Beyond the pitch

 One of the primary objective of this essay is to convince the policy holders and planners to come up with a model that functions as a network among the ESL teachers at schools to improve the students' English language skills. The solution we propose is stupendoulsy simple and straightforward. It does not involve any more enhancement of physical resourses required in ESL education system that it is already invested. However, the model we propose requires teachers and parents to play a critical role in keeping tab's on their students/children's level of education. One of the major problems faced in ESL education is lack of continuation or linear development. The syllabus does not follow a linear pattern in terms of the principles of second language acquisition or second language education. The model we propose starts with Grade 1 itself. In Grade 1, we highliht the necessity for the teacher to identify the child's learning styles and learning patterns. At this level, the...

 For me, CDA should not be against power or hieraries, but should be against the elites. The history has proven (even the recent events at the aragalaya have proven) that people suffer as a result of inequl distribution of resources and power. What we need to understand is that elitism is root problem for the inequality. Even though the word 'elite' is predominanly used in a positive sense, elitism connotes that a privileged few enjoy the most resources in a society denying other groups of people access and exposure to the resources. This can work in multiple layers since, the less you have access, the further you are marginalised. 

 Are languages as neutral as they are claimed to be? Do languages reflect the cultural and behavioural patterns of the people who use them? Read this article to explore the relationship between power and language. The 'Dictation Test' referred to in this article is a textbook example of Linguistic Imperialism and how languages are used as a means of hegemonizing power and hierarchy. Enjoy this article! https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220925/plus/the-call-of-australia-from-early-cingalese-to-recent-migration-496622.html

 This article begs the question: Is Academia a Toxic Place for Creative, Passionate Women?  https://www.sundayobserver.lk/2022/05/22/impact/dr-diana-beresford-kroeger-forest-woman

  https://www.sundayobserver.lk/2022/05/22/impact/gruesome-slaying-hamer-family

 Does  our environments affect the quality of what we are writing? Are you empowered or more concentrated on your writing when you  distance yourself from your loved ones or comfort zones? What does it mean to write something in a space you are not comfortable.

Feminism is a critical theory that critically evaluate patriarchal values and how patriarchy functions in society. This essay aims to critically evaluate observances, beliefs and customs revolve on women and female condition from a feminist theoretical perspective. 

 Sri Lankan students are supposed to write 10 15 page assignments when they write assignments. Does this make sense? Does the lengthy assignments put them off? Did it affect the quality of their writing or their engagement with the task at hand? How have the teachers/lecturers justified the number of words or the quantity of the word? As an ESL practioner, I think these questions need to bs answered as soon as possible.

 The panopticon is concpet initially founded by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault. The panopticon consitutes a rigid vigilance of inmates of a particular establishment or an institution. The constant surveilance dictates that the subjects are under the illusion that they are constantly monitored and hence need to follow the rules or the given guidelines. Sri Lankans are no strangers to the panopticon frameowork. From the birth, from more personal spaces like families to public spaces likes schools, universities and even the corporate institutes function under the panopticon framework in which the employees or whoever is supposed to adhere to a rigid frame of conduct under the psychological assumption that they are watched or monitored throughout the clock. Can people be productive in a panopticon? NO. One of the most detrimental traits of a panopticon is the trauma that it gives to a subject with the distortion of sense between p...

 Sri Lanka has to suffer today due to yes sir no sir, three bgas full sir' mentality. I recently came across a very powerful instance of resistance of power and it shook me to the core to re-assess my own identity and ideology and quite interestingly what it means to be a successful professional. Sri Lankans are masters of 'yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir, for a variety of reasons. They are: 1. Sri Lankans have a wierd sense of gratitude and indebtendess. A person who get supports from someone else or a person who gets assistance from someone should forever cow down to the donour. Same goes wih the people who hire you. The hiring manager who hired you is a god and cannot question or challenge him/her at any point. 2. Incompetence: we are a lazy nation who believe that sucking up to someone or not gettijf trouble into whatsoever is the way to go other. Sacrificing our time and energy to develop our professional skills and concentrating on professional growth are sins. Why b...

Lately, I have understood that the worst thing that could happen to a human being is being constantly driven from fear and seeking valdiation from others. The more you try to please others, the more you get frustrated with your own identity and what do you do with your  own life. Fear can never function as a motivation or a positive factor that keeps you focused towards your goals. Fear can make your life miserable and make you take hasty decisions that you might repent later. Fear can make you a less confident person and make you questioj whatever you do and whatever you want to achive. Fear based decisions will make you vulnerable and in short they will make you someone who does not believe in your own skills and abilities as you always depend on others opinions to validate who you truly are.

 This article argues that a TESL practioner should possess an adequate knowledge of linguistics to be a succesful profession. This article will analye the basic subdisciplines in linguistics and their relevance to TESL. The  basic sub-fields in linguistics are: 1. Phonetics; 2. Phonology; 3. Morphology 4. Syntax 5. Semantics 6. Pragmatics In addition to this we also argue as a linguist, a TESL teacher has to play multiple roles in the classroon including that of descriptivist and prescriptivist.

 Austin's theory of speech acts can be expanded using the practise of chanting Buddhist Gathas

 1. Politically correct Lies 2. Hero is Dead 3. I am Afraid of Tomorrow 4. Troublemaker 5. Fresh  from the Sea 6. Temporary Lecturer  7. My Love Story

 Have you ever travelled in a train in Sri Lanka? If your answer is YES, you must be familiar with those singers who would perform to entertain the passengers in the compartments. I do not like to label them as beggars since they literally provide a service to the passengers. These 'train singers' sometimes carry sophisticated tools such as microphones or speakers, but most performers carry what they call dolky . The reason I wanted to write this post is something I have observed when those singers song Sinhalese boot songs ( break up songs). If you carefully notice the passengers' faces who listen to those songs (I am not being misogynistic, but mostly men) you would notice that they reminisce their lost/acquired love stories serenely. If the singer shifts to a song with an extremely pathetic break up or an ending, you can literally see the way those listeners weep in their hearts.  Most of the times, passengers would offer donations to these train singers and hardly a t...

 "You can't run a marathon without no mile markers. Metrics help us understand speed and distance" -Simon Sinek- Are you a goal or process oriented person? What do you satisfy the most? The end result or the way you get to that end? What motivates you to go to your work? It is the salary get at the end of each month or is it your ability to do work over time?  The history has proven that every successful person is someone who believes in the process by which he/gets to the end of the journey. Successful people would tell us that it is far better to re-live the joy of the journey you take to ahcieve something than the joy enjoyed at the end of something or after achieving something.

 Tring treeng  I called her once, I called her twice, I called her gazillion times, She never cared. You get the call you expect it the least.

 The thing remember most from my childhood is the passion I used to see the world from a very simple perspective! I used to look at people passionately and I saw goodness in people whenever I chance to meet a variety of people. Perhaps that was instilled in me by the fairy tales I read as a toddler/enfant.  As a kid I was always amazed by the colours, shapes and characters in the fairy tales. Those fairy tales represented a world where there is justice, loyalty and happiness!  The power of the fairy tales started to lose its fervour when I became an adult. The  burden of being an adult is the curse of pinning down a value judgement on things you see experience/see. You start to lose your inner child when you start to question those fairy tales. My inner child is  still alive in soul! He still believes in "a happily ever after" reality! I still want ro run free! I still like to see the world free of those value judgements! I wish I could go back to the times I be...

 I wrote a poem. My tears were the verses and my sighs filled the rhythm, it echoed to the long lasting darkness I wrote a poem. I tried to bury my guilt and sorrow in between the lines, But it failed miserably. I wrote a poem. I consoled myself and thought it was over, Yet I could not see an end. I wrote a poem, I decided to take a look at other poems, PEACE they seek in withered pages.  PAIN is the poet's beloved MUSE.  -Chandula-