Master of Arts in English Language Teaching (English for Specific Purposes) awarded by the Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
Master of Arts in Linguistics awarded by the Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya.
Accreditation of Senior Teachers in Higher Education (ASTHE) awarded by Staff Development Centre, University of Colombo with the accreditation of Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), UK
Bachelor of Arts awarded by Faculty of Arts, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Certificate Course in Teaching in Higher Education (CTHE) awarded by Staff Development Centre, University of Colombo
Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) awarded by University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
In service Certificate in English Language Teaching (ICELT) awarded by University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) awarded by University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Basic American Language Instructor Course (BALIC) awarded by Defense Language Institute, Lackland AFB, TX, USA
Certificate in English Language Teaching in Higher Education awarded by General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy
Professional In-Service English Teacher Training (PRINSETT) (Specialist English Trained) awarded by Teachers’ Training College (Peradeniya), Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka.
Certificate in Presentation Skills awarded by British Council, Colombo.
Working Experience
Senior Lecturer Grade II at Department of Languages of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka from 1st February 2012 to date
Cambridge ESOL (Oral) Examiner, British Council, Colombo (2011 – 2014)
Lecturer at Department of Languages of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka from 1st August 2009 to 1st February, 2012
Language Coordinator at Department of Languages of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka from 10th June, 2009 to 1st August 2009
Head (Acting) – Department of Languages from 17th June 2008 to 17th August 2008
Head (Acting) – Department of Languages from 27th November 2007 to 28th January, 2008
Instructor in English at Department of Languages of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka from 22nd July 1999 to 10th June 2009
Trained Teacher of English in the Department of Education, Sri Lanka from 1995 to 1999
Certificate Teacher of English, Department of Education, Sri Lanka from 15th June 1992 to 1st March 1995
Officer in Charge of Language Laboratories from 2003 to date
Other Contributions
A member of the Editorial Board of Silhouette 2005 – 2006, Silhouette 2006 – 2007, Silhouette 2007 – 2008, Silhouette 2008 – 2009, Silhouette 2009 – 2010, Silhouette 2010 – 2011, Silhouette 2011 – 2012, Silhouette 2013 – 2014. Silhouette 2016 – 2017 and Silhouette 2017 – 2018 the annual journal of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Headed the team which developed the Graduate Attributes for the Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities in 2016
Visiting Lecturer of the Staff Development Centre of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
Visiting Lecturer in English, Diploma in English Programme of Faculty of Graduate Studies of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (2008 – to date)
Coordinated and Taught the Communication Skills Package of the Leadership Training Course for the newly enlisted Officers of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (2015 -2016)
Developed tailor made teaching materials focusing on ESP and English for Professional Purposes for the Communication Skills Package of the Leadership Training Course for the newly enlisted Officers of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (2015 -2016)
Coordinated and taught the Advanced Certificate Course in English for the military officers of Sri Lanka Army and Navy reading for the Defence Service and Staff College Course No 12
Coordinated and taught the Pre-sessional English Course for MBS in Logistics Management (Course No 05) of the Sri Lanka Army Logistics School
Taught the Pre-Sessional English Course for the military officers of Sri Lanka Army and Navy reading for the Defence Service and Staff College Course No 13
Visiting Lecturer for the Communication Skills Module of the BSc in Management (Part Time) degree programme conducted by the Faculty of Graduate Studies of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
Visiting Lecturer for the Communication Skills Module of the LMM (Part Time) degree programme conducted by the Faculty of Graduate Studies of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. (2018)
Coordinate and taught the special English Language Teaching Methodology Course conducted for the newly enlisted Military English Instructors of Sri Lanka Army by the Department of Languages of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in 2014.
Coordinate and taught the special English Language Teaching Methodology Course conducted for the newly enlisted Military English Instructors of Sri Lanka Navy by the Department of Languages of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in 2011.
Visiting Lecturer of English for the Marine and Electrical Diploma Course conducted for the Navy personnel of the Sultanate of Oman.
Coordinated and taught the Tailor Made English Course for the Administrative Staff of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
Developed tailor made teaching materials focusing on ESP and EAP for the Pre-sessional English Course for MBS in Logistics Management (Course No 05) of the Sri Lanka Army Logistics School
Developed tailor made teaching materials focusing on ESP and EAP for the Pre-sessional English Course for the military officers of Sri Lanka Army and Navy reading for the Defence Service and Staff College Course No 13
Developed teaching material focusing on ESP and EAP for the English package offered for the undergraduates of Logistics Management, Management and Technical Sciences and Social Sciences of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Research Interests
Teaching Grammar
Teaching Writing
Task Based Language Teaching
ESP
EAP
Feedback
Corpus Linguistics
Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties
Teaching Areas
TESOL
Communication Skills
ESP
EAP
Publications
McCulloch, S., Indrarathne, B, Jahan, A., Gnawali, L., Hussain, N., Nauman, S., Jayawardena, S. & Abeyawickrama, W. (2020). Investigating EAP Provision in South Asian Higher Education: Current Trends and Future Needs. ELTRA Grant Report, British Council.
Abeyawickrama, W., Indrarathne, B., Munasinghe, H., Godage, L. & Widanapathirana, W. (2019). Validating a new set of language independent dyslexia identification tests in Sri Lanka. Hornby Scholars Site, British Council
Abeyawickrama, W. (2018). Critical Review of Literature on Giving Corrective Feedback in TESOL Sessions. 11th International Research Conference Proceedings: Securing Professional Excellence through Collaboration, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. (Full Paper)
Abeyawickrama, W. (2017). A Small Scale Genre Analysis Study of the Introductions of a Corpus of Postgraduate Essays in the Field of Applied Linguistics. 10th International Research Conference Proceedings: Changing Dynamics in the Global Environment: Challenges and Opportunities, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. (Full Paper)
Abeyawickrama, W. (2015). A Small Scale Genre Analysis Study of the Introductions of a Corpus of Postgraduate Essays in the Field of Applied Linguistics. Unpublished master’s dissertation, University of Warwick
Abeyawickrama, W. (2012). Proficiency in Modal Auxiliaries. Unpublished master’s dissertation, University of Kelaniya
Wickramasinghe, K, Damayanthi, T., Riyaff, H., Indrarathne, B., Abeyawickrama, W., Halangoda, S., & Perera, J. (2010). Target – English Intensive Course Book for Military, Colombo: British Council
Abeyawickrama, W. & Indrarathne, B. (2006). Intensive English Course – Module 1-10, English Language Course Book for Intensive English Course – KDU. Ratmalana: General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Conference Papers
“Applying Barrie’s model to effectively develop graduate attributes for the Faculty of MSH at KDU”. (abstract accepted) To be presented at the 16th Joint SDC – SLAIHEE Conference 2020
“Validating a new set of language independent dyslexia identification tests in Sri Lanka”. (abstract accepted) To be presented at the IATEFL International English Language Conference in 2020 in the UK (postponed to 2021 due to covid-19 outbreak)
“Critical Review of Literature on giving corrective feedback in TESOL Sessions” presented at the 11th International Research Conference: General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, 2018
“A Small-Scale Genre Analysis Study of the Introductions of a Corpus of Postgraduate Essays in the Field of Applied Linguistics.” presented at the 10th International Research Conference: General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, 2017
“Teacher Cognition and Communicative Curricula: Bridging the Gaps”. – Presented at the 49th Annual International IATEFL Conference and Exhibition Manchester, UK, 2015
“Teaching English through Research Writing”. – Presented at the Annual Symposium of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, 2009
Research Projects
Principal Investigator: Hornby Alumni Grant, British Council: 2018/2019: Validating CAML-Dyslexia identification test battery in Sri Lanka, amount £1,400 (Rs 330,000)
Project partner: University of York/GCRF Priming for ODA-compliant research: 2020: Engaging teachers in South Asia with research evidence: Improving English language learning in areas with poor access to resources, Principal Investigator is Dr Bimali Indrarathne from University of York, UK, amount £24,854 (Rs 6 million)
Project partner: University of York/GCRF Priming for ODA-compliant research: 2020: Materials design initiative for English language courses at Sri Lankan universities, Principal Investigator is Dr Bimali Indrarathne from University of York, UK, amount £10,875 (Rs 2.5 million)
Project partner: British Council ELTRA grant: 2019: Investigating EAP provision in higher education in South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka): Current trends and future needs, Principal Investigator was Dr Sharon McCulloch from University of Central Lancashire, UK and Co-Investigator was Dr Bimali Indrarathne from University of York, UK, amount £7,570 (Rs 1.8 million)
Research partner: Lancaster University Funded Project 2019: The role of multi-modal text presentation in the comprehension of second language health-related texts, Principal Investigator was Professor Judit Kormos from Lancaster University, UK and Co-Investigator was Dr Bimali Indrarathne from University of York, UK, amount ca. £7000 (Rs 1.6 million)
Awards
on the Hornby Scholarship offered to Sri Lanka by the Hornby Trust in the UK for the academic year 2014/2015 to study for a master’s degree in English language teaching at Warwick University in the UK.
Graduate Supervision
Lt Cdr C Gunathilaka – MSc Research on “Enhancing Professional Qualification of Sri Lanka Navy Regular Branch Seaman Sailors in the Context of Future Performance” – to be completed in 2020
Major D Chathuranga – MSc Research on “The Impact of the National Cadet Corps Training on Officer Cadet and Recruits Training in the Sri Lanka Army” – to be completed in 2020
Captain Major HDRC Fernando – MSc Research on “The Impact of Modernised Military Education on Employment Productivity of the Commando Regiment” – Completed in 2019
Major Rizwan Hussain (Pakistan Army) – MSc Research on “Issues in Higher Education System of Pakistan and Remedial Measures” – Completed in 2019
Major SN Weerasena – MSc Research on “An Analytical Study on Improvement of Soldiers Welfare Facilities in Sri Lanka Army – A Study on Soldiers of 17 Gamunu Watch Kayts in Jaffna – completed in 2019
Major YK Athauda – MSc Research on “Analytical Study on Career Progression of Volunteer Officers of Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment” – Completed in 2019
Major MPM Samarathunga SLAAC – MSc Research on “Armoured Corps Training Difficulties and Measurements for Improvements” – Completed in 2018
Major G D P Garusinghe SLAAC – MSc Research on “How Effectively Implant Patriotism in Minds by Primary/ Secondary Education System in Sri Lanka to Build a Responsible Citizen” – Completed in 2018
Captain HMRPK Rajaguru SLPC – MSc Research on “Does Sri Lanka Army Efficiently Use the Expertise Knowledge and Experience Gained by the Officers /ORs” – completed in 2018
Major MSK Pallewaththegedara SLLI – MSc Research on “Present Day Challenges of Battialion Commanders in grooming up Junior Officers in the Sri Lanka Army” – Completed in 2017
Captain YGLM Herath SLSR – MSc Research on “Revision of Selection Criteria for Efficient outcomes in Army Career Courses in order to Face Future Military Challenges” – Completed in 2017
Lieutenant Commander WAKLP Wickramasinghe – MSc Research on “A Study on Impact of Newly Introduced Advanced Level Technical Stream with Special Reference to Hanwella Divisional Secretariat. – Completed in 2017
Workshops & Conferences
Participated in Trainer Training Workshop in 2017 on “Inclusion of Learners with Specific Learning Differences in Teaching English as a Foreign Language: A Teacher Training Project for Sri Lanka” conducted by Lancaster University, UK.
Attended the 49th Annual International IATEFL Conference and Exhibition in 2015 at Manchester Central, Manchester, UK
Attended a Workshop on Language Awareness and Skills and Activities for Trainers in 2010 conducted by Rod Bolitho at the British Council, Colombo.
Participated in the workshops for English Instructors on “Lesson Planning”, “Reading Skills”, “Listening Skills”, “Pronunciation”, “Speaking Skills” and “Syllabus Planning” conducted by the Military Communication Skills Project of the British Council, Colombo from 2004 to 2010
Participated in the National Conference on Improving the Quality, Relevance and Status of English language Teaching at Sri Lankan Universities in 2006 under the theme of “Enhancing University ELT” organized by Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies
Participated in the Hornby Regional School 2007 on “Teaching in English – Cooperation and Collaboration” conducted by the British Council, Colombo
Participated in the workshop for “Materials Development” conducted by the Military Communication Skills Project of British Council, Colombo in 2005.
Participated in the Hornby Regional School 2005 on “English Medium – Bridging from Education to the Work Place” conducted by the British Council, Colombo
