LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 16:11 November 2016
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Second Language Identity of Sri Lankan University Undergraduates:
A Study Based on Tamil Medium Students of
University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

K. L. Ramanan

Abstract

Students who secure admission to the universities in Sri Lanka do not pay attention on learning English as a Second Language (L2) when they sit for their qualifying examination for the universities. Once they enter the university they get different perceptions of the world including that of the importance of English. This study investigates the perceptions on the motivation levels and the bicultural identity of the freshmen at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The perceptions of the learners are investigated under three different categories; Ideal L2 Self, Ought L2 Self, and L2 Learning Experience. This endeavour studies the learners’ L2 selves and the factors that impact the L2 selves. A questionnaire has been administered to gather data from the informants and the results reveal the factors contributing to the L2 identity construct of the particular Tamil medium learners. The collected data has been analyzed based on the factors for the motivating capacity of the Ideal and Ought Selves which would to hinder or enhance the motivational impacts.

Keywords: L2 Identity, L2 self, Ideal L2 self, Ought L2 self, Feared-self, Tamil medium, Sri Lankan Universities

1. Introduction

Discourses on identity prove that a person does not have a single identity but multiple faceted identities. This includes the identity related to the languages one speaks or wants to use. In this manner, most of the Sri Lankans have at least a bicultural identity; one is related to their mother tongue mainly Sinhala or Tamil or Malay, the other is related to English; the L2 Sri Lankans want to acquire. Though there are integrative motives in having these two identities, there are instrumental and executive motivations that drive the learners further in acquiring the L2.

As the presence of globalization is felt in every corner of Sri Lanka, we could assume that it provides sufficient motivation, if not enough opportunities, for the Sri Lankan learners to become fluent users of English as a second language. As adults, the learners gaining admission to the universities seem to be enthusiastic in learning English for their future. It would be useful to recognize how the students, who get admission to the universities, perceive or imagine themselves as users of English. The motivation of the students could be studied by shedding light on what makes up the L2 ‘ideal self’ and ‘ought self’. The undergraduates who enter the Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna are from several districts of the country. As the course is in Tamil medium, students come from districts where Tamil speaking people are the majority; Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trinco, Batticaloa, Ampara, Puttalam, Nuwaraeliya and other Tamil speaking areas of other districts. When they come to the university they are mostly taught by the experienced teachers of English Language Teaching Centre of the university. The learning experiences the teachers give the learners also play an important role in defining the motivation of a student towards learning the L2. Even though the desire of a student to become a fluent speaker of English (ideal L2 self) is at a very high level, poor impact that the learning experience creates may hinder the process of acquiring English as an L2.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

K. L. Ramanan
Lecturer, ELTC
University of Jaffna
Jaffna 40000
Sri Lanka
lakshmananramanan@gmail.com
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