AN INVESTIGATION OF SPECIAL LANGUAGE NEEDS ANALYSIS OF WORKPLACES IN LAGOS STATE

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ABSTRACT

 

This study examined an investigation of special language needs analysis of workplaces in Lagos State.  The descriptive survey design was used to carry out the study. The population of study comprised of all the workers in all the selected industries located within Oshodi and Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State.  The sample of study consisted of one-hundred and twenty (120) workers from five (5) industries located within Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State.  The study adopted the use of questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The data collected were analysed using the frequency counts and simple percentage to complete the demographic data of the participants and to answer the research questions while all the research hypotheses were tested using the chi-square (x2) method at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that the special language needs of Lagos State workers are on English language communication skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing). Writing and speaking skills have been found as the most special language skills needed in the Lagos  State workplaces. And that workers from Afriprint are mostly in need of training in these special language skills among others. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made by the researcher. There is need for industries to organize periodical in-service training especially in terms of their workers communication skills. Since English language is the official language in Nigeria and the major medium of communication in the midst of a multilingual population, English proficiency of workers need to be facilitated by organizing seminars and workshops aimed at enhancing workers English language skills.It is also important to conduct periodical assessment on the workers special language skills in order to ascertain the particular area of weakness and design the remedial programmes to assist the workers among others.

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

Title page                                                                                                                               i

Certification                                                                                                                          ii

Dedication                                                                                                                             iii

Acknowledgements                                                                                                             iv

Abstract                                                                                                                                 v

Table of content                                                                                                                   vi

Chapter One:

1.0       Introduction                                                                                                              1

1.1       Background to the study                                                                                         1

1.2       Statement of the problem                                                                                        7

1.3       Purpose of the study                                                                                                            9

1.4       Research Question                                                                                                   9

1.5       Research hypotheses                                                                                               10

1.6       Significance of the study                                                                                        10

1.7       Theoretical framework                                                                                            13

1.8       Scope of the study                                                                                                   22

1.9       Operational definition of terms                                                                             22

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1       The concept of (ESP) English for specific purposes                                          24

2.2       English for occupational purposes (EOP)                                                            29

2.3       Problems with English for occupational purposes (EOP)                                  34

2.4       English for vocational purposes (EVP)                                                                36

2.5       Importance of ESP to education on the society                                                   37

2.6       Needs analysis (NA)                                                                                                39       

2.7       Approaches to needs analysis                                                                                41

2.8       English in the workplace (EWP)                                                                            47

2.9       Workplace and oral communication                                                                     50

2.10    Empirical researches on English for occupational purposes (EOP) in the

            workplace                                                                                                                  51

2.11    Summary of literature review                                                                                53

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY                                                          

3.1       Research design                                                                                                       55

3.2       Population of study                                                                                                 55

3.3       Sample and sampling techniques                                                                          55

3.4       Research instrument                                                                                                56

3.5       Validity of the instrument                                                                                      56

3.6       Reliability of the instrument                                                                                  56

3.7       Method of data analysis                                                                                          56

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULT

4.0       Introduction                                                                                                              57

4.1       Demographic distribution of participant                                                              57

4.2       Responses to research questions                                                                           59

4.3       Testing of hypotheses                                                                                             65

4.4       Discussion of findings                                                                                            68

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION       

5.1       Discussion of findings                                                                                            72

5.2       Summary of the study                                                                                             76

5.3       Recommendation                                                                                                     77

5.4       Conclusion                                                                                          79

References                                                                                                                80

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                 CHAPTER ONE

1.0             INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 

There is urgent need for every industry to begin to take precautionary steps towards developing the proficiency level of their employees for maximum productivity. There is a strong apprehension that the current global employability will be only for graduates who are proficient in the language needed for the job particularly in countries like Mexico, Angola,, Nigeria among others. For an establishment to continue to make productive impact on its immediate environment, there must be adequate communication skill among the workers in the workplace. 

 

Communication is an indispensable activity in the workplace. Within industrialized nations like Nigeria; the expectation of fluency in speech is omnipresent. Understanding the interaction dynamics of the workplace is vital to a successful business enterprise.  No rapid progress can be made in the absence of effective communicative skill.  The success of any form of establishment is hinged on proper communication skill and the right choice of words in delivering duties in the workplace.

 

Language is defined according to Maduekwe (2007) as the most sophisticated communication tool of life and a vehicle for communication in the workplace.   Special language use in the workplace refers to situations where a worker needs language to perform all or part of his occupational duties. English, which is the official language inNigeria can never be overemphasized. Language of business, education, technology, judiciary, job interview, communication etc. Today, millions of Nigerians speak in English language.

This English language is developed in England and now used throughout the British commonwealth of nations, in the United States of America and in other parts of the world.

The first attempt is to establish the use of the English Language in Nigeria dates back to 19th century when industrial revolution started in Europe and there was quests for raw materials and market for the finished goods produced in these industries.  The British and Portuguese merchants invaded the West African Coast to trade with Nigeria businessmen and since business transaction cannot be thrive in the absence of a common Language, a Language of communication (English) gradually emerged as a medium of transaction.

Much later, some shrewd Nigerian Businessmen in Calabar sent their children to England to learn English while some others had their children taught English to enable them establish a strong trade link with the Europeans (Njoku and Izuagba, 2014).

Importance of communication in the workplace is enormous. Within industrialized nations like Nigeria; the expectation of fluency in speech is omnipresent. Understanding the interaction dynamics of the workplace is vital to a successful business enterprise. According to Nwachukwu (2008), the most common means by which human beings communicate with one another is language. Language is used to create, reinforce and maintain social structures at and beyond workplace. Any workplace where the line of communication is free and open, there are development and any misunderstanding is easily settled. But where the line of communication is clogged, there are bounds to be prejudice, bias and suspicion, business is static and progress is hampered.

 

It is expected that every worker in Nigeria should at least be literate in English language especially in Lagos state where companies are always in the increase having workers of diverse backgrounds. Instead, what is being experienced is the continued growth of limited English proficient workers that make up the entire workforce. The statistics of the department of Labour (2004) and the census  Bureau (2006) indicate that, the need for school drop-out workers will continue to rise and that by the year 2020, 43%(24.7 million)of all prospective job openings will be for people with minimum education level of which many have limited English proficiency.

 

To investigate the effectiveness of the interaction between employers and pre-dominantly monolingual at the workplace, a needs analysis research must be conducted. Needs are not things to be determined by a pre-constructed checklist or by mere looks .It is determined by the process of analysis .Needs are wants, desires and goals. It represents the gap between what the learner wants to get out of his working experience and his current state of knowledge, skill and enthusiasm (Noessel, 2003). This need could be language needs, financial needs, intellectual needs, psychological needs or two put together. To determine this need, a researcher has to conduct a research to identify a particular need through the process of needs analysis.

 

Needs analysis is known to be the primary component of ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIG PURPOSES (ESP). It is the systematic collection and analysis of all subjective information necessary to define and validate defensible curriculum purposes that satisfy the language learning requirement of workers within the context of a particular workplace that influences work effectiveness (Brown, 1995).Needs analysis is the core of every successful ESP program. It determines the need for which a worker requires a language and arranging the needs according to priorities. It involves fact finding and data collection.

Needs analysis was first emerged in language teaching in the 1960s.It was closely associated with English for specific purpose (Brindley, 1989). The importance of language needs analysis in the workplace lies in the fact that the outcome should be a list of goals and objectives of the worker’s need for language which serves as the basis for developing test, materials, teaching activities, and evaluation strategies etc.

It is a well-known fact that, the process of a standard needs analysis is said to be the most important step to course development, material design as well as in determining vocational, workplace language and communication needs of workers.

English for specific purposes (ESP) on the other hand is an approach to the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) that focuses on determining the linguistics needs of a specific group of learners and then design course to satisfy the needs in the most efficient manner. Because ESP addresses a specific group of learners, with similar characteristics, its course design usually focuses on the topics and language of a specific discipline, occupation or activity (Strevens, 1988; in Dudley-Evens and st. John, 1998).

The need for ESP arose from General English. As the name implies, general English is the English we study in school for general use.

However, the emergence of ESP was not a planned and coherent movement, but rather a phenomenon, which grew out of a number of converging trends;

 

First, the demand of a new world created after the Second World War in 1945 which later dominated by technology and commerce. As a result, there was demand for an international language for business promotion and the demand fell on English language. This promoted English language to the international standard. Prior to this development, English language was regarded as a sign of well-rounded education. And was no longer learnt for pleasure or prestige but created a new generation of learners especially businessmen and women who wanted to sell their products, mechanics who had to read instruction manuals and doctors who needed to keep up the development in their field as well as students whose courses and texts are available in English.

 

Second, the oil rise of the early 1970s (oil exploration). According to Huchinson and Walters (1987), English suddenly become a big business and the constraint of time and money led to the need for creation of cost effective courses with clearly defined goals.

Third, was as a result of new ideas in the study of linguistics. Instead of the formal traditional ways of describing the formal features of the language, the new studies shifted attention to discovering the ways in which language is actually used in real communication(Widdowson,1978).There become an important difference between the language of a particular field of study which led to the argument by  Linguist saying that, if language differs from one situation to another, it is then possible to determine the features of specific situations and then make those features the basis of learners’ course. The notion that, English needed by a particular group of learners could be identified by analyzing the linguistics characteristics of their specialized areas of work or study then gained ground.

  “The guiding principle became; tell me what you need English for and I will tell you the English that you need”(Huchinson and Walters,1987)

Forth, was the new development in educational psychology which emphasized the central importance of learners and their attitude of learning (Rogers,1969).Learners were seen to have needs and interest which would have an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore, on the effectiveness of their learning. This led to the creation of learner-centered curriculum design.

 

It is worthy of note that, the first conference on ESP was convened in the year 1969 (Mackey, 1976) when its original name was changed from the term “Language for special purposes” to its present name “English for specific purposes” due to the notion that, attention for this course is not only on the learners but also on the language resources of the learners like; English for law, English for medicine, English for engineering, English for business etc.

Furthermore, ESP is divided into two broad areas according to Kennedy and Bolitho (1984) namely; English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). EOP is taught in situations where learners need English for work. while EAP is taught generally within educational institutions to students using English in their studies.

 

EOP is divided into two; English for professional purposes(medicine, law, business, etc) and vocational purposes(priest, mechanics, artisans, etc) and is further divided into pre-vocational and vocational English. Pre-vocational English is concerned with finding a job and interview skills while vocational English is concerned with language of specific trades or occupation.

It is pertinent at this point to state that this research work is to investigate the special language needs of workplaces in Lagos State..

 

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Commutation is an indispensable activity in the workplace. The most common means by which human  beings communicate with one another is language. Workers’ ability to

Communicate with their employers and acquire sufficient language skills to function in the workplace are two of the key points to their success and the success of the business as well.

 

In recent years, language-related problems at workplaces have been at the center of controversy surrounding workforce. The statistics of the department of Labour (2004).

Bureau (2006) indicate that, the need for flawed English workers will continue to rise and that by the year 2020, 43% (24.7 million) of all prospective job ‘openings will be for people with effective communication skills of which many graduates have limited English proficiency. www.cambridgeenglish.or/roly-cambridge-english found that; in every industry, there is a gap between the English language skills required at work and the English skills that employees have.

 

Moreso, an analysis of speech error on English for occupational purposes (EOP) at the International Islamic university Malaysia (IIUM), (2014) examine that, workers make wrong use of grammatical words frequently e.g. wrong use of nouns, use of uncountable nouns, nouns use as verbs, wrong use of preposition in phrase, wrong addition of preposition,  wrong  use of verbs, wrong use of phrasal verbs, wrong of adjective ending in — ed and — ing and redundant expression.   It was concluded that preposition was the most frequent type of grammatical error made by the learners. In addition, intra lingua transfer was found to be the most prominent source of error. It has also be found in a study conducted by Nita Falizee Selamant on EOP students (2014) that, the difficulty in communication among workers is actually the low English proficiency and the most difficult communication task is public speaking. Word Applied Science Journal (2015) indicates that Lagos employers have considerable reservations when it comes to graduates’ employability skill, particularly their flawed English Language competence. Given the challenges faced by scarcity of work in Lagos to match employers’ requirements.

Therefore there is need for a deeper understanding of how language in the changing workplace is related to the operations of companies in Lagos State.

 

13        PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study   is to investigate the special language proficiency level of Lagos State workers. Specifically, the study is designed to:

1.         Identify the level of English proficiency of Lagos Workers.

2.         Determine the particular language problems workers are experiencing in Lagos State.

3.         Determine the nature of language skills a worker needs order to perform well in the workplace.

4.         Determine which workers from a particular workplace are most in need of training in a particular language skill.

5.         Determine if an existing ESP course designed adequately addresses the language needs of a potential worker.

 

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTION

This study aims at the following research questions;

1.         What is the level of English proficiency of a worker in relation to the work tasks assigned to him?.

2.         What are the particular language problems workers are experiencing in Lagos State?

3.         What are the nature of language skills a worker needs in order to perform well in the work place?

4.         What type of ESP training course design adequately addresses the language needs of a potential worker?

5.         Which workers from a particular workplace are most in need of training in a particular language skill?

 

 

1.5       RESEARCH HYPOTHESES:

1.         The level of English proficiency of a worker does not have significant effect on task assigned to him.

2.         The existing ESP course design does not significantly address the language need of potential workers.

3.         Workers do not have a significant need of training in a particular language skill.

 

 

1.6       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of language in our workplaces can never be over emphasized knowing that English language is a must for workplace communication especially in Lagos State that is populated largely by people of diverse ethnic groups.   However, interpersonal communication skill is the key to every successful business venture and the ability of a worker to speak fluently is advantageous towards the development and progression   of the work.

This study will be useful to the following:

Workers: It will benefit workers who need to improve on their language skills both and outside the workplace knowing that English is essential for work and survival society. It will improve work efficiency and enhances worker’s self-esteem and ns instrumentally and intrinsically motivated to learn more there will be no more hesitation in complaining of any observation, or giving instructions to junior workers, taking part in decision making etc. also instructional manuals will be easily interpreted since an operator can comprehend the instruction. Hence, mistakes are avoided and stress is reduced.  

Moreso, the learner will meet EOP needs like reading and writing work related faxes and emails using information sources, communicating with foreigners about work1writing work related reports using tactful language with people especially customers, and understanding basic principles in work correspondences. Moreover, since English has become a necessary tool for job employment, EOP learners stand the opportunity to obtain a lucrative job, get promoted and perform effectively in the working world.

Curriculist: as suggested by many studies in the literature of this study, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998 60) assert that analysis of workers’ special language needs is a crucial step towards designing the curriculum, since it determines all course components. Also, it will help them to plan and improve Nigerian education by conducting the educational  which the skills and competency gaps of EOP learners in Nigeria educational sector before drawing recommendation on how will be resolved. As such, the outcome workers’ needs which serve as the basis for evaluation strategies. etc.

Moreso, it will equip the curriculist with the knowledge of guidelines to be followed in planning programmes for EOP learners such as;

• Knowledge on the part of employees, on the communicative function of EOP’

• Understanding on behalf of employees of the expectations of those who need English in order to carry out a job.

Knowledge, on the part of the employees, the theory and practice of EO.

Moreover, sensitizes the curriculist that one of the most important characteristics of EOP is material writing and communicative competence which could intrinsically interesting since they focus mainly on course design approach idea and course objectives. Perhaps, subscribe to the idea that an effective syllabus must attempt to overcome the deficiencies of the workers’ commutative competence under which they are operating (Brian 1998).

The Teacher/EOP Tutors

Dudley Evans and St. John (199895) state that the teaching process of any kind of language for occupational purposes should take as a starting point the analysis of the four traditional skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) within an appropriate context, that being, as far as possible, the conditions in the workplace. The study will help the LOP tutors or teachers to take cognizance of the above assertion. Nevertheless, sensitizes them that the most important argument regarding selective learning is that adults need to obtain information they can apply outside the academic world. It will help them in the selection of authentic materials, contents and activities relevant to the LOP learners. The Study will also create job opportunities, investment opportunities and natural education growth to the EOP teachers by the government/foreigners (tourists or experts) e.g.

Chinese, Arabians, Indians, Portugese etc. when seeking their services in nation building.

The Researcher

The study will aid the researcher to the understanding of the basic phenomenon on the second language needs of workers in the workplace. It will give the researcher the knowledge on how to best address the world’s problem. Also Researchers had data in which they can base their discussions for policy making.

The Stakeholders

The Study will provide an insight to parents and guardians on the type of language skills their ward need when face with language related problems in workplace. Finally, it will be of benefit to all the stakeholders such as policy makers, managers of businesses, government, education educators etc. on their perception of EOP programmes for improvement and development of workforce in the larger society. Therefore, to cope with the advanced worlcl4one must increase his/her level of English proficiency.

 

1.7       THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This study will look at the following theories:

1. Theories of motivation

2. Theory of communicative competence

 

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Psychologists have studied human motivation extensively and have derived a variety of theories about what motivates people. This section briefly highlights the motivational theories that are regularly discussed in language Learning.. These include theories that focus on motivation being a function of (1) employed5needs of various types, (2) extrinsic factors, and (3) intrinsic factors. Each set of theories will be discussed below.

Needs-Based Theories of Motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need—Maslow (1954) postulated a hierarchy of needs that progress from the lowest, subsistence- level needs to the highest level of self-awareness and actualization once each level has been met. The theory explains how an individual will be motivated and strive to progress to satisfy’ the next higher level of need. The five levels in Maslow’s hierarchy are .

·        physiological needs—including food, water, sexual drive, and other subsistence- related needs

·        Safety needs—including shelter, a safe home safe work environment, employment, a healthy and safe worker environment. access to health care, money, and other basic necessities.

·        Belonging needs – including the desire for social contact and interaction, friendship, affection and various types of support.

·        , Esteem needs—including status, recognition, and positive regard; and,

·        .Self-actualization needs—including the desire for achievement, Personal growth, development, and autonomy.

The movement from one level to the next was termed satisfaction progression by Maslow, and it was assumed that over time individuals were motivated to continually progresses upward through these levels. ‘While useful from a theoretical perspective, most individuals do not view their needs in this way, making this approach to motivation a bit unrealistic.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory—the three components identified by Alderfer (1972) drew upon

Maslow’s theory, but also suggested that workers were motivated to move forward and

backward through the levels in terms of motivators. He reduced Maslow’s levels from

Five to the following three:

·        Existence—which related to Maslow’s first two needs, thus combining the physiological and safety needs into one level;

·        Relatedness—which addressed the belonging needs; and,

·        .Growth—which pertains to the last two needs, thereby combining esteem and self- actualization.

Alderfer also added his frustration-regression principle, which postulated that individuals would move in and out of the various levels, depending upon the extent to which their needs were being met. This approach is deemed by students of management to be more logical and similar to many individuals’ world views.

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory—Herzberg (2003) further modified Maslow’s needs theory and consolidated down to two areas of needs that motivate employees. These were termed;

·        Hygiene’s—these were characterized as lower level motivators and included, for example, “company policy and administration, Supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, salary, status, and security.

·        Motivators—these emphasized higher level factors and focused on aspects of work, such as achievement, recognition for achievement ,the work itself, responsibility and growth or advancement”

Herzberg’s is an easily understood approach that suggests that individuals have desires beyond the Hygiene’s and that motivators are very important to them.

McClelland’s acquired Needs Theory— the idea here is that needs are acquired throughout life. That is, needs are not innate, but are learned or developed as a result of one’s life experiences (McClelland, 1985).This theory focuses on three types of needs:

·        Need for achievement— which emphasizes the desires for success, for mastering tasks, and for attaining goals;

·        Need for affiliation— which focuses on the desire for relationships and associations with others; and,

·        Need for power— which relates to the desires for responsibility, for control, and authority over others.

All four of these theories, from different Perspectives are helpful in understanding workers motivation on the Basis of needs. However, other theories of motivation also have been posited and require consideration.

Extrinsic Factor Theories of Motivation

Another approach to understanding motivation focuses on external factors and their role in understanding workers motivation. The best known of these is: Reinforcement• Theory— B.F. Skinner (1953) studied human behavior and proposed that individuals are motivated when their behaviors are reinforced. His theory 1s comprised .4’ four types of reinforcement. The first two are associated with achieving desirable behaviors, while the last two address undesirable behaviors:

·        Positive reinforcement—relates to taking action that rewards Positive behaviors;

·        Avoidance learning—occurs when actions are taken to reward behaviors that avoid undesirable or negative behaviors. This is sometimes referred to as negative reinforcement;

·        Punishment— includes actions designed to reduce undesirable Behaviors by creating negative consequences for the individual; and, Extinction— represents the removal of positive rewards for undesirable behaviors.

 

The primary criticism of the reinforcement approach is that it fails to account for employees’ abilities to think critically and reason, both of which are important aspects of human motivation? While reinforcement Theory may be applicable m animals, it doesn’t account on the higher level of cognition that occurs m humans.

 Intrinsic Factor Theories of Motivation

Theories that are based on intrinsic or endogenous factors focus on internal thought processes and perceptions about motivation. Several of these are highlighted below:

·        Adam’s Equity Theory— which proposes that individuals are motivated when they perceive that they are treated equitably in comparison to others within the organization (Adams, 1963); 1

·        Vroom’s Expectancy Theory—which addresses the expectations of Individuals and hypothesizes that they are motivated by performance and the expected out comes of theft own behaviors (Vroom,1964); and,

·        Locke’s Goal Setting Theory— which hypothesizes that by establishing goals individuals are motivated to take action to achieve those goals (Locke & Latham, 1990).

While each of these theories deals with a particular aspect of motivation, it seems unrealistic for EOP instructors to address them in isolation, since these factors often determine workers interest to course improvement.

 

Theory of communicative competence

The theory of communicative competence will be discussed here using the communicative teaching method approach which lays emphasis on the need for course designers to study the needs, interest and aspirations of learners and use the data got from such studies as a basis for syllabus and instructional materials design. The communicative approach to language teaching was proposed by the council of Europe team led by Trim (1978:9) assert that the method:

Set out to identify a number of coherent but restricted goals relevant to the communicative needs of the learners. We then attempt to work out in details the knowledge and skills which will equip the learner to use the language for the communicative purpose defined. In the light of this characteristics and resource we have, then established feasible learning programmes and skills, and a means of testing and evaluation to provide feed-back to all ponies concerned as to the success of the programme.

 

The above assertion clearly explains the focus of the method which extend beyond linguistic competence to communicative competence. The most important contribution of the curriculum to the communicative language teaching method is its use of the language needs of the target audience in planning the language syllabus as this is considered an innovation in the language teaching curriculum.

The implication is that, the communicative teaching language method is learner-centred as it uses the needs of the learner as a basis for all language learning activities. Munby (1978) adds that in preparing a syllabus for teaching using this method the course designer should find out answers to these questions?

1. What is the learner’s purpose for learning a language?

2. In what kind of setting is he likely to use the target language?

3. What kind of social relations is he likely to engage in?

4. What language medium is he likely to use more often?

When solutions to these questions are found, the curriculum designer would then organize learning activities according to communicative acts such as asking questions, giving orders; apologizing; contradicting someone; welcoming a customer; giving directives; explaining a process etc. in other words, the traditional lesson topics like nouns, tenses, adjective do not feature when this method is use in teaching language.

To utilize the method in teaching, the teacher thinks of:

1. How to create a relevant setting for learners to interact. This is made possible through the use of stimulation, role play which are used extensively in order to make the interaction resemble real life situation.

 

 2. Roles are assigned to learners and they are expected to play out the role realistically.

From our discussion so far it is obvious that the communicative language teaching method is quite relevant for FOP learners. This is because the method aims at equipping learners with the ability to communicate in the target language situations. Other areas of. Emphasis of the communicative language teaching are;

- Linguistic competence

- Socio linguistic competence

- Discourse competence

 

The different dimensions ensure the leaner is addends equipped to communicate in the target language. Linguistic competence ensure that he masters the grammar of the target language, while socio-linguistic competence enables him use the target language appropriately vis-ã-vis and informal situation among others. Strategic competence refers to learner’s ability to use certain strategic device to keep discussion going in the workplace.

This Lyons (1977:574) confirms when he says that there are certain elements that must be considered to make one’s speech appropriate in different contexts. Each participant in a communication process should know his “roles and status”, “where they are in time and space” the medium that is “appropriate to the situation” and how to make their “utterance appropriate to the subject matter”.

The importance of theory of communicative competence for EOP Learners can never be overlooked, because of the following reasons;

i.        The use of needs analysis in determining the language needs of the leaner as a basis for curriculum design has a lot of advantage to the learners. This is because it makes content relevant thereby motivating the learners to participate actively in class activities.

ii.       Because the syllabus content is centered on the learners needs, they are very active all through the lesson, while the teacher’s role is that of a mediator or facilitator.

iii.      The method tries to break the barrier created by the classroom as it tries to make language learning look like real life language use.

iv.      The method is appropriate in teaching adults, and specialist who need a working knowledge of a language. For example teaching a Japanese engineer English to enable him work in Nigeria.

v.       It makes the learners sensitive to the appropriateness in language use. This is because classroom activities help them to realize the distinction between rules of grammar and rules of (language) use.

In summary, the communicative language teaching syllabus is built on end-means approach to curriculum design. It emphasizes communication through the use of stimulation, role play in order to ensure that an effective learner participate in the communicative language teaching of the EOP course.

 

 

1.8       SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The scope of this study was limited to two selected industries in Oshodi -Ageg Local Government Area in Lagos State. It focused on the workplace language needs of workers in Lagos State.

 

 

1.9       OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS:

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP): English course designed for a particular group of learners with similar characteristics.

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES (GA): The use of English for studies in the school / for general use.

ENGLISH FOR OCCUPATIONAL PURPOSES (EOP): A branch of ESP that needs English to do work.

ENGLISH FOR VOCATONAL PURPOSES (EVP): A division of EOP that needs English for specific work situations.

ENGLISH IN THE WORK PLACE (EWP): The use of English for specific language function necessary for on-the-job communication.

NEEDS ANALYSIS (NA): Identification of learners’ needs to determine objectives for course design.

TARGET SITUATION ANALYSIS (TSA): Analysis of the workplace where English is supposed to be used.

LEARNING SITUATION ANALYSIS (LSA): Analysis of the learners’ previous learning experiences, sociocultural factors and motivation.

PRESENT SITUATION ANALYSIS (PSA): Analysis of the present knowledge of the learners to determine lacks or deficiencies.

SECOND LANGUAGE: The second language a child acquired or learnt after his first language or mother tongue (English Language is regarded as the child’s second language in Nigeria)

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (TESOL): Course designed for the teaching of English as a second language.

ORAL COMMUNICATION: Conversation /interaction by the word of mouth (spoken English).

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