Abstract:
The liberation of economic policies, as well as factors such as
globalization have made the Private sector of Sri Lanka, its engine
of growth. Consequently the private sector figures as a major
provider of employment opportunities. One of the aspects that the
private sector looks in its new recruits is the competency in the
English Language. In order to provide this competency, General
English was introduced in the Advanced Level curriculum. Despite
this, lack of competency in the English language among Sri Lankan
government school leavers have made them virtually unemployable
in the private sector.
The research questions guiding this study are to determine
whether the curriculum of the Advanced level General English
meets the demand of the private sector and if the Advanced level
students are confident in gaining employment in the private sector.
This survey consists of a randomized sample of two hundred and
fifty students who have completed the Advanced Level Examination
with English as a subject and following the Practical English
course at Royal Institute and four human resource managers of
four leading private companies.
Methodology of the study has been the administration of a
structured questionnaire for the Personnel Managers. Among the
Practical English students a random sample of two hundred were
selected to administer the questionnaire and the balance fifty
students were interviewed to triangulate the data obtained through
the questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive and
statistical methods.
The findings of the study suggest that the curriculum does not
totally cater to the needs of the private sector and further more
external factors too have hindered the program in achieving its
objectives.
It is recommended that to make the advanced level school leavers
more employable, the curriculum should emphasise more in
developing the speaking and listening skills. These skills should be
based on Task Based Learning and Problem Based Learning
