Staff Profile

Role in the School

Senior Lecturer in Second Language Acquisition

Degree Programme Director - MA in Linguistics and IPHD Linguistics (Taught Phase)

Biography

PhD in Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

MA in Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

MA in TESOL, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA

BA (Hons) in English, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

My main research interests lie in adult second language acquisition (SLA) and syntactic theory. My work focuses on how adult second language learners develop L2 syntactic knowledge under different input conditions and how they utilize their underlying syntactic competence to guide real-time language comprehension (L2 processing). Beyond syntax, I am also interested in the phonology-syntax interface, particularly how prosodic and phonological cues influence syntactic parsing in a second language. Additionally, my research explores how cognitive and affective factors shape success in adult SLA, shedding light on individual differences in acquisition and processing.

Recent Conference Presentations:

Online application of Binding Principle-A in L1 and L2 sentence processing. Poster presented at the 49th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, MA (09.11. 2024).

[Collaborators: Indrarathne B,Vanek N, Matějka Š]

He broke the coconut but the coconut didn't break: Event realisation and its processing in Sinhala learners of English. Paper presented at the AILA World Congress of the International Association of Applied Linguistics, Kuala Lumpur (11.08. 2024).

[Collaborators: Indrarathne B,Vanek N, Matějka Š]

Learners can outperform native speakers in probabilistic computations: Evidence from eye-fixations when processing unrealized events. Paper presented at the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Conference, Houston, TX (19.03.2024).        

[Collaborators: Indrarathne B,Vanek N, Matějka Š]

Recent Publications

Hettiarachchi, S., Jayathilake, C. & Pereira, S.S. Balancing aspirations and realities: A qualitative study of L2 motivation among Sri Lankan social science lecturers in English medium instruction. Discov Educ4, 195 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00626-z

SEL2237- Introduction to Second Language Learning and Teaching

SEL8701- Foundations in Second Language Learning and Teaching

SEL3430 - Advanced Second Language Acquisition

SEL8690 - Advanced Topics in Second Language Acquisition

SEL8500 - Research Methods in Language and Linguistics

• Articles

  • Hettiarachchi S, Jayathilake C, Pereira SS. Balancing aspirations and realities: A qualitative study of L2 motivation among Sri Lankan social science lecturers in Englishmedium instruction. Discover Education 2025, 4, 195.
  • Hettiarachchi, S, Pires, A. Second language acquisition of constraints on wh-movement by L2 English speakers: Evidence for full acesss to syntactic features. Languages 2022, 7(2), 2-19.
  • Hettiarachchi S. Local Object Scrambling in Sinhala: Evidence for A-bar Movement. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 2022, 9(2), 20-33.
  • Hettiarachchi S, Damayanthi BWR, Heenkenda S, Dissanayake DMSLB, Ranagalage M, Ananda L. Student Satisfaction with Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study at State Universities in Sri Lanka. Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11749.
  • Chao-Ting Tim, Chou, Hettiarachchi, Sujeewa. On Sinhala subject case marking and A-moement. Lingua 2016, 177, 17-40.
  • Hettiarachchi S. English Language Teacher Motivation in Sri Lankan Public Schools. Journal of Language Teaching and Research 2013, 4(1), 1-11.