ABSTRACT
The incidence of the poor English spoken among
Nigerian university students is an embarrassing situation which seems to have
defied a myriad of solutions. The reluctance among these students to speak
standard and proper English language complicates issues. The researcher is
therefore interested in finding out the causes of the appalling apathy of
university students to speak Standard English. The researcher therefore,
conducted a research on the postulatory factors which led to the existing
apathy in some randomly selected secondary schools in Enugu state in South
Eastern Nigeria. From the interviews and questionnaire administered to the
students, it was found that family background, academic background, quality of
teachers and style of teaching influenced the students’ perception or value of
Standard spoken English language and led to the apathy. The paper then suggests
some ways through which students’ spoken English can be improved.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study
Language is central to all our lives, and is arguably the
cultural tool that sets humans apart from any other species. Language is also
the symbolic behaviour that allows human specialties- education, art, religion
and science- to occur. We use it to practice government; we use it to preach
the gospel; we use it to engage in trade; we use it in teaching and learning of
everything. A beautiful fact about language as a general term is that unlike
other forms of cultural behaviour, it is blind to demographics, socio economics
and ethnic difference. The only variation is found in the numerous, existing
types of languages used by human persons. The English language is one of these
existing human languages. English today is a unique language, quite
functionally and structurally different from other languages of the world.
English has been accepted as a second language in Nigeria, right from the time
the country was colonized by Britain. It is also the language of education and
Nigerians have shown much prominence in all academic pursuits. However, the
English language encounters several challenges serving as a vehicular language
in the education of persons from diverse ethnic backgrounds. English language
teachers face growing pressures to meet the needs of increasingly diverse
learners, both in terms of ethnicity, and language, and also in terms of
economic and social circumstances. According to Brown (2015), the goal of the
language learners is to make sure that they can communicate what they have in
mind effectively, they have to be understood when they are uttering the words.
For effective communication, the researcher considers it pertinent to examine
exhaustively a good number of the factors that influence effective
communication in English, especially as it relates to the Nigerian
undergraduates.
The de facto National Policy on Language (in Education)
recognizes the multidimensional, multi-lingual three tier political party state
which tries to capture the multi-ethnic and, ipso facto, multi-lingual polity
which Berlin and the British have hammered into a joint existence. This policy
provides for English- the official language- as the language of formal
literacy, the bureaucracy, secondary and higher education, the law courts, etc,
while all Nigerian languages (language of the immediate environment) can be a
media of instruction in initial levels of literacy and in life-long and
non-formal education. However, down through the years, this has morphed to
become even the language of communication amongst students. Students in higher
levels of learning (tertiary institutions) who are to be taught in English
Language alone, have chosen to speak other languages but English amongst
themselves. The use of the Creole language (Pidgin) and mother tongue is
rampant and wide spread all through Nigerian colleges and universities. One can
only imagine why this is so, as it badly affects their overall competence in
the use of the English language while in school and much later in life.
Nevertheless, this is not to say that a fluency or deft proficiency in one's
mother tongue is undesirable or to be discouraged; no. It is to be encouraged,
as it adds to the rich and diverse linguistic multiplicity of the nation. The
issue at hand is that an overindulgent use of these indigenous languages by
university undergraduates is a threat to their overall success in life, both
within the nation and internationally. This is true because English language is
not only Nigeria's official language, but is also a world language. And with
the dawning of each new day, it increasingly becomes even more global and
germane for attaining success in life. Consequently, in this research work,
effort is made to discover why this nagging problem persists amongst Nigerian
university undergraduates, how it came to be and what possible, practical steps
can be taken to remedy it.
Statement of the
Problem
It is no secret that a vast majority of students in higher
institutions of learning in Nigeria struggle to effectively express themselves
in the English Language. This is evident in a myriad of ways, some of which
include:
·
the way they shy away from all forms of
public speaking
·
their general attitude to English
language
·
their oral performance in job interviews
There could be several reasons why
this problem exists. One of these reasons is an overuse of vernacular and
creole languages on their part. These students use coined and colloquial lingos
to converse amongst themselves and very sparsely and rarely, speak good English
Language. This has gone on for too long and has become a critical issue to be
looked into. Consequently, challenges abound in the teaching and learning of
English in Nigeria. This study is undertaken to draw attention to these existing
challenges and some other influences and elements affecting the communication
process.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose or objective of this study is to
uncover the salient and prominent reasons why there is a general apathy amongst
Nigerian University students in speaking Standard English Language. Below are
the specific objectives:
1)
To discover the factors that led to
the apathy towards the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian
undergraduates.
2)
To discover the influence of English
language teaching aids and materials on the use of Standard Spoken English by
Nigerian undergraduates.
3) To find out the influence of teachers'
teaching methods on the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian
undergraduates.
4)
To determine the influence of
cultural environment in the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian
University students.
Significance of the
Study
A lot of researches have been carried out on the language
of communication of Nigerian university students, but what makes this study
significant is its re-evaluation and fresh investigation into the possible
reasons behind the growing reluctance amongst Nigerian undergraduates to use
the English Language to communicate both in and outside the classroom. On the
completion of this study, it would have been determined from the analysis of
the data collected, most of the root causes to the general apathy amongst
University students to use English Language. Therefore, the result of this
study will be beneficial to teachers, parents, students, curriculum planners,
employers of labour, e.t.c.
Scope of the Study
The researcher chose Godfrey Okoye University, Caritas
University and University of Nigeria Enugu Campus as the scope of her research.
These universities will be representatives of all other universities within
Enugu Metropolis.
Research Questions
1)
What are the factors that led to the
apathy towards the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian undergraduates?
2)
What is the influence of English
language teaching aids and materials on the use of Standard Spoken English by
Nigerian undergraduates?
3)
How do teachers' teaching methods
affect the use of Standard Spoken English of Nigerian undergraduates?
4) What is the influence of cultural
environment in the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian University
students?
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Item Type: Project Material | Attribute: 60 pages | Chapters: 1-5
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