The Presidential initiative on English as a Life Skill successfully completed its first phase and launched its second phase today (July 19).

Marking the occasion at a ceremony in Temple Trees, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was officially informed of the completion of the training of 60% of the country’s English Teachers to teach Spoken English to students. He was also informed of the launch of a Public Examination for a Certificate in Basic English.

The President was presented with the School Based Assessment Tools on Spoken English, the Guidelines for Standard Sri Lankan English (Phonology/ Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Syntax including Grammar, Word Order and Idiom) for Teachers of English, the First Copy of the 100 Hour Course in Basic English and the First Copy of the Revised Teacher Guide and Resource Book for the Teaching of Spoken English.

Speaking on the occasion, the Coordinator/ Convenor of the Presidential Task Force on English and IT, Sunimal Fernando stated that children should be allowed and encouraged to speak English our way and that they should not feel ashamed or inferior to do so. Many countries in the world have their own ways of speaking English and there is no reason for Sri Lanka to be an exception, he said. He stressed that children should not be deterred from speaking English our way.

The programme, English as a Life Skill promotes English Language Skills, especially speaking and communication skills across the country. A year ago, on July 19, 2009, the President launched the National Road Map to promote Spoken/ Communicative English skills in Sri Lanka.

With the guidance and support of the Presidential Task Force on English and IT, the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Ministries of Education have together ‘achieved a phenomenal degree of success in the first phase of the programme’, Mr. Sunimal Fernando said.

The English teacher community and the general public have been mobilized to support this programme. During the first phase, a strong new national cadre of 80 master trainers and 320 assistant trainers in Spoken English from all nine Provinces has been developed. They were trained at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad.

60% of the 22,500 English teachers of the country were trained to teach spoken English through an accelerated programme that will be completed by the end of the year. The testing of listening and speaking skills at the O/Level Examination was targeted for 2010 with testing tools developed by NIE and the Sri Lanka India Centre for English Language Training in collaboration with the Commissioner General of Examinations. Re-visiting the school English syllabi commenced to ensure that they cater to the needs of the second language learner in the Sri Lankan context and is not beyond his/her capabilities.

In addition, the country’s first teacher guide for spoken English was produced, used and revised after one year by the Master Trainers themselves during the 1st phase. A Sri Lanka-India Centre for English Language Training (SLICELT) with modern technology and local and India resource persons was established at Peradeniya with Indian government assistance. Also, Indian government assistance was successfully negotiated to establish nine Provincial Sri Lanka India Centers for English Language Training (SLICELTs) with state-of-the-art teaching technology, residential facilities for 80 trainers and local and India resource persons in each Centers in the course of 2010-2011.

During the first phase, a 100 hour curriculum with teaching ads for a Certificate Course in Basic English for the general public including school leavers was produced by a team of Sri Lankan ELT trainers. A public examination for a Certificate in Basic English to be conducted by the Commissioner General of Examinations was also designed.
The preparation of a Teacher Guide on ‘Sri Lankan English Standards’- Phonology, Vocabulary and Syntax (including grammar, word order and idiom) was entrusted to an Academic Committee during phase 1. Their work will be completed in August 2010.

In addition, a special Presidential Programme Unit (PPU) was established as the Ministry of Education at ‘Isurupaya’ under the Additional Secretary (Education Quality Development) to work in harmony with the Presidential Task Force and the Presidential Secretariat.