This chapter appears on the centenary year publication of the Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo (published in 2025). In the chapter, I trace the history of  DELT, UoC, aligning it with the history of  English Language Teaching (ELT) at the Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo from the late 1950s until recent times. I have paralleled this development with the demand for ELT in the higher education system of Sri Lanka necessitated by the language policy changes made after in enactment of the Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956).