Abstract:
"Sri Lankan university students face significant challenges in reading academic texts in
English due to several factors such as limited language proficiency in English, lack of
motivation and preparedness to read academic texts. Despite the importance of
academic reading, towards gaining success in academics, current solutions are
insufficient to meet the unique needs of these students. To close this gap, project
LesiRead, a comprehensive information system aimed at helping Sri Lankan university
students read and understand English-medium academic texts effectively is introduced.
Key features of Lesi Read include a multilingual question-answering model that
supports the 3 main languages of Sri Lanka, English, Sinhala, and Tamil, making the
academic text accessible to Sri Lankan university students with varying levels of
language proficiency. LesiRead also has a quiz feature which generates a quiz based on
the uploaded documents. This allows students to directly check their understanding of
the academic texts. In addition, summarizing text and translating text features support
students with reading as well. LesiRead also employs a reward-based system, paired
with gamification aspects, to inspire and sustain students' involvement in academic
reading tasks.
The methodology taken to develop LesiRead includes conducting a comprehensive
study into the issues faced by Sri Lankan university students through an industrial
survey and existing literature on academic reading and strategies that support academic
reading for ESL (English as a second language) students. After the development
process, the system was fine-tuned based on the feedback of domain experts, technical
experts and end users. In addition, the initial feedback gained in the user testing also
confirms that Lesi Read helps with reading comprehension and getting motivated to
read further.
In conclusion, it can be said that LesiRead is a unique innovative solution to overcome
the challenges of academic reading faced by Sri Lankan university students and through
further refinement and evaluation, it will make a significant impact in improving
academic outcomes and fostering a culture of reading among Sri Lankan university
students.
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