When it comes to language usage Sri Lanka’s workforce needs to adopt English as the langue for work purposes. Country’s private sector already uses English to carry out their work.
The public sector needs to make a shift to English-only and that has to be done fast.
Having said that however such a transition is likely to take some time.
It might have to be done using a transition period of about 3 years and has to be planned and done systematically by providing required language training for all public sector employees.
English has become a global business language for business communication and it is imperative that Sri Lanka adopts a similar pathway in order to reap benefits when engaging within the global economy and dealing with a globalised world.
English will continue to remain the language of business and commerce throughout the world and Sri Lanka needs to make that change in order to fit into carrying out its affairs with the majority English speaking rest of the world.
If not we will not be able to achieve desired outcomes when dealing within the global marketplace.
It is true that certain countries like China and Japan etc continue to use their native languages when conducting business however for a smaller nation like ours it is not a viable option.
We are not only a country with a smaller population, but we were a colonised people under various colonists for a rather long period of 443 years.
Having gained independence after such an extended period of colonisation for a country like Sri Lanka there is no option but to adapt into a language like English which is similar to a lot of the other colonised countries in the world.
The other point is, it is important to have English as the common medium of education in Sri Lanka. At the moment there are around four hundred thousand children in international school education that use English as the language of instruction for their schooling.
Also the students from leading schools in the country that belong to the middle and upper middle class families tend to use English with ease and are comfortable learning in English. It is their preferred spoken language at home.
Those that face serious language problems and those that get left behind in the English speaking world then are the children that come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
In order to achieve equality of opportunity
this situation needs to be changed.
For such children unless they learn and become fluent in English language they will miss out on most future prospects. There is a direct correlation between one’s English language ability and economic prospects ie: earning capacity.
In order to conquer the modern world and become a leading scientist, an engineer, a researcher or an entrepreneur, a student with such dreams must have good English language proficiency.
Also as a nation to develop and prosper needless to say we need more and more people working in such professions.
However what we need to realise is that transitioning to English for work and study purposes cannot simply be an overnight quick fix like the organic fertiliser fiasco.
First of all there needs to be an increase in education related budget allocation. Budget increase would need to be at least an additional Rs 200 billion on top of the Rs 230 billion that is the current allocated amount of the budget for education.
Rather than have a bloated military budget at a non-war time or when there is no threat of war in sight, that extra funding should be spent on essential needs such as education.
In the words of the great Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world,” and if so, then the powers that be need to realise that it pays to spend on education.
And for those not yet convinced on this argument, hopefully there is more sense to be found in the words of Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, “education is quite simply peace-building by another name. It is the most effective form of defence spending there is.”
Most developed countries have spent large amounts of their GDP on education and are now reaping benefits of such policies and it is imperative that we follow suit.
Primary Education
We need to develop a system where at least 3 teachers are allocated to one classroom. It is a given that the lower the student teacher ratio the better the educational process and learning will be.
International school educated youth competent in the English language who are interested in teaching should be given required training and could be employed as primary school teachers teaching in English medium.
English language teaching has to commence from early childhood education level ie: kindergarten, nursery education etc.
It has to be a gradual transition. In order to achieve this, primary education would need to be conducted in the native language with a focus on at the early stage language of instruction to be 90% native language and 10% to be in English and with a gradual progression of 90% instruction to be in English and 10% in their mother tongue by the time children complete their primary education.
If the system is designed this way then economically disadvantaged children likely to have language issues due to lack of exposure at home will have the chance to be competent in English in readiness for secondary education. The chances of such children being left behind in the learning process can be minimised by doing this.
Secondary and Tertiary Education
Subjects such as native language, religion and history could be taught in the students’ first language. However all technical subjects like mathematics, science, technology design, IT, business, commerce and accounting etc must be completely taught in English.
Then it will be much easier to transition into English as the language for work and business purposes as well as language for university education. This will allow for workforce to be empowered with good solid English language skills making them ready to interact with the rest of the English speaking world.
As a result, connecting with the outside world, and utilising technological advancements in public service, as well as introducing eGovernment systems etc. can be achieved easily.
What’s been proposed need to be attained through collaborative effort and via gradual transition and proper planning, and certainly cannot be a rush job or a stopgap measure. We must get the fundamentals right with this process.
We may have to endure a transition period of about five years to achieve the desired outcome and the people will gradually adapt into the new language.
Unless we get exposed and accustomed to the modern world in this manner by adopting the use of the most widely spoken business language in the world we may not be able to survive the fast changing environment out there that moves with technological advancements in every field. We will not be able to take on the world.
Unless this essential change is made we will confine ourselves within the limited parameters of our own language and the poor and the downtrodden will continue to live in the dark with tribalism and let the politics of fear rule our futures.
Yes, we can change, and change for the better!
Pathum Kerner
The public sector needs to make a shift to English-only and that has to be done fast.
Having said that however such a transition is likely to take some time.
It might have to be done using a transition period of about 3 years and has to be planned and done systematically by providing required language training for all public sector employees.
English has become a global business language for business communication and it is imperative that Sri Lanka adopts a similar pathway in order to reap benefits when engaging within the global economy and dealing with a globalised world.
English will continue to remain the language of business and commerce throughout the world and Sri Lanka needs to make that change in order to fit into carrying out its affairs with the majority English speaking rest of the world.
If not we will not be able to achieve desired outcomes when dealing within the global marketplace.
It is true that certain countries like China and Japan etc continue to use their native languages when conducting business however for a smaller nation like ours it is not a viable option.
We are not only a country with a smaller population, but we were a colonised people under various colonists for a rather long period of 443 years.
Having gained independence after such an extended period of colonisation for a country like Sri Lanka there is no option but to adapt into a language like English which is similar to a lot of the other colonised countries in the world.
The other point is, it is important to have English as the common medium of education in Sri Lanka. At the moment there are around four hundred thousand children in international school education that use English as the language of instruction for their schooling.
Also the students from leading schools in the country that belong to the middle and upper middle class families tend to use English with ease and are comfortable learning in English. It is their preferred spoken language at home.
Those that face serious language problems and those that get left behind in the English speaking world then are the children that come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
In order to achieve equality of opportunity
this situation needs to be changed.
For such children unless they learn and become fluent in English language they will miss out on most future prospects. There is a direct correlation between one’s English language ability and economic prospects ie: earning capacity.
In order to conquer the modern world and become a leading scientist, an engineer, a researcher or an entrepreneur, a student with such dreams must have good English language proficiency.
Also as a nation to develop and prosper needless to say we need more and more people working in such professions.
However what we need to realise is that transitioning to English for work and study purposes cannot simply be an overnight quick fix like the organic fertiliser fiasco.
First of all there needs to be an increase in education related budget allocation. Budget increase would need to be at least an additional Rs 200 billion on top of the Rs 230 billion that is the current allocated amount of the budget for education.
Rather than have a bloated military budget at a non-war time or when there is no threat of war in sight, that extra funding should be spent on essential needs such as education.
In the words of the great Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world,” and if so, then the powers that be need to realise that it pays to spend on education.
And for those not yet convinced on this argument, hopefully there is more sense to be found in the words of Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, “education is quite simply peace-building by another name. It is the most effective form of defence spending there is.”
Most developed countries have spent large amounts of their GDP on education and are now reaping benefits of such policies and it is imperative that we follow suit.
Primary Education
We need to develop a system where at least 3 teachers are allocated to one classroom. It is a given that the lower the student teacher ratio the better the educational process and learning will be.
International school educated youth competent in the English language who are interested in teaching should be given required training and could be employed as primary school teachers teaching in English medium.
English language teaching has to commence from early childhood education level ie: kindergarten, nursery education etc.
It has to be a gradual transition. In order to achieve this, primary education would need to be conducted in the native language with a focus on at the early stage language of instruction to be 90% native language and 10% to be in English and with a gradual progression of 90% instruction to be in English and 10% in their mother tongue by the time children complete their primary education.
If the system is designed this way then economically disadvantaged children likely to have language issues due to lack of exposure at home will have the chance to be competent in English in readiness for secondary education. The chances of such children being left behind in the learning process can be minimised by doing this.
Secondary and Tertiary Education
Subjects such as native language, religion and history could be taught in the students’ first language. However all technical subjects like mathematics, science, technology design, IT, business, commerce and accounting etc must be completely taught in English.
Then it will be much easier to transition into English as the language for work and business purposes as well as language for university education. This will allow for workforce to be empowered with good solid English language skills making them ready to interact with the rest of the English speaking world.
As a result, connecting with the outside world, and utilising technological advancements in public service, as well as introducing eGovernment systems etc. can be achieved easily.
What’s been proposed need to be attained through collaborative effort and via gradual transition and proper planning, and certainly cannot be a rush job or a stopgap measure. We must get the fundamentals right with this process.
We may have to endure a transition period of about five years to achieve the desired outcome and the people will gradually adapt into the new language.
Unless we get exposed and accustomed to the modern world in this manner by adopting the use of the most widely spoken business language in the world we may not be able to survive the fast changing environment out there that moves with technological advancements in every field. We will not be able to take on the world.
Unless this essential change is made we will confine ourselves within the limited parameters of our own language and the poor and the downtrodden will continue to live in the dark with tribalism and let the politics of fear rule our futures.
Yes, we can change, and change for the better!
Pathum Kerner
