RENEGOTIATING STUDENT APATHY TO THE USE OF STANDARD SPOKEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN UNIVERSITIES


RENEGOTIATING STUDENT APATHY TO THE USE OF STANDARD SPOKEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA 

ABSTRACT

 The incidence of the poor English spoken among Nigerian university students is an embarrassing situation which seems to have defied a myriad of solutions. The reluctance among these students to speak standard and proper English language complicates issues. The researcher is therefore interested in finding out the causes of the appalling apathy of university students to speak Standard English. The researcher therefore, conducted a research on the postulatory factors which led to the existing apathy in some randomly selected secondary schools in Enugu state in South Eastern Nigeria. From the interviews and questionnaire administered to the students, it was found that family background, academic background, quality of teachers and style of teaching influenced the students’ perception or value of Standard spoken English language and led to the apathy. The paper then suggests some ways through which students’ spoken English can be improved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE I

CERTIFICATION II

APPROVAL PAGE III

DEDICATION IV

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V

TABLE OF CONTENT VI

ABSTRACT VII

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 3

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 4

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 5

SCOPE OF THE STUDY 5

RESEARCH QUESTIONS 6

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 8

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 9

ORIGIN OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA 10

POSITION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA 13

POOR LISTENING SKILLS 14

LEARNERS' ATTITUDE TOWARDS THEIR OWN ERRORS 15

TEACHER'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNERS' ERRORS 16

INTER-LINGUAL INTERFERENCE 17

SOCIOLINGUISTICS 18

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 22

EMPIRICAL STUDIES 29

SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW 33

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS

DESIGN OF THE STUDY 34

AREA OF THE STUDY 34

POPULATION OF THE STUDY 35

SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 35

INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION 35

VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT 35

RELIABILITY OF THE INSTRUMENT 36

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION 36

METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS 36

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULT

PRESENTATION OF DATA 37

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, IMPLICATION, RECOMMENDATION AND SUMMARY

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 42

CONCLUSION 45

IMPLICATION OF THE STUDY 46

RECOMMENDATIONS 47

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 48

SUGGESTION FOR STUDIES 48

SUMMARY OF THE STUDY 49

REFERENCES 51

APPENDIX 53

QUESTIONNAIRE 54

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Language is central to all our lives, and is arguably the cultural tool that sets humans apart from any other species. Language is also the symbolic behaviour that allows human specialties- education, art, religion and science- to occur. We use it to practice government; we use it to preach the gospel; we use it to engage in trade; we use it in teaching and learning of everything. A beautiful fact about language as a general term is that unlike other forms of cultural behaviour, it is blind to demographics, socio economics and ethnic difference. The only variation is found in the numerous, existing types of languages used by human persons. The English language is one of these existing human languages. English today is a unique language, quite functionally and structurally different from other languages of the world. English has been accepted as a second language in Nigeria, right from the time the country was colonized by Britain. It is also the language of education and Nigerians have shown much prominence in all academic pursuits. However, the English language encounters several challenges serving as a vehicular language in the education of persons from diverse ethnic backgrounds. English language teachers face growing pressures to meet the needs of increasingly diverse learners, both in terms of ethnicity, and language, and also in terms of economic and social circumstances. According to Brown (2015), the goal of the language learners is to make sure that they can communicate what they have in mind effectively, they have to be understood when they are uttering the words. For effective communication, the researcher considers it pertinent to examine exhaustively a good number of the factors that influence effective communication in English, especially as it relates to the Nigerian undergraduates.

The de facto National Policy on Language (in Education) recognizes the multidimensional, multi-lingual three tier political party state which tries to capture the multi-ethnic and, ipso facto, multi-lingual polity which Berlin and the British have hammered into a joint existence. This policy provides for English- the official language- as the language of formal literacy, the bureaucracy, secondary and higher education, the law courts, etc, while all Nigerian languages (language of the immediate environment) can be a media of instruction in initial levels of literacy and in life-long and non-formal education. However, down through the years, this has morphed to become even the language of communication amongst students. Students in higher levels of learning (tertiary institutions) who are to be taught in English Language alone, have chosen to speak other languages but English amongst themselves. The use of the Creole language (Pidgin) and mother tongue is rampant and wide spread all through Nigerian colleges and universities. One can only imagine why this is so, as it badly affects their overall competence in the use of the English language while in school and much later in life. Nevertheless, this is not to say that a fluency or deft proficiency in one's mother tongue is undesirable or to be discouraged; no. It is to be encouraged, as it adds to the rich and diverse linguistic multiplicity of the nation. The issue at hand is that an overindulgent use of these indigenous languages by university undergraduates is a threat to their overall success in life, both within the nation and internationally. This is true because English language is not only Nigeria's official language, but is also a world language. And with the dawning of each new day, it increasingly becomes even more global and germane for attaining success in life. Consequently, in this research work, effort is made to discover why this nagging problem persists amongst Nigerian university undergraduates, how it came to be and what possible, practical steps can be taken to remedy it.

Statement of the Problem

It is no secret that a vast majority of students in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria struggle to effectively express themselves in the English Language. This is evident in a myriad of ways, some of which include: 

⦁ the way they shy away from all forms of public speaking 

⦁ their general attitude to English language 

⦁ their oral performance in job interviews 

         There could be several reasons why this problem exists. One of these reasons is an overuse of vernacular and creole languages on their part. These students use coined and colloquial lingos to converse amongst themselves and very sparsely and rarely, speak good English Language. This has gone on for too long and has become a critical issue to be looked into. Consequently, challenges abound in the teaching and learning of English in Nigeria. This study is undertaken to draw attention to these existing challenges and some other influences and elements affecting the communication process. 

Purpose of the Study 

The general purpose or objective of this study is to uncover the salient and prominent reasons why there is a general apathy amongst Nigerian University students in speaking Standard English Language. Below are the specific objectives: 

1) To discover the factors that led to the apathy towards the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian undergraduates.

2) To discover the influence of English language teaching aids and materials on the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian undergraduates.

3) To find out the influence of teachers' teaching methods on the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian undergraduates.

4) To determine the influence of cultural environment in the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian University students.

Significance of the Study

A lot of researches have been carried out on the language of communication of Nigerian university students, but what makes this study significant is its re-evaluation and fresh investigation into the possible reasons behind the growing reluctance amongst Nigerian undergraduates to use the English Language to communicate both in and outside the classroom. On the completion of this study, it would have been determined from the analysis of the data collected, most of the root causes to the general apathy amongst University students to use English Language. Therefore, the result of this study will be beneficial to teachers, parents, students, curriculum planners, employers of labour, e.t.c. 

Scope of the Study

The researcher chose Godfrey Okoye University, Caritas University and University of Nigeria Enugu Campus as the scope of her research. These universities will be representatives of all other universities within Enugu Metropolis.

Research Questions

1) What are the factors that led to the apathy towards the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian undergraduates?

2) What is the influence of English language teaching aids and materials on the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian undergraduates? 

3) How do teachers' teaching methods affect the use of Standard Spoken English of Nigerian undergraduates? 

4) What is the influence of cultural environment in the use of Standard Spoken English by Nigerian University students?

.

RENEGOTIATING STUDENT APATHY TO THE USE OF STANDARD SPOKEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN UNIVERSITIES



TYPE IN YOUR TOPIC AND CLICK SEARCH.






RESEARCHWAP.NET

Researchwap.net is an online repository for free project topics and research materials, articles and custom writing of research works. We’re an online resource centre that provides a vast database for students to access numerous research project topics and materials. Researchwap.net guides and assist Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Final Year Students with well researched and quality project topics, topic ideas, research guides and project materials. We’re reliable and trustworthy, and we really understand what is called “time factor”, that is why we’ve simplified the process so that students can get their research projects ready on time. Our platform provides more educational services, such as hiring a writer, research analysis, and software for computer science research and we also seriously adhere to a timely delivery.

TESTIMONIES FROM OUR CLIENTS


Please feel free to carefully review some written and captured responses from our satisfied clients.

  • "Exceptionally outstanding. Highly recommend for all who wish to have effective and excellent project defence. Easily Accessable, Affordable, Effective and effective."

    Debby Henry George, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA.
  • "I saw this website on facebook page and I did not even bother since I was in a hurry to complete my project. But I am totally amazed that when I visited the website and saw the topic I was looking for and I decided to give a try and now I have received it within an hour after ordering the material. Am grateful guys!"

    Hilary Yusuf, United States International University Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
  • "Researchwap.net is a website I recommend to all student and researchers within and outside the country. The web owners are doing great job and I appreciate them for that. Once again, thank you very much "researchwap.net" and God bless you and your business! ."

    Debby Henry George, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA.
  • "Great User Experience, Nice flows and Superb functionalities.The app is indeed a great tech innovation for greasing the wheels of final year, research and other pedagogical related project works. A trial would definitely convince you."

    Lamilare Valentine, Kwame Nkrumah University, Kumasi, Ghana.
  • "I love what you guys are doing, your material guided me well through my research. Thank you for helping me achieve academic success."

    Sampson, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
  • "researchwap.com is God-sent! I got good grades in my seminar and project with the help of your service, thank you soooooo much."

    Cynthia, Akwa Ibom State University .
  • "Sorry, it was in my spam folder all along, I should have looked it up properly first. Please keep up the good work, your team is quite commited. Am grateful...I will certainly refer my friends too."

    Elizabeth, Obafemi Awolowo University
  • "Am happy the defense went well, thanks to your articles. I may not be able to express how grateful I am for all your assistance, but on my honour, I owe you guys a good number of referrals. Thank you once again."

    Ali Olanrewaju, Lagos State University.
  • "My Dear Researchwap, initially I never believed one can actually do honest business transactions with Nigerians online until i stumbled into your website. You have broken a new legacy of record as far as am concerned. Keep up the good work!"

    Willie Ekereobong, University of Port Harcourt.
  • "WOW, SO IT'S TRUE??!! I can't believe I got this quality work for just 3k...I thought it was scam ooo. I wouldn't mind if it goes for over 5k, its worth it. Thank you!"

    Theressa, Igbinedion University.
  • "I did not see my project topic on your website so I decided to call your customer care number, the attention I got was epic! I got help from the beginning to the end of my project in just 3 days, they even taught me how to defend my project and I got a 'B' at the end. Thank you so much researchwap.com, infact, I owe my graduating well today to you guys...."

    Joseph, Abia state Polytechnic.
  • "My friend told me about ResearchWap website, I doubted her until I saw her receive her full project in less than 15 miniutes, I tried mine too and got it same, right now, am telling everyone in my school about researchwap.com, no one has to suffer any more writing their project. Thank you for making life easy for me and my fellow students... Keep up the good work"

    Christiana, Landmark University .
  • "I wish I knew you guys when I wrote my first degree project, it took so much time and effort then. Now, with just a click of a button, I got my complete project in less than 15 minutes. You guys are too amazing!."

    Musa, Federal University of Technology Minna
  • "I was scared at first when I saw your website but I decided to risk my last 3k and surprisingly I got my complete project in my email box instantly. This is so nice!!!."

    Ali Obafemi, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Niger State.
  • To contribute to our success story, send us a feedback or please kindly call 2348037664978.
    Then your comment and contact will be published here also with your consent.

    Thank you for choosing researchwap.com.