ABSTRACT
This
research work focuses on Influence of different Methods of Teaching English
Language on Academic Performance of Senior Secondary School Students in Awgu
Local Government Area of Enugu State. Specifically, the researcher adopted
survey design since the design seeks to find out the opinions of teachers on
the influence of different methods of teaching English language on academic
performance of senior secondary school students in Awgu LGA in Enugu State. The
study was intended to introduce different methods of teaching English. The
population size was one hundred and thirty five (135) English language teachers
in Awgu LGA of Enugu State. The researcher had a sample size of fifty (50)
respondents which comprises English language teachers. Ten English language
teachers from senior classes were selected from each school of five. A
questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. The collected data
were assembled into frequency tables and analyzed using simple percentage. Based
on the findings, the researcher made the following recommendation: Government
should train more teachers in order to specialize on handling different methods
of teaching English. Teachers should be encouraged especially at the secondary
level to form the habit of improvisation as part of their responsibilities. Parent
should be involved in the aspect of the school needs, during the Parent Teachers
Association meeting. The parent may be asked to donate funds for purchasing
teaching resources.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the study
Education is a light that shows mankind the right direction
to follow. The purpose of education is not just making a student literate but
to add rationale thinking, knowledge and self-sufficiency. When there is willingness
to change, there is hope for progression.
English is the language of the people of England. It
originated from the Jute,Angles and Saxon who are the early settlers in Britain.
It is part of the Germanic branch of the Indo European language family. At the
initial stage English was confined to British alone. Later, it grew within the
British Empire as a prestigious core language among all other European
languages in the upper classes of London, Oxford, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cambridge
and England. It further developed and got to other people of the world. It
spread to Asia, Germany, Africa and other continents as a native language or
foreign languages
In Nigeria, English language is a second language and an
official language and also a lingual Franca. This means that it is the language
of unit, communication, economy, national pride, low, press, trade and education.
As the language of instruction, it is an essential prerequisite for an
advancement and career succession in the country. It means a lot in the life
and progress of a learner as it is a key subject with profound influence on all
the school subjects.
The key elements of the
course are designated to cover the four basic language skills, which are:
Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing.
Teaching method of teaching is a proactive approach to
improve or to integrate new teaching strategies and methods into a classroom.
They are essential tools in the English language classroom. It improves the
standard or quality of teaching, they allow student to interact with words,
images, and ideas in ways that develop their abilities in reading, listening, speaking, viewing,
thinking, writing and using media and technology.
A primary motive of using teaching method in teaching
English language is to encourage the students to engage more in the learning
process.When students interact with teachers and peers they gain more practical
experience and retain more information from a class.
One
finds it difficult to speak or learn the second language. As Wilkins (1972:101)
puts it the effort of the second language learner to make utterances in the
language is influenced not only by the sound of his mother tongue, but also by
his structures.
Learning a second language needs some skills and components
to be mastered. Among those skills and components, English language is one of
the most crucial ones in language learning without which communication is not
possible. Harmer (2001) argues that “if language structures makes up the
skeleton of language, then it is English language that provides the vital
organs and the flesh” (p. 24). Wilkins (1972)“Without grammar very little can
be conveyed. But without English language nothing can be conveyed” (p.111,
quotes in Lewis, 2000).
English
language is a very important means to express our thoughts and feeling, either
in spoken or written form. Indeed, neither literature nor language exists
without English language. According to John (2010),he says that words are the
bricks with which the poetry and the literature of the world have been built.
It is mainly through using words that we compose and express our thoughts to
others. We can tackle our own task through words. It shows words are powerful
tools. Famous imperialist poet, Rudyard Kipling says that words are the most
powerful drug used by mankind. Those who are rich in English language can speak
and write English correctly. Therefore, the study of English language is at the
center while learning a new language. English being a second language or
foreign language, one needs to learn English language in the systematic way. In
fact, without English language communication in a second or foreign language is
not possible in a meaningful way. McCarthy (1990) argues:
‘No matter how well the student learns grammar, no
matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express
a wide range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful
way'.
English
language is needed for expressing meaning and in using the receptive (listening
and reading) and the productive (speaking and writing) skills. It should be
considered as an internal part of learning a foreign language since it leads the
way to communication. Teachers are one of the main sources who can help their
learners enrich and increase their English language. To do so, they employ wide
variety of techniques for teaching English language.
Method means different things to different people,but to
teachers,methods means a set of teaching procedures to follow in delivering
lessons.It could mean the avoidance of certain pitfalls inherent in a given
procedure.The difference in the definitions of various methods of teaching you
have come across lies essentially in the way materials to be taught are
selected, graded, presented, repeated, and evaluated, by individual teachers.
In other words, the similarities of different methods out weight their
differences, in essence, all language teaching methods involve a special
selection of materials, graduation of the materials selected, presentation of
the materials, and evaluation of what has been presented to determine whether
the goals were achieved. Selection is necessary because one cannot teach every
aspect of the language at a time, so the teacher has to pick and choose what to
teach in a lesson.
There are many methods from which to pick and choose when
preparing a lesson. Some methods could be effective for teaching some aspect of
language, while ineffective for others. The language teachers have, therefore
to evaluate the methods he wants to use before making use of them. The process
of determining the effectiveness of a method has been formulated by
Larsen-Freeman(1980).In the process the teacher determines his goals, and those
of his learners, the nature of activities during the lesson, teacher/students
interaction. Other things the teacher must determine about the methods to
determine their effectiveness or otherwise include the feelings of the
students, the language and language skills that are emphasized, and the role of
mother tongue.
Finally, the teachers determine also the handling of
students’ errors and the best way to evaluate teaching-learning outcomes. The
teachers of English have a task before them to make a choice of method to use.
The essence of the principles and process of determining the effectiveness of
the method is presented to enable the teacher to decide which method or a
combination of methods to use for their lesson. The important thing is for the
teacher to acquire the knowledge about these methods, their applications in
day- to- day teaching is solely his responsibility. However they should not
lose sight of the sole aim of learning English in Nigeria.
Statement
of the Problem
There
has been an alarming rate of students’ failure in English language in external
examinations conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National
Examination Council (NECO) in recent times. This trend has posed a serious
concern to stakeholders in education industry. Nigeria is a country blessed
with abundant human and materials resources; yet, there is nothing to show for
it in terms of students’ academic performance.
However,
many people including authorities of Ministry of Education were pointing
accusing fingers to so many factors of which methods of instruction are very
much involved. There are a lot of teaching methods used by instructors but the
researcher wants to find out which of them will be found worthy. It is against
this backdrop that this study is picked.
Purpose
of the study
The main purpose of the
study is to investigate the influence of different methods of teaching and
learning of English language in Awgu local Government Area.
Specifically, the study
intends:
i.
to find the extent off the use of
different methods in teaching and learning of English language.
ii.
to find ways teachers can improve on
their use of different methods of teaching in Awgu Local Government Area.
iii.
to find out influence of gender in the use
of different methods of teaching.
Significance
of the Study
The
study would be of importance to teachers of the English language, educational
administrators, researchers and the public.
To
teachers of the English language, the study would bring to light the various teaching
methods in teaching English language. It will help them to improve in using teaching
methods effectively in teaching since it affects students’ performance.
Educational
administrators which include principals would appreciate the work because it
would help them to know what goes on in the classrooms. They can easily correct
the teachers during teaching and learning process to use the appropriate method
of teaching since they are in position to do that.
Students
and scholars who are engaged in research would find the work significant. It
would serve as a reference material. The work would be ofinterest to the public
for it would help them to know the important use of teaching methods in
teaching.
The
researcher believes that if the importances of teaching methods are identified
and teachers improve in using them effectively, the relevant authority will
help to promote its use in teaching and learning.
Scope
of the study
The study was conducted
among the teachers in some selected senior secondary schools in Awgu Local
Government Area of Enugu state. The work was limited to finding out the
influence of different methods in teaching and learning of English language.
The teachers were
selected for the work because through the performance of the learners in class
and beyond they can be able to identify the most suitable methods in teaching
and learning the English language.
Research
Questions
The following questions
guided the study:
1. What
is the extent of the use of different methods of teaching and learning of
English language?
2. What
are the ways teachers can improve on their use of different methods of
teaching?
3. To
what level does the use of different methods of teaching and learning of
English affect male and female students?
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