Dr Kaushalya Perera

I am a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, where I teach linguistics courses. Prior to this, I served at the University of Kelaniya for 15 years, moving to the University of Colombo in 2018. My teaching experience includes designing and teaching courses in English as a Second Language as well as other linguistics courses in the fields of language acquisition (by children and adults) and social aspects of language such as language and identity.

My research interests are in the areas of discourse studies, language and education policies, and Sinhala pragmatics. I am currently working on three research projects: the impact of World Bank lending on Sri Lankan universities; Sinhala pragmatics; and, children’s digital literacy. My publications appear in the journals Applied Linguistics and Qualitative Research. I am the Assistant Editor of the University of Colombo’s flagship journal, University of Colombo Review, and a member of the editorial board of the Qualitative Research journal.

I maintain two online bibliographies of research on Sri Lanka: Biblioseks (on sexuality-related research) and Language in Sri Lanka (on Sri Lankan languages), blog on research at Simplify. You can also find me on twitter (@Kauship1) and Instagram (@ze_ditcher).

I am also the administrator of two student-produced sites on digital media and linguistics: How do children language? and Apps for Kids

Education

  • PhD 2015

    PhD in Applied Linguistics

    Pennsylvania State University

  • MA 2007

    MA in Linguistics

    Graduate Centre, CUNY

  • BA 2000

    BA (Hons) in English

    University of Colombo

Positions

  • Present2018

    Senior Lecturer

    University of Colombo

  • 20212019

    Director of Postgraduate Studies

    Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo

  • 20172009

    Senior Lecturer

    University of Kelaniya

  • 20092004

    Probationary & Confirmed Lecturer

    University of Kelaniya