Attitudes of the undergraduates towards the TESL degree program

Abstract

Realizing the great demand for trained English teachers, the approach of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) was introduced and it is vital to note that this is a relative innovation in the Sri Lankan University system to implement TESL as an undergraduate degree program.The English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) of the University of Kelaniya is the only ELTU that offers this invaluable undergraduate degree program. According to the Guidelines for conducting evaluations of academic programs, (July, 2002) published by the University of Pittsburgh, new programs should be reviewed within five years of its implementation. Thus this program has to be evaluated and therefore as the first step, this research is carried out in order to better understand and measure undergraduates’ attitudes towards TESL degree program offered by the ELTU of the University of Kelaniya. This research focuses on student perception of four key areas: curriculum, assessment, classroom management and teaching methods. This paper reports on the results of the students from all the three years who are reading for B.A. (General) in TESL and B.A. (Special) in TESL. The data is gathered by a questionnaire and the interviews conducted with the Special degree undergraduates. The findings are further analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The research findings suggest the effectiveness, deficiencies and strengths of the program while providing suggestions for further research.