ABSTRACT
English
as it is spoken in Nigerian (Nigerian English) has been localized or
internalized, so to say. This has led a unique brand of English influenced by
our various regional dialects and languages. Subsequently, there is a deviation
from the standard British English, which our schools are said to use. This
deviation could be seen in terms of lexis, phonology and grammar. This means
that Standard English may not be attainable even at the acrolectal level due to
interferences and related factors. These interference affect speech and ultimately, writing. Writing is a part of a
person's life that is indispensable and a mastery of writing cannot be
overemphasized. Therefore, this brings to the fore: the implication Nigerian
English has onNigerian teachers who teach writing skills at the SSS level.
According to Chomsky, young children are equipped with what the termed Language
Acquisition Device (LAD), which helps them pick up languages faster. This means
that children have "sponge like" minds. This is a plus as with the
right information they can be easy moluded. This project focuses on SSS
students because they are still young and can be trained more effectively in
the area of writing.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGES
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 4
1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY 5
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 5
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 5
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 6
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS 6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
COMPETENCE 7
2.1.i THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 8
2.1.ii GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE 9
2.1.iii DISCOURSE COMPETENCE 9
2.1.iv SOCIO-
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE 10
2.1.v STRATEGIC COMPETENCE 10
2.1.vi LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE VS COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE 11
2.2 COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE. 12
2.3 VARIETIES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE 15
2.3.i
STANDARD ENGLISH 16
2.3.ii ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 16
2.3.iii PIDGINS AND CREOLES 17
2.3.iv REGIONAL DIALECT 18
2.3.v MINORITY DIALECT 18
2.3.vi
INDIGENIZED VARIETY 18
2.3.vii THE
INFLUENCE OF MOTHER TONGUE ON STUDENTS WRITING 19
ABILITY.
2.4 THE
STRUCTURE OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH AS AGAINST 19
STANDARD
ENGLISH
2.4.i PHONOLOGICAL FEATURES OF 'NIGERIANISMS 20
2.4.ii GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF NIGERIANISMS 21
2.4.iii LEXICAL FEATURES OF NIGERAINISMS. 22
2.4.iv EXAMPLES OF STANDARD ENGLISH WRITINGS 24
2.4.v EXAMPLES OF NON-STANDARD ENGLISH 24
2.5 WRITING SKILLS AT THE
SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL 25
2.5.i WAYS
TO ENHANCE THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING A PIECE OF 27
WRITING
2.6 METHODS OF TEACHING WRITING 28
2.6.i STEPS IN TEACHING WRITING AS A PROCESS 31
2.6.ii
GIVE A TASK 31
2.6.iii
PRE-WRITING/PLANNING STAGE 31
2.6.iv
DRAFTING WRITING STAGE 33
2.6.v
REWRITING REVISION STAGE 33
2.6.vi REVISION: 34
2.6.viii EDITING: 34
2.6.viii PROOFREADING 35
2.6.ix
PRODUCING THE FINAL DRAFT 36
2.6.x
PUBLISHING 36
2.7 CRITERIA FOR GOOD AND EFFECTIVE WRITING 36
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0
INTRODUCTION 39
3.1
RESEARCH DESIGN 39
3.2 POPULATION OF THE STUDY 39
3.3
SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 46
3.4 INSTRUMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION 46
3.5 VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT 47
3.6 PROCEDURES FOR DATA ANALYSIS 47
3.7 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS 47
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF DATA
ANALYSIS
4.0
INTRODUCTION 48
4.1
ANALYSIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA 48
4.2:
DATA ANALYSIS 50
4.3:
CONCLUSION 56
CHAPTER
FIVE:SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0
INTRODUCTION 57
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 57
5.2 DISCUSSION 58
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 59
5.4 CONCLUSION 59
REFERENCES
61
APPENDIX
63
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Language is a very
important factor in the educational process. It is an indispensable aspect of
communication. It has
very strong basics for creative thought and without it there would be no
meaningful progress in civilization and culture, Makinde (1997:7). The above
citation explores the powers of language as a tool for communication and
creative thought. Language is used to communicate ideas through the process of
thinking, translated to either speech or writing.
Therefore the language
of wider communication of a country is crucial to the progress and growth of
that nation, even academically. Nigeria is a diverse and multi-ethnic country
with about four hundred and ten (410) languages Mackey (1992:12). However, with
the introduction of the English language in 1842, these numerous languages have
influenced, or if we might say, interfered in the way Nigerians use language on
the lexical, grammatical and phonological levels of communication. Though
English is Nigeria's lingua franca, a unique brand of English has emerged to
suit Nigeria’s socio-linguistic and communication needs (which is to an extent
a deviation from standard British English). This has led to a localization or
domestication. Since English has been influenced by our indigenous languages,
the way we write will also reflect this metamorphosis. These variations we
referred to as “peculiar Nigerianisms”.
On the phonological level, Adegbite (2001:27)
points out a reduced vowel system reduced intonation systems, voicing of
non-voiced consonants endings. For example: thumb, song, lamb, the insertation
of vowel in syllabic consonants and so on. In day-day communication, we hear people
erroneously stretch or contact words. For example, the post-vocalic/L/ is
deleted in coda position: “bulk” is pronounced as [bÉ],
“help [hep] in addition, the word “sit” is pronounced as [si:t], “ship” as [ςi:p],
and the word “beat” is contracted to [bit]. It is possible, therefore, that
these wrong pronunciations can translate to bad writing and poor spellings.
Basically, the grammatical level focuses on
how several aspects of the English language are given a Nigeria flavour. For example,
a statement as the following is common in Nigerian English users:
"He is guilty,
isn't it?" (Wrong)
"He is guilty,
isn't he?" (Correct)
The lexical level is
characterized by coinages (chewing stick, cash madam, go-slow, senior brother,
co-wife), hybridization's (kiakia bus, bukateria) and direct translations (eran
igbe "bush/mea!", ese gigun" long leg).
All these border on
communication and communication processes. The major essence of it is to get a
message across. All the factors and features of Nigerian English play a role in
our linguistic and communicative competences. Linguistic competence is often
referred to as the native speaker's knowledge of his language. Communication
competence on the other hand is an individual's capacity and ability to produce
and understand utterances, which might' not be grammatical but appropriate in
the socio-linguistic context of its use. This means that the way Nigerians use
language will affect communication. For the purpose of this study, writing as a
means of communication will be focused on.
According to Maduekwe
(2007:157), writing is a " personal act, it is an expression of the self.
It draws on intuition as well as on reasoning on sensation and emotion, facts
and meaning". As earlier stated, language is a basis for creative thought
and communication. The way Nigerians think in their lingua franca will
determine the quality of written communication as it is what is in the mind
that is transferred to writing. According to a research done by Olatunji
Felicia Funsho (1996), some university lecturers code switch from time to time
for the effect, and the fun of it. They use words such as "Oyinbo"
and "Ogbanje" while teaching.
The point here is this;
if a teacher code switches or code mixes because they do not know the English
translation of certain terms or for the fun of it, their students will
inevitably imitate them and transfer these deviations to their writings.
As a matter of fact, she states that some
English Department lecturers in her research, tried not to code switch in class
so their students would not copy them. However, others admitted to doing this
occasionally for the sake of illustrations to differentiate between English and
Yoruba. For example"
/The boy is coming/ (article before noun)
/omo na mbo/ (noun
before article)
They also did (code
switching and code mixing) when there were no exact
English equivalents for
certain words, or terms like:
/mammywater/ (water spirits)
/Abiku, Ogbanje/
(Familiar spirits)
/Olokun/ (the female
god of the sea)
If this is brought down
to the Junior Secondary classroom level, we know that teachers at this level or
not exempted from making such deviations in their teaching. As a matter of
fact, terms such as "mammy water" and ogbanje" are terms picked
up at the tender years of basic education, which includes the SSS classes.
Literature and English textbooks with folktales and African stories use such
terms for children's books.Subsequently, when students want to write about
mermaids, they would use the term “mammy water" instead. The crux of the
matter, therefore, is that when teachers speak this "Nigerianized version
of the English language, their students pick these things from them and it
reflects negatively in the quality of their writing.
In conclusion, writing
is an art, which reflects a certain level of mastery. 'It is evident that
factors such as "Nigerianisms", code switching and code mixing are
prevalent in our Junior Secondary classes; such mastery may never be attained.
Students at the Junior Secondary Level are still quite impressionable and can
still be helped to improve on their writing skills. In the light of this, this
study is aimed at determining the implications of the communicative functions
of Nigerian English and how it affects the teaching of writing skills with
specific emphasis on the Junior Secondary School level students who are second
language (L2) user of English and also, its implication for teachers
of English who use Nigerian English in classroom setting.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
"It has been
argued that learning to write fluently and expressively is the most difficult
of the macro-skills for all language users regardless of whether the language
questions is a first, second or foreign language: Maduekwe (2007: 162). Judging
from the relative difficulty of writing, it is evident that factors such as
interference from mother tongue and our "peculiar Nigerianisms" could
mar or pose a threat to the quality of writing that comes from our youth,
especially the SSS students how are still at a tender stage and can be helped
to improved on their writing skills.
Also, we must realize
that interference factors and "Niqerianisms" do not only affect
students but teachers as well and more so, teachers because they are the ones
who teach writing to their students, which is a crucial matter.
Therefore, the study
seeks to establish the structure and functions of the Nigerian deviation of the
Standard English and how this can affect the acquisition of writing skills at
the SSS level.
1.3
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of this study is to
1.
Appraise the writing skills of students
at the SSS level.
2.
Determine areas of difficulty faced by
English teachers who teach writing to English as second language user.
3.
Find out the effect of "Nigerian
English" on the writing skills of S.S.S students.
4. Suggest ways of promoting writing skills
at the SSS level.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
This research seeks to
provide answers to the following questions.
1. What
is the quality/nature of writing at the SSS level?
2. To
what extent does language/native language affect teaching and
comprehension
of Writing in both teachers and students in second language situation (s)?
3. What
is the effect of Nigerian English on the writing skill of SSS students?
4. How
can we promote the art of writing in Nigerian student's especially at the SSS level?
1.5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will help
teachers of the English language to determine areas they should improve on a
regards teaching and modifications that can be made to already existent
teaching skills. It will improve the quality of writing in students at the SSS level
and help parents and the society at large to acknowledge the importance of
writing as one of the components of the four language skills necessary for
academic excellence and societal growth.
In addition, curriculum
developers will benefit from this research, as they will get information on
variables such as the teacher, students and society.
1.6
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study
will be limited to the SSS students, covering some secondary schools in Lagos.
The context of the work deals with Nigerians in English and its impact on the
writing skill of these students.
1.7
DEFINITION OF TERMS
The definition of some
difficult terms or words in relation to this research are given below:
Nigerian
English: English as it is spoken and used by Nigerians in a
way that is unique to them. It is also influenced by Nigerian.
"Peculiar Nigerianisms":
the use and modification of English words due to the localization of the
language in Nigeria. These usages are specific and peculiar to Nigerian.
a. Lexical:
The words of a language
b.
Negative
Transfer: Thinking or meaning in one's mother tongue and
translating directly into the target language, for example, English.
c.
Phonetically:
representing Vocal/Oral Sounds
d.
Dialect:
Regional form of speech or variety of a given language.
e.
Phonetically: Representing
Vocal/Oral sounds
Dialect:
Regional form of speech or a variety of a given
language
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