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It was an experience of a lifetime for Terney Pradeep Kumara of the Ruhuna University, when he went on board the world’s largest scientific vessel, Marion Dufresne on a 20-day research programme developed by marine geoscientists from Geoscience Australia.

Their mission in February was to evaluate the gas hydrates (frozen methane) in the sediments located at a depth of 500-600m below the seafloor. The team on this exceptional voyage comprised 19 students (including Terney, a Lecturer at the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science and Technology of the Ruhuna University), from seven countries along with four staff and four French students from a previous leg, all belonging to the University of the Sea.

A partnership between the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and universities of various countries, the University of the Sea is dedicated to building marine science capacity in the Asia and Pacific region.
One of the university’s central tasks is to bring together researchers and scholars to address marine science issues of direct interest to the region and participate knowledgeably in the global debate on the use of the ocean.

Many months of painstaking analyses would be made on the samples collected by the team before results are determined and conclusions drawn. However, for the students, the cruise was an exercise of discovery – about marine research, teamwork, different nations and themselves.

Reputed to be a large, versatile and multi-purpose vessel, Marion Dufresne has two main functions: Performing oceanographic research and re-supplying the French austral islands in the sub Antarctic region. The multi-disciplinary ship also carries passengers, cargo and fuel to research stations on the islands, and is equipped to be a base for light cargo flights.

Commended as the best research vessel in the world for deep-sea coring, the seaworthy French ship that can work in all weather conditions is expected to call at the Colombo Port on August 7 and 8.

“Language is all about oral communication. You need it for your personal development and for the development of the country,” says trainer and adult educator Roshini Wickremasinghe, lamenting the fact that the country has slid backwards without enough English speaking individuals.

“The education system in Sri Lanka focuses on reading, writing and passing examinations in English, but not on speaking or communicating in the language,” Roshini says. As a result those who have completed their O/levels in English or even a degree in other disciplines have to take on jobs that they are overqualified for.

In Sri Lanka on a one-month break, Roshini, who currently teaches English to speakers of other languages at the Southhall and West London College, was a resource person at the workshop ‘English For Everyone’ organised by the Vocational Department of Ladies’ College on July 29.

On the need for such a workshop, the linguistics graduate, who has taught many Sri Lankan students in England, has found that they are good on paper and have good handwriting, but lack communication skills, because they cannot speak the language fluently.

“We wanted to give parents and teachers of children and adults, resources and ideas to help students communicate in English rather than depend on the written word,” she says. We learn our mother tongue by listening and speaking – the same principle was followed in this workshop. “However, speaking is vital. Writing and reading will follow and are merely for consolidation,” she explains.

Roshini has had 12 years experience in teaching English to post-16 year olds.

From her interaction with students Roshini knows that school lessons are sometimes boring and exam-oriented. She feels that the role of a teacher is to make lessons fun and interesting. “We need to get students actively involved in the learning process,” she says, adding that teaching methods should be more students centred.

Everyone apparently doesn’t learn the same way. Some learn better by writing, others by seeing or doing. “Hence, in a lesson we need to have a variety of activities, so that all categories of learners can learn from some part of it,” she concludes.

Performances by the winners of the 2006 biennial Concerto Competition organised by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, and wonderfully melodious music written for the ballet and opera will feature in the Symphony Orchestra’s Young Soloists’ concert on August 12. The concert is to be conducted by Ananda Dabare.

Kumudini David, the winner of the vocal section of the competition will sing “The Willow Song” and “Ave Maria” from Verdi’s opera Otello, based on Shakespeare’s play. She will follow this with Violetta’s arias “E strano!” “It Is Strange”, “Ah, fors’ e lui” “Perhaps He Is the One” and “Sempre libera” “Always Free” from Verdi’s great opera La Traviata.

Amila Abeysekara, (21), the winner of the Strings section, will perform Edouard Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D minor, which abounds with virtuoso passage for the soloist.

The orchestral pieces in the concert include two of the beautiful Waltzes – Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” from his Nutcracker Suite, and the Waltz from Leo Delibes’ ballet Coppelia. The other piece is Glinka’s Overture to his opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, one of classical music’s most brilliant orchestra showpieces, first produced in St. Petersburg in 1842.
The concert is at Ladies’ College Hall commencing at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza or by phone from SOSL on 2682033. The concert is sponsored by HSBC.