Problems and Teaching English as a Second Language in Nigeria Secondary School
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study includes
i. To know if there is any problem in the time allotted to the teaching and learning of English language as a second language.
ii. Find out how lack of teaching and learning material has contributed problems in the teaching and learning of English language.
iii. To ascertain the effect of shortage of specialist teachers on the teaching of English language as a second language.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
English language is originally the language of the Angles which is later adopted as the language of classroom, government, business and commerce, education, mass media, literature and internal as well as external communication in Nigeria and most African countries. English according to Lawal (2006) in Olaoye (2013) is the brazen penetrating force, as a rapist‖, not sparing even French-another malevolent aggressor. The pervasive influence of English on other languages is in the area of homogenization. This refers to the increasing global similarity in the use of a particular language or particular languages. This means that English is used for almost similar purposes-official, co-equal, national, first language, second language, and other languages, the consequences of which are deadly. Nigeria according to Olaoye (2013) is a country made up of three nations, and each of these ethnic group nations is struggling for their survival. In Nigeria, agreeing on a national language is impossibility due to multilingalism and our population. This spells the importance of English in Nigeria. Danladi (2014) asserts that the multiplicity of languages in Nigeria is so obvious and egregious that languages of people living within a 25 kilometer radius are massively different and incomprehensible to one another. The implication of this complex language situation is the absence of established effective communications between the ethnic groups, which becomes the basis not only for bigotry and hatred but for resorting to the use of English as a predominantly official language. It also implies that the choice of any of the three indigenous languages as a national language certainly will deteriorate to disintegration or unpleasant feelings. Although, English Language has been adopted as an official language many decades ago in Nigeria, the learners still face difficulties learning it for many reasons. A chief reason is the fact that every Nigerian is endowed with his or her mother tongue but compelled to learn in second language or English. Obinna (2010) states that‖ second language refers to the language a person learns on top of his first or natural language. Although in some situations, the second language may be learnt almost simultaneously with first language, generally it comes at a later stage in the process of social formation. Second language usually serves as a truce in a multilingual setting. Dada (2006) states that Nigeria happens to be one of the 22 most linguistically diverse countries in the world. In Nigeria today, according to the 15th edition of the Ethnologue report for Nigeria, there are about 510 living languages co-existing with one another. It is interesting to note that apart from the many indigenous languages, which are of course the mother tongues of Nigerians, non-indigenous languages such as English, French, Arabic, German and Russian also exist. English has become a second language in Nigeria, while Pidgin English, with probably the largest number of speakers, has also emerged as a result of the contact of English with the indigenous languages.‖ Nigeria, no doubt, is a nation that has witnessed a cross-current of linguistic activities due to her inherent multilingual nature coupled with her colonial experience under the British.‖ Dada further opines that the issue of language contact and language conflict exists at three distinct but interrelated levels viz: the social, psychological and linguistic axes of the contact situation. The social aspect is concerned with issues like language choice or language use, the psychological aspect has to do with language attitude as well as language and ethnicity, while the focus of the linguistic aspects is on code-switching, interference, etc. Thus English being a second language is faced with many problems. This is as a result of its complex and inconsistent nature.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to problems and teaching English as a second language in Nigeria secondary school
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information on the study problems and teaching English as a second language in Nigeria secondary school. 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Igbo Etiti local government of Enugu state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain problems and teaching English as a second language in Nigeria secondary schools
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of teaching and learning English as a second language in Nigeria Secondary schools
Summary
This study was on problems and teaching English as a second language in Nigeria secondary school. Four objectives were raised which included: To know if there is any problem in the time allotted to the teaching and learning of English language as a second language, find out how lack of teaching and learning material has contributed problems in the teaching and learning of English language, to ascertain the effect of shortage of specialist teachers on the teaching of English language as a second language. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Igbo Etiti local government of Enugu State. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up principals, vice principals administration, senior staff and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The public secondary schools in Nigeria still have a long way to go to offer multiple pathways to the teaching and learning English as a second language. Little wonder that some Secondary school students have been receiving poor English language background. What contributes to this is that secondary school students finding their way into the university are already at a disadvantage because of their exposure to grassroots’ poor English background and preparation. The main purpose of this study was to determine the cause of the teaching and learning challenges encountered at secondary schools in Nigeria.
Recommendation
It is therefore recommended that
- English learners must be extensive readers.
- Teachers must reward efforts of learners so as to motivate their struggle to acquire the language skills.
- Government as a matter of priority should make available necessary facilities that will empower teaching and learning of English.
- Parents should arouse the interest of their wards by providing needed materials and conducive learning and studying environment at homes.
REFERENCES
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- Bechhofer, F. & Paterson, L. (2000). Principles of research design in the social sciences. London: Routledge.
- Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). USA, Canada: Routledge.
- Christopher, N. (2008). Social and educational impact of language assessment in Nigeria. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 17 (3), 198 – 210.
- Duggan, P.M., Palmer, E., & Devitt, P. (2007). Electronic voting to encourage interactive lectures: a randomized trial. BMC Medical Education, 7, 25, 1-9.
