ABSTRACT
This study examined the influence of
anxiety on students’ academic performance in English Language in Lagos State
secondary schools. In this study, the relevant and related literatures were
reviewed under selected sub-headings. The descriptive research survey was used
in this study in order to assess the opinions of the selected respondents with
the application of the questionnaire and the sampling technique. A total of 200
(two hundred) respondents were selected and used in this study to represent the
entire population of the study. Six null hypotheses were formulated in this
study and tested accordingly using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation
Coefficient statistical tool for hypotheses one, two and three, and the
independent t-test statistical instrument for hypotheses four, five and six
respectively. At the end of the analyses, the following results were obtained:
there is a significant relationship between anxiety and students’ academic
performance in English language at secondary school level, there is a
significant relationship between students’ attitude and their academic
achievement in English language at secondary school level, there is a
significant relationship between students’ personality and their academic
performance in English language at secondary school level, there is no
significant gender difference in the students’ achievement due to anxiety in
English Language, there is no significant gender difference in the academic
performance of students due to attitude in English Language and there is a
significant gender difference in the performance of students in English
Language due to their personality type. Based on the findings of this study,
the researcher made the following recommendations among others: students should
avoid being anxious before and during their examination in English language and
students should develop positive attitudes towards their study in English
Language.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Cover Page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Background to the Study 1
1.1 Theoretical Framework 4
1.2 Statement of the Problem 5
1.3 Purpose of the Study 7
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Hypotheses 8
1.6 Significance of the Study 9
1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study 10
1.8 Definition of Terms 10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 12
1.0
Introduction 12
2.1 The History of English Language in Nigeria 13
2.2 Studies on English Language Acquisition 14
2.3 Concept, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of
Anxiety 16
2.4 Concept
of Attitude 18
2.5 Concept and
Determinants of Personality 19
2.6 Theories of
Personality 22
2.7 Comparison
between the Performance of Students in Private and Public
Schools
in English Language 25
2.8 Effect of
Teacher Gender on Students’ Performance in English Language 28
2.9 Teacher’s
Opinion about Student’s Attitudes and Performance in
English
Language According to Gender 33
2.10 Educational Qualification for Teachers of
English Language 37
2.11 A Review of the
Social Learning Theory of Adolescent Development 41
2.12 Summary of the Literature Review 42
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY 44
3.0 Introduction 44
3.1 Research
Design 44
3.2 Population of
the Study 44
3.3 Area of Study 45
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Method 45
3.5 Research
Instrument 45
3.6 Validity and Reliability of the
Instrument 45
3.7 Procedure for
Data Collection 46
3.8 Data Analysis 46
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS 47
4.1 Introduction 47
4.2 Hypotheses Testing 47
4.3 Summary of Findings 51
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53
5.0 Introduction 53
5.1 Summary of Study 53
5.2 Conclusions 54
5.3 Recommendations 55
References 57
Appendixes 62
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0
Background to the Study
English Language plays an important role in the
social, political and educational sectors of Nigeria as a country. It is Nigeria’s
official language, it is also referred to as a second language (L2). It is the
means of social, political and even cultural interaction among the various
ethnic groups in the country. This is why some people tend to use and refer to
it as a “lingua franca”, English Language is not just a subject in the school
curriculum, but the medium of instruction in all other subjects except
indigenous language. It is a very important language (Jibowu, 2002). According
to Jibowu (2002), the low performance in English language by students at the West
African Examination Council (WAEC), for example usually brings great concern to
parents, educationists and teachers and the nation at large. A credit pass at
least in the subject is required for admission into higher institutions and for
employment.
The ability to speak intelligibly and write Standard
English (SE) is often seen as a yardstick for determining the educational
standard of a person, his/her ability and competence in the language of
instruction have some influence on the quality of performance in the other
subjects.
According to Ubahakwe and Ebo (1989), Nigeria in her
1979 constitution advocated equal opportunity in education for her citizens.
Education in Nigeria
is expected to play a harmonizational role which is as an instrument of
national unity. Nigeria
is an egalitarian society where equal opportunity in education should be given
to the citizens but suffice it to say that this situation does not occur. A
situation where only the particular set of children get into the unity schools
does not allow the same equality of education for the citizens.
Durojaiye (1994) observed that the current issue in Nigeria is
efficiency in education. According to him, in recent times, parents claim that
there have been more sophisticated measures of efficiency in private fee paying
schools than in public non-fee paying schools in the state schools. This
efficiency in the private schools ranges from the employment of enough and
qualify English language teachers, motivation of teachers, adequate
remuneration and provision of the same teaching-learning materials. Parents
according to Durojaiye (1994) draw this conclusion from the fact that many
children from these private schools gain admission to federal schools and most
likely, into the universities while others end up as bus conductors, drivers,
carpenters, street traders, mechanics, apprentices and in other menial jobs.
According to Adeleke (1990) many factors contribute to
mass failure of students in English Language and other subjects especially from
public non-fee paying schools. He identified such factors as lack of motivation
for teachers, students, low interest in studying, unconducive school
environment, lack of current textbooks, non-provision of equipment, lack of
up-top-date art learning equipment and inadequate supply or provision of other
important teaching and learning materials in the public schools, other factors
also include government neglect of teachers, non-staff training programmes or
inadequate staff training and retraining programmes, poor remuneration and so
on.
David (2000) defines anxiety as an emotion
characterized by feelings of anticipated danger, tension and distress and by
sympathetic nervous system arousal. Richardson and Suinn (2003) on the other
hand define mathematics anxiety as the feelings of tension and anxiety that
interfere with the manipulation of numbers and solving of problem in a wide
variety of ordinary life and academic situation. English anxiety is postulated
to affect both the extents to which a student pursues any more than the
minimally required amount of English training and the extent to which the
student is able to learn and perform English language skills and concepts.
Attitude, interest and perception are other factors
that could affect students’ achievement in any subject including English
language. Attitude is a predisposition to perceive, feel and behave towards
specific objects. An attitude towards something consists of person’s collection
of facts about the subject which may enables the person to feel apathy towards
it which that attitude is related to sex, age and personality characteristics.
Ayoola (2004) opined that value influences attitude. Attitude can be positive
or negative. Monly (2002) advanced that attitude formation may be a matter of
limitation. Many of our attitudes are simply borrowed such as when the student
accepts the views of their teacher and other significant persons in their
achievement. Attitude can also be developed as a result of deliberate
cultivation especially by parents or teachers. Positive attitude of teachers
will therefore foster desirable attitude more than words. This statement has
relevance to students’ attitude to English language. Hart (2005) found that
there is a significant correlation between attitude and achievement. Wardehn
(2006) also found that difference in attitude can be significant predictors of
achievement in English language. Students who have negative attitudes for
English language would end up performing poorly in the subject-matter. Not only
that, negative attitude causes English language anxiety which automatically
leads to poor achievement in the subject.
According to Uzor (2004), students’ interests and
perceptions count a lot in their over or under achievements in subjects offered
in the school system all over the world. Uzor opines that if a student does not
have any interest or have any negative perception about any subject, the
student will hardly achieve any success in the subject in question. Adewunmi
(2006), states that for a student to make a relative success or high
achievement in any subject pursued in the school system, the student must
develop the right attitude, the right interest and the right perception that
will lead to the right learning achievement in his/her educational career.
For the fact that English language is a core subject
offered in school, and considering its importance and compulsory nature in any
child’s upward movement in academic pursuit, students develop anxiety in
achieving it. For instance, Amaonye (2006) opined that most students fear the
failure of English language and as such apply any means possible to pass it.
This is because they know that failure in it may mar their educational progress
in future.
1.1 Theoretical Framework
Sigmund Freud (1957), believes that human behaviour is
governed to a very great extent, by instincts. Freud agrees that the process of
personality development hinges on the theory of psychosexual development. This
theory of psychosexual development is basically biological in nature with
different unfolding stages at which particular behaviours occur. The normal
process of personality development occurs from stage to stage, but this process
of development may become abnormal when an individual experiences some
traumatic events in early childhood. When this happens, the flow of the process
of personality development becomes fixated at any given stage and this
eventually caused some crisis for the individual later in life.
Due to the fact that the person had abnormal
development resulting in fixation when faced stressful situations or conditions
later in life, he may not be able to handle this. Rather, the individual will
regress by perhaps showing some infantile behaviours. During any of the stages
that an individual experiences conflict according to Freud, there is a
corresponding character pattern exhibited as an adult. According to Freud
(1957), there are other stages of an individual’s development of personality.
These stages are: the oral stage during which there is separation of self from
the environment; the anal stage, which occurs during the second and third years
of life. At this stage, pleasurable sensations shift from the mouth to the anal
cavity. The phallic stage is a stage between ages of four and five pleasurable
sensations shifting from the anal to cavity to the genital area. Other
development stages of an individual are: the latency stage and the genital
stage.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Human behaviour is governed by instincts. The normal
process of personality development occurs from one stage to another, but the
process may become abnormal when an individual experiences some traumatic
events at the early stage of development. When this takes place, the flow of
the process of personality development becomes fixated, and this will eventually
cause some crisis for the individual later in life. The type of personality of
an individual determines the extent the individual carry out the affairs of
life, which include academic activities.
English Language being one of the core and compulsory
subjects a student must pass at credit level before gaining admission into the
higher institutions in Nigeria,
has been a torn in the flesh of many students. Generally speaking, students’
performance in English language has been on the downward in both the privately
and publicly organized examinations in Nigeria.
The problem inherent in carrying out a comparative
study on the academic performance of students in English Language cannot be
overemphasized. Generally speaking, many students may be found to have low
performance in English language and the problem of poor performance is
relatively prominent among students in the public schools. This is because many
teachers who teach in the public secondary schools, may lack the positive
attitudes to impart the knowledge to the students.
Many factors have been identified as causing students’
anxiety or fears on English language. The perceived factors are: poor or
negative attitudes on the subject; poor or low background on the subject; the
teaching application nature of the subject; poor teaching methods; lack of
students’ interests and motivation; poor teacher mastery of content;
overcrowded classroom (i.e.) poor teacher-student ratio; lack of teaching
material(s) etc. These factors militate against the effective teaching and
learning of the subject-matter and the resultant effect, is the dismal or poor
academic achievement of students in the subject. No wonder, year in year out,
students record very low marks on the subject and the consequent academic set
back of many students who could not pass it to move forward in their academic
career.
The above identified problems gave rise to the
examination of the influence of anxiety and personality type on students’
academic achievement in the subject at the senior secondary school level.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of the study is to examine whether
anxiety and personality type has influence on students’ academic achievement in
the subject. The following are the specific objectives of the study to:
(1)
find
out whether a relationship exists between anxiety and students’ academic
performance in the subject.
(2)
examine
whether there is relationship between students’ attitudes and their achievement
in English language.
(3)
Investigate
whether there is relationship between students’ personality and their
achievement in English language.
(4)
examine
whether there is gender difference in students’ achievement due to anxiety in
English language.
(5)
find
out whether there is gender difference in the academic performance of students
due to students’ attitudes to English language.
(6)
assess
whether there is any gender difference in English achievement due to
personality among students in school.
1.4 Research Questions
This study seeks therefore to answer the following
questions.
(1)
Will
there be any relationship exists between anxiety and students’ academic
performance in English language?
(2)
Will
there be any relationship between students’ attitudes and their achievement in
English language?
(3)
Will
there be any relationship between students’ personality and their achievement
in English language?
(4)
Will
there be any gender difference in students’ achievement due to anxiety in
English language?
(5)
Will
there be any gender difference in the academic performance of students due to
attitudes to English language?
(6)
Will
there be any gender difference in students’ achievement in English language due
to personality type?
1.5 Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of
significance.
(1)
There
will be no significant relationship between anxiety and students’ academic
performance in English language.
(2)
There
will be no significant relationship between students’ attitudes and their
achievement in English language.
(3)
There
will be no significant relationship between students’ personality and their
achievement in English language.
(4)
There
will be no significant gender difference in students’ achievement due to
anxiety in English language.
(5)
There
will be no significant gender difference in the academic performance of
students due to attitudes to English language.
(6)
There
will be no significant gender difference in students’ achievement in English
language due to personality type.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The findings and recommendations of this study would
be beneficials to the followings:
(1)
Students: They would be able to know more
about the importance of English language achievement and its relevance in
school progress. This study will enable students to have a new orientation
concerning their negative perceptions about English language. It will afford students
to be seeing mathematics in positive ways.
(2)
Teachers – would be able to know more about the
influence of anxiety on students’ achievement in English language, not only
that, the findings and recommendations of the study will help many English
language teachers to be in the know concerning some main factors that
militating against the teaching and learning of mathematics in school. The
study will help teachers in English language to correct some of their negative
attitudes towards the handling of English language in the classroom etc.
(3)
School Authority – The findings and recommendations of
this study would enable the school authorities to reorder their priorities and
change some of their policies that are inimical to the teaching and learning of
English language, especially at the secondary school level of the Nigerian
school system.
(4)
Parents – would be able to have proper
information through this study concerning the importance and relevance of
English language to their children’s/wards’ academic careers. With this study’s
outcomes, parents would help their children/wards to pay more undivided
attention to he issues of English language in school, knowing its
unavoidability in school and its relevance to academic progress of their
children/wards.
(5)
The Society – The society will be proper informed
and educated through the contents of this study. This is because, members of
the public would have first hand information and would be properly in the known
concerning the issues of English language, its relevance, its importance and
its unavoidability by students who wish to make progress in their academic or
educational careers.
1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study covered the influence of anxiety and
personality type on English language achievement among students in senior
secondary schools in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State. In this
study, finance, time frame within which to complete the study and other
unforeseen circumstances would be some constraints of this study.
1.8 Definition of Terms
The following operational terms were defined in this
study:
(1)
English Anxiety: This is a term to describe the level
of fear or uneasiness of students in tackling or facing English language
problems in schools. This anxiety makes them to perform well in the subject,
because they do not study well in the midst of anxiety.
(2)
English Achievement: This term refers to the level of
performance by students who study English language in school. It could be their
performances in school tests or the overall school examinations etc.
(3)
Students’ Attitudes: This is the way and manner students
perceive the subject (English language) in school. Their attitudes could be
negative or positive depending how they see the subject (English language) etc.
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