Effect of Drill and Practice on the Academic Achievement of Students in English Language in Junior Secondary Schools
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
The aim of this study was to ascertain the effect of drill and practice on the academic achievement of students in English language in junior secondary schools. The specific objectives are to:
- ascertain the level of students’ academic performance taught using drill and practice technique in English language of junior secondary schools.
- determine measures for preventing low academic performance in English language due to drill and practice technique of teaching in junior secondary schools.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The chapter deals with literature review on the concept of effect of drill and practice on the academic achievement of students in English language in junior secondary schools. This involves various definitions of English language, drill and practice, academic performance, causes of low academic performance, overview of Nigeria secondary schools, positive effect of drill and practice, 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, drill and practice, 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).
Drill and Practice
Drill and practice is a method of instruction characterised by systematic repetition of concepts, examples and practical problems. It is a disciplined and repetitious exercise used as a means of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure. Vazquez-Abad and LaFleur (1990) drill and practice is a situation in which a learning task is broken into subtasks and then each of these is taken in turn, using feedback to reinforce mastering of each subtask as well as to correct failure to master. Ismail and Mustafa (1997) sees drill and practice as a method used to enable students to understand and master the concepts, principles or procedures that are more effective. Luik (2007) justified in her research that drill and practice method in teaching involved simple pair-associate learning to overcome problem.
Husin (1994) According to him, training is a way of teaching a student by repeating the facts or efficiency taught. The goal is to achieve the maximum level of skill and to make what are learned remains in memory, even in other situations. Sharifah (1986) teaching methods are a way of approaching the teaching objectives with organized delivery steps.
Drilling and practice is an effective way for students to learn though it comes with advantages and disadvantages. Advantage include:
- Allow Students to Build on Mastered Skills: students can learn higher level skills while accessing mastered skills quickly and effectively. Drills and practice can help these skills become second nature.
- Drilling and practice is an effective way for students to learn: teachers can use drilling as a way to help students solidify newly learned skills.
Disadvantage include:
- Hard for students to focus when done too often: Students who only learn through drills may get distracted and bored with practice of drills, especially if they have already mastered the skills.
- Students May Not Truly Be Learning: If the learning becomes too predictable, students may not gain clear knowledge about the skills they are supposed to master. They may just be memorizing the material and that can cause problems for them later on when trying to accomplish more complex tasks and learn more advanced lessons.
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 drill and practice as a method of teaching.
- 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 junior 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.
Data Presentation/Analysis
Demographic characteristics of the Respondents
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 effect of drill and practice on the academic achievement of students in English language in junior secondary schools. 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 effect of drill and practice on the academic achievement of students in English language in junior secondary schools. This involves various definitions of English language, drill and practice, academic performance, causes of low academic performance, overview of Nigeria secondary schools, positive effect of drill and practice, 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 (behaviourist 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 students’ academic performance taught drill and practice technique is high.
- Low academic performance due to drill and practice technique of teaching in junior secondary schools is prevented when teachers mix the way they use the technique.
Conclusion
This study has underscored the effect of drill and practice on the academic achievement of students in English language in junior secondary schools. Findings from this research uncovered that level of assimilation by students in junior secondary schools are poor if not taught with drill and practice method. Hence, schools should ensure that such technique is adopted by teachers when teaching. This is consistent with the findings of Mohan Rathakrishnan, Arumugam Raman, Mohamed Ali B Haniffa, Saralah Devi Mariamdaran and Azlina Binti Haron (2018); which revealed that Choosing or applying appropriate teaching methods (drilling and training method) in teaching process in order to achieve educational excellence is effective in teaching and learning among the lower secondary students..
Thus, in the light of the foregoing, this study reliably concludes that drill and practiced method of teaching in junior secondary schools should be embraced, this will help raise the level of comprehension.
The findings of this study have clearly shown that drill and practice make very significant contribution to learning. The success/achievements of students lies on it.
Recommendations
On the strength of the observations and findings made in this study the following recommendations have been made.
- Student of junior secondary schools should be taught with drill and practice technique.
- Teachers should mix the way they use drill and practice technique to prevent boredom or difficulty to learn new context/add to existing knowledge.
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 strategies for improving low academic performance in English language in secondary schools. Further research can be done on the following:
- The drill and practice application in teaching science for lower secondary students.
- The effectiveness of drill and training methods in science subject among form one students .
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
- 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.
