DOCUMENT RESUME ED 192 570 FL 011 699 AUTHO? MacDougall, Bonnie Graham: de Abrew, Kamini TITLE Sinhala: Basic Course. Module 2: General Conversation. INSTITUTION Foreign Service (Dept. of State), Washington, D.C. Foreign Service Inst. PUB DATE 79 NOTE 337p.: For related documents, see FL 011 698-700. Photographs will not reproduce well. AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (No. 044-000-01765-2, $7.50) LANGUAGE English: Singhalese EEIFS PRICE MF01/PC14 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Conversational Language Courses; Cross Cultural Training: Cultural Education; Dialogs (Language) Grammar: Learning Modules: Postsecondary Education; Second Language Instruction; *Singhalese: Speech Instruction IDENTIFIERS Sri Lanka ABSTRACT This course on the language of Sri Lanka is intended to be taken under a Sinhala-speaking instructor. This module consists of 90 "cycles," or short lessons, each based on a theme from everyday life. Dialogues appear occasionally among the cycles. Major themes include classroom expressions, terms of address, talking aboutmoney, conducting embassy business, taking the bus, knowing languages, the daily routine, the land and the people, paddy cultivation, and traveling by rail and air. In addition to drills and word lists, each lesson includes notes on ztructures of prominence in that lesson. Many photographs depicting life on Sri Lanka are included. (JE) ****************** **** ******* _******* ******* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. **************** ***************************4********************** MODULE 2 GENERI2 OWER- ATION US DEPART d; ENT OF HEALTH. "PERMISSION Ts1 -,,;DUCE THIS EDUCAIWtho WELFARE MATEFIAL IlaNT5O BY NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION !GIN- AT 'NO of POINTS_ OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NE r FSSARILY REPRE- SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTI I of E OF TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." BY BONNIE GRAHAM MacDOUGALL with KAMM! de ABREW 0 FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE OERARTN,ILNT OF STATE JUN 2 1980 FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE BASIC COURSE SERIES Edited by MARIANNE LEHR ARAMS General Conversation FOREWORD This is the second volume of BasicSinhala, a course for the beginning student which ispresented in three modules: Beginning Signs and Letters II General Conversation III Sinhala Structures A five part preliminary version of thisseries of lessons was completed in 1968 as a basic course for thePeace Corps. Three modules of that preliminary versionhave been combined as module Il in this revision. The Division of Language Trainingof the Peace Corps, then directed by Allan Kulakow,supported the devel- opment of the original materials undercontract # PC-82-1944. A trial version was utilized in trainingCeylon II at Fresno State College in Fall 1967. Olivia Silva assisted in the writing of the preliminary materials and SriyaniHerath helped prepare the final copy for submission to the PeaceCorps. This final version of General Conversationwas completed with funds supplied by the Foreign ServiceInstitute and the Agency for International Development. The Honorable Howard W. Wrigglns, Ambassador to Sri Lanka, supported the projectand created an opportunity to revise and complete the materialsin Sri Lanka. Kamini de Abrew, currently the coordinatorof the Embassy language program in Sri Lanka, provided continucis and invaluableassistance in revising and preparing the-finalcopy. Kamini de Abrew and I should like to thankour friend Trelicia Gunawardana, actress, universitylecturer and member of the Embassy language staff, for the importantpart she played in helping us assemble the materials. We should also like to express our appreciation to Sally Barton for typing most of the English portions and to Kamal de Abrew, Chula de Abrewand Kumari Edirisinghe for helping proof the final copy. We are grateful to many members of the Embassy staff, especially to Ralph Hartwelland Charles Antholt for their support and encouragement. I should like to acknowledge the debt Iowe to Drs. Earl Stevick and James Stone at FSI. The modular approach to the presentation of second language materials isone which has been explored by Stevick for a variety of languages, andthis parti- cular module is largely based on a format he developedcalled "microwave." I had an opportunity to work with the format when I assisted Dr. Stone in the development ofa trial version of "microwave" Hindi materials in 1966. Most of what I know or care about in language teaching isi traceable tomy association with Drs. Stevick and Stone, and I thank them for their inspiration and patient attention to a fledgling linguist. iii General Conversation I was introduced to Sinhala andSri Lanka by Profe james Gair. Professor Don David de Saram taught me tospeak the language. My husband Robert and my parentshave always supported and shared my interest in SriLanka, most recently by modifying their own schedules to care for thechildren while I was away. Mrs.1. Tirucheivam has for fifteen years nowbrought me into her own family in Sri. Lanka whenI was far from home. The dwelling plans on pp. 254and 255 and the photograph on p. 258 are by RobertMacDougall. They have been reproduced with permission. The photograph on p. 230 wascontributed by Trelicia Gunawardana. Bus route maps are by theSurvey Department, Government. of Sri Lanka. A few of the smallerphotographs such as those on D. 175 weretaken by W. Sugathadasa. All other maps and photographs were supplied bythe Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Tourist Board me, Sri Lankaas been a fascinatingand hospitable ideas, plat,to live and work. Sinhala has opened the door to life-ways and friends I would neverhave known without it. Kamini de Abrew and I hope that thesematerials will open similardoors for others. Bonnie Graham MacDougall Ithaca, New York April 1979 General Conversation TO THE INSTRUCTOR: HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 1. glcies The cycles consist of M-phases and C-phases. During the M-phases the sentences should be repeated to the studentsby the instructor. The students should mimic the pronunciationof the instructor many times both chorally and individually. Sentences should be practiced one by one until studentscan repeat them relatively fluently and with good pronunciation. The instructor should insist on correct pronunciation. If this cannot be accomplished through repetition, the instructor shoulduse the Sinhala writing system whenever possible to show the studentswhere they have gone wrong. The use of the writing system is particularlyuseful in illustrating mispronunciations of vowels whichresult when the English stress system is applied to Sinhalautterances, and in illustrating the substitution of short vowelsand consonants for long ones and vice-versa. Grammatical questions raised by students should be answered promptly and succinctlybefore going On to the C-phase. The information contained in SinhalaStructures should be helpful in preparing such presentations. The C-phase presents an opportunityto use the language and to ex- pand vocabulary. Since it is the part of the lesson students enjoy most, there is always a temptation to rushthrough "M" to get to "C". Try to resolve all fluency and pronunciationproblems before going on to the C-phase. If too little time has been spenton "M", students will not be able. to handle "C"comfortably. When students request vocabulary items, they shouldwrite them down. They should be given direct singular and directplural forms of nouns as well as the "class" (see Sinhala Structures, 1.) For verbs, the basic present and past forms should be given. 2. Other material Procedures for dialogues, drills and texts involvethe basic tech- niques of audio-lingual instruction whichare likely to be familiar to instructors using this book. To the extent that special in- structions are necessary for exploiting these materialsto the fullest, they are given below. Many pictures and illustrations appear in this book, and their implications for lesson material have not been fully drawn out. Teachers may find it useful to build new materials around them. 3. Additional suggestions If the class is conducted at the Embassy in SriLanka, the language staff should try to involve the Sri Lankan employeesin helping students practice. Organizing field trips-- to Sinhala movies and nearby markets, for example, will enrich thecourse and make it fun. General Conversation TABLE OF CONTENTS Cycle 1 What is this? 1 Notes on structure: definite and indef- inite forms of the noun: the Sinhala sound system: single and doubled consonants ww * * ...... Cycle 2 What is that over there? .......... .. 8 Note on structure: demonstratives ... 8 Classroom expressions 9 Note on structure: the infinitive 9 Cycle What are these things? 9 Note on structure: demonstratives . 10 Summary Practicing patterns from Cycles 1-3 15 Cultural Note Greetings and leave-taking . ....... 18 More Classroom Expressions 19 Note on structure: the verb GrIecilm 'understand', with an actor in the dative case. 19 ...... 19 Cycle 4 Are these things boxes? 20 Cycle 5 Is that answer correct? Note on structure: variant spellings of Class D nouns. 21 24 Cycle 6 Making requests Note on structure: the verb Some3, 'say'; the subordinating particle 26 0C3. ....... n .. * More classroom expressions: negative requests. 26 Notes on structure: variants of the infinitive form (requestform) . ........27 General Conversation Dialogues I, II and III: Eliciting_ vocabulary from Sinhala speakers 28 Dialogue I What do you say in Sinhala for what he is doing? 29 Notes on structure: present tense forms, Mocp , Class C nouns 29 Dialogue II What do you say in Sir_ .ala for what this person is doing' 30 Notes on structure: present tense fo s, 32 Dialogue III What do you say in Sinhala for what the farmer is doing? 33 Summary Practicing patterns from Dialogues I-III 34 Cycle 7 Eliciting vocabulary . 38 Cycle What is your name' 46 Note on structure: genitive case forms 46 Terms of Address 47 Cycle 9 What is his/her nam 7 51 Cycle 10 What are the names of these people? 53 Notes on structure: the 'and' particle; genitive forms.