ABSTRACT
Due
to the place of English language in Nigeria, the poor performance of students
in the use of the language is definitely an issue of national concern.
Therefore, the study was designed to explore the perception of teachers on the
influence of mother tongue interference on the secondary school students’
academic performance in English language.
The subjects for the study consist
of fifty teachers from twenty secondary schools in Ibadan South East Local
Government Area of Oyo State. Questionnaires were given to the teachers to
elicit information on the interference of mother tongue on learning of English
language.
The findings from the study
indicates that language interference features usually show up in the learners’
pronunciation of English words, the use of stress, intonation and general
accents. They also show up in grammatical construction, in the choice of some
words and expression and so on.
We, then conclude that, not many
learner’s of English language as a second language can overcome or totally
avoid manifestation and interference in their use of English.
Based on the findings above, it was thus recommended that the three
factors that determine the level of interference which are the level of
immersion of the individual, the level of the individual’s education and the
individual’s oral English education exposure should be well taken care of in
every student. Students should be made to realize their deficiencies in the use
of English Language. English Language teachers should also update their
knowledge regularly to understand the peculiar areas which they or the students
have problems in the teaching and learning of English language as a result of
mother tongue interference.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title
page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Table
of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Introduction
Statement
of the Problems
Purpose
of the Study
Research
Questions
Research
Hypotheses
Scope
of the Study
Operational
Definition of Terms
Significance
of the Study
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF
RELATED LITERATURE
Status
of English language in the Senior Secondary School Curriculum
Effects
of Bilingualism and English Proficiency of Secondary School students in Ibadan
Overview
of Linguistic Interference of English Language with Nigerian Languages
Phonological
Interference and Implication for L2 Learning
Grammatical
Interference and Implication for L2 Learning
Morpho-syntactic
Features of Nigerian English
Appraisal
of the Reviewed Literature
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH
METHOLOGY
Research
Design
Population,
Sample and Sampling Techniques
Instrumentation
Procedure
for Data Collection
Procedure
for Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA
ANAYSIS AND RESULTS
Analysis
of Demographic Information
Data
Analysis and Findings
Hypotheses
Testing
Summary
of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Discussion
of Findings
Conclusion
Recommendations
Suggestion
for further Studies
References
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study
Language is a creation
which every human being is endowed with or blessed; a unique gift of language
is used naturally as one tool of expression consisting of different sub-skills
(Wikipedia 2007).
Language is an important
tool that enhances human communication and interaction. It is a vital
instrument in cultural transmission and preservation of a social group. It is
in a fundamental sense, a crucial tool in the preservation and propagation of
the human species. An examination of the linguistic content of a particular
speech community can provide information about the life style, occupation etc.
of a given people (Wikipedia 2007).
English Language is a
West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval English and is
now spoken in many countries around the world. The English language being the
national official language for the British colonies of which Nigeria is among
makes it our second language. Hence, our respective mother tongues exist before
colonization. This has necessitated the teaching and learning of the English
language and its consequent interference in our mother tongue in various study
points nationwide. It is glaring that Nigeria is a linguistically complex
society by the mere fact of the history of its creation. It is estimated that
there are between 250 and 400 languages spoken in Nigeria (Wikipedia 2007).
English
language, as the only medium of classroom instruction in Nigerian schools, has
affected students’ academic performances greatly because the language is
foreign to the students. Hence, Student who has problem in communication skill
may likely not do well academically not only in English language but in other
subjects. The poor level of achievement in many subject areas may be due to
poor foundation in English language among secondary school students which
invariably may be connected with the conflict between mother tongue and English.
This is because children in this part of the world are first introduced to
their mother tongue with which they comprehend ideas. But as they grow, they
sooner or later realize that the language of instruction in schools is
basically in English. For this reason, learners struggle in between two
languages mentally, socially, economically and educationally.
English
language is used in school and the mother tongue at home. For some parents, in
a bit to reduce the labour of their children over language utility either in school
or at home; have decided to inculcate in the children the habit of speaking
English language alone both at home and in school. But if this kind of
mentality is embraced by all, the country may stand the risk of accommodating a
bonafide future generations without roots and culture.
To this
effect, many scholars over the years in Africa have been working very hard over
one common language as language of instruction other than English language. Adesanoye
(2004) on national language both for Nigeria and Africa assiduously mentioned
Swahili, Wasobia and ‘Guosa’ which according to him had been proposed by some
other scholars. Yet, none of the alternative languages to English postulated by
these scholars have come to stay. In view of this, the case for English has
always being overstated and the possible relationship between mother tongue and
students’ academic performance in English has become a virile condition for the
position of English language proficiency among students.
The
importance of English language for enhancing educational attainment through
improved communicative skills and ability can never be over emphasized.
Students who have so much difficulties with their communication skill may not
function effectively in English, not only in English language but in their
academic and this is no reason than the fact that English language in Nigeria
today is the language of text-books and the language of instruction in schools
(Aina et. al, 2013).
However, it
is pathetic to note that students’ academic performance in the so called
“language of instruction” in Nigeria has been awfully embarrassing due to the
poor level of achievement especially in public examinations in which English is
not an exemption (Kolawole and Dele 2002).
To this
effect, according to Iroegbu (2006) much emphasis is placed on the passing of
English language at credit or distinction level in addition to other subjects to
enable any candidate gain admission into any Nigerian Higher Institution of
learning. Yet, this has not savaged the situation.
The academic
performance of students both at secondary school and post-secondary school is
worrisome. This Adesanoye (2004) noted while he cited Adeniran that there is
indeed a lot wrong with the performance in English even among University
students and post-graduate students for that matter. Djihed (2013) also
confirmed that even among the Arab Master students, students perform poorly in
General English which compound their reading comprehension difficulties.
Abubakar
(2005) admitted that the matter is serious because of the effect that English
has on all the other subjects of the curriculum at the secondary school level
as the only language of instruction. Ojo (2008) asserted that poor reading
ability in students is a major catalyst towards the general poor performance of
students in schools as he relates this controversial debate on falling standard
of education to be centered on the English language. Thus, students are poorly
equipped with the language skills and the reason Ayodele(2001) &Falayajo (2007)
have supported the view that language inefficiency invariably leads to poor
academic performance.
Forthwith,
Odeh et.al, (2012) while referring to World Bank Report 2004 noticed
that performance in English among students in Nigeria has not only been very
poor over the years but Nigerian students performed below other children in
twenty-six other African countries. Fraser (2000:129) adds that students’ poor
performance in other school subjects is traceable to the inability of students
to express themselves meaningfully in English or meet the language demands the
subjects make on them.
To this
effect, proficiency in the English language is essentially not only for
academic success alone but to perform in life as various individuals. However,
there is low proficiency in English language and this to a very large extent
resulted in under-achievement among Nigeria senior secondary school students
and those at the higher institutions. Sofenwa (2002) has attributed this poor
performance in English to the wide disparity and confusion between the language
of textbooks, the curriculum, the English language class and the Nigerian
society outside the class. But, the research work at hand is targeted at
unfolding whether there is a correlation between academic performance in
English language and mother tongue.
Mother tongue is one’s
native language. A language, besides being the major distinguishing phenomenon
between man and other creatures is evidently the most enduring of every
people’s cultural heritage. It reflects the culture of a people and it is
inextricably bound up with it.
Oluwole,
(2008) while referring to Awoniyi (1978) averred that Mother tongue could be
defined as the language which a group of people considered to inhabitants of an
area acquired in the early years and which eventually becomes their natural
instrument of thoughts and communication. Mother tongue is the first language
that a person learned. In terms of that view, the person is defined as a native
speaker of the first language, although one may also be a native speaker of
more than one language if all of the languages were learned without formal education,
such as through cultural immersion before puberty. Often a child learns the
basics of the first language(s) from family (Wikipedia, 2007).
It is then
generally accepted that in teaching and learning processes, the mother tongue
of the child is of utmost importance. For one thing, it categorizes a large
part of the child’s environment, that is, it has names for most of the objects,
actions, ideas, attributes and so on that are so important to him, as well as
to any society. The mother tongue is the child’s environment and is the natural
basis on which verbal skills can be built, children learn through communicating
in a language, which they understood.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary defines ‘Perception’ as an idea, a belief or an image acquired as a
result of how something is seen or understood. While Interference means to
prevent the progress or operation of something. The interference of the mother
tongue on English language could be phonological, lexical or syntactical. And
performance can be defined as how well or badly something can be done which
involves a lot of reading and studying.
It is therefore believed
that interference phenomenon affects learner’s performance in the target
language which is English. This study is aimed at identifying such areas of the
Standard English such as, apart from the above mentioned phonological
interference, there is also the child exposed to two language codes, the L1
and the L2. Lack of correlation between spelling and pronunciation,
the initial and final consonant cluster in English, infusion of Ibadan
dialectal words into English and lots more pose problem to the children of
Ibadan area learning English language.
As the Ibadan students
learn and use English Language, they are bound to encounter some problems,
there are also the problems associated with the teaching of English language.
The problems of the students can be categorized into the following:
interference of mother tongue into English language, translation wholesomely
from mother tongue to English language, omission of some phonemes in Ibadan
language that are found in English language, the tonal nature of Ibadan dialect
against the time stressed nature of English language.
The problems stated above
contributed to the interest of the researcher in finding out the perception of
teachers on the influence of mother tongue on students’ academic performance in
English Language among the students of Molete Area in Ibadan South East Local
Government Area of Oyo State.
Statement
of the Problem
English language
is a generally accepted language which was introduced into Nigeria through
colonialism and missionary activities and now spoken, taught and learned in
Nigeria.
Where English language
sentences are made, they are characteristically uttered with variation in pitch
often referred to as an intonation. This is often an area of difficulty for
second users of English language whose language originally has their own
intonation different from that of English language. This is one of the major
problems encountered by learners of English language.
Furthermore, in the area
of sentence construction, there is the tendency for second users of English
language to construct English sentence in accordance with their own local
language structure. This is another problem encountered in the classroom
environment.
Added to the above is the
fact that some phonetic sounds found in English language are non-existent in
many of these local languages. These examples include the central vowels /ʒ:/,
/ʌ/,
/∂/.
Another area where
problem is noticed is in the area of stress. Stress is strange to many of these
local languages. Therefore, to successfully enhance better learning and
understanding of English language, the psychology of the people should be
improved and a better communication report should be enhanced between the
teachers and the learners of English language respectively. This could be
achieved by overhauling the teaching and learning system of the language. It is
therefore, the pre- occupation of this research work to find out how the mother
tongue has interfered with English language and the influence made so far by
the education planners to reverse the trend.
Purpose
of the Study
The purpose of this
research study is to examine the influence of mother tongue interference in the
study of English Language in Secondary Schools in Oyo State, Nigeria.
Specifically, the study will attempt to investigate teacher’s perception on:
a.
Phonological interference on students’
academic performance in English Language in Ibadan.
b.
Grammatical interference on students’ academic
performance in English Language in Ibadan.
c.
Morpho-Syntactic interference on students’
academic performance in English Language in Ibadan.
Research Questions
a.
Would phonological interference have
significant influence on secondary school students’ academic performance in
English Language?
b.
Would grammatical interference have
significant influence on secondary school students’ academic performance in
English Language?
c.
Would morpho- syntactic interference have
significant influence on secondary school students’ academic performance in
English Language?
Research
Hypotheses
The
following hypotheses are generated from research questions:
a.
Phonological interference would not
significantly influence the students’ performance in English Language.
b.
Grammatical interference would not
significantly influence the students’ performance in English Language.
c.
Morpho-syntactic interference would not
significantly influence students’ performance in English Language.
Scope
of the Study
This research work is
intended to study the perception of English Language Teachers on the
interference that mother tongue has on the teaching of English language in
Secondary Schools in Ibadan vis-a-vis how it affects the academic performance
of students in English Language.
As
such, the researcher do not concern herself with the knitty-gritty of the
semantic aspect of mother tongue (local language) but concern with the
phonological, grammatical and morpho- syntactical aspect of mother tongue.
As perceived by the
English Language Teachers, twenty secondary schools were selected using the
simple random sampling technique. A researcher-designed 100copies questionnaire,
five copies in each school, is to be used to collect data for the study. The
percentages would be used to analyze the data collected. The Chi-square
statistical tool will be used to analyze the collected data.
Operational
Definition of Terms
Mother Tongue:
The first language of a bilingual or multilingual person. It is the language
acquired unconsciously and naturally early in life.
Phonology:
The study of the sound system of a particular language.
Bilingual Society:
A linguistic community where more than one language is spoken.
L1:
This is the first language that a child is exposed to at his or her childhood.
L2:
The second language learnt by a child.
Interference:
This is the instance of deviation from the features of either language which
occurs in the speech of bilingual as a result of their familiarity with the two
languages.
To
some linguists, interference is seen as errors in the learner’s use of a
foreign language that can be traced back to the mother tongue.
Grammatical Interference: This
is a transfer of the grammatical system of one language into another. It is
noticeable in the area of pronouns.
Morpho-Syntactic Interference: This
is a carryover of the analogizing process in L1 into the use of the
L2.
Perception:
This is an idea, a belief or an image acquired as a result of how something is
seen or understood.
Performance:
This can be defined as how well or badly something can be done which involves a
lot of reading and studying
Significance of the Study
The
importance of the use of English language especially in students’ performance
in all the subject in the school system cannot be over-emphasized. It is hoped
that with the successful completion of this research, many other researchers
will be encouraged to research on those variables deeply so that the students,
parents, teachers, administrators, curriculum planners as well as ministry of
education will gain from the study.
The
study will be useful in the following aspects:
1.
To reduce to the barest minimum, the
interference of mother tongue in the learning of English language.
2.
To equip the teachers on how to go about
their particular area.
3.
To inform the curriculum planners on the
needful to reduce interference.
4.
To intimate the stakeholders on what must
be done to discourage mother tongue interference.
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