Usage of Language Laboratory and Effective Teaching and Learning of Oral English in Junior Secondary School
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The aim of this research is to highlight the usage of language laboratory on effective teaching and learning of oral English in junior secondary schools.
- To find out if there are language laboratories available for effective teaching and learning of oral English in junior secondary schools. (Availability )
- To find out whether there is adequate motive for the use of language laboratory for both teachers and students during oral English class. (Utilization)
- To find out the benefits of the language laboratories on the effective teaching and learning of oral English in junior secondary schools.
- To find out the extent to which teachers’ incompetency has influence the proper use of language laboratory.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual framework
The concept of language laboratory
According to Hindu (2006), Language Laboratory is defined as a room in a school, college, training institutions, university or academy that contains special equipment to help students learn foreign languages by listening to tapes or CDs, watching videos, recording themselves, etc. The Language Laboratory is an audio or audio-visual installation used as an aid in modern language teaching. It was also called Speech and Writing Laboratory. All the four language learning skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) are given importance and learners are provided with ample opportunities to practice by listening to the audio programmer and watching the video clips. In other words, a Language Laboratory is a room consisting of instructional technology tools source unit that can disseminate audio, audio-visual, and/or written materials to any number of students at individual seats or carrels, with a wide variety of potential feedback mechanisms to the student, teacher, or other students.
The Language Laboratory is used for language tutorials, which are attended by the students and persons who voluntarily opt for remedial English classes. Lessons and exercises are recorded on a cassette or computer so that the students are exposed to a variety of listening and speaking drills; These especially benefits students who are deficient in English and also aims at confidence-building for interviews and competitive examinations. The Language Laboratory sessions include word games, quizzes, extemporary speaking, debates, skits etc. These sessions can also be conducted online where many websites provide practice sessions.
According to Deepika and Kalaiarasan (2012), Language Laboratory is an audiovisual installation used in modem teaching methods to learn the foreign languages. Perhaps the first Language Laboratory was at the University of Grenoble. In the 1950s up until the 1990s, they were tape based system using reel to reel or (latterly) cassette. But the current installations are generally multimedia computers. The Language Laboratory is a technological break for imparting skills in English Language. The Language Laboratory offers an exclusive result oriented and efficient to enrich the English Language learning process. The multimedia based Language Laboratory help to learn and enhance the language proficiency by sharing the course materials with in a second where the teacher and the students involved effortlessly. The Language Laboratory is developed on the methodology of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing skills (LSRW).
Bygate (2001) pointed out that since the mid-1970s tape-recording has been sufficiently cheap and practical to enable the widespread study of talk whether native speaker talk or learner talk and use of tape recorders in language classrooms. Besides tape recorders, the audio-language laboratory has been highly used in language teaching to make students aware of the characteristics of spoken discourse. The audio-language laboratory has played an important role in language teaching for a long time. Its main objective was to help language students improve the aural-oral skills. With the implementation of the Language Laboratory, many language teachers developed new techniques in order to derive all possible advantages of this tool in the field of applied linguistics.
The Background of Language laboratory
Bygate (2001) expanded on this and says that when tape recorder and Language Laboratories gradually came into existence in the 1950s, they were mainly used for pronunciation, grammar and translation practice, often in the context of courses named as such. During the 1960s, the Language Laboratory rapidly became one of the most innovative audio components ever built; however, just as it became popular among some language teachers, others strongly criticized its use. This situation occurred for two main reasons. Certain language teachers who used the Laboratory failed to implement appropriate activities especially designed for Language Laboratory sessions. Other teachers confused its role in the language classroom.
Deepika and Kalarasan (2012), opined that with the most of advance computer hardware performance and multimedia technology, pure software companies with the experience in teaching software, providing pure software based Language Laboratory solution. It contains the following advantages: Using “Function Oriented” design concept, divided teaching method, with the user-friendly interface, user can use it easily. By using professional sound technology with video broadcasting function, the Language Laboratory provides a rich environment to learning English Language. Break through the traditional teaching method with the rich teaching material content, the digital Language Laboratory motivates student’s learning attitude, providing an interactive learning environment for teaching of learning and teaching English Language.
Kilickaya (2004) explained that language learners feel better with authentic materials helping them involve in the real language as long as we, as teachers, provide them with pedagogical support. Instructors may create tasks from short academic lectures, radio programs, authentic conversations, audio-books, songs, or short stories. In addition, audio-visual equipment should be part of all language courses hi which technology facilitates the teaching-learning process. In regard to listening comprehension, most language programs include tape recording, digital data or even computer software in their curriculum.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design and Procedure
This work is a descriptive survey in the conduct of its research. This descriptive survey aims at x-raying the usage of language laboratory on effective teaching and learning of oral English in junior secondary school with reference to Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The researcher made use of both primary and secondary data for the study. The primary data for the study were collected with the aid of questionnaire, observation and oral interview, while the secondary data were collected with the aid of journals, textbooks, periodicals, dictionaries encyclopedias and other documented sources of information available for this type of research work.
Population of the Study
The population of the study comprises 170 Teachers of Secondary Schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo state. The population was 213 teachers in government secondary schools in Oredo representing the number of sixteen (16) government secondary schools from Statistical Unit of Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB) Benin..
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT
The aim of this chapter is to present and give analyses of the data collected through the questionnaire items, in a tabular form, according to the research questions.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY OF THE STUDY
Discussion of the Findings:
From the analytical result gotten from research question one, it was concluded that junior secondary schools do not have language laboratory at all. However, no school in Oredo Local Government Area has well equipped language laboratory.
Again, in the findings made in research question two, it is being observed that Teachers during oral English class do not make use of language laboratory, in addition to that, Students are reluctant about using the language laboratory during oral English class, and to crown it all, both teachers and students ignore the use of language laboratory during oral English class.
Furthermore, the significance of the analysis in table three is to x-ray the importance of the language laboratory in the very life and performance of the student as it is a veritable instrument in the process of learning a foreign language like the English language and gaining a linguistics competence under the phonological aspect of the language. From the result gotten from this table, it is being observed that; the Language laboratory helps students in their spoken English. It also help students in the study area to understand and use oral English effectively, and finally, Students start pronouncing words correctly after using the language laboratory.
From the above table four, it is being noticed therefore, that; Teachers lack the technical know-how in operating electronic devices in language laboratory. These electronic devices are the instrument used in acquiring this linguistics competency that this research is trying to propagate. It will therefore be disastrous if the teachers that are suppose to learn the intricacies in operating these devices look the technical know-how. What will become of the students who solely depend on these teachers for the effectiveness of its function. Again, inappropriate maintenance procedures in the side of the teachers affect the use of language laboratory. Some teachers are just lazy and pay little or no attention to the equipment in the language laboratory. That will eventually lead to worn-out of some of the equipment or will completely damage of the equipment which will then render the language laboratory useless or ineffective for proper functioning. Finally, teachers’ inefficiency in operating devices in the language laboratory makes them shy away from using it.
CONCLUSION
From the results obtained from the data analyses, the researcher has drawn the following conclusions, that:
- The lack of language laboratory in schools has actually reduced the academic performance of students in oral English class in schools.
- Neither the teachers nor the students have that driving skill or joy to using the language laboratory for effective teaching and learning the oral English in Oredo Local Government Area.
- The use of language laboratory has improve the auditory performance of the students in schools where the language laboratory is made available and in the study area to be precise.
- Teachers’ inability to operate and use this language laboratory has caused more harm than good in the field of oral English.
Educational implications of the findings
The implication of the above findings is that for anybody to be a good teacher of English language he must be a good speaker of the language to make an effective impart on the students in the learning of the English language. If qualified teachers are not sufficient it will constantly affect the students adversely especially in the spoken aspect of English language as seen in Oredo.
It is known that good materials will have a good effect on students’ performance. The research show that laboratory equipment are lacking. Regrettably this does not make for effective teaching and learning of oral English.
RECOMMENDATIONS
With regard to these findings, the following recommendations are made:
- That the Government and Educational planners should provide facilities for training more English teachers in junior secondary schools on how to using the language laboratories.
- English language teachers should not only have the intellectual knowledge of the subject matter. They should know the methodology for imparting the knowledge.
- The Government and Ministry of Education should make provision for refresher courses during long vacation to bring the languages teachers in tune with modern methodology.
- The researcher also recommends that efforts should be made to ensure a blend of experimentation with the direct method or that two or more methods be adopted in the teaching of oral English.
SUMMARY
The aim of this research is to find out the usage of language laboratories on effective teaching and learning of oral English in junior secondary school in Oredo.
To this end, the researcher made use of the Teachers’ responses to the four structured questionnaires evenly distributed to the schools. They were analysed and interpreted.
The researcher eventually came out with the findings that, junior secondary schools do not have language laboratory at all, and to that effect no equipped language laboratory in the area covered by the study. This is in agreement to the study of Odume (2010) carried out in Edo north local government area, Edo state. Indicating that language laboratory is difficult to come by in junior secondary schools.
Again, it is being observed that teachers during oral English class do not make use of language laboratory, in addition to that, Students are reluctant about using the language laboratory during oral English class, and to crown it all, both teachers and students ignore the use of language laboratory during oral English class.
Furthermore, the significance of the analysis is to x-ray the importance of the language laboratory in the very life and performance of the student as it is a veritable instrument in the process of learning a foreign language like the English language and gaining a linguistics competence under the phonological aspect of the language. From the result gotten, it is being observed that; the Language laboratory helps students in their spoken English. It also helps students in the study area to understand and use oral English effectively, and finally, Students start pronouncing words correctly after using the language laboratory. However, all these are ineffective because of the lack of language laboratory in the study area.
Finally, it is being noticed therefore, that; Teachers lack the technical know-how in operating electronic devices in language laboratory. These electronic devices are the instrument used in acquiring this linguistics competency that this research is trying to propagate. It will therefore be disastrous if the teachers that are suppose to learn the intricacies in operating these devices look the technical know-how. What will become of the students who solely depend on these teachers for the effectiveness of its functions? Again, inappropriate maintenance procedures in the side of the teachers affect the use of language laboratory. Some teachers are just lazy and pay little or no attention to the equipment in the language laboratory. That will eventually lead to worn-out of some of the equipment or will completely damage of the equipment which will then render the language laboratory useless or ineffective for proper functioning. Finally, teachers’ inefficiency in operating devices in the language laboratory makes them shy away from using it.
Therefore, Language laboratory would have improved teaching and learning of oral English in junior secondary schools, but there is no language laboratory in the schools. And also, teachers and students were not trained to use language laboratory. Based on the findings, it is recommended that there should be provision for language laboratory in schools in order to foster effective teaching and learning of oral English, stakeholders in Education should make implementation on the use language laboratory in curriculum planning. Proper training should be given to teachers/instructors and students on how to use language laboratory equipment, Government and private enterprises should assist in the provision of language laboratory equipment to enhance teaching and learning of oral English.
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