R 030615Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9490

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000236 
 
 
STATE FOR SCA, R, E, ECA 
SCA/INS(BPATEL), SCA/PPD(JPFLEIDERER), SCA/PPD (MBLOCKER) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL CE
SUBJECT: English Language Programs to Support  Reconciliation in Sri 
Lanka 
 
¶1.  Summary: Limited access to quality English instruction has left 
successive generations of Sri Lankan youth without the language 
skills to interact across ethnic or international boundaries, 
curbing their chances for professional employment and social 
reconciliation.  After 25 years of civil conflict, improved access 
to English language instruction is key not only to Sri Lanka's 
economic development, but to establishing diverse lines of 
communication and information access for youth who have long been 
radicalized along ethnic lines.  Embassy Colombo has multiple 
programs to improve English training access to marginalized youth 
and to undertrained teachers across the country, but efforts have 
been limited by staffing and funding shortfalls.  Embassy Colombo 
proposes to strengthen current program reach and longevity through 
increased staffing and access to technology, as well as through the 
establishment of innovative long-term partnerships with Government 
and professional organizations to develop initiatives based on 
proven U.S. teaching models. End Summary 
 
The State of English Language Teaching in Sri Lanka 
----------------------- 
¶2.  The level of English language proficiency among young people in 
Sri Lanka is low, affected by social class, limited access to 
English education, and a lingering stigma against foreign influence. 
Up until the 1960s, English was widely taught in Sri Lankan schools 
and knowledge of English was high, particularly among those with 
university or post-secondary education.  On the heels of a 
post-colonial nationalist movement in Sri Lanka, schools moved to a 
Sinhala-only curriculum and dropped requirements to learn English as 
a foreign language.  By the 1970s most qualified English teachers 
had retired without replacement.  The policy led to a number of 
direct and indirect, short and long term consequences, including: a 
severely limited pool of qualified English teachers with private and 
urban schools claiming the bulk of English teachers; rural youth, 
because of the limited access, lag behind urban youth in terms of 
English proficiency; university students, the majority of whom come 
from rural areas, lack English skills when they enter university; 
the majority of arts and humanities university students lack 
adequate English skills when they graduate, leading to ongoing 
problems in finding work;  and youth proficient in English choose 
jobs in the more lucrative tourism and business processing 
outsourcing (call-centers) sectors over jobs in English teaching. 
 
Improved English Language Teaching: A Means to Support 
Reconciliation in Post-War Sri Lanka. 
---------------------- 
¶3.  For the past quarter century, Sri Lanka has been marred by a war 
between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam.  In recent years, the Government has launched a 
campaign to defeat the LTTE and reclaim the remaining territory held 
by the LTTE, an entity designated by the United States as a Foreign 
Terrorist Organization.  The Government stands on the verge of a 
military victory in the conflict.  However, a deep-seeded mistrust 
between Sri Lanka's ethnic communities remains.  The United States 
has long urged the Government of Sri Lanka to seek a political 
solution to the conflict and seek ways to bridge ethnic and social 
divides in the country. 
 
¶4.  English can serve as a vehicle to support reconciliation and 
greater economic prosperity throughout the country.  First, the vast 
majority of Tamils and Singhalese do not speak each other's 
languages.  This hinders interregional commerce and cross-cultural 
understanding.  When English was widely spoken in the country, it 
served as a link-language.  Second, the deficiency in English 
language creates a lag on economic growth.  Sri Lanka has not seen 
the boom in call centers and other services industries that India 
has enjoyed. This is due partially to the war, but also because the 
pool of proficient English speakers is limited.  An end to the war 
coupled with a greater concentration on the development of English 
language skills the country would translate to greater foreign 
investment and an enhanced livelihood potential.  Finally, extremism 
among both Sinhalese and Tamil populations could perpetuate mistrust 
and the root causes of the conflict.  Improved English skills, 
together with greater access to internet, could help Sri Lankan 
youth to have more global perspectives and not be as susceptible to 
the influences of extremists. 
 
What is the Embassy Doing? 
-------------------------- 
¶5.  One important Mission Strategic Plan goal is to focus Embassy 
Public Diplomacy resources on programs that foster reconciliation 
among youth.  Consequently, English language programs are 
increasingly at the forefront of that effort. 
 
¶6.  Our flagship English Language initiative is the Access Program. 
Now in its third year, 312 students of all ethnicities from ten 
cities around the country are now involved in the program.  The 
Embassy is taking increased interest in the program.  In April, Post 
will sponsor a short-film workshop for students around Sri Lanka. 
Participants will work in mixed groups to make films on themes 
important to young people.  The bulk of the participants will be 
Access students or alumni.  Later this year, post will inaugurate 
the South Asia Youth Leadership Program.  Seven high school aged 
students will join counterparts from Maldives and Nepal for a 
three-week leadership workshop in the U.S.  We intend to include 
some of our Access programs in that project. 
 
¶7.  Post is also working with our English Language Fellow to 
organize a multiweek, multistep training program in spring 2009 for 
English teachers from Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Anuradhapura.  The 
program aims to train a cadre of teachers who will then act as 
trainers in their respective cities.  We would follow up the 
training with continued support by future English Language Fellows 
and English Language Specialists and by providing some U.S. 
Government-designed English Language Teaching materials. 
 
¶8.  Post is also working with Sri Lanka's Fulbright Commission to 
institute an English Teaching Assistant program.  Under the plan, 
two recent U.S. university graduates would support English Language 
Teaching classes of secondary and university students.  The 
Fulbright Commission is also discussing the designation of grants 
for students seeking advanced ELT degrees in the U.S. 
 
¶9.  Embassy Colombo is also increasing English Language programming 
at our American Center library in Colombo, and our American Corners 
in Kandy and Oluvil.  Among the initiatives planned is an English 
Club.  Each week, young people would get together with English 
speakers to have discussions on set topics or books that the group 
is reading. 
 
What does the Embassy Want to Do? 
--------------------- 
¶10.  Expanding Access:  The Access program has a proven record of 
success.  It enables us to provide English Language training to a 
large numbers of youth at a relatively low cost.  Post would like to 
double the number of cities to twenty, and the number of 
participants to 600, with a particular focus on programs in Eastern 
and possibly Northern Sri Lanka.  Parts of the the East were 
controlled by the LTTE until 2007.  The GSL is in final stages of 
regaining last of the territory in the North that is controlled by 
the LTTE.  Embassy Colombo currently has funding for a short-term 
Alumni Coordinator to ensure continued quality interaction with 
returnees from Embassy exchange programs.  The Embassy would like to 
expand this position to full time, long-term to include ongoing 
active engagement with youth Alumni of the Access program. 
 
¶11.  Teach for Sri Lanka:  The Peace Secretariat, a Government of 
Sri Lanka institution that is tasked with aiding the peace process, 
is working together with Interact, a highly active and popular 
youth-wing of the Rotary Club in Sri Lanka, to create a program that 
would bring youth from different regions in Sri Lanka to live and 
work in other regions.  Students with strong English skills could 
help with language teaching in rural areas, while concurrently 
helping to breed greater understanding and reconciliation.  The 
Embassy would like to assist the Peace Secretariat in these efforts 
by connecting them with Teach for All, the international wing of 
Teach for America, to design their program, and by providing some 
seed funding to launch the initiative. 
 
¶12.  Computer Centers for Access Alumni:  In each city where there 
is an Access program, Post would like to work with our contractor to 
have a small center with 3-4 computers that would enable alumni to 
use State Department online ELT resources and have access to other 
US Embassy informational material. 
 
¶13.  English Language Fellows:  The Embassy would like to have an 
additional English Language Fellow.  This would greatly enhance our 
ability to provide teacher training programs around the country. 
 
¶14.  English Language Teaching at American Corners:   Post would 
like to offer low-cost English and IT classes at our American Center 
library in Colombo and our two American Corners in Kandy and Oluvil. 
 The coordinators at each corner have identified English Language 
classes as an important priority about which we are queried daily. 
The classes would help raise the visibility of our Corners. 
 
¶15.  Utilizing New Technologies to Deliver ELT Modules:  Internet 
penetration in Sri Lanka is low, particularly in rural areas. 
However, mobile phone use, including text messaging, is ubiquitous. 
Post would like to explore ways to distribute limited English 
language module via text messaging or through mobile phone-based 
video games. 
 
¶16.  Enhanced Cooperation with SLELTA:  The Sri Lanka English 
Language Teachers Association (SLELTA) is the only national 
professional body of English teachers in Sri Lanka.  Its members are 
from all social levels and geographical regions of the country, 
teaching English at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.  Embassy 
Colombo has worked for years with SLELTA to improve training of 
English teachers; conducting exchanges, hosting speakers, advisors 
and embedding an English Language Fellow with the group.   Embassy 
Colombo would like to establish a long-term program of cooperation 
to build SLELTA's capacity, including an ongoing advisor program, 
provision of training materials and delivery of a regular curriculum 
of in-service teacher training.  Ongoing partnership with this 
well-organized and motivated organization in their efforts to 
improve primary and secondary level English teacher skills, and to 
reach out of urban areas to improve English access in rural 
communities, will provide a long running consistent base from which 
many of the above proposed programs can draw and multiply to harder 
to reach populations. 
 
¶17.  Funding Request 
------------------- 
Post would be unable to fund the proposed projects under existing 
allocations.  Post will provide full cost breakdowns for the above 
projects upon request. 
 
¶18.  Conclusion:  The Government of Sri Lanka has named 2009 the 
year of English and Information Technology Education.  There is 
unprecedented recognition throughout the public and private sector 
of the importance of these skill sets, but severely limited 
resources to provide the needed training.  The approaching end of 
Sri Lanka's decades-long conflict will require innovative strategies 
for development and reconciliation - most importantly English 
language development.  Demand for English teaching resources from 
Embassy Colombo has never been higher and the opportunity for 
American outreach to younger, more diverse audiences in a positive 
learning atmosphere has never been better. 
 
Blake