Diploma in Professional English (DPE)

Diploma in Professional English programme is introduced by the Centre for Open and Distance Learning, University of Jaffna. This course has been designed to suit all the professionals employed in various professional contexts and the non-professionals seeking employment. This programme is supposed to promote their career uplift through developing English Language competencies and thereby they could enhance their competencies and capabilities in the field of profession. The programme mainly focuses on most of the key aspects of professional practices and dynamics of communication with the aim of enhancing the ability of professionals. Professionals of different fields with high competency in English Language are the global demand at present. Recent awareness in  Sri Lanka and its national plan for a trilingual society further demand for higher level competency in English language among professionals as a means of ethnic reconciliation and achievement of global standards in the field of profession.

To fulfill this goal, it is important to increase the number of appropriate English language users in all the areas and also professionals to use English simultaneously. Therefore, the Centre for Open and Distance Learning, University of Jaffna offers a Diploma in professional English programme designed by the Department of English Language Teaching for professionals in different fields with the intention of minimizing the problem of language issues of professionals in public and private sectors.


Justification  on the Study Programme

The present propensity among the professionals in different working environment is to follow a Diploma in Professional English programme, as they feel that it would enhance employment opportunities and their professional uplift in their career. Our experience reveals that it is strongly believed that Diploma in Professional English programme will equip the professionals to have a comprehensive knowledge and skills of the field, which in turn would help solve the dearth of qualified English professionals in the Island.

The Diploma in Professional English programme aims at equipping professionals and non-professionals with English Language competencies  required in fulfilling their needs – the professionals with their career improvement, students seeking employment both locally and abroad, to broaden their knowledge and skills in English in order to adapt to the world of work
The curriculum of the programme contains structure of language and all the main four language skills – Language Structure and usage, Advanced Reading skills and vocabulary development, Professional Writing, Listening skills and Project Writing.  These components, while making followers able to perform their duties in any field of employment that requires a high degree of English proficiency, help them both to achieve proficiency in the language, and to lay a firm foundation for their further professional development.

Objectives  of the Study Programme 
  • Equip with English language proficiency to fulfill their day-to-day professional and higher educational requirements
  • Broaden with advanced proficiency in English language structure, technical writing advanced reading skill, business communication and presentation skills to perform confidently in any practical situations that require a higher degree of fluency, accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness.
  • To promote adequate and uniformed proficiency level in English language to encounter the global and national demands in their respective fields,
  • To develop Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) and abilities in English and make them conversant in the language,
  • To promote all the basic language skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking,
  • To foster adequate necessary proficiency in English so as to make them employable
  • To increase the number of professionals with English Language via a Diploma in Professional English course which in turn is expected to minimise the acute dearth of English qualified professionals in the Island
Programme Delivery and Learner Support System

The programme will be conducted by the Centre for Open and Distance Learning (CODL), University of Jaffna. The lectures of the Diploma programme will be provided by the Department of English Language Teaching. Since the programme is conducted during the weekends, staff attached to the department will be employed. The Diploma programme will be delivered using blended teaching and learning methods to assure the students centred teaching and learning strategies to promote independent learning. The delivery of the programme includes face to face interactive lessons, presentations, and tutorials writing. In order to enhance an efficient programme delivery, learner support system will be formed by providing well-equipped lecture halls, use of educational technology in the field of ELT, various teaching and learning tools and aids, this learner support system will provide the students an opportunity for developing various skills needed for their profession.

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”] [fruitful_tab title=”COURSE CONTENT “] The Name of the Diploma
Department of English Language Teaching offers the Diploma in Professional English Course of one academic year duration as part-time.
Medium of Instruction
English
Course Structure
The Diploma in Professional English programme is based on credit valued course unit system.
Volume of Learning and SLQF Level
The duration of the Diploma in Professional English programme is two semesters based on part-time and the volume of learning of the programme amounts to 30 credits which meets the SLQF 3 (minimum requirement of 30 credits). The Part-time Program contains two semesters each of 15 weeks duration per course unit.
Curriculum Layout of Diploma in Professional English Programme
The Diploma in Professional English programme is composed of 10 course units. The details are summarized in here.
Curriculum Layout of Diploma in Professional English programme
Status of Course Units Semester 1 Semester 2 Credits Earned
Core Course 14credits 16credits 30
Total 14credits 16credits 30
Course Units of the Programme The details of Course units of the diploma programme are summarized here. Course Units of Diploma in Professional English programme First Semester
Course Code Title Credit Value
DPEC 1013 Language structure usage (45:03 Credits)
DPEC 1023 Basic Reading skills and Vocabulary development (45:03 Credits)
DPEC 1033 Introduction to Professional Writing I (45:03 Credits)
DPEC 1043 Basic Communication Skills (45:03 Credits)
DPEC 1052 Basic Listening Skills (30:02 Credits)
Total (14 Credits)
Second Semester
Course Code Title Credit Value
DPEC 2013 Advanced Language Structure usage (45:03 Credits)
DPEC 2023 Advanced Reading Skills and Vocabulary Development (45:03 Credits)
DPEC 2033 Professional Writing II (60:04 Credits)
DPEC 2043 Advanced and Technology Based Communication Skills (60:04 Credits)
DPEC 2052 Advanced Listening Skills (30:02 Credits)
Total (16 Credits)
[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”ADMISSION CRITERIA”] Eligibility Requirements for Admission
To follow the Diploma in Professional English programme, an applicant must have the following basic requirements:
An applicant must have passed the G.C.E A/L Examination in all three subjects in one sitting and a pass in English at G.C.E A/L or a credit pass in G.C.E O/L.
The selection criteria
A written test (the duration of the test is one hour and the aim is to check the student’s ability in reading and writing skills) will be conducted whenever the number of applicants is more than allocated number of applicants. 50 applicants will be selected to follow the degree programme at a time with a reserved list. [/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”EVALUATION PROCESS “] Programme Assessment Procedures
The assessment procedures include both formative and summative assessments. Each course units will be evaluated both of these assessment procedures. The exact system of the evaluation procedure of each course unit is provided in the detailed syllabus of the respective course units. Satisfying all the in-course assessment requirements is mandatory to sit for the end course examination.
Blue Print of the Assessment
The purpose of the assessment blueprint is to provide clarity of the process of setting the questions and assessing teaching and learning in relation to the programme objectives and intended learning objectives of the course units. The detailed course units contain the duration, structure, instructions on the number of questions and the choices to be answered.
Eligibility to Sit for the End Semester Examination
All candidates are required to satisfy the 80% attendance and other regulations specified by the Centre for Open and Distance Learning (CODL), University of Jaffna to sit for each End Semester examination. No students shall be permitted to sit for an End Semester examination unless the course coordinator of Diploma programme has to certify that s/he has completed the course of study for the examination satisfactorily. Students who fail to sit for an examination without authorization or to submit valid reason shall be given grade “F” in that examination and shall forfeit all credit for that course. A student who is absent from a whole End Semester examination without any valid reason shall be deemed to have exploited one chance.
Guidelines for the calculation of Grade Point Average.
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is a numerical representation of a student’s overall academic performance. The grade point average is the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of Grade Point earned by the total number of credit hours in which students receive a letter grade. Decimals beyond two places are truncated, not rounded, in computing the Grade Point Average. The formula for GPA computing is as follows:
GPA Calculation
Grades and Grade Point Values
Range of Marks Grades Grade Point Values(GPV)
80 – > A+ 4.00
75 – 79 A 4.00
70 – 74 A- 3.70
65 – 69 B+ 3.30
60 – 64 B 3.00
55 – 59 B- 2.70
50 – 54 C+ 2.30
45 – 49 C 2.00
40 – 44 C- 1.70
35 – 39 D+ 1.30
30 – 34 D 1.00
< – 29 E 0.00
Repeating Examination
A student who obtained a grade of C- or below shall repeat that particular course unit by registering in that course unit in a subsequent semester. A student who repeats a particular course unit must complete all requirements for that course unit in which it is repeated. The marks obtained from the previous end semester examinations is not transferable. When repeating the maximum grade for a repeat course is “C”. In the case of repeat candidates, marks obtained for in-course assessment shall be carried forward for the subsequent end semester examination.
Release of results of end semester examinations
End of the semester examinations shall be conducted for each course unit at the end of the semester in which the teaching of the course is completed. The end of semester examinations shall be conducted by CODL, University of Jaffna. The date and time of the end of semester examinations shall be decided at the beginning of each semester by the Director, CODL in conjunction with the course coordinator. The list of first and second examiners of all end semester examinations should have the approval of the Board of CODL and Senate. The result of end semester examination will be released within three months.
[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME “] Programme Structure
Diploma in Professional English programme meets the level 3 of the Sri Lankan Qualification Frame (SLQF) 2015. It is a two-semester based programme which will be conducted during weekends over a period of twelve months. The students should have earned 30 credits at the completion of the programme.
Course Units
The Diploma in Professional English programme consists of 10 course units and 30 credits for the entire course units. All the course units are compulsory.
Credit and Hours: Volume of Learning
A course unit is a subject module that has a credit value. A credit is a time-based quantitative measure assigned to course units based on number of contact hours. Some details are as follows:
  1. 15 hours of the lectures and tutorials are equivalent to 01 credit which is equivalent to 50 notional hours.
  2. The contact hours for a core course unit are 30 hrs. (30 hrs. lectures and tutorials).
  3. All the courses are considered as compulsory core units irrespective of their credit values.
[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”AWARD OF CLASS”] Award of Degree
A candidate who has fulfilled the following requirements shall be awarded a Diploma in Professional English;
– obtains a GPA not less than 2.00 for the whole Diploma in Professional English programme and
– possesses grade C or above in the course units.
– fulfils all the requirements from 1 to II above, with three academic years since the registration.
Awarding Classes
The student who has fulfilled the criteria for the award of degree and completed the programme in the specified period shall be awarded the degree with class as described below.
  Awarding Distinction pass
A student who fulfills all the conditions stipulated in above above, should be awarded Distinction Pass, if s/he has completed the Diploma in Professional English programme within the stipulated period above and obtained a GPA not less than 3.70.
  Awarding Merit pass
A student fulfilling all the conditions stipulated in section 6.4 above, should be awarded Merit Pass, if s/he has completed the Diploma in Professional English programme within the stipulated period above and obtained a GPA not less than 3.30.
Effective Date of Degree
The effective date of the Diploma in Professional English programme shall be the last date of the stipulated examination period in which the second semester examination concludes. For the repeat candidate, the effective date of the Diploma in Professional English shall be the last date of the completion of the course unit which he/she failed. [/fruitful_tab] [/fruitful_tabs]