The Department of English Language Teaching (DELT) was founded in 2004 as the first Department of its nature in the Sri Lankan University system.

At present, the Department functions under the Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages and offers English language courses for those who follow general and special degrees in the university. Furthermore, English as a Second Language (ESL) was introduced in 2011 and now it could be studied as a minor subject in any special degree and major or minor in general degree programmes. Currently, DELT is responsible for designing all English language courses offered by the respective departments of the university and plays a predominant role in enhancing quality and relevance of the degrees offered.

Most of the existing English degree programmes in the university system have not specifically been designed to produce teachers of English since those programmes have their own unique objectives. Consequences of that, English Language Teaching related course units are not prioritized in such curriculum. However, the syllabi for ESL in the department include practical as well as theoretical units thereby to produce skillful graduates who can cater to the requirements in the field of English Language Teaching.