In ancient Sri Lanka all ethnic groups lived in harmony. While all ethnic groups united in the struggle to gain independence from foreign rule, after gaining independence the nation is divided. This division originated mainly over the issue of language and led to more than forty years of secessionist war which ended in 2009. In this backdrop an understanding between the two main ethnic groups could be a key to reconciliation. Since language is the vehicle through which communication takes place learning each other’s language is vital. Various measures have been taken over the years to teach the Second National Language (2NL) in the schools. NEREC (2003 and 2007) findings indicate that 2NL learning in the school system suffers from many constraints such as the lack of teachers to teach the Second National Languages, lack of will and enthusiasm on the part of stakeholders to make the necessary provision to teach, and learn. In this context the GIZ through its Education for Social Cohesion (ESC) programme claims to have provided support to the teaching of 2NL in the 200 pilot schools. However, no formal assessment has been conducted to find out the effectiveness of these interventions by the GIZ, especially in developing students’ communication skills in 2NL. Since, effective communication is essential for reconciliation there is an urgent need for a study to assess the 2NL communication skills of students to inform policy formulation and 11 enable comprehensive systematic intervention for effective implementation of 2NL teaching and learning in the school system. Hence, the main objective of this study is to assess the oral communication skills in the Second National Language of a sample of students completing grade 8.

Assessing Second National Language Communication Skills of Students Completing Grade 8

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