Sri Lankan English Teachers` Attitudes and Perceptions towards Sri Lankan English

Abstract

While Sri Lankan English has been established as a standard variety of English for many years, the speakers of various social groups in Sri Lanka perceive different views towards Sri Lankan English. Law, administration as well as the education sectors of the country possess a great power in spreading and influencing the beliefs of the Sri Lankan English speakers. As the pioneers in widening the knowledge about Sri Lankan English among the next generations of Sri Lanka, it is necessary for English teachers to have a positive outlook towards Sri Lankan English. This study aims to examine the attitudes and perceptions of Sri Lankan English teachers towards Sri Lankan English. In addition, this study further inspects in which manner the teachers encourage learners to use Sri Lankan English, along with teachers’ recommendations to improve the awareness of Sri Lankan English among teachers and students. Questionnaires were given among fifty teachers of English from schools and tuition, and ten teachers were selected for the interviews, to collect the required data. Analyzed data revealed that although Sri Lankan English teachers acknowledge Sri Lankan English, they lack knowledge about Sri Lankan English; teachers had confusion between Sri Lankan English with British English and they showed reluctance to accept that their spoken variety is Sri Lankan English.