CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
No society can exist without a language since it is a means of communication among human
beings. As human beings develop their linguistic repertoires through series of reinforcement,
examples, imitations and precepts. In a strict sense, therefore, language, according to Wilson
(2014), is an artificial and consciously organized method of control by the use of symbols and
conventions which involve the notion of meaning. Wardhau (2015) defined it as some unitary
system of linguistic communication, which subsumes a number of mutually intelligible varieties.
Language is an instrument through which members of a given community communicate.
Language gives its users the opportunity to communicate with one another in terms of feelings
and desires Linfors, (2012).
Nigeria is one of the countries with myriads of languages. Each ethnic group has its own
language with its dialectal varieties. Bamgbose (2010) has estimated about 400 local languages
in Nigeria, yet no ethnic group is ready to abandon its language since all languages are taken as
veritable instruments of communication among the users. The absence of linguistic unity in the
country has therefore led to the emphasis placed on the English language as a major medium of
instruction in educational institutions in the country. English language was introduced into
Nigeria by the colonial masters to help them administer the colonized people, spread their
religion, and carry on their commercial activities Simon, (2009). With the amalgamation of the
Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria in 1914, English language became the official
language of Nigeria and has continued to perform this function until today. In Nigeria, English is
1
the language of politics, religion, sports, trade, and commerce, education, science, and
technology.
Ufomata (2014) argued that the domains of English in an English as a second language ESL
context like Nigeria tend to be formal. It is the official language which in essence means it
serves the language of government, education, commerce, and to a limited extent, social
integration, especially among the educated elite. Within Nigeria alone, it is estimated that nearly
400 languages are spoken (Agheiyisi, 2012, Bamgbose, 2010). According to Banjo (2013) in the
context of such multilingualism it is important for the government to stick to neutral language
such as English, as the official language. English has the additional advantage of long
association, being the language of the colonial rulers. It is also a world language with all the
advantages accruing to an individual who speaks such a language both nationally and
internationally.
English is considered a symbol of modernism, and an extra area for success and mobility in
culturally and linguistically complex and pluralistic societies. Obi (2013) writes, enjoys a wider
geographical spread than any of the indigenous languages within Nigeria. Whatever the language
of discussion, a serious business transaction is sealed up in writing in English. In education,
English is introduced as a subject from the first year in primary school and used as a medium and
subject of instruction. In recent years, oral English has become an integral part of senior
secondary syllabus and examination in English language. The official attitude of the regional
examining body the (West African Examinations Council), which conducts these examinations,
is that test of continuous writing, comprehension and objective test of lexis and structure should
be assessed based on the mastery of standard of English language as currently used by educated
African writers and speakers of English in the commonwealth.
2
Obi (2013) observed that it is not clearly stated which accent is being tested. She wrote that the
entire oral English examination has been known to be concludes in objective tests, with no
perception on performance tests given. The author concludes that what seems to be the case is
that whereas the educational authorities realize the importance of teaching English language
(Oral English), in schools, they find themselves unable and or unwilling to provide the necessary
funds and support for the effective teaching and testing of the subject. Ufomata (2014) stated that
the results of a pilot study they conducted show that oral English is not taught in most public
schools in Nigeria, and where it is taught at all, it is done inadequately and ineffectively. The
importance of English is very much noticed in the field of education in Nigeria. English
language is the tool for the effective teaching and learning of other school subjects. A credit level
pass in English language in the senior secondary certificate examination or its equivalent is an
essential requirement for admission into any higher institution of learning in Nigeria, no matter
the course of study. As a result of the important role of the English language in the Nigerian
educational system, the Federal Government, through the National Policy on Education (NPE,
2010) made English language a compulsory subject in school system from the primary,
secondary to the tertiary levels.
It is true that English still occupies a pride of place in our national life. The language still serves
as the language of communication and interaction amongst the different ethnic groups in Nigeria
whose languages are usually unintelligible. In spite of all the efforts to make Nigerians learn any
one of the three dominant languages - Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba as the national language, the
English language has remained the common tongue of all tribes and the language of unity of the
nation as a sovereign entity. The need to have a single language as a means of communication in
order to cement the relationship among people has always spurred the government to promote
3
and vigorously campaign for the idea of every Nigerian mastering one of the three major ethic
languages. This can be seen from the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014) document which states
that: ( )
“In addition to appreciating the importance of language in the educational process, and as a
means of preserving the people’s culture, Government considers it to be in the interest of
national unity that each child should be encouraged to learn one of the three major languages.”
Since this goal has not been fully attained, the desire of the Federal Government of Nigeria has
centered on what to do to enable students attain some level of proficiency in English language
and to also enable them to fully participate in the educational, social, economic, and political
aspects of the Nigerian society which appear to be substantially driven by the English language.
To re-engineer English language teaching and learning in order to make the products of Nigerian
educational institutions contribute to sustainable development, the teacher will take into
cognizance the important role the English language plays in the life of Nigerian users and tailor
instructions to meet these goals. The target would be to make the learners master all aspects of
the English sound system (phonology), its grammar and lexis the writing system, and the
semantics for effective communication in that medium.
English language teaching and learning as a second language in Nigeria’s educational system is
in the hands of English language teachers. The objective of second language teaching, according
to Linfors (2012) is to make learners have a complete grasp of the subject matter of the language.
He goes further to state that:
English language teaching in Africa is not simply a question of refining a language already
known or of acquiring a certain amount of the language for cultural or limited purposes. It is a
4
question of ensuring that pupils have a complete mastery of the language, and ability to use it,
which is almost second nature.
Second nature in this context implies that pupils will be so familiar with the English language
that they can speak it easily without the need to think very much about it. In other words,
speaking English language will become part of them. Obi (2013) is of the view that English
language is indeed a tool for shaping a better Nigeria when he opines that:
The study of English language should be made effective in Nigeria educational system because it
will aid in the achievement of high level scientific, political, socio - economic and technological
developments, which are the hallmarks of social change and national development.
These assertions are true because an effective and well-defined course of instruction in English
language enables the learner to have a better grasp of the English language as a subject, as well
as other subjects in the school curriculum, since English is normally the medium of instruction
for other subjects in the curricula in Nigerian Schools. Banjo (2013), firmly subscribes to this
viewpoint of a functional language education influence on other school subjects. According to
him, “other school subjects have to be taught and learnt in the medium of English. Thus, success
at each level of the educational system depends largely on competence in English.” What this
means is that to be regarded as an educated Nigerian, some level of proficiency in English
language is required. English language is a second language in Nigeria not because it is the
second language, the average Nigerian child acquires or learns after his/her mother tongue, but it
is so because of the various roles it plays in other subjects taught in the schools. There is the need
for the learners to acquire a form of the language generally accepted as the standard form, if such
learners are to function effectively in the present-day world.
5
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Tomtison (1980), recommended some basic skills to be taught to learners so that they can write
essays proficiently. Such skills include spelling, punctuation, linguistic skills and convention of
style. Reyner et al (2001), ascertained that “many good teachers are adaptive rather than rigid in
their approach to teach students. There are odds against the Nigerian students in learning
‘English. Trifonovitch (1981) indicated that a student is automatically placed at a disadvantage
when he already has a language of his own and he is asked to learn another language. Majority
of tertiary students in Nigeria already have various mother tongues before they are admitted into
school. Nigeria is reputed to have over 250 languages. With the poor performance of students
and graduates in English Language. In Nigeria, educators, parents, employers are worried and
concerned. The problem therefore is, what factors are responsible for the general poor
performance of Nigerian students in English as a second language. For As a result of this, the
researchers therefore aim at investigating the methods in teaching of English Language with
regard to proficiency achievement of the students in the Language.
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objective of the study is to find out the method of teaching English Language in Yusuf
Maitama Sule University Kano. Specifically, the study sought to:
1. Determine the methods used by the lectures in teaching the English language in Yusuf
Maitama Sule University, Kano State.
2. To determine the relationship between male and female lecturers’ method of teaching
English language in Yusuf Maitama Sule university Kano State.
6
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study was guided by the following research questions:
1. What method are used by the English lecturers in Yusuf Maitama Sule University Kano.
2. To what extent does the teaching methods influence performance of students in English
language in Yusuf Maitama Sule University Kano.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is significant in both theoretical and practical perspectives. Theoretically, the study
will help in finding out the worth, usefulness, effectiveness or value of educational programme,
curriculum development and students’ performance in Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano
State. The study will equally ensure that educational personnel, especially those teaching English
language, are well trained and are carrying out the functions that they are best suited to carry.
1.7
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study was delimited, the study was delimited to the Investigation on the method
of teaching English language in Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano State. Some respondents
would answer the questions untruthfully to please the researcher or would tell what is not true for
fear of victimization or intentions especially in the area of a questionnaire as data collection tool.
The findings were limited to Department of English and Linguistics, Students as other
departments were not covered. Therefore, generalization of the findings of the whole population
may need further study.
7
1.8
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
ESL: (English as a Second Language) teachers specialize in helping non-native speakers of all
ages and levels learn the formal grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation of spoken and written
English.
Method of teaching: Refers to the strategies used for classroom instruction.
English language: - is the primary language of several countries
8
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter reviewed some related literature under the following subheadings; conceptual
framework, theoretical framework, empirical studies and summary of reviewed literature.
2.2
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
2.2.1 Teaching methods used in schools by teachers of English
Hoyle (1969) observed key points which a teacher should consider before selecting a teaching
method. The teaching methods should suit the teacher's abilities, knowledge of subject content
and interests, suit learner's abilities - verbal, psychomotor, suit the type of teaching carried out,
that is, skill, knowledge or value situation and suit the subject content at hand. The methods
should also suit the numbers of students being taught, their interests and experiences, the
learner's relationship with the content as well as suit the teacher's relationship with the students.
The most used teaching methods in English include: lecture methods, role play, reading,
homework assignment, small group discussions, and writing. There are other extraneous factors
that dictate which teaching methods Teachers use. These include: time allocation, teaching
experiences, professional qualifications and teacher's attitude and beliefs.
2.2.2 English Language teaching methods
The teaching methods in English should emphasize the four skills in English subject. That is
reading, writing, listening and speaking. The main goal is to develop literary mastering of the
language. Teachers of English around the world prefer some form of communication, teaching
9
and learning method, Hayman (1970). However, a successful teacher is not biased in favour of
one method or another. He should be competent and comfortable with the methods she wants to
use. Different teaching strategies will be selected from different methods and blend them to suit
the needs of the materials and students. A diligent teacher continuously learns new techniques
and knows the new directions in teaching of English (Farrant, 1988). The four language skills are
interdependent in many ways although sometimes they can be taught independently to some
extent.
2.2.3 Lecture method by teachers of English in acquisition of English language skills
This method is used mostly to develop the listening skill and speaking skill. This is attending and
interpreting oral English. The student listens to oral speech in English, then separates into
segments the stretch of utterances he hears, groups them into words, phrases and sentences and
finally, understands the message these carry. Through it is one-way communication it is an
important method because internal thinking and reasoning is carried out. Students listen in order
to repeat and understand. Tn listening to the lecture, students imitate and memorize linguistic
items such as words, idioms and sentences. Students listen to understand as part of using English
for communicative purpose. In listening to understand, students may be involved in questionoriented response model of learning or in the task- oriented model of learning. In the questionoriented response, students may be asked to listen to a sentence, a dialogue, a conversation or
lecture and asked to answer question presented.
2.2.4 Challenge of lecture method in teaching English as a subject
Research indicates that most students have difficulty with listening (Tyler, 1949). Even when
listening to their native language. Because of the phenomena of stress, most learners of English
10
have difficulty in listening the correct placement of the stresses in English. This could lead to
misunderstanding the meaning of a word, phrase or sentence. As a consequence, lecture method
in English is to be used with great care.
2.2.5 Reading as a teaching method in English in acquisition of English language skills
Day, (1993) classified reading into three kinds: Extensive reading, intensive reading and oral
reading. Extensive reading is used "to refer to the teaching of reading through reading." It is
assumed that the best way for students to learn to read is by reading a great deal of
comprehensible materials. Intensive reading is used to refer to the actual teaching of reading
skills in an teaching setting. Students are exposed to a variety of materials and asked to perform
activities such as answering comprehension questions Perkins (D, W. 1991). Intensive reading is
instruction- based and forms the core of teaching reading in English subject. There are various
stages in the teaching of reading among learners; There is the elementary reading where students
are exposed to the association of the letters of the English alphabet with their relevant sounds.
Students develop an ability to predict the sound values represented by their letters (Carter, R
(1996).
The second stage is the intermediate reading stage that fosters interest in reading and develops
actual reading skills practiced throughout one's life beyond mastering the association between
letters and sounds. Students predict the sound values and reading with purpose as the focus.
Brumfit, C.J (1985). Emphasize is on developing additional reading skills.
2.2.6 The Concept of Teaching
Teaching is an abstract art. As a teacher one must enter the mind of one’s student with the intent
to engage. A teacher must engage one’s student in the process of absorbing, understanding,
11
applying, and then retaining new knowledge. It is said that it takes the average human 21 days to
create a new, repetitive behaviour. It takes 30 days to make the habit part of one’s everyday life
Adelman, (2002).
In games of physical sports, the mind and the body must come together to take the knowledge
given by a teacher to a new level. Not only does the basketball student have to incorporate their
cerebral cortex but also their body in the learning of new concepts to master the game. The
athlete must transcend the mind to bring to the court physical performance (Staff, 2012). In
regular classroom settings, students learn concepts and facts that they may never use in their day
to day living. Special techniques are required to teach and impact into students the knowledge
required to excel academically. According to Adelman (2002), when creating lesson plan on how
to teach students in the classroom, these basic concepts should be kept in mind.
i.
Begin teaching by using clear language. Make sure that you explain basic concepts of
subject. Do not assume that all students have pre-knowledge of whatever you want to
teach. Teach what you want to be known in your classroom.
ii.
Break concepts down into basic components. Do not teach many topics in the same day.
Separate your concepts. Create a curriculum where you build on knowledge day by day.
Use only words and visual aides to explain the concepts. Do not bring the physical side of
the concept into the lecture.
iii.
Allow for your students to ask questions and to take notes. Sometimes students are not
taught to incorporate things like literature and note taking only in their bid to pass exams,
but it is important for their development. Students are intelligent and should view
12
themselves as using their brains while learning. Reading books on your topics and
concepts is also a good idea for the development of your students.
iv.
Watch videos of examples of the concepts that you are teaching.
v.
Encourage students to read their books daily.
vi.
There are many ways to introduce new topics to your students. If you make interaction
part of your teaching, it will encourage the students to not only eloquent, but also make
them develop interest in your teaching. This will enhance their academic performance.
vii.
Give constructive criticism in a kind, gentle way. Entertain relevant questions in the
classroom and encourage your students to study harder.
Teaching has developed from an all-comer’s vocation over the years and has become a reputable
profession for the bright brain. There is no education, in the real sense of it, without teaching.
Brown (1987) cites Nathan 1964) as espousing this view in the assertion that “to satisfy the
practical demands of education, theories of learning must “be stood on their head” so as to yield
theories of teaching. This view of the inter-relationship between learning and teaching led Brown
(1987) to define teaching as “…guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn,
setting the conditions for learning.” Teaching involves the transfer of knowledge, skills,
competencies, worthwhile habit/behavior from a person skilled in these or trained for such
purposes to person(s) interested in such outcomes.
2.3
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Promoting proficiency in any language in the school curriculum in any country with diversified
linguistic identities is influenced by political, socio-cultural, economic, environmental,
situational, pedagogical considerations, and colonial carryovers, among others. Therefore, the
13
study was guided by the theoretical framework which provides the independent and intervening
variables (i.e., teaching methods) which guided the conceptual framework of the study.
2.4
RELATED EMPIRICAL STUDIES
Some empirical studies that have been done on the evaluation of the teaching of English
language are also reviewed as it shared relevance to the researchers’ work. Such works are
presented below:
“Nancy (2012) conducted a study on Assessment of the teaching strategies employed by English
language teachers in Eldoret municipality, Kenya.” The purpose of the study was to assess the
extent to which teaching techniques affect the performance of students in English language as a
subject. The study used a combination of methods in the research design. The study involved all
form three students in the junior secondary school and relied on a sample size of 180 students
drawn from six secondary schools within Eldoret municipality, the form three English language
teachers, heads of the selected schools, and the education officials in the district. Sampling
techniques the study used included purposive and stratified random sampling technique. The
study used questionnaires, interviews, documentary data and non-participant observation for data
collection. Both qualitative and quantitative data analyses were employed. The study found that
direct methods of teaching, discussion method reading method are the common methods
employed by teachers in their teaching. Community was not fully utilized. The study
recommends that students, teachers and the Ministry of Education should work together to
enhance the attainment of English language teaching objectives in the classroom programme.
The present study is different from that of Nancy (2002) in both the design and focus. The
present study used the evaluative survey research design and unlike the study carried out by
14
Nancy (2002), the study sample of the present work will comprise the entire population of
teachers in the study area and will exclude the students.
Sampling techniques, including
purposive and stratified random sampling were utilized in the study, while a simple random
sampling technique was used to draw one education zone out of the three education zones
involved in the present study. The study used questionnaires, interviews, documentary data and
non-participant observation for data collection, while the present study use questionnaires,
checklist and observational schedule for data collection.
“Ezue (2004) also evaluated the teaching of oral English and mother tongue interference in
secondary schools in Orumba South LGA of Anambra State.” The survey research design was
used and the instrument consisted of oral perception and production tests. The mean and
percentages were used as statistical toots for data analysis. One of the findings was that the
constant recourse to the teaching of Igbo language as a medium of instruction was a major cause
of students’ poor performance in oral English language. This factor, obviously, is a manifestation
of the incidence of the mother tongue interference. The finding further attributed students’ poor
performance in spoken English to other factors such as lack of proficiency on the part of
language teachers, the negative impact of environment in modeling the speech behavior of the
students, and absence of instructional materials.
The researcher also wishes to observe that from available literature , no study known to the
researcher has attempted to comprehensively investigate into the incidence of the mother tongue
influence in the teaching and learning of English language segmental phonemes in Otukpo LGA
of Benue State Bala’s work which attempted an investigation into a similar subject matter in the
same, geographical environment only stopped at a contrastive analysis of the consonant focusing
on approaches which can help students to minimize their pronunciation problems.
15
“Umar (2012) conducted a study on the evaluation and strategies used for effective teaching of
oral English language in senior secondary school in Katagum Educational Zone of Bauchi State.”
The purpose of the study was to identify the strategies used for effective teaching of oral English
language in senior secondary schools, specifically, the study set out to: Determine the strategies
used by English language teachers in teaching of the oral English, Determine the strategies used
by the experienced and less experienced teachers in the teaching of oral English, determine the
strategies used by the qualified and non- qualified English language teachers in the teaching of
oral English language. The instrument that was used to collect data was a questionnaire. The
instrument was structured appropriately to elicit the desired response from the respondents.
Section A dealt with the teacher’s bio data. While section B dealt with strategies used in teaching
oral English. The number of items used was twenty-two. The instrument was constructed on a 4-scale very great extent (VGE), great extent (GE), low extent (LE), and not applicable (NA) to
identify the extent of used of the strategies by the teachers. The researcher questions were
analyzed using means scores and standard deviation. A mean rating of 2.50 and above was set as
the limit of acceptable level of performance, while those below were rejected as low extent and
not applicable. The response options in the questionnaire were scaled as 4,3,2,1 for VGA, GE,
LE and NA respectively. The finding of the study revealed that the qualify and non- qualified
English language teachers seem to have strategies ineffectively in teaching oral English. The less
experienced English language teachers seems to use most of the strategies more than the
experienced English language teachers in teaching oral English.
Umar’s study is relevant to the present study since both of them aimed at improving the teaching
of English language. Both of them employed the use of questionnaire in data collection except
that Umar made use of oral interview and tape recorder while this study did not. Umar study was
16
in Bauchi State Katagum education zone while the present study is in Gombe State, Umar’s
study was on pre-primary school, while the present study is on senior secondary schools.
“Okorji (2005), conducted a study on the teaching of aspects of communication efficiently in the
spoken English language.” The purpose of the study was to investigate some aspects of
communication inefficiency in the spoken English of primary school teachers. With random
sampling technique, a total number of 30 teachers were selected from 10 primary schools. She
used questionnaire, oral interview to collect data and found out that unqualified and less
experienced teacher teach primary school students spoken English.
Okorji’s study has some similarities and dissimilarities with the present study. One of the
similarities is that both of them have the objectives of improving the teaching of English
language; since English is, without doubt, the actual universal language and it plays a vital role
in educational advancement. Both of them employed the use of questionnaire in data collection.
Okorji’s used tape recorder, oral interview and questionnaire. The present study used
questionnaire, check list, and observational method of data collection. Okorji’s study was on
primary schools in Nsukka education zone of Enugu State, while the present study is on senior
secondary
schools
in
Gombe
South
education
zone
of
Gombe
State.
Okeke (1989), Conducted a study on the evaluation and identification of the speech error’s
among the final year students’ in Anambra State. Okeke observed that students’ speech error’s
will often crop up in his writing. These errors identified by Okeke could be as a result of mother
tongue interference which the researcher identified as a factor in her study. The researcher found
that the greatest difficultly the English language students are having in writing English language
composition is in mechanics. The second error is in expression. The design used was a survey
which covers Nsukka Education zone of Enugu State. It aimed at identified and classifying the
17
greatest difficulties students of English language have in speech writing. In one of the
researchers’ purposes, the researcher mentioned style of teaching speech writing in composition.
The researcher found that omissions and wrong spelling were in students’ essay writing.
Mechanical errors had the highest frequency represent 75.91%. Under mechanical there were
spelling and punctuation errors. Spelling errors had the frequency of 3,533 representing 55.81%
while punctuation had the frequency of 1.273 representing 20.09% of the total linguistics errors
discovered in the research. The researcher gave out powerful recommendation as follows. A.
English language teachers should adopt the technique of error analysis as a procedure of
language teaching. B. Essay competitions, workshops, seminars, school debate, school drama
should be organized in order to improve the learning and use of English language teaching.
The present study is carrying his study in senior secondary schools in Gombe State with all the
English language teachers in Gombe South education zone as his targeted population while
Okeke study was carried in Nsukka education zone of Enugu State with students as her targeted
population. Both the study used the same method of data collection which is questionnaire.
“Liu (2007), Carried out a study on the evaluation of teaching of oral English in Chenese
University.” The purpose of the was to identify the factors that contribute to students’ anxiety
during oral English language lessons. He used questionnaire to elicit responses from 27
undergraduate’s students of Chinese University. His finding showed that low English language
proficiency, lack of preparation, lack of practice, fear of making mistakes, and being laughed at
and inability to express ideas cause students’ anxiety in oral English language lesson.
Liu’s study is related to the present study because both of them are aimed at improving the
teaching of English language, both use questionnaire for data collection, they differ in several
18
ways. While Liu’s study was carried in China, the present study was carried out Nigeria, Liu
used undergraduate students, while the present study used English language teachers.
“Rani (2002) in his studies, Evaluation of Nigeria Certificate in Education Programme in the
Training of English Language Teachers” used all academic staff of English language and all
students offering English language as a major subject in 13 Colleges of Education in Nigeria and
all NCE English language graduates from 1994 when the first NCCE minimum curriculum
graduated. 84 lecturers, 201 students and 90 NCE English language graduates were used for the
study. Three sets of structural questionnaires were used for collecting data from the respondents.
Descriptive statistics of frequency, simple percentages, the T-test and the analysis of variance
(ANOVA) test were used. Results revealed that interaction and evaluation and techniques used
by lecturers are lecturing, class discussion, questioning and assignment more often while field
more often while field trips, debate and resources persons are never used. Evaluation techniques
used by lecturers are easy testes and assignments, while objective tests, quiz and project are
rarely used. Most of the teachers teaching English language course are qualified though one can
still say that there is much to be desired. On facilities, materials and equipment available, all the
13 colleges’ samples for the study had a school library but the relevant textbooks available were
said to be limited or not available. About 45.3% of the lecturers rate the textbooks as limited,
53.3% of the graduates rated it as limited, while 45.7% of the students rated it as limited. Most of
the Colleges don’t have a English language sectional library. About 62.5% of the lecturers, 56%
of the graduates and 60.8% of the students confirmed this, projectors, televisions, video
recorders, photocopiers, computers, and journals that are essential for the study of English
language were said not to be available in the Colleges. Other infrastructural facilities rated as
fairly available were classrooms, furniture for lecturers and for students but methodology
19
laboratory is said to be unavailable in most of the Colleges, lecturers also give only one and at
most two continuous assessment tests in a semester of a minimum of 15 weeks. 45.7% of the
respondents, show they are given assessment test once in a semester, 41.9% indicated they are
assessed twice, while 3.9% showed they are assessed three times. The study further revealed that
continuous increase in student’s enrollment has not been commensurate with staff increase. This
has made the task of lecturers increasingly enormous such that lecturer’s teacher between 11 and
14 credits a week. While the present study adopted similar method of data collection and data
analysis in the presentation of results.
Finally, addressing the shortcoming pointed out in the various works reviewed is part of gap
which the present study has attempted to fill.
2.5
SUMMARY OF REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The teaching of English subject has been subjected to tremendous change. The various
adaptations in language classrooms the social dynamics of language affects the teaching methods
in English. Whereas the teaching of math’s or physics has to a greater or lesser extent remained
the same, this is hardly the case with English or language teaching in general. The core;
however, to the teaching at English are the four domains in English subject that is listening
speaking, reading and writing. As reviewed in this chapter, selection of the optimal methods and
techniques for English subject teaching and learning is a milestone in improving in acquisition of
English language skills.
20
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presented the procedure for conducting the research and was organized under the
following subheadings: Design of the study, Area of the study, population for the study, sample
and sampling technique, instrument for data collection, administration of the instrument,
validation of instrument, reliability of the instrument, method of data collection, and method of
data analysis.
3.1
DESIGN OF THE STUDY
The design of this study was to investigate the method of teaching English language in Yusuf
Maitama Sule University Kano. Survey is a systematic survey which assesses certain
performance criteria with the intention of making a value judgment on what is assessed (Ali,
1996). It is considered evaluative research design because it focuses on the collection, analysis
and interpretation of information on the method of teaching English language with the view to
making value judgment. According to Marks and Coleman (1989),” An evaluative design study
is the one which attempts to assess the worth of an event or situation with the sole purpose of
making a judgment about it”. In the same way, the present study sought to assess the method of
teaching English language in Yusuf Maitama Sule University Kano State.
3.2
AREA OF THE STUDY
The research was carried out in Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano State of Nigeria.
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3.3
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
The population of the study was made up of the students of Yusuf Maitama Sule University,
Kano. They were chosen because they are in better position to give the relevant information
needed for a standard study of this nature. The population of this study is 100.
3.4
SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
The researcher used the entire population of 100 (one hundred) students in Yusuf Maitama Sule
University, Kano. The rationale for using the entire population was because it was not too large a
number to be managed by the researcher.
3.5
METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION
For the purposes of this research, the instrument used for the data collection is the questionnaire
which was designed and administered to the students. A questionnaire is a research instrument
that comes in the form of a collection of reviewed question gather by the researcher in order to
measure and test the research hypothesis and also provide answer to the research questions
include in the study. The researcher selected questionnaire for the study because she was of the
option that the anonymity involved in administering questionnaires would provide the right
concept of objectivity and free will required in answering questions asked. A questionnaire
could either be open-ended with allow for free expression to questions asked or closed-ended
with limit respondent replies to a given number of options. For the sake of this study, the
researcher made use of a close ended questionnaire which provided options to the respondent on
questions asked.
3.6
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
22
Sections A, B, and C of the instrument were analyzed using percentages. Section D and E of the
instrument were analyzed using means and standard deviation. Based on a four-point rating
scale, the total weighted frequencies were used to determine the mean for each item. Acceptance
level for the mean was 2.50 and above. Items which have scores of 2.50 and above showed
acceptance while mean scores below 2.50 showed non-acceptance. The t-test statistics was used
in testing the two null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. If the calculated t-value was less
than the table value, the null hypothesis was accepted, but if the calculated t-value was greater
than the table value, the null hypothesis was rejected.
23
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