Factors Affecting Secondary School Oral English Instruction
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
The aim of this study is to identify the factors affecting secondary school oral English instruction. The specific objectives are to:
- ascertain the level of students performance in oral English in secondary schools.
- determine measures for improving oral English instruction in secondary schools.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The chapter deals with literature review on the concept of strategies for improving low academic performance in English language in secondary schools. This involves various definitions of English language, oral English, academic performance, causes of low academic performance, overview of Nigeria secondary schools, path to effective oral communication, strategies to deal low academic performance. The review of empirical studies, theoretical review, theoretical framework and summary of literature review.
Conceptual Review
In this section, the basic relevant concepts were reviewed. These include English language, oral English, academic performance, secondary schools among others.
English Language
English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca (Crystal, 2003). Wardhaugh (2010) it is named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name, as England. Both names derive from Anglia, a peninsula in the Baltic Sea. The language is closely related to Frisian and Low Saxon, and its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Norse (a North Germanic language), and to a greater extent by Latin and French (Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Dieter Wolff, 1973).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter covers the methodology of this study. Key issues discussed includes; data collection, sampling technique, instrument for data collection, method of data analysis among others.
Research Design
The research design used for this study is survey. This is because data gotten through this method can be used to describe the characteristics of public organization. It is used as an assessment tool to provide information on which to base sound decisions. It also serves as a foundation for more investigation. This research method was adopted because it offers opportunity for the collation of facts and information from a wide spectrum of respondents, hence it is expedient for this research.
The use of survey is a favourable option for the following reasons:
- It is most appropriate for analysing Oral English and educational system of Nigeria.
- It is accurate
This method is objective in the sense that the personal bias of the researcher is not allowed in findings.
Population of the Study
The population targeted for this study consists of all secondary schools in Nigeria.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher tends to deal with the analysis and presentation of data collected in the course of this project. A total of 300 copies of questionnaire were administered in the area under study and 288 copies were retrieved from the respondents. This represents 96% return rate.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
This chapter deals with the summary of this study, conclusions from the findings and recommendations which can be used for policy making.
Summary
This study assesses the factors affecting secondary school oral English instruction. The study is in five chapters. In the first chapter, a general background of the study was undertaken. In view of the background, the problems of study were identified and stated, the research questions, the objective, scope and significant of the study were outline and discussed. Finally in the first chapter is the definition of key concepts used in the study and the organization of study.
Chapter two contains the review of various literatures on the concept of strategies for improving low academic performance in English language in secondary schools. This involves various definitions of English language, oral English, academic performance, causes of low academic performance, overview of Nigeria secondary schools, path to effective oral communication, strategies to deal low academic performance. Also in the second chapter is the empirical and theoretical reviews, theory use as a basis for this study (Krashen’s Monitor Model) was found best for this study.
In the third chapter of this work, the research design, population of study, sample size, sampling techniques, instrument for data collection, method of data collection, validity/reliability of instrument and method of data analysis were all discussed.
In the fourth chapter, data collected (primary) were presented and analysed to answer the research questions. Based on the various findings, the two questions were answered. After the analysis, the findings are as follows:
- The level of student performance in oral English in secondary schools is average and needs to be raised.
- Provision of infrastructural facilities, reading, discussion, effective writing are major strategies to improve oral English skills.
Conclusion
This study has underscored the factors affecting secondary school oral English instruction. Findings from this research uncovered that oral English skills in secondary schools are actually poor in Nigeria, hence several strategies should be devised both from the government, teachers and students to resolve this problem. This is consistent with the findings of Joshua Usman and Lynda Jummai Mustafa (2014) which revealed that interference of mother tongue, unqualified teachers and dearth of relevant teaching material are the major challenge. This was further reiterated by the findings of Willow F. Pangket which revealed that the main factors affecting the oral proficiency of the pupils are motivation, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Teaching strategies and curriculum are contributory factors. Thus, in the light of the foregoing, this study reliably concludes that improving the level of oral English skills in secondary schools has a positive impact on Nigeria educational system in particular and Nigeria in general.
The findings of this study have clearly shown that oral English skills make very significant contribution to communication.
Recommendations
On the strength of the observations and findings made in this study the following recommendations have been made.
- The level of oral English skills in secondary schools should be raised.
- Various strategies that will help raise the level of oral English skills in secondary schools should be adopted such as employment of only qualified teachers, discussions, rehearsal, group work, narrating, free talking sessions should be adopted by teachers as methods of instructing oral English.
Limitations to the Study
The study faced some constraints. They include insufficient literature material, financial constraint, time constraint, various location of the schools etc. however, findings made is valuable for policy making.
Suggestions for Further Studies
This study has researched on factors affecting secondary school oral English instruction. Further research can be done on the following:
- Factors affecting students’ oral English communication skills in colleges of education.
- Factors Affecting Oral English Proficiency in schools.
REFERENCES
- Tata, U. S. & Rabiu, U. (2014). The Causes of Poor Performance in English Language among Senior Secondary School Students in Dutse Metropolis of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME) e-ISSN: 2320–7388, p-ISSN: 2320–737X Volume 4, Issue 5 Ver. VI (Sep-Oct. 2014), PP 41-47 www.iosrjournals.org
- Willow, F. P. (2019). Oral English Proficiency: Factors Affecting the Learners’ Development. International Journal of Science and Management Studies (IJSMS) E-ISSN: 2581-5946 Volume: 02 Issue: 02 March to April 2019 www.ijsmsjournal.org © 2019, IJSMS
- Joshua, U. & Lynda, J. M. (2014). Challenges of teaching oral English in Nigerian high schools. Issues in language studies (vol. 3 No. 1 2014).
- Oladebinu, T. O., Amos, A. A. & Dr. W.O. Oyediran. (2018). factors affecting students’ academic performance in colleges of education in southwest, Nigeria. British Journal of Education Vol.6, No.10, pp.43-56, October 2018 ___Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org).
- Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Dieter Wolff (1973). Ordered profusion; studies in dictionaries and the English lexicon. C. Winter. ISBN 978-3-533-02253-4. February 2015.
- Crystal, David (2003a). English as a Global Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-521-53032-3. Retrieved 4 February 2015. Lay summary (PDF) – Library of Congress (sample) (4 February 2015).
- Crystal, David (2003b). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-53033-0. Retrieved 4 February 2015. Lay summary (4 February 2015).
- Wardhaugh, Ronald (2010). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Blackwell textbooks in Linguistics; 4 (Sixth ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-8668-1.
- Fema, B. M. (2003). Education through foreign language in Nigeria: problems and prospects. Alore: Illorne fournal of the humanities. Vol 3&4.
- Oluwole, D. A. (2008). Successful performance in the English language: university of Ibadan Nigeria press.
