The Effectiveness of the Implementation of the National Plan for a Trilingual Sri Lanka: In Relation to the Role of English in School Level

Abstract

The 10 Year National Plan for a Trilingual Sri Lanka (2012-2022) could be identified as a high potential development project introduced recently which upon being successfully implemented and executed could result in many benefits to the country as well as society. However, given the fairly recent implementation, the expected outcome and the overall effect of the plan remain completely hypothetical. Therefore, given the lack of analysis or rather any detailed account on the Effectiveness of the Trilingual Plan, it is the aim of this study to account for the effectiveness of the Trilingual Plan at its current phase in relation to the English language teaching and learning in school level. The study follows different methods of data analysis and is largely quantitative in nature. Therefore, the study is based on a field setting of various government institutions, departments, and schools which deal with the execution of the Trilingual Plan. (E.g. - Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, Ministry of Education) The primary sources of data collection are interviews and questionnaires gathered mainly through the above mentioned institutions. The secondary sources of data collection are the various reports, articles, books on the 10 Year National Plan for a Trilingual Sri Lanka. The study analyses the many strategies adopted by the Plan to promote English Language in schools and how they are implemented in a practical scenario. And in analysing these strategies the study looks into the challenges faced and drawbacks shown during the execution which hinders the implementation and tries to seek the methods which can be incorporated in order to increase the effectiveness of the Trilingual Plan.