Abstract
Learning Buddhist terms in English is one of the main challenges that the English medium undergraduates of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka face. As the majority of the undergraduates start English medium education for the first time in the university they struggle a lot to learn the Buddhist terms necessary for their studies in English medium. Moreover, the students need a wide range of productive vocabulary in preaching the Buddha’s Dhamma worldwide which is one of the prime objectives of the university. Traditionally, vocabulary teaching has been paid less attention and the most common way is giving vocabulary lists for students to memorize. However, the current study as one of its objectives proves that this traditional approach to vocabulary teaching is less effective as well as less interesting. As the second objective, the study introduces a task-based integrated approach to teach Buddhist terminology. Being mixed research the study has employed instruments like vocabulary tests, questionnaires and interviews with the students as well as the lecturers in addition to classroom observation. The study finds that an integrated approach through tasks as material followed by an eclectic teaching method based on the post method is more effective than teaching through vocabulary lists.
Highlights
Introduction“Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”(Wilkins, 1972, p. 111)
The study finds that an integrated approach through tasks as material followed by an eclectic teaching method based on the post method is more effective than teaching through vocabulary lists
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been successfully used in different contexts yet a gap for research that amalgamates post method and TBT into Buddhist vocabulary teaching could be traced through the literary survey
Summary
“Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”(Wilkins, 1972, p. 111). Academic vocabulary is an essential component of academic achievement, and vocabulary is the primary challenge faced by L2 learners when entering university (Kieffer et al, p.2014). Most of the undergraduates start English medium education at the university and find it challenging to learn the Buddhist terminology which is essential for their education. Perin(2015) and Wallace (2008) have addressed a similar issue and find that insufficient vocabulary is one of the primary difficulties that students face in university-level language acquisition. Academic vocabulary is an essential component of academic achievement, and vocabulary is the primary challenge faced by L2 learners when entering university (Kieffer et al, p.2016). This problem appears to have a common appeal in different contexts. This paper investigates methods to teach Buddhist terminology effectively to undergraduates
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