1931. It says that the schoolmasters should possess a competent knowledge of English
to enable them to give instruction in that language. The report further reads,
‘The effect of this proposal, though it meant for the time being, a
reduction in the number of government schools was that English was
made the medium of instruction and for sometime the only
government schools opened were English schools’. (P.394)

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This research further states that there were 640 private schools registered with a student
enrolment of 8424. Most of them were small fee-levying schools and their main
purpose was to teach English for which there was an increasing demand.
Governors such as North had already emphasized the need for and value of English and
Brownrig and Mission societies had already begun to change into English when the
particular commission report was presented.
The commission report further explains that:
Select committee of the legislative council appointed to report
upon the fixed establishment of the island recommended that no state
support should be given except to schools in which instruction is
given in the English language. [P. 404]
Therefore, it is clear at that period; English language had a strong impact on society.
Walatara (1965), in ‘The Teaching of English as a Complementary Language in
Ceylon’ mentions that in 1831, British government provided education in English and in
consequence, English language in Sri Lanka had become a superior language not only
in urbanized areas but also in certain rural areas. But in contrast to this phenomenon, in
1946 MT in primary school was made compulsory. He further says many who could
afford an English education preferred it even in the primary school too. In 1955 the
medium changed even in junior schools.
In this context, Walatara (1965) shows in his ‘The Teaching of English as a
Complimentary Language in Ceylon’as follows,
‘Today in Ceylon in every Secondary School the medium is one of
the national languages except for Mathematics and Science for which
still the option of English is allowed. English is taught as a Second
Language. (P.4)
Kannangara (1943) proposed that English should be taught as a compulsory L2 in all
schools, concurrently with the change over in the medium of instruction to Sinhala and
Tamil, so that English ceases to be a “badge of social distinction”. Some educationists
claim that certain concepts of Kannangara report still prevail in the society when the
present day school system is considered.

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National Education Commission (NEC) (2003) in its proposals states how medium of
instruction changed from English to vernacular languages and what reactions were there
from the English speaking community, as follows,
In 1945 Sinhala and Tamil were made the medium of instruction in
state assisted and registered with the ministry of education. The
medium of instruction in secondary schools was changed in the 1950
s, year-by-year, grade-by-grade, from Grade 6 in 1953 to Grade 12
[The final grade] in1959. These developments were accelerated by the
change in the official language policy to Sinhala in 1956; the strong
Sinhala lobby of the time and the antagonism towards the English
educated who were perceived to be a privileged elite. (P.115)
It further states that children in the Burgher community, the Muslim community and in
mixed ethnic families were permitted to follow instruction in the English medium but
this provision too was removed in the 1970 s.
According to NEC (2003) further states that the entire society was motivated towards
English since English was a main objective to be achieved by almost everyone in the
society.
“English education has seen a virtual sea change in the late 1990 s
from its relegation to low priority, SL status in a hostile environment
to ever increasing demand for English and more English’’. (P.176)
The report further reveals the noteworthy fact that a vicious circle has been created by
the marginalization of English for around four decades, as it is starkly evident in the
lack of an adequate supply of teachers’ proficient in English.
The researcher also investigates whether these factors do still prevail in the current Sri
Lankan society. It further states that a controversial policy of permitting the option of
teaching in the English medium from grade one reportedly without cabinet approval had
led to much confusion and concern from long-term educational, social and pragmatic
perspectives. Teachers who had not studied in the English medium and were not
proficient in the language were given a few weeks training in English proficiency. Some
schools fell back on the services of English teachers who had no knowledge of the
subject content. In the arguments, for and against as to in which age should English

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medium be introduced to a L2 learner, ‘Review of Literature’ pertaining to English
medium becomes significant. It is good to understand the bilingual policy, especially in
junior secondary education, as it is one of the key features, highlighted in this research.
Different people have different opinions regarding English medium. But they bear these
opinions without any empirical or scientific basis. So, the researcher directs his research
into these factors through a research basis.
Subasinghe (2004), conducting a project named ‘National Consultancy on Amity
Schools Project’ on different ethnic groups in education process, reveals that, in 1950s
when MT was introduced as the medium of instruction, schools came to be categorised
as Sinhala and Tamil medium schools. In certain schools all the three communities were
isolated. As there was no common medium to communicate with one another, they
began to think of each other as competitors for educational facilities, occupations and
certain other things. So, he claims, people became suspicious of each other.
In such circumstances, the writer says, different ethnic communities started thinking in
terms of their own communities and not as members of a unitary nation. But in 1990’s,
he claims, that once again there was a need to build national unity. Of the ways,
suggested by different educationists to achieve national harmony, English medium
education was significant as English was a link language for different ethnic groups.
The researcher expects to investigate these facts also through different instruments.
2.4 Junior Secondary Education and Bilingual Policy
In chapter 2.4, the researcher discusses how students involved in junior secondary level
are associated with bi-lingual policy, in relation to different language theories.The
objective of the bilingual policy introduced in junior secondary classes is to provide a
healthy environment to ensure equal opportunites that all students to acquire a high
level of English proficiency for higher education and career advancement irrespective of
socio-economic and regional disparities. Srilankan educationists express different
viewpoints on these reforms.

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One of the proposals made by NEC (2003) is to teach Science and Technology,
Mathematics, Information Technology, Environmental studies, and Social studies in the
English medium in junior secondary grades. It also proposes that an adequate number of
teachers, proficient in English are to be provided by National Colleges of Education,
NIE and Universities. According to NEC (2003) Report, the expected outcome of
bilingual policy, which would cater to all students involved in English medium, would
be the proficiency in the FL and in English by the end of junior secondary education.
The overall objective of the bi-lingual policy, it seems, is to provide English
communication and language skills for the world of work for A/L school leavers.
Nevertheless, evaluation studies indicate that there are wide district-wise disparities:
NEC further illustrates,
‘English medium has been introduced in junior secondary grades
[Grades 6-9] in schools that have opted to be so but should be
extended to all schools through a 5-year phased programmed 2004-
2008’. (p. 176)
The English medium education in pre-independent India is also very important to
understand our context. Metha (1990), discussing his opinion on the Indian education in
his “The school and the community in India”, says that the education system in pre-
independent India that imparted instruction through a FL medium was naturally
dominated by foreign ideas and ideals.
Thus he shows that there was a ‘yawning gap’ between school curricula and the real life
situation of people. As an outcome of it, he illustrates, that there was a high proportion
of failures and school dropouts. In his research, he mentions them as “wastage and
stagnation”. He further claims that unless the school can secure full co-operation of
parents and home, this problem will remain. Metha (1990) states,
“…If the educational achievements of the students are poor the root
cause is found in the home environment. “If the parents are indifferent
or careless or have negative attitudes towards education, they are also
same” (P.33)
He further says that the education system, which was a ‘closed preserve’ of the elite, is
being opened to the large masses of rural people. The English education that was meant

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for the needs of top social classes who were economically better off, he claims, is now
being extended to the large masses of Indian people who live below the poverty line. He
further states, yet the education has never been exposed to the socio-cultural
atmosphere, which the system assumes. Some may argue even in Sri Lanka it is being
done in the same way. It will be discussed further in detail in chapter 4.
Mazurek.,Winzer.,and Majorek, (2000) discusses the bilingual instruction in America in
their “Education in a Global Society”. They claim that some non-speakers of Chinese
language once faced a strange situation in relation to a court judgment in San Francisco.
They were entitled to speak their L1, the Supreme Court concludes in its challengeable
judgment on China. New Mexico court also has given a similar ruling about students
from Spanish- speaking homes in New Mexico.
So based on these decisions the writers claim that many districts provide some
instruction in languages, other than English.
But Mazure et.al clearly says,
“While some schools teach all students in two languages most
programmes are transitional, they seek only to offer a bridge, so
students won’t fall behind while learning English and parents cannot
keep their children out of school, if instruction in the parents’ heritage
and culture is not offered”. (P.27)
Therefore, it is well accepted that culture, social background, economical condition,
family background, and psychological state of a learner directly affect his/her teaching
learning process. One can understand well that there is a direct connection between
learning process and the above salient factors when one refers to Schumann’s(1978a),
‘The Acculturation Model’ in this chapter.
Mazurek et.al in ‘Education in a global Society’ mentions the Canadian experience as
follows;
“… Socio-economic difficulties of their families who have had to
come to terms with reduced incomes and reconstituted family
arrangements are crucial” (P.61)

19
They further reveal that socio-economic status of families and school successes have
been highly correlated for a long time. This statement will be analyzed in detail in the
future discussion in chapter 4 of this thesis regarding socio economic background of
English medium students at junior secondary classes in Sri Lanka. The relationship
between students and their social and psychological background clearly shows how
effective it is to analyze Schumann’s (1978a) acculturation model. These theories are
discussed in detail in chapter 2.5. The theories relevant to SLA are further discussed in
this chapter.
2.5 Theories relevant to Language Acquisition
It is very important for a researcher to understand language theories, related to his/her
investigations. They would support a researcher to hypothesize his/her concepts and
have an insight into the area of research in relation to these language theories when
implementing his/ her research. Many language theorists have presented different
opinions according to their researches. In this thesis, the researcher focuses on
Schumann’s (1978a) the acculturation model to understand the link between language,
society, culture and the language learning. Schumann shows, despite ample learning
opportunities, one adult learner did not progress beyond the early stages in acquiring
English structures. He further reveals that a learner possesses some needs that exist at a
deep psychological level as well as at a superficial transactional level.
The researcher is of the opionion that it is very much useful to compare the ideas of
Whinnom (1971) and Schumann (1978a) for a good understanding of L2 learners in
English medium in the Sri Lankan context. Regarding SLA, Whinnom (1971)
categorizes three forms of hybridization as offspring of L2. Primary hybridization is
seen when languages break up into different dialects. Secondary hybridization is
exemplified by SLA in a bi-lingual contact situation, where an Inter Language (IL) is
developed through its use with native speakers of the L2, i.e. with access to, and
development towards, the TL. Tertiary hybridization occurs in cases where different L1
groups develop a functionally reduced L2, based on limited access to a super rate
language for certain restricted kinds of referential inter-group communication. But in
contrast, Schumann (1978b) claims that pidgins and the early SLA are not the same. He

20
says that the extent of the social and psychological distance between the learner, both as
a member of a group and an individual, affects the TL. Schumann further claims that as
a learner attempts to use his or her L2 for integrative and expressive purposes, the L1
would become complex structurally.
Schumann(1978b) in his ‘The pidginization process: A model for SLA,’ explains how
expansion of functions of L1 would lead to a corresponding growth in linguistic forms.
Redundancy would increase obligatory tense markers, and other grammatical functions
would emerge, and the lexicon would expand. He says when the first generation
children of pidgin speakers learn, the parents restrict pidgin as their FL. Later on, he
argues that the complication and expansion that takes place in SLA is motivated by
learner’s goal of increasingly conforming to the TL.
He further claims that the degree of elaboration observed in later stages of IL
development will be a function of the same social and psychological variables that
initially produce pidginization. Collectively one large casual factor in SLA, made as
acculturation, is roughly explained as the process of becoming adapted to a new culture.
Schumann’s (1978a) explains that in type one acculturation, learners are both socially
integrated into the TL group and psychologically open to the TL. In type two
‘acculturation’, learners are socially integrated and psychologically open, but also
consciously or unconsciously wish to adopt the life style and values of the TL group.
Schumann (1978a) further stresses that social and psychological aspects have contacts
with the TL. Group alone (i.e. type one acculturation) is the essential condition for SLA.
According to Schumann (1978b), a wish to become one like the L2 speaker is not
necessary. However, Brown (1980) argues that it has not been empirically tested. He
further reveals that acculturation model has three problems. First, he maintains that
since no reliable and valid measures of psychological and social distance exist, this
model might be testable in theory but not in fact. He further says that many researchers
who conducted case studies in America and Europe proved that acculturation model
was not up to the standard. He argues that studies conducted by those researchers on
instructed FL populations (who learned much of their own countries) are strictly
irrelevant as tests (although valuable for other purposes).

21
Since the acculturation model is intended to apply only to immigrant groups acquiring a
L2 naturalistically as the TL, Brown (1980) further reveals that a number of researchers
have found little or no relationship between those psychological factors and
achievement. According to him, the third problem with the acculturation model is that
the model makes “falsification impossibilities”. He says, although Schumann (1978a)
repeatedly claims that individual psychological factors are important in cases where
group level social factors under determine the prognosis for success, he actually allows
for other possibilities which predict every possible learning outcome holding that
psychological factors can override social ones.
In the same way, Oller (1981) argues that,
“Unlike measuring language proficiency, the measurement of social–
psychological variables is “necessarily inferential and indirect”.
(P.18)
According to Oller (1981), what usually transpires is that researchers administer
carefully designed questionnaires to subjects. Subjects are asked to rate themselves
according to certain scales or as to what extent they agree or disagree with certain
statements. Hence obtaining reliable and valid measures is dependent upon learners
‘self- awareness’ and candour. If once, respondents answer a question having to do with
a particular attitude one way, they are likely to answer all other questions they perceive
to prove the same attitude in the same manner. He concludes by suggesting that the
findings concerning social-psychological measures may be due to learners’ intelligence
and language proficiency.
LittleWood (1996) in his ‘Foreign and Second Language Learning’ discusses that a
person is motivated by real communicative needs. These needs, he shows as functional
needs and social needs, which overlap sometimes. Functional needs are mainly to carry
out transactions efficiently and social needs are mainly for the learner to integrate
satisfactorily with the L2 community.
Spolsky [1985] shows a model of SLA based on cognitive process. He emphasizes three
conditions that apply to SLA.

22
-Necessary conditions
-Gradient conditions
-Typicality conditions
Input, motivation and practice opportunities of TL are focussed as ‘necessary
conditions’.
Likewise, Anderson (1983) describes three stages of skill acquisition. They are the
cognitive, associative and autonomous stages. One can memorize vocabulary and the
rules of grammar when he/she needs to learn to speak L2 or learn from observations. He
further explains that the knowledge by itself is inadequate for skilled performance since
the performance at this stage is very deliberate and tends to be laden with errors.
Littlewood (1988) reveals that two concepts could be discussed under acculturatio
where SLA is concerned. According to him, these two concepts namely instrumental
and integrative motivations are important. Halliday (1986) states that learners should
understand exactly what Ideational and Interpersonal meanings are possible in L2. But
he emphasizes that the learners need not worry about rediscovering these two
metafunctions. He further explains that it is grammar which allows people to express
both of these meanings simultaneously.
Ellis (1997) argues that there is a ‘zero position’ where learners acquire grammatical
competence without much attention to form, provided there is sufficient access to
comprehensible input.
But Canale (1983) argues that if the main aim of teaching is to develop communicative
competence, in learner’s healthy balance of socio-linguistic discourse and grammatical
competence, naturalistic approach cannot achieve it.
Lewis (1993) claims that if learners mastered the underlying grammar rules of the
system, they could produce correct sentences.

23
Lightbown and Spada (1999) say that naturalistic approach to language learning is very
much influential in supporting communicative, content based and task-based
instructional programmes. They further claim that when learners are given opportunities
to engage in meaningful tasks, they will adjust their language in a way that leads to
mutual understanding. This allows learners to acquire the words and grammatical
structures of the language.
According to Schumann (1978a) there are two factors that affect a learner’s learning
process, namely, the social and psychological aspects. Despite heavy criticism against
the theories of Schumann (1978a), he still remains positive in the teaching-learning
environment.
This research is also mainly based on the two factors social and the psychological
distance. Schumann further claims that there are seven categories of socio-cultural
factors and four main psychological distances.
Socio Cultural Factors (Social Distance)
1. Social Dominance Patterns
If the L2 learning group is politically, culturally, technically and economically
superior or consider themselves superior to the TL group, they will not to learn the
language. L2 learning will be facilitated if the two groups are roughly equal in social
dominance pattern.
2. Integration strategies
There are three main strategies under this topic.
 Assimilation
 Preservation
 Acculturation.

24
If one is involved in giving up one’s life style and values in favour of another, it is
called assimilation. If one maintains one’s own culture, it is called preservation.
Acculturation means a compromise procedure of adapting oneself to the way of life and
language of the TL group.
3. Enclosure
The amount of sharing of such social constructs as schools, churches, recreational
facilities, professions and trades that the L2 learning group shares with the TL group
is the enclosure. This sharing enhances contact between the two groups and
constantly facilitates the language learning process.
4. Cohesiveness and size.
If one group tends to be always together to such an extent as to separate itself from
the other group, then its lack of cohesion will make language learning difficult since
it gives rise to social distance between the two groups.
5. Congruence and Similarity
If the language, life styles and values of the two groups are similar and the
languages belong to the same language family, the groups will share a common core
of cultural features. These will enhance points of contact between the groups, and
language learning will be facilitated.
6. Attitude
For language learning to be made easier, it is important that the members of the L2
learning group hold positive ethnic stereotypical attitudes towards the TL group. If they
hold negative attitudes, then social distance can emerge and set up obstacles to effective
language learning

25
7. The intended length of residence.
The researcher will analyze the collected data in detail, comparing and contrasting them
with the above mentioned Schumann’s seven socio-cultural factors, under social
distance in chapter 04. Schumann (1978a) also shows under psychological distance that
there are some psychological factors that affect the language learning process. He
claims that Social factors are primary and the psychological factors come into play in
cases where the social distance is indeterminate.
Psychological Distance
Schumann(1978a) claims that there are four main factors that are called psychological
or affective factors.
 Language Shock
 Culture Shock
 Motivation
 Ego Boundaries
Language Shock
If a person communicating in a new language experiences feelings of anxiety, doubt and
confusion, that person is deemed to have Language Shock.
Culture Shock
Culture Shock is claimed to be the disorientation encountered upon entering a new
culture.
Motivation
Motivation is related to the learner’s reasons for attempting to acquire the L2.
Motivation could be categorized as two types, viz, integrative motivation and
instrumental motivation. Learners with integrative motivation would want to learn the

26
L2 in order to meet with, talk to, find out about and perhaps become like, speakers of
the TL. But learners with instrumental motivation would want to learn the language for
utilitarian reasons like passing exams, getting jobs etc.
Ego Boundaries
A learner’s learning is concerned with self-esteem and self-image.In this context, the
feelings lile ’How do I feel myself’,‘Who am I’ , could be in this category
Pidginization Hypothesis
Whether the person has extroversion, introversion or inhibitions are considered under it.
Where there is little social distance there will be a good learning situation, claims
Schumann(1978b). The social distance, determines how much of the ‘input’ is converted
to ‘intake’. Schumann claims that when social and psychological distances are great, the
learner fails to progress beyond the early stages and his/her language is pidginized. He
names it as ‘pidginization hypothesis’.
This controls the level of input the learner receives. It also reflects the functions, in
which the learner wishes to use the L2 - communication, integrative function and
expressive function.
Dornyei (2001b) also discusses psychological factors of a learner and shows how a
learner’s learning is determined by healthy self- respect and need to have self-
confidence. He further says self-esteem and self-confidence are like the foundations of a
building. Likewise, when learners lose faith in their capabilities, their learning
collapses. In contrast, when a learner has a strong sense of self-efficacy, it enhances his
achievement, assisting him to approach threatening situations with confidence.
One of the objectives of this thesis too is to investigate problems regarding
psychological problems and suggest remedies to overcome these problems.

27
Byram and Feng (2004) maintain that the aim of the language learner is not only to
develop his/her linguistic competence but also his/her culture awareness and inter
cultural competence.
In Mexico, in a seven week language study programme, the researchers found out, that a
high level of positive attitude of students towards their host culture developed their
learning motivation.
Research of Maslow’s (1970) on the needs of hierarchy for general human motivation
focused on basic human needs is very significant. He distinguished five needs.
 Psychological
 Safety
 Love
 Esteem
 Self-actualization.
Dorneyi (2001a) emphasizes that “need” has been replaced by ‘goal’.It is seen as an
‘engine’ to fire an action and provide the direction in which to act. Locke cited in
Dorneyi (2001a) “Teaching and researching motivation” shows that there are mainly
five main points in goal theory. They are,
1. The more difficult is the goal, the greater will be the achievement.
2. The more specific or explicit is the goal, the more precisely is the performance.
3. Goals that are both specific and difficult lead to the highest performance.
4. Commitment to goals is most critical when goals are specific and difficult. (i.e.
when goals are easy or vague it is not hard to generate commitment because it
does not require much dedication to reach easy goals, and vague goals can be
easily redefined to accommodate low performance.
5. High commitment to goals is attained when,
 The individual is convinced that the goal is important
 The individual is convinced that the goal is attainable. (or that at least
progress can be made towards it. (P.26)

28
Regarding language learning, Schumann cited in Ellis (1997) recognizes that social
distance is sometimes indeterminate. He suggests psychological distance becomes
important and identifies a further set of psychological factors such as language shock
and motivation. (P.40-48)
Regarding SLA, Roberts (1998) says that there is a ‘social Import’. He maintains that
intercultural interactions take place and names the effects of these phenomena as ‘social
import’. When Schumann (1978a) discusses acculturation, he emphasizes the
psychological or the affective distance between the learner and the TL culture, the
individual tries to possess. It is similar to Sri Lankan students’ ‘accidentally’
encountering the problems of being ‘uncultured’ in the TL, English.
The feelings of a learner, such as anxiety, doubt, and confusion, roused while involved
in or making attempts at the TL is called language shock. But, this might not be a big
challenge for an average student in English medium since he is in a friendly
environment of a classroom. Under culture shock, Brown (1994) discusses four typical
phases;
1. A period of excitement over the newness of the surrounding.
2. The intrusion of more and more cultural differences into the individual’s
own image of self.
3. Gradual and tentative adaptation to the new culture; loss of some of the
ties with native culture, feelings of homelessness.
4. Adaptation to the new culture, self-confidence in new persona.
It is also interesting to see whether the above factors affect a Sri Lankan L2 learner who
is not in a position to feel ‘homeless. Another psychological factor concerned is
motivation. It has been discussed earlier as integrative and instrumental motivations.

29
It would be interesting for a researcher to find out whether the L2 learners of an English
medium classroom in Sri Lanka are tilted towards ‘instrumental’ or ‘integrated’
motivation.
Another psychological factor to be discussed is ego-boundaries under which self
esteem, self-image, extroversion/introversion and inhibition. A researcher might
encounter interesting challenges if he/she asks questions on the basis of above concepts
from L2 learning in a Sri Lankan English medium classroom.
2.6 Interrelationship between L1 and SLA
How do individuals learn a L2? Are there any differences because of his /her L1?
Theorists, psychologists and behaviorists have discussed them profoundly. In addition
to the theorists, mentioned under the above topic,
Lightbown and Spada (1993), Gass and Selinker(2001) and Ellis (1997) have
implemented researches in this regard. Earlier “contrastive Analysis” was discussed
where TL was compared with MT and likely areas of difficulty were identified. Error
Analysis was also discussed with the learner’s IL. Performance Analysis was
introduced where IL of learner was examined as a developing system in its own right.
In this regard, White’s (1989) Universal Grammar is also brought into focus by
theorists. Under discourse analysis, Ellis (1994) has also discusses the above concept.
Error analysis in SLA was established in the 1960s. Corder (1967) further shows error
analysis as an alternative to contrastive analysis in his ‘International Review of Applied
Linguistics’.He shows that it is an approach, influenced by behaviorism through which
applied linguists sought to use the formal distinctions between the learners' L1 and L2
to predict errors. Error analysis shows that contrastive analysis is unable to predict a
great majority of errors, despite more valuable aspects of it have been incorporated into
the study of language transfer. A key finding of error analysis has been that many

30
learner errors are produced by learners making faulty inferences about the rules of the
new language. This idea could be applied even to the Sri Lankan context.
One of the psycholinguistic approaches, the monitor model by Krashen [1981],
accommodation theory by Giles and Coupland (1991) also contributed greatly to SLA
in this regard.
When we consider the above theorists as a group, we find that their theories can be
compared and contrasted to the earlier behaviourist theories of Skinner [1957] and
Chomsky [1959] who relied on behaviourism rather than ‘real data’. Tomlin [1990]
shows that a general premise of functional approaches to SLA is that the acquisition of
a language arises from general circumstances of use and communicative interaction.
The following figure 2.1 illustrates the elements of self-access and the ways in which
learners interact with them. Gardner & Miller (1999) show that there are five main
variables that are interrelated to each other. They are,
Management, people,
Individualization, Goal setting & monitoring
Resources.
Under these variables, they indicate how a L2 or a FL learner learns his/her language.
The following chart, Gardner, D. & Miller, L. (1999) P.11, illustrates how L2 learner’s
learning capability is influenced by various social and psychological factors. It shows
that a self-access learner’s interaction with the environment is unique in his explanation
of the relevant document. One of the objectives of the research is also to identify the
interrelationship among these factors. The researcher expects to collect data pertaining
to this information by administering a questionnaire.
Moreover, they illustrate how learner’s capabilities have an interrelationship among
several variables and the self-access of the learner and show certain qualities of a L2 in
an academic perspective. They show that the learner always interacts with the
environment in a unique way. They further claim that self-access is flexible and it could

31
be practised in a classroom, in a dedicated self access centre or elsewhere. Further, it is
revealed that self-access learning could benefit all language learners in different cultures
or ages.However, they ague that this “access” could be conditioned by outside
influences.
Gardener, D.Miller, L. (1999) ‘Establishing Self Access’ P.11.
Figure 2.1 Learner’s motivation and and factors
Gardener [cited in Dornyei, Z. (2001)] illustrates, how a learner’s motivation has an
inter relationship with other factors such as attitudes towards L2 community, attitude
towards learning the L2, evaluation of the L2 teacher and evaluation of the L2 course.
The figure 2.2 named as “ Gardener’s conceptualization of the integrative motive” [see
Dornyei, Z (2001) P. 17] could be relevant to a researcher involved in an investigation
into “the medium of instruction in English” where dominant language is Sinhala or
Tamil. The objectives of analyzing different social backgrounds of children, involved in
bi-lingual learning and finding out how students in English medium classes are
Self--acccess
learner
System
Manager Counsellors
Tachers
Other learners
Other people’s beliefs
and attitudes
Own beliefs and attitudes
Reflection
Evaluation
Assessment
Activities
Tachnology
Materials
Learner training
Physical setting
Management
R
esources
Individualisatio
n
People

32
influenced by their relevant environments could be achieved by studying and
investigating those facts. This thesis expects to identify the interrelationships among the
above variables.
The following model describes how a person’s motivation is directly connected to
attitudes, interests and some other factors. This model discusses how motivation is
influenced by many factors in the learner himself or herself and also by some external
factors found in a L2 environment.
Figure 2.2 Second Language Learning and Factors
The above chart illustrates how so many factors and variables affect the L2 learning
when we refer to the above chart. The researcher will discuss the relevant information
in detail in chapter 04 in relation to motivation and psychological problems of the
Integrative
orientation
Interest in foreign
Languages
Attitudes toward L2
community
ATTITUDES
TOWARD THE
LEARNING
SITUATION
Evaluation of
the L2 teacher
Evaluation of the
L2 course
MOTIVATION
Desire to learn
the L2
Motivational
intensity (effort)
Attitudes toward
learning the L2

33
students, especially the six students considered for the in-depth study in St.Peter’s
college Negombo.
2.7 Researches regarding Psycho-Socio aspect in SLA
Research is an invaluable aspect both in teaching and learning when teachers become
more aware of how they teach and how their students learn. Then the entire pedagogic
phenomenon becomes an enjoyable task for every one involved.
Best (1973) reveals that the boys from poor families with unsatisfactory housing and
neglected accommodation and from the lowest socio-economic class were more prone
to poor education.
Munasinghe (1979) says, considering of the motivational background of the children,
that a very higher percentage, 97.8%, lacks definite goals or have low goals in life. The
writer argues that it might be mainly due to lack of motivation for education within the
family circle and the environment. He alludes to some factors such as ‘not getting
books’,‘keeping for domestic works’ , ‘lack of desire’, ‘fear of punishment at school’
etc.
Payne (2003) in her book, ‘A Framework for Understanding Poverty’, shows that low
achievement can be closely correlated with low socioeconomic status. She further
claims that poverty can be related to academic achievement in the United States.
Students who come from impoverished families are more likely to have problems in
school than students who come from middle-class or upper-class families.
Duncan (1997) in ‘The Effects of Poverty on Children’ claims that one-half of the
effect of family income on cognitive ability is mediated by the home environment,
including learning experiences in the home interventions might profitably focus on
working with parents.
Guild (2010), in his article shows that a deep understanding of both culture and learning
style differences is important for all educators, though the subject must be addressed
carefully. The relationship of the values of the culture in which a child is currently

34
living, or from which a child has roots, and the learning expectations and experiences in
the classroom is directly related to the child's school success academically, socially, and
emotionally.
Zulfica (1995) conducting a research to find out factors affecting the continuation of
studies in Kalmunai district reveals that a lack of counselling facilities affects the
education of students in senior secondary class. She identifies three major categories
which affect teaching- learning environment. They are home influence, school influence
and society influence.
She divides home influence into two headings as economic and parental
influence. A summary of the main influences that she describes would be as follows.
 Poverty
 Helping parent’s work
 Family needs
 Child’s earnings
 Parents’ education
 Parents’ unwillingness
 Insistence on early marriages
 Lack of supportive facilities –
 Co-education
 Types of school (1AB/1C)
 Restrictions and limitation in relation to roles and status
NIE (1997), in ‘A study on the influence of socio-economic and other factors
on pupils who failed in all four subjects at the G.C.E. A/L examination held in 1995’
reveals the following factors as main features that would affect the psycho socio aspects
of L2 learning.
 Socio-economic background factors.
 School factors
 System related factors

35
 Individual student related factors.
It further eloborates that idea as follows.
“We could conclude that the family background conditions may have
impinged on their education as they did not have a private place to
study and lived in homes that are most un congenial for living”
(P.145)
It also shows in detail how social and economic factors impinged on education. Family
responsibilities shared by students, parental conflicts, money squandered by father
addicted to liquor, looking after siblings, earning to help the family are some of them.
NIE (1997) in the above research further reveals its finding as follows.
“One could conclude that three fourth of the population in general
and is percent of the lowest social groups were deeply affected by
family status, low social origin, poverty and concomitant poor self
image leading to failure. The findings reveal the intergenerational
power of disadvantage where the parental disadvantage has reinforced
on students attainment and reproduced another generation to live in
poverty” (P, 151)
In this regard, Perera (2003) implementing a case study at “Jina” a type 03-
disadvantaged school, concludes that findings of the study regarding L2 learning were
complex. Some of the factors she reveals are the social cultural milieu, the students’
home background, school, and students’ need for achievement and the students’ prior
experience of learning English.
Perera (2003) further reveals in her study that,
“Thus it could be concluded that the English language curriculum
does not seem to be catering very much to the needs of the students
from disadvantaged backgrounds. This could be one reason for low
motivation for learning English among the socio culturally
marginalized students”. (P. 110)
Likewise, Ozerk, (2001) considering the facts in Cyprus, explains in “International
Review of Education” that there may be a reciprocal bilingualism in Cyprus where the
Turkish- Greek or Greek- Turkish might be prevalent. In future, the researcher shows,

36
that Cyprus could be defined as a language garden with two large language sections. He
further reveals that its own language would dominate each of the two language sections.
Utne, & Holmarsdottir, (2001) claim in their article that many people in Namibia have
grave concerns that the Namibian languages are engaged in a losing battle against
English. They reveal that concerning the position of English, there is a high tendency to
neglect African languages. Comparing with that of Norway, the researchers argue that
the position of English in Namibia should be as follows.
“We may argue with the Namibian parents that is important for
educated people in Namibia to know English as it is for educated
people in Norway, a small nation of four million people with its own
language being used as the language of instruction in secondary as
well as higher education” (P.312)
Further they claim that it is advisable to strengthen the teaching of English as a FL by
giving more time in school to the study of English as a subject and strengthen the
Namibian languages as languages of instruction.
Punchi. (2001) in his article in ‘International Review of Education’ brings international
experience and states,
“While English continued to be the dominant language in the former
British colonies in Africa even after their independence, countries
such as Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan were able to resist English and
introduce native languages as medium of instruction. Nevertheless, the
prestige of English continued to discriminate against the vernacularly
educated (P.373)
He further reveals that the liberalization of economy after 1977 led to the establishment
of fee-levying international schools where medium of instruction is English. In his
article, he claims that a common international language as the medium of instruction
would bring about harmony and understanding among the major ethnic groups in
SriLanka.
Elizabeth (2002) collecting data about English usage patterns of Zulu-speaking pupils at
an urban school says in “WE” that students are involved in English learning mainly for

37
the purpose of communication with speakers of other language within and outside South
Africa.
She further says that despite the fact that many of the parents are still primarily
monolingual using their language, Zulu, which is the language for cultural rituals,
“Serious attempts” are being made to promote Zulu-English bilingualism among the
school children.
Elizabeth (2002) further in her article mentions the trend in that society as follows.
Considering two schools from Durban suburb and Umalazi which have urbanized
setting,
“Both groups have in common that they report English as increasingly
being claimed in their home communities, including in the home
itself. However their perceived usage of English and Zulu reveals that
in the two communities under consideration choice of code intersects
with gender in substantially different ways” (P.86)
She indicates that majority of parents in that community have opted to send their
children to the neighbouring towns rather than to closer and less expensive Zulu-
dominated high school. She continues considering the gender,
“In this content where men are clearly dominant, it is not surprising
that boys claim to speak English more frequently and in more domains
than do girls” (P.88)
The above discussion shows that there is a high demand for English and in acquisition
of English as a L2, many psycho socio problems affect learners.
2.8 A discussion on socio factors
Dornyei (2001b) shows that for a learner, the main social arena is the school with his
peers. He declares the inter relationship between school and society as follows.

38
 The impact of academic achievement is not restricted to
intellectual development but it also affects a student’s general
self –worth and social standing in the class.
 Failure in a subject matter causes not only personal
disappointment but public embarrassment. (P.97)
This research also investigates whether there is a correlation between achievement of
the leaners and their social background.
Under application of co-operative learning principles in group-work learning situations
observed in Sri Lanka classrooms, Poole (2003) shows five essential elements such as
positive interdependence, face-to-face, promotive interaction, individual accountability
and social skills. In social skills he indicates,
“Placing socially unskilled individuals in a group and telling them to
co-operate does not guarantee that they will be able to do so
effectively. Persons must be taught the social skills for high quality
co-operation and be motivated to use them. Leadership, discussion
making ,trust building, communication and conflict management skills
have to be taught just as purposefully and precisely as academic
skills” (P.20)
Poole (2003) further reveals that there is no room for the development of critical
thinking skill in the active classroom-learning environment. Hence, he indicated that
classroom should not be confined only to academic learning. The institutional approach
to learning is a recent human phenomenon, which aims primarily to socialize, i.e. mould
pupils into model citizens. He shows that the influence of family and community also
play a significant role in the development processes. Language education in particular is
a special institutional component that serves some fundamental social desires, needs and
functions. Unfortunately, even though the Minister of Education and Higher Education
has taken great care to promote visionary policies and goals, they have not materialized
in the teaching-learning environments. Poole (2003) indicates it as follows.
The transformation has still not reached the teaching / learning
environments. Somewhere between the boardrooms, of the ministry of
education and the classroom halls, the vision has been lost. (P.28)

39
Byram (2004) in “Culture and Language Learning, Teaching Research and Scholarship”
shows how L2 learning is benifited to the society. He claims,
“Ethnography has attracted language educators partly because
access to countries where a target language is spoken has become
increasingly easier for language learner and partly because language
educators and scholars have realized that language teaching can
benefit from application of other disciplines rather than drawing solely
on theoretical linguistics” (P.155)
Likewise, Littlewood (1996), cited in Gardener & Miller(1990) reveals in a review of
literature regarding Asian students’ beliefs and attitudes towards Language learning,
that,
1. There is a strong inclination to form groups which work towards common
goals.
2. They are eager to engage in activities which involve discussion within
groups.
3. They are concerned to maintain harmony within their groups.
4. They are reluctant to ‘stand out’ by expressing their views or raising
questions.
5. They perceive the teacher as an authoritarian figure.
6. They see knowledge as something to be transmitted by the teacher rather
than discovered by the learners.
7. They expect the teacher to be responsible for the assessment of learning.
8. They show strong motivation to follow through learning tasks of which they
perceive the practical value.
9. They are more motivated when success contributes to the goals or prestige
of significant in- groups
10. They are concerned about performing well and correctly in what they do in
class (p.42)
The researchers argue on the basis of the above findings that Asian learners would not
take any interest in developing their independent language learning. They come to this
conclusion, considering the predictions four, five, six and seven in particular. This

40
research aims at investigating the said predictions through empirical data. One of the
socio-cultural factors, Schumann (1976) highlights, is the enclosure, which he thinks
directly affects the L2 learning of an individual. He claims that social constructs such
as schools, churches, recreational facilities, professions and trades facilitate the
language learning process.
Do such factors really influence L2 leaners in a low enriched environment or poor
motivated areas in Sri Lanka? Further researches have to be carried out this regard.
Schumann (1976) highlights a factor called ‘congruence’ and ‘similarity’ which
discusses the language, life styles and values of two similar groups. If the two
languages are similar, he claims, the TL learning would be facilitated.
When considering this factor, a question is raised. That is whether it is applicable to Sri
Lanka where Sinhala/ Tamil and English belong to two different language families.
Somehow, it is very much important to see how psychological factors of students
contribute to and affect the teaching-learning process. In the following chapter, the
theory relevant to that phenomenon is discussed in a theoretical perspective.
2.9 Conclusion
The above discussed psycho- socio problems regarding SLA have been explored by
some researchers. Nevertheless, it is believed that the same factors in Sri Lankan
environment require more researches.
Most of the theories have been developed in Europe where mostly the L1 is English.
Another important factor is the psycho-socio culture of Europe is completely different
from that of Sri Lanka.
‘English Medium’ had been once compulsory because of colonization. After that, it
became an issue in the field of education. Once again, it seems, it is being implemented,
as if it were compulsory in a society where number of international schools is increasing
rapidly. So for a research, not only the SLA but also the English medium will be a
‘challenge’. Since not many researches have been conducted into the psycho-
sociological factors related to English medium, this thesis is conducted in that regard.

41
Different theorists have formulated different approaches; social, cultural, psychological,
personal, interpersonal etc, in SLA. This thesis further intends to explore their veracity
and applicability in the Sri Lankan context.
Chapter 03 discusses the sample, instruments and the data analysis method used in this
research.

42
Chapter 03
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The main purpose of this study is to understand the different psycho-sociological
problems of students in the English medium at junior secondary level and how different
psycho-sociological backgrounds influence these students. The study is conducted,
analyzing the data obtained through questionnaires, given both to English medium
students in grade eight and nine and to teachers who are involved in the English
medium. The survey method is used in the analysis. Moreover, twelve students from the
sample were considered as significant for a case study. The theoretical background of
the study was discussed in detail in chapter 2. The research design and the methodology
used in conducting this study are discussed in this chapter.
3.2 Brief Background to the Study
After British colonization, English language became the superior and the dominant
language in Sri Lanka. English sometimes existed in certain areas as a FL though it did
the task of a L2. In 2002, English medium started, only three subjects being taught in
selected schools in Sri Lankan education system. It has created social and psychological
problems in relation to academic level of English medium students. The aim of this
research is to investigate social and psychological problems that the students encounter at
junior secondary level. The researcher uses survey and case study methods to collect data.
Using a descriptive data analysis method, the researcher will make his discussion in
chapter 04.
3.3.1 Population and the Sample.
The population of this study is English medium students of junior secondary classes in
Sri Lanka. The sample used for this research comes from four 1AB schools. Of these four
schools, there are a Girls’ school and a Boys’ school. Two schools are mixed schools.

43
Grade eight and nine classes were selected for the sample. The following table shows
how they have been distributed.
Table 3.1 How Sample Distributed
Name of the
School
School
Type
Grade Male Female Ethnicity Total
Sinhala Tamil Muslim
Students St.peter’s 1AB 9 10 15 23 1 1 25
Harischandara 1AB 8 13 6 18 1 0 19
Newstead 1AB 8 0 53 44 6 3 53
Maris Stella 1AB 8 15 0 12 2 1 15
Teachers
St.peter’s 1AB 2 7 8 1 0 9
Harischandara 1AB 5 3 7 1 0 8
Newstead 1AB 0 6 5 1 0 6
Maris Stella 1AB 7 0 7 0 0 7
Questionnaires were mainly used to collect data on psycho-sociological problems,
attitudes to education, parental ideas of the value of education, and family background.
Questionnaires were fashioned to obtain factual information leading to occupation of
parents and other details connected to the research such as nature of employment, the
place of work etc, to collect details about the social background.

44
3.3.2 Designing data gathering instruments
3.2 Teachers’ Questionnaire
Variable
Number
What is expected from the teacher
01-03 General information about the Teacher
04-8c Academic background of the teacher
09-13 How teacher interacts with the students
14-15 Whether the students refer to supplementary materials
16-19 Social background of the teacher
20 The techniques that teachers prefer to follow
21-22 Conversing ability of the teacher
23-27 Social background of the students
28-32 Psychological background of the student
33 The social and psychological problems in brief
34-35 The difficulties students encounter in English medium
36-39 Social background of students
40 The problems of low income families
3.4 The Instruments and the Methods;
Objective one was achieved by literature review in chapter two. Objective two and three
were achieved by administering questionnaires to the students and teachers. There were
thirty-seven questions in the students’ questionnaire and forty-two in teachers’
questionnaire. Both questionnaires were administered to four schools. In the students’
questionnaire, thirteen questions were set to gather data on different psycho-sociological
problems of the students. It is mentioned in the second objective. For the same purpose
twelve questions were prepared in the teachers’ questionnaire. In the students’
questionnaire, five out of thirty seven were allocated to gather data on different social
backgrounds of children, involved in bi-lingual learning as mentioned in the third

45
objective. In the teachers’ questionnaire, seven questions were set to gather data on the
same topic. This information could be tabulated as follows.
Table 3.3 Questionnaires and Objectives
Objective No. 02
The different Psycho-
sociological problems that
students face;
Objective No.03
Different social
backgrounds of children
Students’ Questionnaire
(No)
11,14,19,21,
24,25
26,27,30,31,33,34,35,
8,9,19,32,36,
Teachers’ Questionnaire
(No)
18,19,28,29,
30,31,32,33,
34,35,36,37,
36,37,38,39,40,41,42,
Questions No 14, 30, 31, 35, 36 were further investigated through interviews with a few
students. Question No 18 and 19 in teachers’ questionnaire were further investigated
through interviews with some teachers.
Good rapport, which is considered an essential part of a successful interview, might not
be established with the interviewees within a short period of time. It is much time
consuming and hence it is a great handicap to the interviewer who operates according to a
school timetable. Principals of two schools, Teachers’ Manager, and the Director of
English in Negombo education zone, together with the National Coordinator of English
medium in the Ministry of Education were also interviewed. Several formal and informal
interviews were held with the Sectional Head and the Principal of St. Peter’s College,
Negombo

46
Selection of items for the questionnaire was based on the following variables;
- Socio- Economic status
- Parental attitude
- Parental values to Education
- Age
- Sex
- Motivation
- Psychological problems.
Instructions for filling in the questionnaires were given. Multiple choice type questions
were mainly asked. Two open-ended questions were administered to the students and
three such questions were directed to the teachers.
An observation schedule was formed to gather data on social interaction among students
within and outside the classroom. Grade nine English medium class of St. Peter’s college
was observed twice. Once, the class was observed while they were engaged in formal
teaching. Next time, they were observed when they were in playground. In the teaching-
learning process, ad-hoc approach was used for the observation of the students. It
consisted of qualitative as well as quantitative data. Qualitative data were scheduled to be
taken in relation to the interaction, behaviour and different responses shown by the
students. The data, collected according to this ‘ad-hoc observation schedule’ will be
discussed further in chapter 04. Interviews were held with a few students, teachers and
parents. Four parents were interviewed over the phone. The validity of teachers’
questionnaire and students’ questionnaire was checked by administering them to eight
students and a teacher. A few errors were corrected and questions reconstructed with the
help of some colleagues. The supervisor was consulted twice, regarding the accuracy of
the questionnaires.
When the researcher was engaged in an informal discussion with some students in a
grade nine class, he found that six students had a severe psychological problem. The
reason for this psychological problem was the decision taken by the authority of the
school to fail these students. Their decision was based on the marks that the students had

47
obtained for their third term test in 2005. Since the researcher is interested in conducting
the research as an in-depth study in relation to the teaching-learning process of St.Peter’s
college Negombo. He has had certain informal interviews with those six students. Certain
facts were further clarified by interviewing their parents. Their social backgrounds have
been well looked into by paying informal visits to their houses.
3.4.1 Case Study
Studies are usually longitudinal, that is they follow the individual or individuals over a
relatively long period trying to trace some aspect of language development. Leopold
(1978) watched and studied his child over a long period. His comments and the insights
he gained from this activity proved to be useful for research as to how a L2 is acquired.
Hence case study approach is a helpful and productive one in the language teaching field.
Statistical studies deal with group phenomena as well as individual behaviour. They are
often cross-sectional, that is, they consider a group of people as a cross section of
possible behaviours at a particular point or at several distinct points in time. Statistical
studies seem to fall into two additional sub-categories. They are surveys and experimental
studies.
Typically, survey studies focus on groups’ attitudes, opinions and characteristics. They
often take the form of a questionnaire that is given to a group of people. The advantage of
this type of research is that substantial amount of information can be collected in a
relatively short period of time.
Unsworth (2000) argues that a case study by its very nature provides a limited set of data
in that, it tells us about only one child’s development. That child is situated socially in
terms of gender, position in family, family’s social class positioning and so on, quite
apart from specific personality among family members and attitudes towards parenting,
which make every individual’s development in some sense a unique story.
How it provides some advantages;
 It provides the best opportunity to collect data naturalistically and to observe
learning in the contexts in which it is actually taking place.

48
 It allows the researcher the best access to the inter-textual history of any text, that
is, to previous relevant conversations the child has participated in
 It allows for the most reliable recording of new development moves
 It allows language to be observed and recorded in a variety of contexts, which is
advantageous for an exploratory study.
Hopkins (1974) claims that since the case study is an intensive investigation centered on
a particular subject, the data of this situation are limited in generalizability. The
researcher who uses the case study to probe deeply into a particular subject or unit is
usually concerned more with a particular case than with the development of far-reaching
generalization. A case study may however, provide the opportunity to uncover previous
unsuspected relationships. For research the case study is more likely to be a producer of
hypotheses than a tool for testing a hypothesis.
Scot &Usher (2003) mention in ‘Understanding Educational Research’ that traditionally
some methodological strategies (experimental ex post-facto, correlation, and survey) have
been designated as quantitative and others (ethnography and condensed case study) as
qualitative. Case study was a strategy par excellence that allowed the focus and
uniqueness of each institutional setting. Thus, in the course of understanding, evaluations
are focused on. The tendency was to see every thing as specific and this raised
increasingly urgent questions about generalisability, as understanding was sometimes
bought at the price of excluding the rest of the world.
Hammersley (1985) describes three styles of case study research in ‘Herbert Blumer and
the Chicago tradition’ as follows.
1st
style- Researcher studies typical cases which represent a larger whole of aggregate.
2nd
style- Researchers want to use cases to test theories. They study more and more cases
until they are satisfied that the theory holds.
3rd
style- Ethnographers may seek to preserve the uniqueness of the case. It is an
encompassing study of some entity using all available evidence. The object of a study
may be a person, a defined group of persons, an event, institutions, or a community.

49
Honigmann (1973) argues in this context that ethnographers must identity their selection
criteria to enable the reader to determine the relationship between the sample and its
intended population.
Woods (1986) claims in ‘Inside schools; Ethnography in Education research’ that case
studies must be as representative as possible to improve external validity.
Abercrombie (1988) in ‘The penguine Dictionary of Sociology’ defines case study as
follows,
A detailed examination of a single example of a class of phenomena.
A case study cannot provide reliable information about the broader
class” (p.28)
Ratnapala (1986) claims in “New Horizons in Research Methodology” that many
sociological as well as anthropological researches have used the case study approach. He
further mentions case study as follows.
“When one desires to gather intimate, in-depth information that other methods often miss,
the case-study approach could serve the researcher in a fruitful manner”.
Hence the researcher of this thesis also conducts a case study.
3.4.2 Case study in St. Peter’s, College Negombo
Six clever students and six backward students from St. Peter’s College were considered
in the case study.
. They were interviewed in depth thrice. They were observed informally and details of
them were collected by visiting their houses. Their parents and peers were interviewed in
relation with their sociological background.
3.5 Term Test Results
The raw marks scored at the year-end term test were considered. A randomly selected set
of thirty-one students from St. Peters’ college, Negombo was taken into consideration.
The grades obtained in three subjects were rated. The subjects considered were

50
Mathematics, Science and Social Science. The marks, the students had obtained were
taken as a yardstick to decide whether to pass or fail the students. Hence six students have
failed grade nine. It will be discussed in detail in chapter 04. The names and their marks
scored at the third term test held in 2005 are given below.
Name of the students Mathematics Science Social Science
Harsha 23 34 76
Ros 15 34 43
Dil 27 32 62
Kuseela 35 34 40
Lak 25 32 41
Ban 23 34 43
Table 3.4 Marks and the slow learners
Why they have failed and their present psychological and sociological backgrounds will
be further discussed in chapter 04.
A comparison between the term test results of the above students with those six students
who have scored higher marks in the same test will be done in detail in chapter 4.
The marks they have obtained are as follows.
Table 3.5 Marks and the clever students
Name of the
students
Mathematics Science Social Science
Sithum 79 70 84
Heshara 79 74 86
Masha 88 65 71
Samya 86 63 85
Budhdhi 88 77 88

51
3.6 The limitation of the study
Although hundred and fifty questionnaires were given to students, only 106 completed
questionnaires were returned. In these questionnaires, most of the students have not
answered the open ended questions. Thirty English medium teachers were given
questionnaires. Only twenty eight (28) questionnaires were returned. Here, most of them
have not given responses to the open-ended questions. Students’ questionnaires were
given one week before the beginning of the third term vacation. The researcher could not
collect all the questionnaires given, since the attendance of students was very poor during
the period after third term test.
Had the researcher been able to collect data from some international schools, he could
have compared these data with those from local English medium schools. Since the time
was very limited that task was not carried out. At the beginning of this research it was
assumed that there would be at least one more grade nine English medium class, other
than the one at St. Peters’ college in which the researcher carried out the case study. But
eventually it was found that St. Peter’s college is the only school where grade nine
students in the English medium are available in the Negombo Educational zone in 2005.
So, the researcher faced difficulties in gathering data from parallel classes of grade nine
in English medium. The researcher has used the case study method to get information of
twelve students. All the cases selected to study were from the same school and the
number of cases selected was limited due to the limited time available.
Everything discussed in this chapter will be discussed in detail in chapter 04.

52
Chapter 04
Data Analysis and Discussions
4.1 Introduction
This chapter describes the data collected from the sample. They are presented as two
main headings.
 Survey
 Case Study
The analysis of the survey and the case study will be guided by the objectives of survey
and case study. The description of learners and teachers in English medium, their
attitudes, what really took place in the classroom, the family background of the learners,
socio-economic settings and the psychological states of learners, provide the social milieu
and the psychological parameters in relation to psycho-socio aspects.
This chapter discusses the analysis of variables of the questionnaires, interviews and
observations. This analyzes the data, collected from case studies as well. Each ‘case’
was analyzed in depth, in relation to the theory, discussed in chapter 02 and focusing
more attention on the theory of Schumann, mentioned in Review of Literature. The
context of the school, details of teachers in English medium, data gathered through
interviews with parents and children and observations made, in and out of the classroom,
have helped the researcher understand the different social and psychological milieu of
the students in English medium.
4.2 The objectives and data analysis
Review of literature has achieved objective No. 01 and chapter 05 will achieve objective
No. 05. A detailed discussion will be made in this chapter on the data collected through
survey and case study in order to achieve the objectives No. 02, 03 and 04. Objective
No.02 is to examine the different psycho-sociological problems that students face
learning in the English medium. Objective No.03 is to analyze different social
backgrounds of children involved in bi-lingual learning. Objective No.04 is to find out

53
how the students’ socio cultural backgrounds influence their learning in the English
medium.
4.3 Examining different psycho-sociological problems that students face
learning in the English medium.
The problems that students face:
In the survey, teachers were asked to present in writing the problems that students
encountered. The following Table 4.1.categorises these problems.
Table 4.1
Problems of students in English medium
The Table 4.1 above and the Figure 4.1 below show that a majority of teachers claim that
the main problem of the students is the low-income poor family background. They think
that it affects the students’ education very badly. It seems that the students’ ability to
adjust themselves to new English environment is also very poor.
It further shows that 7.7% of the teachers claim that the students cannot understand the
subject matter and the students are shy to speak English in public. It is clear that students
of this sample have social as well as psychological problems in this regard. According to
Category Percentage (%)
Low-income poor family background. 38.5
Not attempting to improve their knowledge. 0
Cannot understand subject matter. 7.7
Thinking they are superior and rejecting Sinhalese culture. 15.4
Shy to speak English in public. 7.7
Difficult to adapt themselves to new English environment 30.8
Inability to change their mother tongue habits. 0

54
the given responses, it seems, that no student is inherently backward in improving his or
her knowledge or incapable of changing his or her MT habits. The main reason for that
may be the instrumental motivation they have. It could be discussed according to the
language theory with the data collected.
Figure 4.1
Problems encountered by students in English medium
An equal number of students claim that they cannot understand the subject matters and
feel shy to speak in English with others. For the fourth variable too, they have given a
prominent place. Fifteen percent of the sample feels that they are superior to Sinhala
medium students and reject Sinhalese culture.
According to Schumann’s (1978a) acculturation, SLA is determined by two main factors,
namely, social distance and psychological distance. Under social distance, social
dominance pattern is significant. If the L2 group is inferior to the TL group, social

55
distance can arise between the two groups and the L2 learning group will resist learning
the TL. The above result shows that most of the students in the English medium have a
low-income poor family background. Since they are inferior economically to the TL
group in the educational zone, a sense of social distance affects them in the learning of
the language. There are four leading international schools in Negombo that some rich
businessmen’s sons and daughters attend. Majority of these students use English for
communication at home. In comparison with those students, most of the English medium
students in government schools come from poor or middle class families. However, this
research reveals that there are also a 25% of English medium students of the sample who
speak English at home. So as Schumann (1978a) shows, since these two groups are not
equal in social dominance pattern, language learning will be a problem.
According to teachers’ view, the next most severe problem of the English medium
students is the difficulty of adapting themselves to new English environment. Thirty point
eight percent of the sample has this problem. Schumann calls this situation culture shock.
Schumann explains it as a period of excitement over the newness of the surrounding.
Since all the students started their English medium only in grade six this may be new to
many students.
Approximately 08% of the sample of students shows that they have inhibitions.
According to Schumann, it is psychological distance, which is categorized as ego
boundaries. Observations of students revealed that most of them were reluctant to speak
English outside the classroom.
Nevertheless, there were three students in the sample who wanted to show their
knowledge to the others. These three students are discussed in this chapter under the
section case study. According to Schumann (1978a), psychological factors come into play
in cases where the social distance is indeterminate. These students who have inhibitions
could be considered and further discussed according to the above theory. Nevertheless
there are a small number of students who display both social distance and psychological
distance. The researcher observed that their inhibition deterred most of them badly in
their L2 learning. The research revealed that most of the students with inhibitions have
recorded low marks especially in their oral assignments. As a whole, most of such

56
students have recorded very low marks for their assignments and in their term tests. It
will further be discussed under case study.
In the students’ questionnaire, the question number one asks why they have selected
English medium. Out of the given responses, 94% of the students have responded that
they have selected English medium for a better future. Most of the students have given
more than one response. The next reason, the students have given is to improve their
standard of English. The reasons that they have given are as follows.
a- It is easier than studying in the mother tongue.
b- It gives them a better recognition
c- Their parents forced them to do so.
d- Their best friends are studying in the English medium.
e- They will have a better future.
f- They could improve their English standard.
The interviews with the students revealed that some hope to go abroad for their higher
studies. One of their targets of going abroad is to earn money. Although a considerable
number of students have not given any response regarding the influence of parents and
friends, in their choice of English medium, the interviews reveal that some have chosen
English medium because of such influence.
According to Schumann (1978a), this type of objective could be considered a motivation
factor under psychological distance. Most of their social distance, it seems, is
indeterminate. Schumann (1978a) argues that their psychological factors come into play
in such cases. Many educationists and theorists have different claims as to instrumental
and integrative motivation. For L2 learning, certain theorists including Gardner and
Miller (1999) claim that integrative motivation is more important than instrumental
motivation.
Many writers contradict this idea and Dornyei (1994) suggests that the nature and effect
of certain motivation components might vary according to environment in which learning
takes place. He further claims that the importance of integrative motivation is likely to be

57
undermined while instrumental motivation, intellectual and socio-cultural motives and
other motivational factors that have not been analyzed, may acquire a special importance.
Here, it appears that the response ‘e’- to get a better future – is integrative motivation
while response –“f”- to improve English standard –is an instrumental motivation. So, as
the following Figure 4.1.1 shows the students’ motivation is a blend of integrative and
instrumental motivations.
Figure 4.1.1
The Reasons for selecting English medium
Dorneyi (2001a) emphasizes that “need” has been replaced by ‘goal’ which is seen as an
‘engine’ to fire an action and provide the direction in which to act. Locke (1996), cited in
Dorneyi (2001a) Teaching and researching motivation shows that there are mainly five
points in Goal Theory. They are,
1. The more difficult is the goal; the greater will be the achievement.Majority of students
involved in the English medium believe that it is a more difficult goal than the
vernacular medium. Nevertheless, it seems that most of them are willing to do their

58
best to achieve that difficult goal. In addition to that, their parents too motivate them to
achieve it.
2. The more specific or explicit is the goal, the more precisely is the performance
regulated.
When compared with the background of education especially in Negombo, English
medium education is very specific. The daily routine of students seems to be very
much regulated. Most of their performances are pre-scheduled and systematic. The
interviews with them revealed that they had their own systematic timetables.
3. Goals that are both specific and difficult lead to the highest performance.
Since English medium contains both qualities mentioned above, the students may be
expected to render a higher performance in future. At the interviews, most of them
claimed that they would somehow achieve their target.
Majority of the students claim that learning in the English medium is very difficult.
Nevertheless, they are determined one way or the other to continue in the English
medium. A few students are disappointed with the English medium. Almost all of
them are in this English medium class because of the parents’ influence.
Goal Theory further claims that,
4. Commitment to goals is most critical when goals are specific and difficult. (i. e. when
goals are easy or vague, it is not hard to get committed because it does not require
much dedication to reach easy goals, and vague goals can be easily redefined to
accommodate low performance.)
Most of the teachers involved in teaching different subjects in the English medium in
Negombo are teachers of English. For most of the subjects they do not have
supplementary materials. Most of the students borrow Sinhala books from school
libraries and translate the subject matters into English. Since most of the parents of
these students are from the middle class and a majority of them do not have an English
background, they are not in a position to assist their children either in subject matters
or with the English language. When the parents were interviewed, it was revealed that
most of them were disappointed with this situation.

59
5. High commitment to goal is attained when the individual is convinced that the goal is
important and it is attainable.
Almost all the students are fully involved in the English medium and are conscious of
their ultimate goals. Their commitment to finding supplementary materials and
participating in projects completely is very high. The responses in the students’
questionnaire show that 94% of the students are involved in English medium to have a
better future. The next preference given by them is to improve their English standard. So,
it is clear that the above theory can explain some of the data, collected through
questionnaires and interviews. Interviews revealed that not all the students were vague
about the English medium. Many believe that their final goal is attainable.
Figure 4.1.1 shows why they have selected English medium. The motive of the majority
is a blend of integrative and instrumental motivation. Here “better future” could be
considered an integrative motivation while ‘improving English’, an instrumental
motivation.
The above figure 4.1.1 shows that some students have not been influenced by their
friends. A few students believe that the English medium would be much easier than the
MT. Parental influence also has not been a powerful reason for them to select English
medium, although it was more a powerful factor than friends’ influence.
Figure 4.1.1 further shows how a student’s motivation is determined by various variables.
Gardener’s (1999) concept of the integrative motive and Dornyei’s (2001a) findings
could be of relevance to this research since it is involved in the investigation of English
as the medium of instruction where Sinhala is the dominant language. The objectives of
analyzing different social backgrounds of children involved in bi-lingual learning and
finding out how students in the English medium classes are influenced by their
respective environments, could be achieved by studying and investigating those facts.

60
The following variables are very important regarding the particular theory;
 L2 course.
 L2 teacher.
 Attitudes towards L2 community.
 Motivation.
 Interest in FL.
 Integrative orientation.
The researcher discusses the above variables on various occasions. The researcher has
raised many questions in the students’ questionnaire as well as in teachers’ questionnaire
regarding the above variables. The given responses are very much important in relation to
this theory.
In the students’ questionnaire, students were asked about their knowledge of English
when they were in the primary grades. The responses given by them could be tabulated as
follows.
The Figure 4.1.1.1 below shows that a majority of the students had a good English
background. About 25% of the sample of students admitted that their English
background and the English knowledge were extremely good when they were in primary
classes. They gave many reasons at the interviews. Approximately 16% of the students
of the sample claim that their knowledge of English is not up to the standard. It is shown
clearly in the Figure 4.1.1.1. It is observed that majority of such students are not still in a
position to communicate in English. Especially where oral presentations are concerned
their negative primary background affects them badly.

61
24.59
59.02
4.10 4.10
8.20
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
Very Good Good Fair Satisfactory Weak
Percentage
Fig. 4.1.1.1 English knowledge at Primary Level
In the questionnaire, they were further asked why they were so good in their primary
classes. In the students’ questionnaire the probable responses were given and students had
selected the response that was most relevant to them. Sometimes, more than one response
was underlined in the questionnaire. The responses given by them could be categorized as
follows.
Table 4.1.1
Reasons for high English Language Proficiency at Primary Classes
Reasons Frequency Percentage
Reading English Books 81 23.41
Had good teachers 65 18.79
Watching English TV programmes 59 17.05
Using English at home 53 15.32
Parents' English education 34 9.83
Contact with English environment 31 8.96
Contact with other races 23 6.65
100

62
Table 4.1.1 shows that a majority in the sample read English books. The next reason most
have given is “had good teachers”. These factors had a very strong influence on students.
On the other hand low ability students’ responses could be categorized as follows;
Table 4.1.2
Reasons for Low English Language proficiency at Primary Classes
Reasons Frequency Percentage
Didn't use English at home 10 45.45
Didn't read English books 7 31.82
Watching mother tongue TV programmes 0 0.00
No contacts with English environment 1 4.55
No English education of parents 3 13.64
Lack of good teachers 1 4.55
Prefer mother tongue to English 0 0.00
100.00
The above Table 4.1.2 shows that most of the children did not have an English
background at home. Further, many students had not read English books either at home
or at any institute. Some students claimed that their parents did not have an English
background.
The above Tables reveal the attitude of students towards their English or the L2.
Gardener [cited in Dornyei, Z. (2001a)] through his concept of the “integrative motive”,
emphasizes how a L2 learner should be interested to achieve the language competence.
The attitudes towards L2 community too are clearly shown through the above theory.
Tables 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 show how Gardener’s concept of the integrative motive is
relevant to this research.

63
Fig.4.1.1.2. The abilities that students perceived
The above Fig.4.1.1.2 shows how students perceived their abilities at primary level.
Majority believe that they were clever during primary stage. At the interviews they stated
that most of them had high marks for their subjects. Many of them claimed that they had
passed even the grade five Scholarship examination. Some of the students claim that to
enter the English medium, grade five Scholarship examinations was a main qualification.
Some students claim that it was compulsory to obtain more than one hundred marks out
of two hundred for grade five-scholarship examination.
The above Figure 4.1.1.2.and the description shows the students’ attitudes towards their
primary stage. It shows that all of them are confident of their education. Schumann
(1978a), under psychological distances discusses ego boundary. He claims that learner’s
self-image or the learner’s self esteem is very important. According to the above
discussion, it shows that most of them have a very high self-esteem or a positive self-
image about themselves. A very few students claimed that their primary education was
not adequate. The reasons, they have given could be categorized under certain headings.
These show that their self-esteem or the self- image is low. The reasons they have given
could be categorized as follows.
Yes
84%
No
16%

64
Table 4.1.3
Problems encountered in primary stage
Reasons Percentage
No Exposure 10
No Family Background / No Edu`. In Eng. 30
Shy to Speak 15
Attitude 45
The above table 4.1.3 shows that they had certain problems when they were in primary
stage. Most of them were disappointed because they did not have a positive attitude
towards education. The main reason they gave was the lack of good family background.
When they were interviewed, they revealed that most of their parents did not have a good
educational background. The attitudes of those students, even towards education are not
very positive. Nevertheless, many including their peers, at present, motivate them. The
students who claim that they were shy to speak still, show certain inhibitions when they
speak in English. When the researcher asked certain questions in English, some of them
continually spoke in English but one student was very reluctant to give even the
responses in English. She responded as if she did not belong to the English medium.
Despite the influence of her peers, she was reluctant to speak in English.

65
Figure 4.1.2 Gardiner’s Concept of Integrative Motive
This shows how a L2 learner has a direct link with the above variables. Of these factors,
how the learner evaluates the English medium, how he or she considers the L2 course and
his or her desire to learn the L2 are important. It is clear that there is a direct
interdependence among these factors such as motivation, integrativeness, and attitudes
towards the L2 learning situation. To gather facts regarding the interest in the FL and
attitudes towards L2 community, certain questions in the students’ questionnaire have
been designed. They will be discussed in detail in the following chapter.
The following figure 4.1.3 shows how teachers encourage students to share their ideas.
Dorneyi (2001a) further shows how the students are motivated towards education when
the teachers encourage them.
Integrative
orientation
Interest in foreign
Languages
Attitudes toward L2
community
ATTITUDES
TOWARD THE
LEARNING
SITUATION
Evaluation of
the L2 teacher
Evaluation of the
L2 course
MOTIVATION
Desire to learn
the L2
Motivational
intensity (effort)
Attitudes toward
learning the L2

66
Figure 4.1.3. Teachers’ Motivation of Students
According to figure 4.1.3, it is clear that the teachers have a positive attitude towards
motivation. When students were interviewed, most of them claimed that majority of
teachers motivated them. A few students deny that they are motivated by teachers. The
interviews with them revealed that these students had certain prejudices against certain
teachers and the English medium.
Dorneyi (2001a), further discusses, how one variable that affects the L2 learner positively
or negatively becomes the motivational intensity (effort). The following figure 4.1.4
shows the parental motivation towards L2 learning. Schumann (1978b) clearly shows
how motivational factor influences the student’s language learning. He discusses it as a
psychological factor. At the interviews, some of the students who were not motivated by
their parents admitted that they were motivated either by their friends or by their teachers.

67
Figure 4.1.4. Motivation of students by parents towards English Medium
The above figure 4.1.4 shows how majority of the students are motivated by their parents.
The students who are not motivated by their parents, it seems, are coming from very poor
family background. Most of them are from fisher families or low-income families like
those of labourers. The interviews with students revealed that although a few students in
this category are from middle class families, and have both parents employed either in
public sector orprivate sector, yet their parents do not have time to pay attention to the
studies of their sons and daughters.
The following Figure 4.1.5 shows how peer groups motivate the students. Most of the
students motivate their friends towards the English medium. It was revealed that some
students are learning in English medium at present because of their friends. It was found
that some students attend certain tuition classes as their friends attend them. The students
who believe that their friends do not motivate them are also very significant here. Most of
such characters are very isolated. When some of them were interviewed, they revealed
Yes
91%
No
9%

68
that they were very much dependent on their parents. The students who are involved in
peer motivation are always in separate groups. There are many positive aspects in this
situation. Yet, certain negative aspects also could be seen.
They always try to succeed in certain tasks as separate groups. As a result, the entire
group achieves its target. Nevertheless, if there is a bad influence from one of them and if
the group is motivated badly to commit a misdeed, the entire group may be ruined. Such
a group may decide to go to a “bad” tuition class or to a certain private tutor just because
of a friend’s motivation. As Schumann (1978b) says, motivation affects the teaching-
learning system. The researcher too finds that there are many motivational factors that
could affect negatively.
Fig. 4.1.5 Motivation of Peer Groups for English Medium Students
Schumann (1978b) shows that motivation is very much influential in an individual’s
teaching-learning process either positively or negatively. Schumann claims that the
psychological factors come into play in cases where the social distance is indeterminate.
Nevertheless, the researcher has found that some of the students who are present in this

69
sample face psychological factors at home and school as introduced by Schumann
(1978a) where their social distances are not indeterminate. It was observed that many
groups that are separated from one another maintain a competition among them. There
are some positive features in this peer motivation. One might be demotivated towards
certain subjects, though one is interested in the particular subjects because of this
demotivation of a peer group.
4.4 The family background and the English medium students:
Table 4.2 Low Income Families
When the teachers were questioned about the low-income families, majority of them
claimed that the percentage of students who came from low income families was below
25%. Interviews with students revealed that only a few students come from very poor
families. In these families majority of parents are involved in fisheries sector. Some of
them are labourers or self-employed on a small scale. The details obtained from the
students could be shown as in the Figure 4.2, below.
According to the Figure 4.2 below and to some of the teachers (30%), there are a
considerable number of students who belong to low income families. When the
researcher interviewed some teachers and students,they revealed that most of the students
with low income family background go to government schools. The percentage of low-
Frequency Percentage
0 ~25 6 46.2
26 ~ 50 3 23.1
51 ~ 75 4 30.8
76 ~ 100 0 0.0
Total 13 100.0

70
income students in private schools is very low. If such students have been admitted, it is
because of certain abilities they had such as in sports, cricket, athletics and gymnastics. A
few of such students are also present in the English medium in certain private schools or
in semi government schools. Since they do not have a good family background, the
researcher understands that such students face severe problems regarding the English
medium.
Fig. 4.2 Students of low income families
Information gathered from the teachers in relation to middle income families is
categorized in a table below.

71
Middle Income Families
Table 4.3
0 ~25 2 15.4
26 ~ 50 6 46.2
51 ~ 75 4 30.8
76 ~ 100 1 7.7
Total 13 100.0
According to Table 4.3, majority of the teachers claim that the percentage of students
from middle class families is below 50%. Most of them are self-employed in fisheries
sector. Middle-income families are comparatively higher than those of low and high -
income families. The following figure 4.2.1 shows the percentage of various ranges.
Fig.4.2.1 Students of middle income families

72
Interviews with the students revealed that majority of students in the English medium
belong to this category. It appears that while they do not lead a luxurious life, they are not
poor either. All of them have some money to spend on their food and other necessities.
The qestion 5B in students’ questionnaire, asked about the father’s employment.
Responses given could be categorized as follows. They are classified under six headings.
Private sector - 27%
Public sector - 23%
Self-employed -28%
(Other than fisheries sector)
Fishermen - 06%
Foreign employed - 11%
Unemployed - 05%
The first three variables could be considered middle class families and they represent
78% of the sample. When some of the parents and students were interviewed it was
understood that a few parents, involved in foreign employments too could be considered
middle-income families. Although Negombo is a fisheries area, not many students from
fisher families come to the English medium when it is compared with the other
occupations.
Table 4.4 High Income Families
0 ~25 10 76.9
26 ~ 50 2 15.4
51 ~ 75 0 0.0
76 ~ 100 1 7.7
Total 13 100.0

73
The above Table 4.4 shows that only a few of them come from high-income families.
The researcher’s interviews with the students reveal that the number of high-income
families is also very low.
According to Table 4.4, majority of teachers claim that the percentage of students from
high-income families is below 25%. A comparison of the above tables shows that
majority in the English medium are from middle-class income families. Schumann’s
{1978a) theory proves that students from low-income families as well as high-income
families enjoy a good social distance. That is approximately a half of the number of
students in the English medium. It is clear that approximately 50% of the sample is not in
a position to study in English medium while the other half could, since they are in a
situation that is away from social distance as shown by Schumann(1978a).
Fig. 4.2.2 Students of high income families
To the question whether there are students in the class who think that they are more
privileged than the other students, the responses received from the teachers, can be shown
as follows in table 4.5.

74
Table 4.5 More privileged students
Teacher's Response Percentage
Yes 92.3
No 7.7
The following discussion further reveals how these students behave in public. When the
researcher had discussions with students in the English medium, he came to know that
majority of students were of the opinion that they were superior to the Sinhala medium
students. Some parents of the students also think that their children are more privileged
than those in the Sinhala medium. A few parents wanted to show that their children
attend several English medium tuition classes. Some of them further claim that their
students could read any kind of English book and comprehend easily.
Figure 4.3 How teachers perceive English medium Students
The above Figure 4.3 shows that according to a majority of teachers, students in the
English medium have the attitude that they are superior to the Sinhala medium students.
Ninety two percent represents that category. Nevertheless the teachers claim that the
percentage of these students who think in this way is only 25%. Of the sample taken, only
one teacher has not given a response. Another has claimed that it is 26%-50%,

75
But all the others respond to that question as 25%. Moreover, most of the teachers claim
that majority of English medium students try to be ‘elite’. When the Sinhala medium
teachers were interviewed, some said that most of the students in the English medium try
to show their superiority by their behaviour, speech or action. Most of the English
medium teachers claim that many of the Sinhala medium teachers are prejudiced against
the English medium students. Most of the principals claim that majority of English
medium students are reluctant to take part in extra curricular activities. Yet, they agree
that in English medium competitions, the student participation is very high. It is revealed
that there are some students who are reluctant to speak in Sinhala in public but are ready
to speak in English.
They tend to give up their own life styles and values in favour of the English culture and
its life style. As discussed above, some of them want to be elite. According to Schumann
(1978a), it is the assimilation where integration strategies take place. Although it has a
bad effect on the educational environment in relation to extra curricular activities in
school, assimilation could be a positive feature in their language learning.
Although it is a positive factor, Figure 4.1 shows that 30.8% of the students wish to
maintain their own culture and find it difficult to adapt themselves to the new English
environment. That is preservation according to Schumann (1978a) that results in social
distance and would give rise to resistance in language learning.
The following figure 4.4 indicates the responses in relation to primary grades. According
to them, 96% of the students agree that it would have been better if they had had the
opportunity of studying in the English medium at primary level. Their preference towards
gradewise is in Figure 4.5. In this question, grades one to five have been considered
separately. Eighty three percent of the sample prefer grade 01. Many of them are not in
favour of grade two and four. Grade 03 has also been given a considerable attention
concerning English medium according to the Figure 4.5. Most of them believe, it would
have been better if they had had the opportunity of using English even in their day today
lives. All of them believe that if they had had the opportunity of using English in their
childhood it would have helped them better in the process of SLA

76
Figure 4.4 Responses being in English medium in Primary level
According to Schumann (1978a), enclosure is defined as the amount of such social
constructs as schools, churches, recreational facilities, professions and trades that the L2
learning group shares with the TL group. Most of the students did not have the
opportunity of getting involved in English when they were in primary classes. So sharing
of social construct may not have been in them to enhance relationship between the TL
group and the learning group. This might have delayed the language learning process.
When the students were interviewed, most of the English medium students claimed that
they did not have opportunity to use English in their day to day activities like learning in
‘Sunday School’, praying, observing their religious customs, playing with their friends
and associating with friends. A few of the students in the sample said that their parents
were in a position to speak in or deal with English. But they claimed that their parents did
not even think of helping them with their English. Furthermore they claim that as the
parents have a busy schedule, they are not in a position to assist them. Nevertheless,
when parents were interviewed, some claimed that though they are ready to help, their
help is rejected. The researcher realizes that most of the parents do not have a friendly
relationship with their children.

77
Figure 4.5 Responses being in separate grades in Primary Level
When the researcher interviewed the parents, it was revealed, since almost all the
parents specially fathers of these students are engaged in part time occupations. They do
not have enough time to attend to their children’s work after they come back home.
According to the responses given in Fig.4.5, it is clear that it would have been
better if they had had the opportunity of studying in the English medium in the primary
classes. Eighty three percent of students of the sample claim that it would have been
better if they had been given the opportunity of studying in the English medium from
grade one. When the students who couldn’t adapt themselves into English medium were
interviewed, they claimed that it would have been better, if they had had the opportunity
to associate with the students who were fluent in English. Schumann (1978b) claims that
this process characterizes the early stages of SLA and is substantiated by the responses of
the students. Presently in the education system of Sri Lanka, especially in government
schools, formal English begins at grade three. Mainly because of this reason, students
have given their second preference to grade three as ideal phase to acquire enclosure.

78
Figure 4.6 shows that 62% of the sample claims that their difficult subject is
Mathematics. They claim ‘Environmental Sttudies’ is easier than ‘Health Science’. Many
students claim that since they do not have a background of Mathematics in English in
primary classes, it is difficult for them to grasp English medium ‘Maths. Although some
parents have a good knowledge of Mathematics, they are not able to help their children
since they do not have an English background. A comparative study of assessment results
of Mathematics with those of the other subjects shows that majority have obtained lower
marks for Mathematics. The researcher observed that three Mathematics teachers out of
four schools in Negombo zone are not innovative. He observed that they are so traditional
who are not clever to explain the subject matters in English. Nevertheless most of the
students claim that their teachers are popular in Negombo among Sinhala medium
students, both in school and ‘tuition’. So it could be concluded that the problem is with
their L2 competence.
Figure 4.6 Preferences of Subjects in English Medium

79
The students have also been raised a question regarding subject matter and language. The
following Figure 4.7 shows that a majority of students claim that the most difficult area
for them out of the given variables is the subject matter. It appears that they are not much
worried about the language. However 30.33% of the students in the sample claim that
both subject matter and language are difficult. Schumann claims that social distance
emerges, if the learner does not have a positive attitude towards the TL. He further
claims that if the learner holds a negative attitude, social distance could emerge and set
up obstacles for an effective L2 learning. It is clear that 11.48% of the sample has a
negative attitude towards English medium. Hence it is an obstacle for them to learn the
language as Schumann (1978a) claims.
Figure 4.7 Responses towards language and Subject matters
According to the above Figure 4.7 it is clear that a majority of students have a severe
problem regarding subject matter. A few students said that if they had done these subjects
in Sinhala they would have done better. It shows that they too are confused about their
problems in the teaching learning process. The above Figure 4.7 shows that ‘language’
has not become a severe problem comparing ‘subject matter’.

80
The main reason for that may be their attitude that they must be involved in English
medium whether they like it or not. It is clear that they have grasped the language to a
certain extent now.
Figure 4.8 Types of occupations of Parents
When the students were asked about their fathers’ occupations they gave different
answers. The answers could be categorized as follows. A response that a student has
given could relate to any of the following categories.
 Self-Employed.
 Private Sector.
 Public Sector.
 Foreign Employed.
 Fisheries Sector.
Here the parents, self employed in fisheries sector are included in fisheries sector. Parents
in any Asian or European country for employments are considered as foreign employed.
The above Figure 4.8 shows that most of the parents are self-employed. The students
when interviewed revealed that most of their fathers were engaged in different
businesses. A considerable number of people are employed in the public sector and the
Unemployed
5% Private Sector
27%
Public Sector
23%
Self
Employment
28%
Fisherman
6%
Foreign
Employment
11%

81
private sector. The students were questioned whether both of their parents were
employed. The reasons given by them are shown in the following Figure 4.9.
The Figure 4.9 shows that 95.08% of fathers, and 29.51% of mothers are
employed at present. When the mothers are employed, the interviews revealed, that the
education levels of their children become very low. The main reason may be that there is
no one to motivate the students. When the parents were interviewed some of them
admitted that they do not have time to assist their children in their education. In Sri
Lankan culture, it appears that mothers are usually involved in motivating their children
in education. So when mothers are employed, it might affect their children’s education
badly since fathers do not give much attention. Nevertheless, there are a few students
who are good in education though both of their parents are employed.
Figure 4.9 Percentage of Employment of Parent
The above Figure 4.9 shows that a majority of fathers in the sample are self-employed. A
considerable number of fathers in the sample work abroad. It is greater than the number
of fishermen in the sample. A large number of fathers are employed in private sector as
well as in the public sector. It is clear according to the Figure 4.9 that the number
employed in private sector is greater than that in public sector. Here, fisheries
businessmen are also considered as self-employed. The researcher observed that some
families do not have an English background at home. Schumann (1978b) claims that
95.08
29.51
4.92
70.49
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
90.00
100.00
Father Mother
Percentage
Employed

82
when the learner fails to progress beyond the early stages his/her language is pidginized.
Schumann refers to this phenomenon in SLA as the Pidginization Hypothesis. One of the
ways in which pidginization affects is that, it controls the level of input the learner
receives. It appears that most of the families do not have a good English background and
do not have a good input at the family level. When the teachers were interviewed they
claimed that the main reason for that is the bad influence of mass media on society. Some
of the parents said that the electronic media are mainly responsible for this. Some
teachers said even the newspapers do not use proper language; English or Sinhala.
Furthermore, they claim even the present education system in the country does not
perform its responsibility, in saving the child from pidignization. Some of the teachers
claim that school is the only place that could assist children regarding pidginization. That
is not performed by even school library. Even when the library is good, sometimes it does
not have a good system, by which the students could be benefited .The English medium
students too are observed to be much pidginized. The dominant language Sinhala
pidginizes them. Some people claim that their MT, Sinhala has pidginzed their English. It
is observed that some students’ day to day language is neither English nor Sinhala. When
the students were interviewed, they claimed that most of students do not have the habit of
reading supplementary materials. Although they read books their tendency is to read
Sinhala novels and short stories. The pidginization hypothesis of Schumann (1978b) is
very much clear in this context. It controls the level of input the learner receives, he
claims. So it is clear in the above context that the input a learner receives in the English
medium is controlled. Some parents, at a parents’ meeting, criticized that most of the
English medium teachers do not speak English in the English medium classrooms. They
claim that it badly affects the students’ English competence.
The researcher needed to know, how English knowledge of students was, when they were
in primary grades. It was inquired regarding in thesis context in the students’
questionnaire and the responses are categorized as follows;

83
Figure 4.10 Knowledge in Primary level
It was observed that most of the students were able to manage the language. There were a
very few in the sample that was exceptionally good. There were also a very few students
who were very weak. The majority were between these two extremes. When the students
were interviewed, the researcher found out that the majority were on a satisfactory level.
Most of the students wanted to continue their conversations with the researcher in
English. As a whole, the researcher finds that there are many reasons to be analyzed as
some are good and some are weak. Majority claimed that their English at primary level
was good as they had the habit of reading English books. Many of the students mentioned
that since they had good teachers at that time their English became better. Theey claim
indirectly or directly their motivation and the association affectem them very much in the
childhood. Approximately 25% of the students in the sample claim that parents’
education and use of English at home had an effect on them.
The researcher understands that a few students think that they were weak in
English in their childhood. Table 4.1.2 shows the reasons why they were so weak in their
childhood. Majority accept that they did not use English at home at that stage. Most of
24.59
59.02
4.10 4.10
8.20
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
Very Good Good Fair Satisfactory Weak
Percentage

84
the students who were weak at that stage think that they did not have the opportunity to
read English books. No one believes that watching only MT television programmes, or
using MT in childhood would have a bad effect on the present knowledge of English.
Furthermore a considerable number of students in the sample claim that a lack of
knowledge in English on the part of the parents would cause the students weak in
English. Schumann distinguishes three broad functions of language in relation to this
circumstance. They are,
 Communicative functions
 Integrative functions
 Expressive functions
Hence it is revealed that most of the students lack communicative function and
expressive function. As Schumann reveals that would result badly in the education of
students.
The following Table 4.6 shows the confidence of students in four skills and Figure 4.11
shows it clearly. Moreover, a majority of students are confident in their writing but most
of them are not confident in their listening, speaking and reading. It shows that an equal
number of students do not have confidence in speaking/listening and reading. That is
51.64 % of the sample. In relation to the sample, this is a considerable figure. It is
revealed in questionnaires and at interviews that the students have no “English rich”
environment at home. The researcher has found that there are two families where mothers
cannot write even Sinhala, their own mother tongue. At the interview one mother could
not speak in Sinhala because she is a Tamil. She does not have any knowledge of English
or of the English medium. Here in this situation, the child is helpless since he does not
know Tamil. He is a fatherless child. It is clear that this child has no English background.
It is revealed that one third of the students in the sample in grade nine classes can not
interact confidently. Nevertheless, majority of the students in grade ten classes are good
in interacting in English. When the researcher met students in grade seven classes he
randomly interacted with some students. There he was convinced that most of the
students in these classes were poor in interacting in English. Some of the students were

85
unable to say even a single accurate sentence. Most of the students, it seems, were full of
Ego Boundaries as shown by Schumann (1978a). Nevertheless, majority of the students
in the English medium grade nine and ten have self-confidence. Although some are poor
in their English, it seems that they are trying to get rid of this inhibition in order to
overcome this problem.
Table 4.6
Confidence of students in four skills
Some teachers claim that the English writing of students is quite good when compared
with the other skills, as the students are more involved in formal English writing from
grade three upwards much more than the other skills. As both speaking and listening
skills go together the researcher uses these two skills as one phenomenon. So the students
have given responses to these two skills considering them as one. It was revealed that
they had inhibitions and were reluctant to speak in English when they were interviewed.
According to some teachers, the main reason for that may be, students are seldom
exposed to English where as they are usually exposed to their MT through entertainment
programmes in television.Nevertheless, they claim that the students acquire certain words
and they are in a better position to understand certain English words as they are familiar
with these words. For such a situation teachers gave so many responses as reasons.
Through interviews also, researcher gathered many reasons in this regard. In order to get
a clear idea of this situation, the researcher raised a query in question 14. The researcher
wanted to know why they have come to such a situation. At the interviews too he
collected much information to find out why they lack these skills. It is shown in Table 4.7
It appears that majority of the students can understand an explanation in English though a
Writing Speaking /
Listening
Reading
Yes 54.10 48.36 48.36
No 45.90 51.64 51.64

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few are still vague about it. Percentagewise it is 24.2%. They may be the weaker students
in the sample. Table 4.6 shows that the students are weaker in speaking, listening and
reading rather than in writing.
The following table 4.7 shows their problems in relation to the four skills. Majority claim
that they have no confidence yet. Thirty five point two percent of the students in the
sample say that they have problems with vocabulary. Many students agree that they can
understand English but can not speak English well. To this question, out of 122 students
only ninety-one have responded. Most of the teachers claim that the vocabulary of most
of the students is very poor. The main reason for that, they claim, is the lack of reading
ability. At the interviews, the students reveal that they do not have enough time to attend
to reading, specially the supplementary materials. They claim that in their day to day life,
they very seldom refer even to the notes of what they have been taught. The main reason
for that is the number of tuition classes, they attend. It seems some of them attend three
tuition classes for same subject. A few students even attend Sinhala tuition classes in
order to understand the Mathematics concepts. Although they really want to read English
supplementary materials in the school library, there is no friendly environment for that.
To understand the socio psychological situation profoundly, the researcher uses the
concept of Ego boundaries by Schumann (1978a). He shows that self-esteem and self-
image are very much important under ego boundaries. It is very important to understand
whether the person is an extrovert or an introvert.
Table 4.7
Problems of students in four skills
(a) % (b) % (C) % (d) % (e) % (f) %
Yes 28 30.8 40 44.0 27 29.7 22 24.2 32 35.2 2 2.2
No 63 69.2 51 56.0 64 70.3 69 75.8 59 64.8 89 97.8

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(a)………………………Can understand English but can’t speak well.
(b)………………………Haven’t gained confidence yet.
(C)……………………...Don’t speak English at home
(d)………………………Can’t understand the explanation.
(e)……………………….Have problems with the vocabulary.
(f)………………………..Any other reasons.
From the given responses, it is understood that the most severe problem they have is the
lack of confidence. The next most severe problem is the lack of good vocabulary. The
researcher personally feels that the responses given by students are quite right. It appears
that majority could understand whatever they are told in English.
Figure 4.11 Responses of Students in Four Skills

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According to the above Figure 4.11 one third of the sample is either reluctant to speak
English or do not speak English at all. Of the given responses, the one that most of the
students have given is lack of confidence. Schumann (1978b) claims that inhibitions
affect a language learner very badly. He further claims that the learner’s position like
introversion or extroversion completely depends on this situation.
Some of the students have not given responses to various questions though wrong
information might be conveyed through the responses (a) and (c). Although it appears
that students speak English at home, at the interviews it was revealed, their language is a
blend of English and Sinhala. A considerable number of students claim that they do not
have the confidence to speak English at home. Some said, although they are ready to
speak in English their parents are reluctant to speak in English at home. Somehow a
majority of students admitted that their parents do not have a good educational
background to speak in English. It appears that the self-image and the self-esteem of the
parents are very low though those of the students are very high. It also appears that the
home environment rather than the school background creates inhibitions.
The students were asked whether they were motivated by their teachers, especially to
share their ideas with the other students in the class. The teachers as well as the students
admitted that the child-centered method is a good method for them to share their ideas
with the other students. Most of them claimed when they were interviewed that through
group leaders that method was implemented very well. Nevertheless a few of them claim
that leaders dominate group discussions. Hence they claim that it does not give much
opportunity for the weaker ones to share their ideas.

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Figure 4.12 Encouragement of Teachers
According to the above figure 4.12, only a very few in the sample agree that the teachers
never encourage them to share their ideas in the class. More than half of the sample of
students agrees that teachers very often encourage them. According to Schuman (1978b),
motivation is seen by many as the key determinant of success or failure in language
learning. Hence, motivation is related to the learner’s reasons for attempting to acquire
the L2. When the students were interviewed, they revealed that they have many
opportunities to share their ideas through group discussions. Majority of students talked
about this positively. When the students were interviewed, some claimed that certain
teachers have prejudices against certain students. They claim that sometimes these
teachers demotivate the students. Majority of students claim that the motivation of
teachers is very effective in the teaching learning process.

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Figure.4.13 Motivation of Peers
To the question whether other students motivate them, the students responded as shown
in Figure 4.13.above. It shows that majority of the students motivate them. According to
Schumann (1978b) motivation is related to the learner’s reasons for attempting to
acquire the L2. The motivation of a peer group is very much important to a student, it
seems. It may be a catalyst for them to acquire the language easily. In grade nine classes
it is observed, there are many separate groups in the classes themselves. The observation
of them regularly for a certain period of time reveals that there is a severe competition
among the groups. In order to achieve their targets within the groups, they are motivated
by their peers. This is observed especially, when the students are given an assessment.
Moreover they claim that the students who have internet facilities assist their group
members in group discussions and group performances. The slow learners in the groups
admit that group discussions and peer motivation have a great effect on their education.
At an interview, one student in grade nine disclosed that his family was in a very critical
stage financially and if not the peers, the studies would have been given up earlier.
Yes, 87%
No, 13%

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Table 4.8
Language learning and four skills
Reading % Speaking % Writing % Listenin
g
%
Very Good 61 50.0 28 23.0 50 41.0 66 54.1
Good 45 36.9 73 59.8 56 45.9 42 34.4
Fair 14 11.5 18 14.8 14 11.5 5 4.1
Low 2 1.6 3 2.5 2 1.6 9 7.4
The above Table 4.8 shows how the students’ four skills are related to L2 learning. This
information had been collected from the students’ questionnaire and it was further
discussed when they were interviewed. The above details could be categorized as follows
in Figure 4.14. Although the two skills, listening and speaking have an interrelationship,
it is understood that listening ability is higher than the speaking ability.
Figure 4.14 Language Learning and Four Skills

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The above Figure 4.14 shows that majority of students in this sample are not fluent in
English, though they are good in their speaking and listening skills. Most of them are
neither very bad nor very good in their writing ability. The main reasons for that may be
the lack of exposure to English and the enclosure. The fluent speaking ability of this
sample is approximately twenty percent. The percentages of reading and listening
abilities are very close to each other. A comparison of these two abilities with other
abilities reveals that they are also higher than the other two abilities, speaking and
writing. Of all abilities, the researcher understands, the lowest is speaking. The main
reason may be that, in the education system of Sri Lanka, a learner does not get many
opportunities to improve his/her speaking ability. Although there are certain activities in
the textbook and workbook to improve speaking abilities, they are very mechanical. It is
understood that the enclosure as Schumann (1978a) claims is very poor in the education
system of SriLanka.
In addition to the above survey, the researcher has conducted a case study too to
understand the psychological and sociological background of students in junior secondary
classes. These cases are discussed in detail in the following section.
4.5 Case Study
4.5.1 Background to the Case Study
The researcher found out that six students have failed in grade nine in St.Peter’s college.
Different people have presented different explanations for this failure. The researcher
conducted a case study to understand this situation. In the study the researcher analyzed
the facts regarding psycho-social backgrounds and social backgrounds of these students.
The case study compares their facts and figures with those of the six cleverest students in
the same class. To understand this case study, the background of this school should be
understood.

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4.5.2 School in relation to Case Study
St. Peter’s college belongs to type 1AB and is regarded as a popular school in Negombo.
This school was first established in 1903 in a land donated by Mihindukulasuriya Juan
Appu ‘Raynda Mahatma’ and was sponsored by Catholic society. At that time there were
only 33 students and 03 teachers. When Rev. Fr. Mallewa was the principal he took steps
to develop the school. St Peter’s should be taken as the pioneer college to start English
medium in Negombo. It started in 2002. The school has a catholic background and even
at present, a catholic priest has a great influence on the college.
In the past, the school was named ‘Kehelakankade Iskolay’ (school at plantain shop).
Then the surrounding area was covered with big bushes. Students used the church
premises to do their PT (Health science and physical training). After becoming a popular
school, about 1800 applications are received for the admission to grade 01 every year.
Though five parallel classes exist, only 200 pupils are admitted. Many applications are
received every year for the English medium as well. Now the staff consists of 109
teachers and eighty-two (82) of them are female teachers. There are 3146 students in the
school. Of them 1581 are girls. Principal is very “strict” with discipline and most of the
staff members co-operate with him to maintain discipline in the school premises. Even
the motto of the school is “Danuma Vinaya Andura Nasai” (Knowledge and Discipline
destroy darkness.) The average attendance of students is 3054 and of teachers, 92.
Most of the students come from the coastal belt of Negombo and the surrounding areas.
A few students come from far away places. Since this college is the pioneer in English
medium, it has positive attraction for those who are successful at the scholarship
examination in grade 05. When certain parents were unable to get their children admitted
to Sinhala medium, they try for English medium. According to the principal, everyone is
interested in the progress of English medium of this school, since they are the pioneers in
Negombo. Teachers believe, local English medium is a positive challenge for
international schools in the area. The principal claims that although the parents are very
interested in seeking admission to English medium, they lose their interest after a short

94
period. Teachers claim that the latest trend in school is the admission of students to
English medium from international schools of the area. Most of the parents believe that
the local English medium is better than the one in international schools of the area.
Some students are unable to sustain their interest in the English medium. According to
the principal and teachers, most of the students have psychological problems that may
hinder the formal education in school.
Most of the children come from either the fisheries sector or from low-income families. It
seems that mostly the ‘new rich’ families and lower middle class families send their
children to English medium. Some educated parents, it appears, are still in a quandary as
to whether they should send their children to English medium or not. Some have the fear
that their children might get stranded in English medium. All the popular schools in
Negombo have English medium classes today. So, admission to this school is not so
competitive, as that for the Sinhala medium classes. The Principal and most of the
teachers claim that English medium students are not much interested in sports or extra-
curricular activities. Although a few are interested in such activities, they do not have
enough time to be involved in these activities, especially when tuition has encroached
even into their relaxation time. It seems that an English medium student attends more
tuition classes than an average student in the Sinhala medium.
4.5.3 Teachers in relation to Case Study
Teachers of St. Peter’s college in Negombo were interviewed and were given
questionnaires. Mrs. ‘Mano’ is the Sectional Head of the English medium and she wants
to see that the English medium is successful.
She is an English trained teacher and got the appointment in 1991. Most of the teachers
involved in the English medium in this school are English teachers. One senior Science
graduate teaches Science in the English medium. She is Mrs. Wirma. She is a degree
holder with a postgraduate Diploma. She knows her subject well, but she is still reluctant
to speak in English especially outside the classroom. Mathematics teacher Mrs. ‘Priya’ is
an experienced teacher popular in the Sinhala Medium classes in school. She never

95
speaks English outside the class. It appears that her English is confined only to
Mathematics period. She explains most of the subject matter in Sinhala. She does not like
anyone speaking to her in English and very often gives the responses in Sinhala. She
firmly believes that it is better to explain Mathematical concepts in Sinhala rather than in
English. Every year about two batches come to school for “teaching practice” from
National Colleges of Education. Most of them come to teach Mathematics, English and
Science. Children like them very much. But they are in school for a limited number of
days. Some of them go back after about two weeks. But seniors remain there for about
one year. It was observed that these teacher trainees do their best in the learning -teaching
process in the school system. There is a prejudice; it seems, against these teacher trainees.
Most of the teachers, including the principal, claim that the teacher trainees are unable to
control their classes. So they claim if they cannot control the classes they may not be able
to impart their knowledge in the proper manner though they are equipped with a good
command of English and the knowledge of subjects. But it was observed that students
like them most. Perhaps the reason may be that they are still young, when compared to
the other conventional teachers in school.
When trainers go back to their colleges, students get disappointed. While the trainees
are involved in teaching senior teachers in the school can “escape” from their
responsibilities. Although senior teachers are supposed to supervise the classes when
trainees are engaged in learning teaching process, they very seldom do this. It was
observed by the researcher, although senior teachers are present, they never comment on
the shortcomings in the learning-teaching process. Other than the Sectional Head ‘Mano’,
and the Principal, no one is interested in students’ discipline in the English medium. She
knows their psychological and social backgrounds as well. Most of the teachers are
prejudiced against English medium. They believe that students in the English medium
think that they are special and above others and always try to be superior. Most of the
Sinhala medium children believe that English medium students belong to elite. Principal
and the teacher-in charge of discipline are very rigid and strict about the discipline of
students.
The principal is interested in the discipline of teachers and the minor staff as well. He is
regarded as an upright person in the educational zone. Students claim that different

96
teachers advocate different methods to approach the same subject matter. Especially, it
happens in Mathematics. Now the trend in most schools is to go to tuition classes for
Mathematics in Sinhala medium. Recently a transfer scheme came into operation in
Negombo education zone. This has very badly affected the English medium as well. The
subject teachers got their transfers to the places they had requested for. But their
successors were unable to teach in the English medium. They are very reluctant to go to
English medium classes. One Mathematics teacher has started teaching in Sinhala in the
English medium classes. She is a popular teacher in Sinhala medium but as her English
knowledge is very poor, she gives the explanations in Sinhala. It appears that she has
been rejected.
4.5.4 English Medium Grade Nine of St. Peter’s College
There are six grade nine parallel classes in St.Peter’s college. One is the English medium
class and it contains ten boys and fifteen girls. The majority of students are Sinhalese and
there are a Tamil and a Muslim in this group. Most of the students come from the
surrounding urban areas. Researcher found that six students had failed in their third term
test, scoring low marks and were unable to go to the higher grade (Grade 10). Presently
they seem to be mentally collapsed regarding their studies in English medium. Some of
the students, out of them, appear to be rejecting the entire acedemic work.
This has led the researcher to conduct a case study on these six students in addition to the
survey conducted through questionnaires. The next chapter discusses the six students of
grade nine or the ‘cases’ involved in the study. In contrast to those students, six clever
students in their acedemic achievement are also taken into consideration for the
discussion.
The researcher expects to analyze these cases in relation to their psychological and
sociological backgrounds. Moreover, the researcher uses the theory of Schumann (1978a)
and Gardner [cited in Dornyei (2001a)] to discuss these aspects.

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4.6 Cases on Backward Students
4.6.1 Case No. 01- ‘DIL’
Dil’s term test marks are as follows,
Sinhela
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
68 50 27 32 62 88 46 52 55 480 53.33
Table 4.9
Marks of Dill
Dil says that her favourite subject is Social Studies and History. She firmly believes that
if she had had the opportunity of studying in Sinhala medium, she could have done better.
She says that her mother always helps her in Mathematics. Although her mother does not
know English, she is able to explain Mathematics in Sinhala. ‘Dil’s father is a worker in a
fiberglass factory. Very recently he went to Dubai for the same occupation. When the
researcher visited Dil’s place, he noticed that her place was surrounded by shanty
dwellers. It is an urban area. Yet, it appears that most of them are uneducated. The area is
full of noises. It does not appear to be a positive background for the learning process.
Gardener [cited in Dornyei,(2001a)] illustrates how physical setting of a learner affects
his/her teaching-learning environment. According to Gardener, not only the learner’s
beliefs and attitudes but also his home environment directly influences the learner either
positively or negatively. Accordingly, the researcher is convinced that Dil’s education
could be affected negatively by her home environment and the ‘unhealthy’ surrounding.
In this particular area, one public toilet and a public tap are available. Close to Dil’s
house there is a ‘Cassette shop’ and a student lacks concentration on studies in such a
noisy environment.

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4.6.2 Case no. 02
Dulo Ross
“If I had had the opportunity of studying in Sinhala; it would have been better. I would
not face such challenges, if I studied in Sinhala medium,” Ross claims. He is
disappointed.
He says at the beginning of the year, almost all the students were forced to go to tuition
classes in the English medium. After that, the tuition class also became another ‘boring
period’ just as certain other subjects in school. Same teachers do the lessons in the same
boring way, both in school and in the tuition class as well. Sometimes new teachers
come. But there isn’t enough space even to sit in the tuition class. ‘We are jam packed’ in
the tuition class, he says. One day a girl fainted in the class because of lack of proper
ventilation, Ros claims. From that week, he refused to go to that tuition class.
This shows how the teaching-learning environment takes place in tuition classes. He
further claims that most of the teachers who teach different subjects are teachers of
English. It seems that they are just trained teachers of English who are fluent in English.
But they are very poor in the relevant subjects. He further claims that although one clever
Mathematics teacher came to teach Mathematics, her English knowledge was found to be
very poor. He says that he attends a Sinhala medium tuition class too for Mathematics.
His father is involved in tourism. He says his father knows German, French and English
well. But the researcher observed that he did not have a good educational background.
Some how he is able to speak English but not fluently.
“I have failed this term test but still my mother sends me to a grade 10 private tuition
class,” Ross said. He says that he feels he is neither in grade ten nor in grade nine. It
seems that it is a big problem for him. He is also one of the students who failed the term
test. The following Table 4.10 shows how he had scored marks at this particular term test.

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Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature.
Total
Average.
56 60 15 34 43 54 34 00 83 379 42.11
Table 4.10
Marks of Dulo Ross
The researcher observes that when Ross gets a free period, he rushes to grade ten where
his friends study. He loves music and can play the guitar well. His classmates who are
interested in music are in grade ten at present, not in grade nine. He contributes his ability
to common celebrations in the college. So even the teachers call him for various activities
where music is concerned. It seems, he too is interested in music rather than in academic
studies. Gardener, cited in Dornyei (2001a) illustrates how a learner’s motivation has an
interrelationship with other factors such as attitudes towards L2 community, towards
learning the L2, evaluation of the L2 teacher and evaluation of the L2 course. When the
above factors are considered it becomes clear that Ross is not motivated by any of these
factors. He always has a negative attitude rather than a positive one towards the English
medium. He has two brothers. The elder one is a professional musician in the Hiru Band
in Negombo. His younger brother is in grade one in the same school.
Dulo’s hobby is music and it seems he is ‘mad’ about music. He has a comfortable house
and it seems that he does not have any problems with his studies. He claims that it was
his fault that he didn’t study the notes given in the school and in private classes.
Before coming to school he very often goes to the morning holy mass since he is in the
church choir. He is also an active member of his parish where he is involved in the social
work of his village. His house is situated at Kudapaduwa in Negombo, which is very
popular for tourism. A restaurant has been built as an income generating venture by a
person from Holland. He said that his father manages the restaurant and his mother helps

100
him. The foreigner still visits his place. The researcher understands that his home is
situated in a very busy environment. There is no educational background in the family.
Nevertheless, he is motivated towards music by the home environment, church
environment and by the school background. As Gardner[cited in Dornyei(2001a)]
illustrates, his attitude towards the language, the language teacher and the English
medium course is not so positive. It appears that he is demotivated from the English
medium while being motivated towards music. The researcher during the research came
to know, that his parents’ assistance too was poor. They are ready to pay any amount of
money for tuition that the English medium needs, but do not have time even to have a
chat with him.
4.6.3 Case no –03
‘LAK’
Lak is also a girl who failed the third term test in the English medium class. The
researcher had a discussion with this girl. The following information was gathered
through this conversation.
When she was in grade 05, her position in the class was second. But at this term test she
has become 26th
and failed the term test as well. “If I had the chance of studying in
Sinhala I would do better”. That is what she claims. Lak’s father is a ‘small boat’
fisherman and she has an elder sister who today permanently resides in London. She got
married to a Tamil and they both motivate Lak to follow in the English medium. “I was
the first in class when I was in primary grades. But I don’t know what has happened to
me”. She claims that it is difficult to grasp Maths. “May be that is why I have become
26th
in the English medium class at this term test”, she claims. My elder brother is the
only educated person in my family. He always motivates me towards education. He
works in an internet cafe. He always says that without English no one can survive in the
next two decades.
Following are the term test marks that Lak has scored. Lak claims that her brother’s
English is comparatively better than hers. Nevertheless he never speaks a single sentence
in English with her, she claims. She further reveals that it might be a cultural barrier since

101
the elder brothers usually think that younger sisters are too small for a friendly
conversation. The following table 4.11 shows how she has scored at her term test.
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature.
Total
Average.
73 78 25 32 41 91 42 04 50 436 48.44
Table 4.11
Marks of Lak
Further questioning revealed that she does not have a methodical timetable for studies.
She is addicted to television and usually watches it in the evening for about three and half
hours. She accepts that she does not have time to do her studies. Whenever her sister
calls her over the phone she also motivates her to continue her studies in the English
medium. But “Lak” claims that she is reluctant to continue her studies in the English
medium. As there is no alternative, for, she is unable to shift to Sinhala medium; she may
continue her studies in the English medium. She admits that she is very much unwilling
to be in the English medium. She is not well disposed towards most of the teachers,
because they do not know their subject matters well, though they are supposed to be
equipped with a good knowledge, she claims. Although certain teachers are quite good in
their subjects, their English knowledge is hopeless, she further reveals. Most of the
teachers come to the class for a short period. Some of them come as trainee teachers from
Colleges of Education. Everyone comes to our classes. “They do their work and go, and
another batch comes; no continuation in our studies”, she accuses. “No one thinks of our
position”, she claims referring to the teacher trainees from National Colleges of
Education.
. Gardener’s conceptualization of the integrative motive, [cited in Dornyei, Z (2001a) P.
17] could be relevant to this girl’s situation too. It reveals how certain factors are relevant

102
to the continuation of a course of learning or how a person could continue his/her studies.
The factors involved in the particular theory are as follows.
 L2 course.
 L2 Teacher.
 Motivation.
 Interest in FL.
Although she has motivation, she lacks all the other factors as shown in Gardener’s
(1999) theory. She has a very negative attitude towards the L2 course and the L2
teachers. She does not like almost all the teachers in the English medium. She says
sometimes she feels like giving up the school education. She doesn’t like to be employed
in a foreign country. Interview with her reveals that she is reluctant to speak English,
especially outside the classroom. It appears that she is very shy to speak in English in
public. This social inhibition as Schumann (1978a) shows could be a demotivating factor
in her studies. Furthermore, the researcher understands that Lak is severely disappointed
as she does not have the opportunity of moving with her past friends whom she
associated with, for about nine years. She further claims that unlike in the past, they too
now seem to neglect her as she is in a lower grade. When the researcher had a discussion
with this student, it appeared that she had a severe psychological problem. She said that
she feels like shifting from English medium to Sinhala. As there is no way of doing so,
she claims that she has to bear it, though she does not like it, until she sits the G.C.E O/L
examination in the English medium in another peiriod of two years. She seems to be
much afraid of the O/L examination when the researcher discusses it with her.
4.6.4 Case no 4
Kuseel
Kuseel lives in Negombo town. Shanty places have come up near the lagoon and most of
the people there, it seems, do not have a good family background at all. Kuseel’s family

103
also lives there. Her father is a Personnel Manager at the Free Trade Zone, Katunayake.
Her mother is a full time social worker in a private organization, funded by Netherlands.
Although in primary classes she won 2nd
and 3rd
places, now she has become 30th
in the
grade nine class. She is completely disappointed with the English medium. ‘We could
have done well if we had had the chance to be in Sinhala medium’, she claims. She said
her mother has a good general knowledge and also is quite good in her Mathematics, but
she is not in a position to help Kuseel. It seems that they do not have time to speak to
each other. Whenever she has time, Kuseel translates her English questions into Sinhalese
and asks them from her mother. Some of the shanties around them do not have even a
private toilet. So they depend on the public one. Kuseel also lives in a shanty. She had a
very bad experience when she was in grade two. While she and her elder sister were
playing near the street, a vehicle came fast all of a sudden and knocked down her sister.
So she lost her right leg. She is still a disabled girl. This is a bitter experience even for
Kuseel. Even today that terrible experience haunts her, it seems. Kuseel claims
sometimes when she is engaged in her studies, automatically this incident disturbs her
psychologically. The following Table 4.12 shows the marks that Kuseel scored at the
term test.
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature.
Total
Average.
66 59 35 34 40 80 43 08 63 428 47.55
Table 4.12
Marks of Kuseel
When the researcher observed her residence, he understood that there is no friendly
environment for her studies. She reveals that although at the initial stage of the English
medium, every body including her sister and brother motivated her,but at present, there

104
is no one to motivate her. She does not feel like studying in the English medium now, she
claims. It appears that Kuseel has language shock as Schumann(1978a) claims under
psychological distance. She is very reluctant to speak in English especially outside the
classroom. Although the researcher tried to speak with her in English, she did not like to
respond in English. Some of the students in this class said though they tried to speak with
her in English, she is reluctant to converse with them in English. Some of the teachers
claim that not only in English, but even in her MT, she does not speak much. It appears
that she has inhibitions and when it comes to English it is even higher.
4.6.5 Case no 05
Harsha
He has two younger sisters. Youngest is in Montessori (pre-school) and the elder is in
grade 07 in another school. Father works in airport as a mechanic under sub contract
system. He said that although he had the desire to continue his studies in Sinhala medium,
his mother motivated him to study in English medium. No one at home could speak
English. Some Tamils live near his house. The language that most of the people speak in
this area is a mixture of Tamil and Sinhalese. To build a new house Harsha claims that
his father borrowed a “big loan” from one of his cousins. As a result of this loan, all the
family members are in despair. When grandfather quarrels with his father regarding this
loan, it is a terrible experience, he says. Seeya (grand father) does not like to see Harsha’s
playing with his playmates in the garden. Harsha claims that his grandfather is a very
dominant character and harasses everyone in the house.
Harsha works part-time with his father, who, he claims, is a hot-tempered person. Very
often, for even a minor mistake he gets angry and scolds him. Both of them, it seems hate
each other. He claims that it is a big problem to his studies. He further claims, when his
father is at home it is a stress for him. He tries his best to avoid him. As a result, he
claims that he goes away from home to gallivanting and returns after few hours. Since his
mother is aware of this problem, she never scolds him.
This is the term test mark that Harsha has scored.

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Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature.
Total
Average.
54 65 23 34 76 78 35 02 50 417 46.3
3
Table 4.13
Marks of Harsha
Harsha’s marks, in comparison with those of the others, are at a low level. He accepts that
his house is always full of all kinds of noise. He further accepts that there isn’t a healthy
home background for him to study. According to Schumann (1978a), acculturation, and
hence SLA, is determined by two main factors. Of these factors, it appears that social
distance is very much relevant to Harsha’s present situation. There, Schumann reveals
how one’s home background affects one’s learning either positively or negatively. Here it
has affected Harsha negatively. Psychological distance is also a problem that affects
Harsha’s case to a certain extent.
4.6.6 Case No.06
Ban
Ban’s father is a personnel manager in a private firm. He can speak English well. But he
was suspended from his work three years ago, creating a big financial problem in his
family. Ban’s mother works in the MOH office of the Negombo Municipal council. They
do not have a television set at home and as a result, Ban misses most of the important
programmes. Ban also could not get good marks at the term test.
The following Table 4.14 shows how he has scored for his term test.

106
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
43 67 46 44 52 40 53 00 15 360 40
Table 4.14
Marks of Ban
The interview with him reveals that he is reluctant to be in English medium. He says that
concepts of certain subjects could not be conceptualized in the medium of English. He
has a severe rejecting attitude towards certain subjects. Some of them are Mathematics,
Science and Social Studies. It appears that the teachers of these subjects scold him even
for a minor mistake. He does not like that and is therefore severely desperate. He was
instructed by the Principal to be in that class only for the first term.
Gardener’s conceptualization of the integrative motive [cited in Dornyei, Z (2001a) P. 17]
could be relevant to this student. It shows how certain factors are relevant to continue a
course of learning and how a person could continue his studies depending on those
factors. Of these factors that affect a person, one salient factor is the L2 teacher. Since
this student has a negative attitude towards the L2 teacher, it could directly affect the
learning of the subject. He believes, even if Science and Mathematics are taught in his
own MT, he might not be able to grasp the subject matters. It appears that he hates these
two subjects very much and according to Gardener’s conceptualization of the integrative
motive [cited in Dornyei, Z (2001a) P. 17], he might reject the entire English medium
because of this. At the interview, it is revealed that he is in a position to shift to Sinhala
medium immediately. But there is no opportunity to shift to Sinhala medium according to
the rules of the college. When the Principal was asked whether a student could shift to
Sinhala medium he said, the student would have to go to another school for Sinhala

107
medium, not in that school. Hence it is shown that it is not a good tendency to motivate
students towards such a performance. Ban’s family shifted to another place of residence,
but he is not happy about it. Those days, he said he was very happy in his former place as
there were many students who were involved in education. In contrast to that situation, he
claims, at present, his house is situated in a place where almost every one is involved in
small scale businesses. In this area, most of the parents are not much interested in their
children’s education.
He further claims that most of the parents in this area are considered as people whose
sole ambition is to find opportunities for employment rather than academic knowledge.
The following Figure 4.15 shows how certain factors motivate or demotivate a learner.
Gardener(1999) especially shows how they affect a L2 learner. We could well understand
how Gardener’s concepts are relevant to the behaviour and the attitudes of a student like
Ban when the discussion is continued as follows.
The interview with Ban’s mother reveals that Ban is very stuborn at home.If he needs
something “by hook or crook he tries to achieve his target”, she claims. She further
reveals, that such qualities are good for an individual in a society.But he should apply this
quality even to the studies. But Ban never does it, she accuses.
She further claims, “Ban is a very relaxed chap. He doesn’t feel the depth of the life.
Since he is the only son in the family, he thinks, he deserves ‘everything in the world’.
Ban says “Since my mother is a government nurse, she always treats me as if I were a
patient”. The researcher understands that there is a hidden conflict between mother and
the son. Somehow this may have badly affected to Ban’s studies.It is understood, Ban is
studying in English medium presently because of the influence of the parents.It seems
that he is an easy going character.It affects very much to his studies in English medium
as well.

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Fig.4.15 Learner’s Motivational Factors
Gardener [cited in Dornyei, Z. (2001a) Pg.17] in Figure 4.15, illustrates how a learner’s
motivation has an interrelationship with other factors such as attitude towards second
Language community, attitude towards learning the Second Language, evaluation of the
Teacher of the second language and evaluation of L2 course. It could be understood
according to Fig.4.15 how Ban’s education is demotivated by the negative environment
like other people’s beliefs and attitudes and the physical setting. As to the other factors, it
is understood that there are not many for him to be a good self- access learner, according
to Fig.4.15 and the information gathered at the interview. The researcher understands that
Ban does not have the minimum facility like technology. Not only the beliefs and
attitudes of other people, but also those of his own towards English medium are very low.
It appears that he has not fulfilled even the basic requirements discussed in the above
figure 4.15
Self--acccess
learner
System
Manager Counsellors
Tachers
Other learners
Other people’s beliefs
and attitudes
Own beliefs and attitudes
Reflection
Evaluation
Assessment
Activities
Tachnology
Materials
Learner training
Physical setting
Management
R
esources
Individualisatio
n
People

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4.7 Case studies on clever students
The researcher conducted the research by including six more comparatively clever
students for this research. The researcher believes that comparing and contrasting could
be an advantage for him to understand the theories well and how far they are relevant to
the local context where English plays its role both as a FL and a L2.
4.7.1 Case No. 07 Sithum
Sithum’s father is a steel fabricator of a company in Dubai and mother is a housewife.
When father is at home he always speaks with him in English. “I study well, especially
when the test is near”, he claims. He is a permanent young member of the village library.
As a habit he reads Sinhala and English books borrowed from libraries. He never goes for
tuition for the sake of going. “I purposely reduced the number of tuition classes and
allocated that time also for studying’’ he claims. He watches only a few selected
programmes on television.
Twice a day he is urged to study books by his parents. Sithum has a very traditional
simple house, situated in a calm and quiet surrounding away from Seeduwa. He believes
that it also helps him study well. It is proved by the results he has obtained at the second
term test. He claims that he is interested in sports and on several occasions he won prizes
at the interschool athletic meets. He believes that sports too help him in his studies. He
said that there was an informal reading group whose desire was to gather information
through books. They exchange their books with one another and read. If they come across
any questions regarding a lesson or general knowledge they go to a knowledgeable
person such as a teacher and get them solved. The following Table 4.15 shows how
cleverer he is when compared with the previous six.

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Table 4.15
Marks of Sithum
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
59 76 79 70 84 76 83 06 85 618 68.66
Other than Tamil, he has scored fairly well in all the subjects. He further reveals that he
has a methodical routine in day to day life. Every week, he writes short notes on units,
completed of each subject. According to Schumann’s (1978a) acculturation, SLA is
determined by two main factors. Of these factors, it appears that psychological distance is
very much relevant to Sithum. Under psychological distance it appears that motivation
plays a major role in Sithum’s SLA or English medium studies. Schumann (1978b)
further reveals that motivation is related to the learner’s reasons for attempting to acquire
the L2. Motivation could be categorized into two types namely, integrative and
instrumental motivation. Learners with integrative motivation would want to learn the L2
to meet with, talk to, and find out about and perhaps become like speakers of the TL. But
learners with instrumental motivation would want to learn the language for utilitarian
reasons like passing exams, getting jobs etc. It appears, that Sithum belongs to the both
categories, mentioned above. He depends on both integrative and instrumental
motivation. One day he wants to be an engineer. He is already determined to go to
England for his higher studies while engaged in a recognized profession. At the moment,
it seems that he is dreaming of his future. It is a good motivation for him as well.

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4.7.2 Case No 08
Heshara
Heshara’s father is an accountant in a filling station and mother is a housewife. “I don’t
study every day according to a timetable. I don’t know how it came to me. We have some
financial difficulties. So, to pay my tuition fees, I conduct two classes for primary
students”, she claims. “I concentrate well when the teacher is teaching”, she claims. Now
a days many parents come to her house to get help for their children who are in
international schools in Negombo. She says that she feels proud of that. Because of
English medium, she has won this reputation. “Students from poor family backgrounds
like us can never get such reputation, if we are not involved in the English medium”she
claims. It appears that her ego boundaries affect her studies very much. Under ego
boundaries, Schumann says that self esteem and self-image are important. In this context
it could be concluded whether thr individual has extroversion, introversion or inhibitions.
So the researcher claims that this student is an extrovert. The following table 4.16 shows
how she has scored at her term test.
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
91 95 79 74 86 95 64 17 78 679 75.44
Table 4.16
Marks of Heshara
The above marks reveal that she has performed well in her term test. Other than in the
subject Tamil, she has scored fairly good marks in each subject. Gardener’s
conceptualization of the integrative motive [cited in Dornyei, Z (2001a) P. 17] could be

112
relevant to this girl’s situation too. The factors involved in the particular theory are as
follows.
 L2 course.
 L2 Teacher.
 Motivation.
 Interest in FL.
It appears that most of the factors are directly and positively relevant to this student. Her
future ambition is to be domiciled in a European country. When she was asked why she
was so fond of going there, she did not have any particular idea. It shows that she has a
positive attitude especially towards integrative orientation. It appears that she has a very
strong determination.
4.7.3 Case No 09
Masha
Masha always speaks English with her younger sister who is in grade 07 in the English
medium of the same school. Her father is always very helpful. He could manage English.
Masha claims that her mother does not know English at all. But she is the one who
motivates her towards religion. She has a strong belief in God. She claims that the
religion has a tremendous influence on her studies.
The following table 4.17 shows the marks that she has scored at the term test.

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Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
89 89 88 65 86 99 71 21 65 673 74.44
Table 4.17
Marks of Masha
She claims that there is a group in the class who likes to share their notes among the
group members. Whenever they found any relevant details or information regarding their
studies, they shared them within the group. She said that they attend a number of tuition
classes and when they get any special notes from tuition or from newspapers or mass
media they share them among the group members. The researcher finds that the members
of this particular group had scored marks higher than those scored by the other students in
the class. Schumann (1978a), under social distance, highlights a concept called
enclosure. It says that,
The amount of sharing of such social constructs as schools, churches,
recreational facilities, professions and trades that the L2 Learning
group shares with the TL group. This sharing enhances contact
between the two groups and constantly facilitates the L2 learning
process.
When Masha and her groupmates are considered, one could understand that this group
has a unique feature of learning or acquiring a language. They act not as individuals but
as a learning group. She further claimed that they as a group participated in two English
dramas at a competition held Zonalwise and won the third place.
4.7.4 Case No 10
Samya
Samya’s father is an Engine fitter in Dubai and her mother is a supervisor in Free Trade
Zone. Her younger sister is also in English medium and she is in grade 08. She says that
she always speaks with her sister in English. She further claims that they have a fixed

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schedule to study. Both she and her sister discuss problems pertaining to their studies. In
her class there are twelve girls who form a separate ‘group’. “All the clever ones are in
our group”, she says “when we come across any difficulty in our studies we discuss it as
a group”. According to Schuman such social enclosure is important to improve one’s L2
learning.
The following table 4.18 shows how clever she was at the term test.
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
71 84 86 63 85 98 69 36 90 682 75.77
Table 4.18
Marks of Samya
She says that she goes only to Mathematics and Literature tuition classes since they are
very difficult even at school. She further reveals that those who are in their group share
their notes when they get anything special. She is involved in extra curricular activities
and she says that they are not a barrier for her studies. She claims that although she is not
involved in serious reading or studying of books everyday, she pays attention to the notes
given by the teachers.
4.7.5 Case No 11
Budhdhi
Budhdhi has two elder sisters and two elder brothers. One sister is a bank employee and
the other is an accountant. One of the brothers is also an accountant and the other one is
doing A/L Commerce. Only ‘Podi Aiya’ (an elder brother) lives with them. All the others

115
live separately away from their house. All brothers and sisters motivate him towards
education.
He does not like tuition. He goes only for Maths tuition. Even that is also to a Sinhala
medium mathematics tuition class. When the examination was near he said he studied
well. Usually he studies a book twice before the examination. He usually reads a book
making short notes and when the examination is near he claims that he totally depends on
those short notes. He loves reading English novels and story books.
The following table 4.19 shows how he scored at the term test.
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
69 72 88 77 88 67 65 28 93 643 71.44
Table 4.19
Marks of Budhdhi
The variables in Gardener’s ‘conceptualization of the integrative motive’ cited in
[Dornyei, Z (2001) shows that the L2 learner has a direct link to variables like,
 Desire to learn the L2
 Motivational intensity (effort)
 Evaluation of the L2 course.
 Evaluation of the L2 teacher
When his learning in English medium is considered, one can understand that he fulfills
the above variables positively. At the interview, it transpires that he is greatly influenced
by his siblings, parents, relations and teachers. He further reveals that he has the desire to
go to a higher level in the medium of English. His father claims that he always motivates
Buddhi towards his studies in the medium of English in order to move up in the present

116
social ladder. The researcher understands that Buddhi’s father is one of the pioneers in
this school who motivated the principal to commence English medium in the school.
Buddhi’s father claims that it is through a lot of difficulties that they got together and
started English medium. He further reveals that one of his main objectives is his son,
Buddhi. He says that he is now satisfied as his son is in the best group in the English
medium at the moment.
4.7.6 Case No.12.
Nizraan
When the researcher had a chat with Nizraan, he did not use a single word in his MT.
Although he is fluent in Sinhala he says that he is reluctant to use Sinhala as he is an
English medium student. He says that his parents give him their fullest co-operation to
continue his academic work. Everyday, a specific time is allocated for his studies. He
further claims that there is a timetable and he attends to almost everything according to
that. The researcher observes that all his friends in the class are girls, not boys. He
maintains a morally friendly environment with these friends and his studying lessons with
girls is a common sight. These girls are the best students in the class. It appears that he
has a good motivation from his school environment as well as from his home
environment. His religion, Islam has never been a barrier for him to be in this Catholic
college, he claims. He further claims that not a single student in the college has
peanalized him because of his religion or the Tamil language which he very seldom uses
in the college premises.
In special college ceremonies, usually he is invited to be the comperer in English, since
teachers believe that he has the self-confidence to announce in English in assembly and
the other ceremonies. He is also popular as an English announcer in the college.His
capability is clearly shown in his term test marks. The table 4.20 shows the marks.

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Table 4.20
Marks of Nizraan
It shows that he is clever not only in his MT, Tamil but also in Sinhala and English as
well. It seems that he is also clever in subjects like Mathematics. Although he is a
Muslim, he studies R/C as the subject for religion, since there isn’t Islam in this school.
Even in that subject he has scored well. He claims that his hobby is reading English
books. The researcher understands that with his use of the English language and reading
ability he has improved his knowledge of English and of the subject matter.
4.8 Different psycho –sociological problems that students face.
By analyzing the six weakest students in Grade nine and the six best students in the same
class in 2005, the researcher formulated certain conclusions in relation to psycho-
sociological problems of these students.
Data collected through an interview with Laksha reveals that although she is highly
motivated by her sister, she finds it difficult to establish concepts in Mathematics. She is
convinced that she would never understand certain concepts in Mathematics and Science.
It appears that self-image of most of the students are negative regarding two main
subjects, Mathematics and Science. ‘Ego boundaries’ by Schumann (1978a) is well suited
to this situation. It has become a big psychological issue for them and almost all the slow
learners in the English medium claim, that they would probably never solve this problem.
Sinhala
English
Maths
Science
Social
Studies
Religion
Health
Science
Tamil
Literature
Total
Average
75 77 82 66 73 78 64 90 85 690 76.66

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They further claim it to be a severe mental stress for most of the students in the English
medium.
Some students complain that certain teachers indirectly force them to come to their
private tuition classes. Even at the parents’ meetings some teachers name the tuition
classes that the English medium students may attend. Some students feel that if they do
not attend these classes they might be penalized by the particular teachers. A student
claims that the English medium teachers teach in different institutes after school and their
objective is to get more students to their particular institutes. Eventually it is the students
who are victimized to this competition among teachers. One student revealed that it is
really a mental stress for certain students in the school. Some parents wanted to speak
openly about this issue but the students avoid their parents raising these issues fearing it
would affect them negatively in future. Social background also affects a learner’s
learning procedure positively or negatively. Both groups clearly show how their family
backgrounds, peers and other environments such as school affect them as social dominant
factors.
4.9 English Medium Teacher Trainees & the Training.
The researcher is convinced that Teacher Training Scheme would also be very useful to
understand these problems. Very recently the Siane College of Education started a
teacher training programme in English medium. The college offers training in the three
subjects Science, Mathematics and Information Technology in the English medium. Very
recently Social Studies and History too were introduced as subjects. There are 24 main
subjects for the trainees to study. But of the time scheduled for all these subjects only one
hour is allocated to their ELT. To be an English medium teacher trainee, the minimum
English qualification is a credit pass in English at the G.C.E. (O/L) examination. The
inevitable result is that most of the trainees do not possess a good command of English.
One of the senior English lecturers in Siane College of Education, Mr. K.L.S. Perera
claimed that the selection to teacher training does not have a good criterion. Fifty percent
of marks are given on remote area basis. It is good that they have an opportunity to
undergo English medium training. But at the same time, he claimed, that their English
background and their four skills in English should be considered. Some of the trainees,

119
according to him, misspell even simple words like “school” and “college”.
Approximately 80% of the teacher trainees come from poor family backgrounds. But
when they come to the 3rd
year, they could manage teaching. But there are still many
trainees who have not been able to get rid of “inhibitions” and their negative self-images.
“The expectation of most of the trainees is to improve their language proficiency. But the
vision of our course is to impart teaching methods”, Mr. Perera further claims. It seems
that as the trainees and the college, have two different objectives that neither would be
able to achieve its target. Further, the entire mismatched methodology creates adverse
effects on English medium students, Mr. Perera remarks.
When the researcher had an informal discussion with some teacher trainees in English
medium they revealed that no one had given any attention to improve their English. The
authorities, it seems, are motivated only to get the trainees pass the training examination.
They pay more attention to subjects rather than the English language. The trainees claim
that most lecturers are ineffective in their teaching of English. So, most of the trainees are
in the habit of keeping away from the English period.
4.10 Conclusion
Based on the data, the researcher concludes that there should be some changes in the
present English medium education. These changes should occur in the teacher training, in
the English medium classroom, in the learners and in the teachers. Even the Educational
Authorities should take constructive action to promote the English medium in Sri Lanka.
In this thesis the researcher points out how the social and psychological aspects of a
learner directly or indirectly affect him. These factors are further discussed in detail and
suggestions for the improvement of the programme are made, in chapter 05.

120
Chapter 05
Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Introduction
In this thesis, chapter 02 discusses in detail the first two objectives and chapter 04
examines the different psycho- sociological problems of the students, analyzing their
different social backgrounds. Chapter 05 will make some recommendations to the
education system in relation to English medium, based on the information analyzed and
make suggestions to succeed psycho-sociological problems of students.
5.2.1 Suggestions related to survey
As Schumann (1978a) exemplifies, in his ‘social distance’ theory, it is possible for a L2
learning group to resist learning TL, because of the feelings inferior to TL group. The
researcher’s discussion in chapter 04 shows that many have fallen victims to this
situation.
In the teaching- learning process, the teachers have many opportunities to reduce this
social distance. To do so, teachers should be equipped with right attitudes. For that, they
need regular guidance through seminars at Teacher Centres.
5.2.2 Resistance in Language Learning
As Schumann (1978a) states, certain L2 learners’ tendency to preserve their own
culture, rejecting life style and values of the TL may give rise to resistance in L2
learning. Hence, all English medium students should be provided with greater
opportunities to move with those students who have an English background.
Opportunities for English medium students to participate in extra curricular activities
with the students who are fluent in English would be an advantage. The researcher
observed that three international schools in Negombo too participated in the interschool
athletic meet in 2006.This is a good trend and it should be cultivated. Advocating
learners to respect and follow certain positive norms and values of the English culture
could help acquire the TL easily.

121
5.2.3 Interaction and Schumann
Chapter four discusses the L2 learning group was not in a position to interact in English
especially, outside of the classroom. According to Schumann’s (1978a) enclosure,
cohesiveness and size, discussed in chapter 04, it is better if the L2 learning group is
given opportunities to use English in their (PT) Physical Education period. The teacher
could impose a law prohibiting MT in the playground.
If the English medium students use only English in sportsmeets and other functions, it
will certainly facilitate the language learning process. Hence, it is advocated wherever
English medium students meet, they should interact in English. Since the size of the
group is very small, it is possible to stipulate the condition that at least in the school
premises they should use only English, not MT.
5.2.4 Case Study and Shumann
A positive attitude towards the TL in the L2 learning group is an advantage for the
learner to grasp the TL. Schumann (1978) claims that negative attitudes, give rise to
social distance and setup obstacles to effective language learning. In chapter 04, this
became apparent in the case study, especially in cases like ‘Lak’ in 4.6.3 and ‘Kuseel’ in
4.6.4.
Figure 4.7 shows that, it is especially the teachers’ duty to encourage students
towards positive development. They should show students the benefits and the better
future if they continue their studies in English medium.
5.3.1 Affective Factors and Shumann
Chapter 02 and 04 discuss Schumann’s (1978a) four affective (psychological) factors
namely language shock, cultural shock, motivation, and ego boundaries, which are
dominant in certain L2 learners who experience anxiety, doubt and confusion especially
because of the newness of the language. This research too reveals that most of the
learners feel language shock. More opportunities for students to move in an English
environment will minimize the language shock.

122
The three integration strategies of Schumann (1978a), namely, assimilation,
preservation and acculturation, discuss how a learner acquires his or her language in a
L2 enviornment. Assimilation is that a language learner is rejecting of one’s life style
and values in favour of another. Assimilation was found to be absent in a majority of
students in this sample. The Figure 4.3 in chapter 04 shows how students become elite,
when they embrace assimilation. This is a positive feature where language learning is
concerned. But they may be isolated especially in an extra-curricular activity. Teachers
should see to this matter and lessen the gap between these two groups.
Figure 4.4 in chapter 04 shows, that majority had the opportunity of being in the English
medium from grade 01. This underlines the need to explore the feasibility of starting
English medium from grade 01, enabling them to acquire English rather than being
taught. Table 4.1.3 in chapter 04 shows that, one third of the students lacks any English
background at home. Their family is devoid of any opportunity to speak even a single
sentence in English. The researcher’s informal interviews with the students revealed that
most of the students who come from other remote primary schools to these particular
urbanized schools in the zone, as students with scholarship results, have much inhibition
regarding English. This might be taken as the culture shock. According to Fig.4.1.3.in
chapter 04, the researcher learns that many students are not motivated regularly by
anybody. Sometimes only their parents motivate them.As mentioned in chapter 04, the
inhibition of children in English medium is very high. Their self esteem is very low and
ego-boundaries as in Schumann (1978a) are visible. As discussed in chapter 04, most of
the teachers interact with them in MT. If teachers always interacted with students in
English, it would help them very much. English medium students should be afforded
more opportunities to interact in English, to reduce their inhibition. Chapter 04 reveals
that many students lack the reading ability. The libraries do not have a friendly
environment for reading. It is advisable to maintain a separate area in the libraries for
English medium students and a separate period for library for them from grade 06
upwards. The librarian may assist students to select and read supplementary materials.
5.3.2. Suggestions, related to Case studies.
As discussed in 4.4.5 in chapter 04, most of the teachers do not speak in English outside
the classroom. Their English language is confined only to that particular period. The
main reason for that is though subject teachers are competent in their subjects, they are

123
not so in English. The researcher suggests that subject teachers should have separate
seminars or workshops to develop their English knowledge.
The case study also proves Schumann’s theory of social distance. Students from low-
income families, approximately, half of the number of students in English medium, is in
a social distance. It is clear from the sample, that, approximately half of it is not in a
position to be in the English medium, while the rest can enjoy the study since they are
away from social distance as shown by Schumann (1978a). The researcher learns that
this impact on social distance affects the students’ mentality and their English medium
studies. According to chapter 4.4, the parents do not pay much attention to the English
education of their children. If the teachers could lessen this social distance, the students
could be made to think that they are not socially isolated. The school should hold
meetings for parents regularly to keep them aware of their children’s level of English.
This would help students to overcome their social distance.
The survey revealed that many students do not have a time table for their studies.
Chapter 4.5.3 in the case study shows a particular student who does not have a regular
time table to study. It is teachers’ responsibility to make the students to see the
importance of a set time table for their studies. Since most of the students come from
middle class families (chap.4.4.), their social environment is not very healthy. Although
teachers cannot change the family background of their students, they could create a
friendly English environment in the classroom.
Chapter 4.7 shows that since Science and Mathematics are very difficult subjects for the
students, they are highly demotivated. Ego- boundaries are formed towards these two
subjects. During the survey, the researcher found out that the students are reluctant to
respond to the questions raised in the class by the subject teachers. The Colleges of
Education should produce teachers who are good at these subjects and could understand
Ego boundaries of students well.
In chapter 4.5.3., ‘Lak’ criticizes the teachers, and claims, that the teachers who are
fluent in English lack subject knowledge, while some who know their subjects well, are
poor in English. Every year ‘Lak’ gets new trainee teachers who badly affect her
studies. The researcher understands that, this is a common problem for English medium
students. It is the responsibility of the Education Department or the State, to address
this situation and produce good teachers to the system who are well versed in their

124
subjects as well as in English. The interviews with the backward children show, that
they are disappointed. This disappointment has affected their mentality and created
many psychological problems. These children would benefit immensely from good
counseling. Counseling in schools of the sample is not conducted properly. The
researcher learnt that, most of the counsellors themselves need a proper training.
The training given by Siane College of Education should be more effective. Chapter 4.8
reveals that the College of Education does not have good criteria in selecting good
teacher trainees. English knowledge should be a given prominent place when trainees
are selected to this English medium training. The State should formulate appropriate
criteria in selecting suitable trainees for English medium.
Most of the slow learners in case study displayed a negative attitude towards the
English medium teachers. Some of them even have a negative attitude towards L2. The
researcher suggests that ‘teachers in-charge’ of these subjects should be consulted to
abolish these negative attitudes of the students. It is revealed specially in Ban’s case in
chapter 4.5.6.
It is understood that the State, College of Education, teachers and parents should pool
their efforts to save L2 learners from all these negative factors.
5.4 Suggestions for further researches
The present research makes it abundantly clear that a comprehensive and clear national
policy on bilingualism is much needed. The Teacher Centres or RESCS can organize
English language proficiency courses to improve bilingual competency. The researcher
experiences that both trainee teachers and the trained teachers who are from the College
of Education, SIANE recently, are poor in their knowledge of English. The reason may
be the sub-standard English training. Even the lecturers admit that they do not have
enough time for English improvement of the trainees. It is advisable to conduct further
researches on these matters. Since ‘Teacher Training’ should be very much effective, it
is essential to conduct researches into English medium Teacher Training in such places
as SIANE to understand its shortcomings and suggest remedies. Chapter 4.8 shows
how objectives of trainees and trainers differ from each other. The researcher advocates
that there should be compatibility between their objectives. English should be given a
prominent place to training programme in SIANE. School, especially the primary

125
section should give more attention to English. ABOE in the school system could be
strengthened in this regard.
A survey on the psycho-sociological aspect of the English medium students is strongly
advised. It would reveal more details about them and the shortcomings, they have. The
researcher did not have sufficient time to concentrate on the details of each individual in
the sample, regarding their psycho-sociological aspects. A full time action research
would be of greater advantage of the advancement of the English medium in Sri Lanka.

126
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