ABSTRACT
This study was
designed to find out some phonological problems secondary school students
encounter in English. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design
approach in which three questions were posed. The population of the study
consisted of 13,605 from ten (10) secondary schools out of which five (5)
schools were randomly selected for the study. From the five schools, random
sampling was also used to select 160 students. The data was analyzed using mean
score. Questionnaires of four- point ranting scale was used as an instrument
for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using simple statics
frequency distribution mean. The result showed that mother tongue impinges on
pronunciation in English, incompetence of teacher influence pronunciation, and
family background influence learners pronunciation in the study of English
among secondary school students in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu
State. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were
made: teachers should drill students on phonetics; teachers should endeavour to
check students’ pronunciation and give compression or essay to students to read
out in class; parents should encourage their children to listen to news;
teachers should also endeavour to use stress pattern; and government should
provide adequate facility for teaching phonetics for both students and
teachers.
CHAPTER
ONE
Background
of the Study
Any
means of meaningful communication among humans is known as language. It is a
very important means of communication which is key in every society. One cannot
think of a society without language because it is a very important means of
communication. Language sharpens
people's thoughts, guides and controls their entire activity. "It is a
carrier of civilization and culture" (Bolinger, 2011). In the case of the
mother tongue, the child learns it easily due to a favorable linguistic
environment and high level of exposure to the language. According to Bose
(2010), "learning a second language requires conscious efforts to learn it
and the exposure to the second language in most cases is limited." It is argued that, "A Majority of the
students have favored classroom instruction for the second language acquisition"
(James, 2012).
There
are so many factors that affect the process of learning a second language:
"attitude, self-confidence, motivation, duration of exposure to the
language, classroom conditions, environment, mother tongue interference, family
background, and availability of competent teachers"(Verghese, 2011).
"The
successful acquisition of a second language seems to some extent, contingent
upon learners' views of the language learning environment, the learning
situation, and how they view the target language and its speakers"
(Narayanan et al., 2013). Like the environment and attitude, teacher's
competence is also a variable factor that affects the second language learning.
In other words, what affects the second language is the environment where the
learners finds himself, the knowledge the teacher has in the language and the
attitude of the people who speak the English language. "He should be
proficient in the language; his knowledge of, and expertise in methods and
techniques of language teaching should be of a reasonably high standard"
(Verghese, 2011).
Statement
of the Problem
To
learn English requires constant practice and patience. The kind of feeling that
prevails among students is that it is not possible to achieve fluency or
mastery in the English language. This kind of predetermined limited success
approach prevents students from learning English effectively. Despite the
importance of learning English, the following problems prevent students from
learning English Language effectively: Environment, home background, mother
tongue, and duration of exposure, attitude, classroom conditions, and
availability of competence of teachers.
It
is based on this background that the researcher intends to look at some
phonological problems in learning English as a second language.
Purpose
of the Study
The
main purpose of this study is to examine some phonological problems encountered
by secondary school students in the study of English as a secondary language.
The specific objectives are:
1. to identify if mother tongue impinges
on pronunciation in English
2. to identify if incompetence teachers
influence students’ pronunciation in English
3. to identify if home background
influence learners’ pronunciation in the study of English.
Research
Questions
1. How does mother tongue impinge on
pronunciation in English as a second language?
2. How does incompetence teacher influence
students’ pronunciation in English?
3. How does home background
influence learners’ pronunciation in the study of
English?
Significance
of the study
The
study will be significant to students, teachers, presenters and public
speakers. In the light of this study, the study is relevant because it made
attempt to reveal the problems and challenges faced in learning English.
The
study will be helpful to presenters and public speakers because of the nature
of their job. It will also help them to know their flaws in phonetic and how to
work on it.
The
findings of this study will also be useful to students and teachers because it
will serve as tutelage on how teachers can work on the problems that affect the
pronunciation of students.
The
conclusion can be used both in the current issues concerning phonological
problems as well as the formation of new strategies in enhancing students'
performance in phonological problems in schools. The study is also relevant for
future studies and can be used as a reference point for other studies.
Scope
of the Study
This
study is targeted at refocusing phonological problems encountered by secondary
school in English. The study will also examine how mother tongue impinges on
pronunciation in English, how incompetence of teachers influence students’
pronunciation in English, how family background influence learners’
pronunciation in the study of English language.
The
study covered all the 10 secondary schools in Enugu East Local Government Area
of Enugu State.
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