Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
COMPETENCE IN THE LANGAUGE OF INSTRUCTION AS A
PREDICTOR OF PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL HISTORY
By
Dr. (Mrs.) A. A. Jekayinfa
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate how competence in the
language of instruction can predict students’ performance in Secondary School
History. In order to accomplish the objectives of this study, data was collected
from five hundred and five (505) form IV History students in eleven (11)
Secondary Schools randomly selected from Ogbomoso North and South, and
Surulere Local Government of Oyo State in 1983.
The sampled students were administered Progressive Achievement Test
(PAT) in English comprehension and vocabulary and an investigator-constructed
History Achievement Test (HAT). The results of the study indicates a positive
correlation between competence in the language of Instruction (English Language)
and academic achievement in History. Students with high scores on the Progress
Achievement Test (PAT) shows superiority in academic achievement in History.
Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
INTRODUCTION
In his book History and Policy of Education in Nigeria, Fafunwa (1984)
commented on the importance of History by saying that “History is to a people
what memory is to an individual. A people without the knowledge of their past
would suffer from collective amnesia, groping blindly into the future without
guide-post of precedence to shape their course”.
From the above assertion, it is clear that no society exists without its own
history; and in dealing with any issue of our everyday life, reference is often made
to its history. Dike (1960) stressed the need “to look back and understand our
cultural heritage”. Ifemesia (1980) also contributed to the objectives of history
teaching in schools when he affirmed that the discipline teaches us the background
antecedents of our immediate and distant neighbours – their political system,
religion, social life and culture in general. Plump, cited in Ikime (1977) stated that
historical studies deepen understanding about man and society, a more profound
awareness of our history will help to mould human attitudes and human actions.
Adejumobi (1966) remarked that most of our national difficulties stem from our
history either ultimately or proximately. Ajayi (1974) opined that history is of
direct relevance in our daily lives because of its provision of background and time
prospective for our many pre-occupations as well as the accumulated wisdom of
the past which must be founded on the basic sense of values and norms, the rules
for playing the game of interpersonal relationship – rules which must be
commonly accepted and respected and adherence to which, must be an important
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
definition of our common citizenship. If citizens are to fully participate in the
affairs of their country, they need the awareness and understanding of public
issues which the knowledge of history can give.
Being as important as it is, the researcher is of the opinion that many
Nigerian students should offer the subject and perform well in it. But when one
considers the fact that instructions in History are given in English Language, and
performance of students in English is woeful year in year out, the central concern
of this study therefore is to find out if competence in English Language can be
used to predict secondary school students’ performance in history.
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Many students are greatly handicapped in their performance in many school
subjects because their knowledge of English Language is greatly inadequate.
English language occupies a vital and indispensable position in education. Apart
from the fact that it is the language of business, mass media, literature as well as
those of internal and external communications, it is also the medium of instruction
from about the fourth year in the primary school.
The role of English world-wide is a force to reckon with in Nigeria.
English was grown over the years, through its chequered history, not only as a
‘Lingua franca’ but also as the language of political, economic, cultural, scientific
and technological development of Nigeria.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
The role of English Language in Nigeria has been well described by
Spencer (1971) when he observed that “English in West Africa cannot be seen as a
temporarily borrowed language… on the contrary, it is by now part of the
linguistic property of those who use it”. English language now determines success
or failure in education and life in the Nigerian society. Secondary School leavers
who have good grades in English language are mostly employed in different
departments and parastatals in Nigeria these days. All school subjects except the
mother tongues are taught in English. The implication of this is that, a student
must be proficient in English language before he can perform creditably well in
other school subjects.
Obameata (1970) indicated that most students fail in most school
Certificate subjects because they have problem of proficiency in English
Language. He also said that unless a child can acquire facility in the second
language, where it is the official language of instruction, he is inevitably retarded
in reasoning and achievement. The results of various researches have indicated
that there exists a significant relationship between language and thought.
Goldman and Taylor (1966) conducted a survey of researches, studies and
literature on the educational problems and potentials of coloured immigrant
children in Britain and concluded that language was a major factor affecting the
assessment of the ability and actual school performance of immigrant children.
Fayehun (1991) in her research on the relationship between English language and
other subjects has the following to say:
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
The knowledge of English language particularly as a medium of
instruction at the secondary school level invariably affects the
comprehension ability of the students as regards the other subjects
being studied. It is naturally expected that the level of attainment of
the students in English will be reflected on their performance in the
other subject areas (p.10)
Adewoye (1983) carried out a research on the relationship between English
language abilities and physics. The research covered some secondary schools in
Ibadan and Ile-Ife. The schools were selected on the basis of sex, 653 subjects
were used as samples. The result of the correlation coefficient of 0.72 indicated
that students who are good in English language may not necessarily be good in
Physics or vice-versa. The researcher then concluded that there is no relationship
between the two subjects. This may be so, probably because English language is a
verbal subject that involves a lot of reading and understanding while physics is
non-verbal but based on practicals.
Fall (1972) compared performance in English Language and Chemistry.
He made use of students scores in the two subjects between 1968 – 1970. He find
out that students who performed brilliantly well in Chemistry also performed
brilliantly well in English Language.
Therefore, he concluded that English
Language has positive effect on the performance of students in Chemistry.
Godwin (1971) compared the performance of students in language arts with
Arithmetic. He divided language arts into two, that is, English Language and
Yoruba language. He came out with the result that students who scored very high
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
in Arithmetic also scored very high in English Language while those who scored
very low in Mathematics also scored very low in English Language.
He explained further that one of the reasons why there was relationship
between performance in English Language and Arithmetic is that most of the
problem in Arithmetic are not mechanical but reading and understanding. He
contended that the knowledge gained especially in comprehending written
language passage is technically transferred to solving Arithmetic problems.
Many people have also written on the effect of language of instruction on
students’ performance.
Vygotsksy (1962) argued that there is a relationship
between language of instruction and performance. Obameata (1970) wrote that
“unless a child can acquire facility in the second language where it is the official
language, he is inevitably retarded in reasoning as well as attainment. These
contentions are true in so far as most Nigerian children are expected to reason in
English and their attainment is also tested in English which is a second language to
them.
Kerr (1972) interviewed a sample of 100 university staff and students and
found that 64% of them think “mostly in Yoruba” 2% think “always in English”.
Since this was found among the University staff and students, the social group that
represents the highest level of education in the community, it should be more so in
the secondary schools where the level of educational attainment is relatively low.
Afolayan (1968), in his study of the linguistic problems of the Yoruba learners and
users of English, found that there was a general mistaken notion on the part of the
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
Yoruba learner and users of English that there is a one-to-one correspondence
between Yoruba language and English. The Yoruba learner resorts to translation
because he assumes that whatever is possible in Yoruba is also possible in English.
Afolayan observed that language are not simply parallel methods of expressing a
universal logic. It is not possible to translate a logical idea into any language
without altering the original idea. In the light of this, it is to be expected that
tendency to translate questions from English to Yoruba before answering them
would result in incorrect answers.
The objectives of this study were as follows:
(1)
To find out if there is a relationship between competence in the language of
instruction and performance in History.
(2)
To make suggestions and recommendations on the basis of the finding on
(1) above.
Hypotheses
In pursuance of these objectives, it was hypothesized that:
1.
There is no significant relationship between competence in the language of
instruction and students’ academic achievement in History.
2.
There is no significant relationship between competence in the language of
instruction and female students’ academic achievement in History.
3.
There is no significant relationship between competence in the language of
instruction and male students’ academic achievement in History.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
METHODS
Subjects
The subjects for this study were drawn from eleven selected secondary
schools in Ogbomoso North, South and Surulere Local Government of Oyo State.
The study sample consisted of five hundred and five (505) form IV History
students in the eleven schools. They comprised three hundred and twenty two
(322) boys and one hundred and eighty three (183) girls. There ages ranged from
12 – 24 years. All the schools used for the study were co-educational institutions
and all but the Federal Government College, Ogbomoso, belonged to the Oyo
State Government.
The eleven schools were randomly selected from the population of 24
secondary schools in the three local governments. Only Form IV History students
were used for the study because, being in the penultimate year, they ought to have
been well grounded in the knowledge of History of West Africa.
Research Instruments
Two kinds of instruments were used for the purpose of this study. One was
designed by the researcher and it was known as the History Achievement Test
used to collect data on students achievement in History. The second instrument
was the Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) in English comprehension and
vocabulary.
It was used to collect data on competence in the language of
instruction.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
Definition of the Instrument
(1)
The Investigator constructed History Achievement Test (HAT contained
forty objective question in the true or false styles. The test was based on some
aspects of West African History 1800 – 1840 AD.
The pilot testing of the
instrument was done in two secondary schools, one in Ogbomoso Central and the
other one in Ogo-Oluwa Local Government. A sample of fifty six (56) Form IV
History students were used for pilot testing. In the item analysis that was done on
the test, item total correlation ranged from .33 to .67. Ten (10) items whose
correlation with the total test scores on the test were less than .36 were removed
leaving the final test with 30 items. The 30 items were then retested on the same
56 students who did the former test. The test-retest correlational co-efficient
yielded a co-efficient of .68 which was regarded as adequate for the stability and
validation measure.
(2)
The Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) was a standardized test prepared
by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. The test was intended for
use with pupils between standard II and Form IV in New Zealand. The test is
organized in an overlapping format and contains the test questions for all pupils
between the classes specified above. The junior pupils have to work through only
the first part of the test booklet while the senior pupils start and finish at later
points. The tests are labeled parts 2 to 8 for class levels of standard II to form IV
respectively. The part 6 of the test which was designed for the form III students in
New Zealand was pilot tested on the same fifty six (56) form IV History students
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
who did the pilot test on History Achievement Test (HAT). The two schools used
did not participate in the real research. After the pilot testing, it was found that
about 63% of the students did not get up to an average mark of 50% in the test, so
it was decided to use Part 4 of the test which was designed for the use of Form II
students in New Zealand. This is to cater for the language deficiencies of the
Nigerian students, the part 4 of the test was again pilot-tested on the same fifty six
(56) students and the test-retest correlational analysis yielded a co-efficient of 0.88
which was regarded as adequate for the stability and validation measure.
Results of Findings
Analysis of data, using Pearsons ‘r product moment correlation, showed
that competence in the language of instruction (English Language) can be used, to
a certain extent to predict success in secondary school History. For hypothesis I,
the calculated r- was .442 (Table 1) and was significant at 0.01 level.
The analysis also revealed that competence in English Language accounted
for 19.3% of variance of the subjects’ performance in History. Furthermore, an
examination of the raw scores of students in the English Language test and the
history test showed that students with high scores in English Language obtained
relatively high scores in History. Thus it appeared that English Language was a
necessary requirement for success in History among the subjects. The results of
analysis of the data in this study provides enough justification to confirm that there
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
tends to be a significant relationship between competence in the language of
instruction and academic achievement of the secondary school students in History.
Table 1
Co-Efficient of Students’ Scores in English Language and History Tests
Subjects
No. of
Mean
Calculated R
Table R2
Students
English Language
505
36.49
History
505
40.56
*
.+22*
.193
Note: P < 0.01
For hypothesis 2, the calculated value of r was 0.97 (Table 2) while the
table value was 0.349. Since the calculated r value was higher than the table
value, the hypothesis was rejected.
This showed that there is a significant
relationship between proficiency in the language of instruction and female
students’ academic performance in History. This means that proficiency of female
students in the language of instruction can be used to a certain extent to predict
their success in a test of History.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
Table 2
Co-Efficient of Female Students’ Scores in English Language and
History Tests
Subjects
No. of Students
Mean
English Language
183
44.72
History
183
37.80
*
Calculated
‘r’
.97*
Table
‘r’
0.349
Note: P < 0.01
The third hypothesis was also tested using the Pearson’s ‘r’ Product
Moment Correlation. The calculated value of r was 0.93, and was significant at
0.01 level (Table 3). The result showed that there is a significant relationship
between male students’ proficiency in the language of instruction and their
academic achievement in History. In essence, the result of the analysis revealed
that proficiency in the language of instruction of female students can be used to a
certain extent to predict their performance in History.
Table 3
Co-Efficient of Female Students’ Scores in English Language and
History Tests
Subjects
No. of Students
Mean
English Language
322
41.57
History
322
37.91
*
Note: P < 0.01
12
Calculated
Table
‘r’
‘r’
.93*
0.349
Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The result of findings of this study obviously showed that students who are
high achievers in English Language are likely to be high achievers in history and
vice versa. It is a known fact that acquisition of linguistic knowledge have a
significant effect on students’ learning effectiveness. Obameata (1973) contended
that “an aspect of linguistic problem in Nigeria is that students find it difficult to
understand instructions accompanying tests”.
Competence in English Language which is the language of instruction is
the only way through which students can perform well in almost all subjects in the
secondary schools. Since English Language is the pivot through all other subjects
revolve, it is highly essential for schools to emphasise the use of the language in
and outside the classroom premises. It is advised that school authorities should
provide competent and qualified teachers for the teaching of English.
History teachers are also advised to use simple English whenever they are
teaching and testing their students in history.
Students are advised to read
educative and interesting novels so as to enrich their vocabulary in English.
Students should be encouraged to watch relevant television programmes so as to
broaden their ideas and imaginations when they see their juniors and equals
speaking fluent English.
School authorities are advised to establish many societies in the school
which will help the students in English Language. Societies like literary and
debating society, dramatic clubs, historical society are all helpful in this regards.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
Teachers of English Language are reminded that teaching of English Language
should not be geared towards passing examination in English perse; rather the
emphasis should be on competence of students in writing, reading and speaking as
well. This is of course will help in no small measure in making them understand
not only English but all other subjects that are taught in English Language.
Teachers should bear in mind that most students need to be adequately encouraged
to speak English Language at school since they have no opportunity of practicing
at home.
The language teachers should also note that the English of many
students suffer from interference of their mother tongue at home. Teachers should
therefore make all efforts to adequately expose students to the correct model of
English Language at school.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
REFERENCES
Adejumobi, S. A. (1966). “Improving History through map illustrations” West
African Journal of Education. Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 18 – 20.
Afolayan, A. (1968). “The Linguistic problems of the Yoruba learners and users of
English. An unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of London:
Ajayi, J. F. Ade (1974). “Historical Education for Nigeria” Being a presidential
Address to the 19th Congress of the Historical Society of Nigeria held in IleIfe.
Bass, F. (1931). The Problem of Race. The Modern Library.
Dike, K. O. (1960). “A Keynote Address by the president of the Historical Society
of Nigeria”. Journal of Historical Society in Nigeria Vol. II No. 1.
Fafunwa, A. B. (1984). History and Policy of Education in Nigeria. Macmillan
and Co. Nigeria Limited.
Fall, A. (1972). “Relationship between performance in English Language and
Chemistry”. Journal of Experimental Education. Vol. 14, No. 1.
Fayehun, M. I. (1991). “Relationship between students’ level of attainment in
English and their performance in other subject areas at the Secondary
School Level”. An unpublished M.Ed Thesis.
Goldman, R. J. and Taylor, F. M. (1972). “Coloured immigrant Children”. A
survey of research studies and literature on their Educational problems and
potentials in Britain. Educational Research. Vol. 6, No. 3, 1972 pp 163 –
183.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 11 Dec., 1991
Kerry, Y. K. (1972). “The future of Yoruba literary culture” An outsider’s view.
West African Journal of Education. Vol. 16 No. 2 pp. 185 – 192.
Mcentire (1981). “Relationship between the language proficiency of adolescents
and their Mathematics Performance”. Dissertation Abstracts International.
Obameata, A. S. (1970). The influence of First Language on verbal intelligence
test performance. An unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Ibadan.
Spencer, J. (1971). The English Language in West Africa. Longman.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1969). Thought and Language. Leeds E. J. Arnold and Sons
Limited.
Yoloye, E. A. 91964) – Performance of bilingual Nigerian Students on verbal tests
of intelligence. An unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Columbia University.
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