STUDENTS’ FACTORS AS PREDICTOR OF POOR COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
It is generally accepted that language is one of the most useful instrument we have as humans; without it, we cannot express our thoughts to others in a comprehensive manner, nor can we engage in the activities that commonly take place in the society we build ourselves. Connectively, it very clear that in education, language is very essential, it is carried out largely through the medium of language. Buttressing the assertion, Adea (2005) argues, “Language is not everything in education, but without language, everything is nothing in education”. Language plays a crucial role in learning, and if the learner is handicapped in the language of instruction, then learning may not take place at all as the instructor or teacher and the learner will not be communicating (Malekela, 2003). In other words, language competence is very significant in the education process, especially on the side of the students.
The teaching and learning process involves two active participants in the classroom - the teacher and the learner, and that language learning does not fall entirely on the teacher. The students must also assume more responsibility for the learning process (Quist, 2000). Meanwhile, Vuzo (2010) argued that “It is through interactions with each other that teachers and students work together to create intellectual and practical activities that shape both the form and the content of the target subject. However, such situation is not commonly found in secondary schools in all subjects due to the fact that lecture method dominates the teaching and learning process which leads to passive learning”. Once Cummings (1994) as quoted in Wang et al. (2002) said: “when I hear, I forget, when I see I remember and when I do, I learn” Cummings noted that learning in which students are interactive produces far more effective participation in a class. Meaning that effectiveness of language learning and teaching in the classrooms will depend upon the educational repertoire teachers have. This idea concurs with Quist (2000) in that successful teaching and quality of pupil learning is closely related to the teacher’s knowledge and understanding of the subject.
English Language is the core subject as well a medium of instruction in secondary schools education in Nigeria and it is taught in primary schools as a subject. It is the government that decides on which language should be the instructional medium. For instance, it is stated in the National Policy on Education (2013) that learners who complete primary school are expected to have adequately mastered English to be able to cope with it as the medium of instruction throughout secondary school.
Effective learning of English language involves many factors that would affect the process. Factors affecting school students' language learning achievement has been the concern of socio-linguists and educationist since the last quarter of the twentieth century. Although, other factors speak a lot but students' competency is germane; the students being the major drive for education, their readiness and other things are the determinants that predict their competence. Other factors that have been associated with students’ low competence in English language be it from the teachers, environment or the school where the learning take place. For instance, Vuzo (2010) explained that learners and teachers may have difficulties in using the language with adequate proficiency at the secondary schools due to many factors emanated from the environment. It is of note that English language is the tool for the business of schooling that should be accomplished perhaps the better outcome is expected, whether that be spoken or written. Therefore, if the learner is handicapped, in the language of instruction, that is, English Language, then learning will not take place at all as the educator and the learner will not be communicating. Hence, this study set to examine the Students’ Factor as predictor of poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Despite the fact that school curriculum has focused so extensively on the task of learning English to enhance students’ competence in both written and spoken of the language, it is so pathetic that many students find it difficult to construct simple and correct English when expressing their thought verbally not to talk of writing mistake free sentence.
Many factors have been reported in literature through many studies conducted by researchers as the predictor of students’ poor competence in English language learning. It has been shown that English learners perform poorly not because of the method in which they are instructed but due to their attitude to learning; their interest in using mother tongue language in their daily activities, even in school; they as well have poor attitude to reading, especially English texts. Consequently, poor inclination to English Language has led to deficient skills in the use and could affect academic performance of students especially, English Language subject.
The problem of poor competence is one of the biggest problems that facing the modern educational institutions, which hindered them from the implementation of their educational mission appropriately. Still, this problem may lead to the presence of a group of students who are unable to pursue their courses with their colleagues because of their weak potentials, becoming a source of annoyance, chaos and inconvenience to the teacher and the rest of the students and this in turn leads to disruption of the educational process in the classroom and in the whole school.
Though, many parents complain of poor competence of their children, unaware of the real reasons behind this weakness and ways to solve it. Some teachers and parents might use non educational and useless methods such as physical punishment to urge their children to be hard-working in their studying. Unfortunately, these coercive methods cannot lead to improved conditions of their children; on the contrary, they can provide undesirable consequences.
Therefore, the study investigates students’ factor as predictor of poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area Oyo State.
1.3 Research Questions
The objective of this study is to find out students’ factor as predictor of poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State. Therefore, the following research questions are raised and to be answered in the study in order to establish the factors, the causes and remedies for poor competence:
• What are the levels of students’ competence in English Language Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State?
• What are the essential factors that predict learners’ poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State?
• In what specific ways do these factors predict learners’ poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State?
• What are the remedial approaches to be adopted in curbing the factors that predict their poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State?
1.4 Purpose of the Study
This study aim at examining the Students’ factor as predictor for poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area Oyo State; the problem the poor competence, causes of the problem and proffer solution to the problems.
1.5 The Significance of Study
It is anticipated that the finding of this research work would have impact on the following groups:-government, school administrators, educational planners and teachers. It is hoped that the finding of the study would revealed that students’ factor is major predictor of poor competence in English language learning.
The research findings will be useful for English Language curriculum development planners, as it will make them appreciate the need to recognize students’ interest in curriculum development and make necessary adjustments especially on incorporation of things that will motivate them to read.
The outcomes of this study also suggest the need for the government to provide necessary school equipment to enhance learning of English Language in public secondary school.
It is expected that findings from this study would acquaint the prospective and the existing English Language teachers with the means for extending their horizon of experience in the field and the benefit of recognizing students’ factors that may hinder their success in their teaching as well providing them with rich measures to be adopted in tackling any emerge issues.
1.6 Scope of the study
The study is exclusively focused on Students’ factor as predictor of poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State. Hence, the study will be narrowed on speaking competence; and it will cover only students in five public secondary schools in the local Government. In other words, students will be randomly picked in each school for the purpose of this study.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Students’ factor: are the personal qualities exhibits by the students towards learning.
Competence: competence in language refers to level of mastery in terms of comprehension, production and attitudes it.
Learning: it is an act of acquiring knowledge
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the review of theoretical and existing conceptual basis in order to set current study into a new perspective and join ongoing discourse and empirical study. the chapter focus on the review of the following:
o Theoretical Framework
o Conceptual Review Competence in Relation to Language Learning
o Factors Affecting Students’ Competence in Learning of English Language
o Empirical Review of Related Literature
2.1 Theoretical Framework
Communicative Competence
Language teaching in Nigeria is based on the idea that the goal of language learning is communicative competence: the ability to use the language clearly and appropriately to accomplish communication objectives. Success in language learning means being able to understand and convey real meaning in actual communication situations, not (necessarily) being able to use the language exactly as a native speaker does.
Communicative competence is a term in linguistics which refers to a language user's grammatical knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and the like, as well as social knowledge about how and when to use utterances appropriately Richard (2019). According to Vesna, (2007) the term communicative competence» is comprised of two words, the combination of which means «competence to communicate». This simple lexicosemantical analysis uncovers the fact that the central word in the syntagm «communicative competence» is the word «competence». «Competence» is one of the most controversial terms in the field of general and applied linguistics. Its introduction to linguistic discourse has been generally associated with Chomsky who in his very influential book «Aspects of the Theory of Syntax» drew what has been today viewed as a classic distinction between competence (the monolingual speaker-listener’s knowledge of language) and performance (the actual use of language in real situations).
Communicative competence is made up of four competence areas: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.
Linguistic competence means knowing how to use the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of a language. Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into phrases and sentences?
Sociolinguistic competence means knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately, given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating. Sociolinguistic competence asks: Which words and phrases fit this setting and this topic? How can I express a specific attitude (courtesy, authority, friendliness, respect) when I need to? How do I know what attitude another person is expressing?
Discourse competence means knowing how to interpret the larger context and how to construct longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a coherent whole. Discourse competence asks: How are words, phrases and sentences put together to create conversations, speeches, email messages, newspaper articles?
Strategic competence means knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns, how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about using the language in specific contexts. Strategic competence asks: How do I know when I’ve misunderstood or when someone has misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use? What strategies can I use to manage and increase my sociolinguistic and discourse competence? (Vesna, 2007)
MODELS OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
Bachman proposed a new model of communicative competence or, more precisely, the model of communicative language ability. That model was, however, slightly altered by Bachman and Palmer in the mid 1990s. According to Bachman and Palmer (1996), “many traits of language users such as some general characteristics, their topical knowledge, affective schemata and language ability influence the communicative language ability. The crucial characteristic is their language ability which is comprised of two broad areas – language knowledge and strategic competence.
Language knowledge consists of two main components - organisational knowledge and pragmatic knowledge which complement each other in achieving communicatively effective language use. In Bachman and Palmer’s model, organisational knowledge is composed of abilities engaged in a control over formal language structures, i.e. of grammatical and textual knowledge. Grammatical knowledge includes several rather independent areas of knowledge such as knowledge of vocabulary, morphology, syntax, phonology, and graphology. They enable recognition and production of grammatically correct sentences as well as comprehension of their propositional content. Textual knowledge enables comprehension and production of (spoken or written) texts. It covers the knowledge of conventions for combining sentences or utterances into texts, i.e. knowledge of cohesion (ways of marking semantic relationships among two or more sentences in a written text or utterances in a conversation) and knowledge of rhetorical organisation (way of developing narrative texts, descriptions, comparisons, classifications etc.) or conversational organisation (conventions for initiating, maintaining and closing conversations).
Pragmatic knowledge refers to abilities for creating and interpreting discourse. It includes two areas of knowledge: knowledge of pragmatic conventions for expressing acceptable language functions and for interpreting the illocutionary power of utterances or discourse (functional knowledge) and knowledge of socio-linguistic conventions for creating and interpreting language utterances which are appropriate in a particular context of language use (sociolinguistic knowledge).
Strategic knowledge is conceived in the model as a set of metacognitive components which enable language user involvement in goal setting, assessment of communicative sources, and planning. Goal setting includes identifying a set of possible tasks, choosing one or more of them and deciding whether or not to attempt to complete them. Assessment is a means by which language use context is related to other areas of communicative language ability: topical knowledge and affective schemata. Planning involves deciding how to make use of language knowledge and other components involved in the process of language use to complete the chosen task successfully. However, at the end of this illustrative description of Bachman and Palmer’s model of communicative language ability, one cannot but conclude that this model is more complex, more comprehensive and have implication on this study. The implication of the theory on this study is that, it touches all required aspect in which students are to be competent for better uses of English language.
2.2 Conceptual Review of Competence in Relation to Language Learning
Nowadays, the competence concept in education concerns with the capacity of students to analyze reason and communicate effectively as they pose, solve and interpret problems in a variety of subject areas and it has been considered important due to its relevance to lifelong learning (British Council, 2012). Being able to do so in one´s mother tongue is by itself one of the aims of public education policies, leaving behind the very basic objective of teaching literacy and numeracy and including today information technology as well as the learning of a foreign language. Thus, the role of education in school is seen as to provide the generic skills needed to acquire new knowledge and specialist skills in the future: learning how to learn. In Nigeria, such a foreign language is of course English. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) was introduced as a mandatory subject into the school curriculum for all secondary schools as directive from Federal Ministry of Education, as well, boldly stated in National Policy on Education (2013), as a part of the implementation of a competency-based curriculum. Besides intending to raise the quality of education, this measure was implemented with the long term objective of facilitating towards passing internal and external examinations. This seems to confirm that the learning of English appears to be losing its separate identity as a discipline and merging with general education (Graddol, 2006).
Since this study is interested mainly, but not exclusively, in developing competence in English learning of students in secondary schools, it will goes with the work of the Council of Europe has done regarding competences, and the classification they suggest towards the aim of forming participative, socially responsible individuals who develop a democratic citizenship. The Council of Europe (2001) defines some essential terms to facilitate the communication among users of a language and teaching professionals in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Competences are then defined as the sum of knowledge, skills and characteristics or personal resources that allow a person to perform actions. General competences are those not specific to language, but which are called upon for actions of all kinds, including language activities, Communicative language competences are next defined as those which empower a person to act using specifically linguistic means (Council of Europe, 2001).
The language activity required to perform communicative acts always occurs in a context that imposes conditions and constraints of many different kinds (also called domains of language use: public, personal, educational and occupational). Thus, for communicative intentions, learners of a language bring to bear their general capacities as detailed above together with a more specifically language-related communicative competence. Communicative competence in this narrower sense has the following components: linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic. Each of these components is postulated as comprising, in particular, knowledge and skills and know-how.
(a) Linguistic competences include lexical, phonological, syntactical knowledge and skills and other dimensions of language as a system, independently of the sociolinguistic value of its variations and the pragmatic functions of its realizations.
(b) Sociolinguistic competences refer to the socio-cultural conditions of language use. Through its sensitivity to social conventions (rules of politeness, norms governing relations between generations, sexes, classes and social groups, linguistic codification of certain fundamental rituals in the functioning of a community), the sociolinguistic component strictly affects all language communication between representatives of different cultures, even though participants may often be unaware of its influence.
(c) Pragmatic competences are concerned with the functional use of linguistic resources (production of language functions, speech acts), drawing on scenarios or scripts of interactional exchanges. It also concerns the mastery of discourse, cohesion and coherence, the identification of text types and forms, irony, and parody. For this component even more than the linguistic component, it is hardly necessary to stress the major impact of interactions and cultural environments in which such abilities are constructed. The resulting outcome of the Council of Europe was a very comprehensive work that describes the competences necessary for communication, the related knowledge and skills and the situations and domains of communication where the occur. Communicative acts comprise language activity, which is divided into four kinds: reception, production, interaction and mediation. Reception entails understanding language produced by others, whether in speech or in writing, while production entails producing speech or writing. Interaction refers to spoken or written exchanges between two or more individuals, while mediation (often involving translation or interpretation) makes communication possible between individuals or groups who are unable to communicate directly. Clearly, interaction and mediation involve both reception and production. (Molina & Calderón, 2013)
2.3 Factors Affecting Students’ Competence in Learning of English Language
Students’ factors are influential factors, which arise from the students themselves. Students’ self-regulated learning is how students select, arrange or create their own learning environment so that it can be advantageous, and also how they respond to learning in classroom, particularly, in English Language class. Verily, students’ communicative competence is essential, meanwhile, Nunan, (1999), observed that linguistic competence, an adequate vocabulary and mastery of syntax to speak in another language is necessary for students.
However, linguistic competence is not sufficient for someone who wants to communicate competently in another language. According to Nunan (1999), the speaker needs communicative competence which includes not only linguistic competence but also a range of other sociolinguistic and conversational skills which help him/ her know how to say what to whom and when. Johnson (1995) claims that the second language students need communicative competence to participate in and learn from their classroom experience. At first, communicative competence was categorized into three components including grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and strategic competence by Canale and Swain in 1980. Then, in 1983 Canale and Swain add the fourth component named discourse competence (Kumaravadivelu, 2006).
In the Common European Framework (2001), communicative competence is said to have only three components including linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence and pragmatic competence. In this study, communicative competence is described with four components including linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, pragmatic competence and strategic competence.
In order to help students overcome problems in learning English, it is necessary for the teachers to figure out factors that affect their learning competence. Students’ learning competence can be affected by the factors that come from performance conditions (time pressure, planning, standard of performance and amount of support), affective factors (such as motivation, confidence and anxiety), listening ability and feedback during speaking activities. Performance Conditions
Students perform a learning task under a variety of conditions. Nation & Newton (2009) believe that performance conditions can affect learning performance. The four types of performance conditions that Nation & Newton (2009) suggest include time pressure, planning, the standard of performance and the amount of support.
Affective Factors One of the most important influences on language learning success or failure is probably the affective side of the learner Iftat (2019) states that a variety of affective variables has been confirmed to be related to success in second language acquisition in research over the last decade but most of those studies examined the three categories: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety.
Listening Ability Speaking skills cannot be developed unless we develop listening skills (Doff, 1998). Students must understand what is said to them to have a successful conversation. Shumin (1997) shares the ideas of Doff (1998) by stating that when one person speaks, the other responds through attending by means of the listening process. In fact, every speaker plays the role of both a listener and a speaker. Therefore, one is certainly unable to respond if he/ she cannot understand what is said. It means speaking is closely related to listening. Topical Knowledge Topical knowledge is defined as knowledge structures in long-term memory (Bachman & Palmer, 1996). In other words, topical knowledge is the speakers’ knowledge of relevant topical information. The information that topical knowledge provides enables learners to use language with reference to the world in which they live. Bachman & Palmer (1996) state certain test tasks may be easier for those who possess the relevant topical knowledge and more difficult for those who do not. Bachman & Palmer (1996) believe that topical knowledge has effects on speaking performance.
Feedback during speaking activities
Most students want and expect their teachers to give them feedback on their performance. However, all speaking production should not be dealt with in the same way. Harmer (1991) asserts that the decisions that the teachers make about how to react to students’ performance will depend upon the stages of the lesson, the activities, the types of mistake made and the particular student who is making that mistake. If the teachers correct whenever there is a problem, the conversational flow as well as the purpose of the speaking activity will be destroyed (Harmer, 1991). If the students are corrected all the time, they can find this very non-motivating and become afraid to speak. They suggest that the teachers should always correct the students’ mistakes positively and with encouragement (Baker & Westrup, 2003).
Speaking Problems
According to Ur (1996), there are some speaking problems that teachers can come across in getting students to talk in the classroom. These are: inhibition, lack of topical knowledge, low or uneven participation and mother-tongue use. The first problem that the students often encounter is inhibition. When students try to say things in a foreign language in the classroom they are often inhibited. They are worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism or losing face. They are shy of the attention that their speech attracts. Littlewood (2007) asserts that a foreign language classroom can create inhibitions and anxiety easily. Secondly, learners often complain that they cannot think of anything to say and they have no motivation to express themselves. Rivers (1968) believes that the learners have nothing to express maybe because the teacher had chosen a topic which is not suitable for him or about which he knows very little. It is difficult for many students to respond when the teachers ask them to say something in a foreign language because they might have little ideas about what to say, which vocabulary to use, or how to use the grammar correctly (Baker & Westrup, 2003).
Another problem in speaking class is that participation is low or uneven. In a large group, each student will have very little talking time because only one participant can talk at a time so that the others can hear him/her. There is a tendency of some learners to dominate while others speak very little or not at all.
Finally, when all or a number of learners share the same mother-tongue, they tend to use it because it is easier for them. Harmer (1991) suggests some reasons why students use mother-tongue in class. Firstly, when the students are asked to have a discussion about a topic that they are incapable of, if they want to say anything about the topic, they will use their own language. Another reason is that the use of mother- tongue is a natural thing to do. In addition, using the first language to explain something to another if there is no encouragement from the teachers. Finally, if teachers frequently use the students’ language, the students will feel comfortable to do it.
Education for All Global Monitoring Report (EFA/GMR) (2002) emphasized the importance of students’ characteristics for improved learning outcomes. The report (table 2.14) indicated that students’ characteristics such as aptitude, ability, perseverance/commitment, nutrition and health, school readiness, early child care education attendance and gender are student-related inputs that contribute to assessing education quality (p. 81).
2.4 Causes of Poor Competence in English Language
There are causes that can be accounted to poor competence in English language among secondary school students. These include the followings:
The dominance of mother tongue is regarded as one of the cause of poor performance in English language. Usman, (2012) was of the view that Nigerian students are surrounded by a complex linguistic situation that force them to learn their first indigenous language and they are required to have a good command of the English language. The Nigerian policy on education stressed the use of the immediate language of the community in instruction at the lower level of primary education and combination of English and language of the immediate community at the upper part of primary education. In other words, the policy recommended the use of mother tongue in teaching at primary level. This situation contributes immensely in poor learning of English language right from primary school and it extends to secondary school. Fema, (2003) was of the view that the major cause of the errors in English used by Nigerians can be attributed to the interference of mother tongue with the English language. He added that students often use their native language or mother tongue in all their interactions and English is only used within the four walls of the classrooms and ends there. The above situation clearly shows that dominance of mother tongue in Azare metropolis contributed immensely in poor performance in English language.
Important cause of poor performance in English language is the negative attitude of students toward the learning of English language. Students, particularly in secondary and primary schools mostly show negative attitude toward learning of English language because they consider it foreign or not theirs. Mohammed, (2002) was of the view that most students put a kind of negative attitude in learning and use of English language as well as making teachers task a difficult one in deed. It is obvious that for any student to be proficient in English language, mastering of skill of listening, speaking, reading and writing is necessary, and it requires a hardworking and dedication from the students. Therefore, it is clear that the negative attitude of students toward learning of English language is one of the causes of poor competence in English language learning.
Inadequate qualified English language teachers also cause poor performance in English language in our secondary schools. Due to the above mentioned cause, in some schools other subject teachers are forced to teach English language and some who even read it exhibit poor abilities in oral and written expression of it. Therefore, with this kind of situation these teachers can never teach effectively and hence poor performances from their products. Adedokun, (2011) was of the view that poorly trained English and untrained teachers (of English) were employed to teach and prepare secondary school students for the school certificate examinations in English language. This situation contributed immensely in poor performance in English language among secondary school students. Therefore, is clear to us that inadequate qualified teachers in our secondary schools lead to poor performance in English language.
However, there are external causes for poor competence in learning English Language, such as:
Inadequate Infrastructural Facilities and Instructional Media are regarded as another cause of poor performance in English language in our secondary schools. Roger, (1981) was of the view that instructional materials and facilities are important part of the process of learning as they provide practice and feedback in learning track. In our present day secondary schools particularly public ones students are in most cases sitting on the floor and windows during lessons. In some cases students are living under trees or living in dilapidated classroom. In addition to that even where there are enough classes, they are overcrowded and language laboratories are lacking. All these cannot allow for proper learning of English language and other subjects hence lead to poor performance. Sa’ad (2007) was of the view that teaching and learning take place effectively when classes are moderate. But the present day Nigerian class is over populated with students over 120 and this cannot allow for proper teaching and learning. On the other hand, in the area of instructional resources or media, there is dominance of textbooks, dictionaries, workbooks and posters in the teaching of English language in secondary schools in Nigeria. Modern media such as audio, video tapes, language laboratories, programmed texts, flash cards; computers, magazines and newspapers are rarely used. Mohammed, (1998) observed that the teaching of English language is bedeviled with many problems such as inadequate period of teaching, method of teaching and lack of adequate and useful resources. Therefore, it is clear to us that inadequate infrastructural facilities leading to large class sizes and inadequate as well as obsolete teaching resources or media lead to poor performance in English language in our secondary schools. Another important cause of poor performance of English language in Nigerian secondary schools is the teachers’ attitude toward innovation and use of instructional media. Most Nigerian secondary school English language teachers fail to take into account the dynamic nature of English curriculum but they continued to bore students with definitions and drills in grammar, vocabulary and speech work. The traditional content/knowledge oriented teaching is still very much practiced by them. Abdullahi, (2003) was of the view that teachers mostly prefer to use traditional ways of teaching which they have been familiar with or as they were taught, which do not necessarily aid proper learning. Ya’u, (1993) categorically said that successful achievement of stated objectives in teaching and learning is always associated with using the right technique. Therefore, it is evident that poor attitude of teachers toward innovation and use of instructional media or materials in teaching English language leads to poor competence among secondary schools students.
Improper use of method of teaching also causes poor performance in English language among secondary school students. It is obvious that successful teaching and learning take place when right teaching methods are used by the teachers. Ya’u, (1993) in Sa’ad, (2007) was of the view that successful achievement of stated objectives in teaching and learning is always associated with using the right method. Sometimes teachers of English language do not consider the learners’ age, the topic, the time and background of the learners in choosing the method to be used in teaching and this affects the level of learning of the students. Therefore, it is clear that teachers’ inability to use proper teaching methods contributes in poor learning of English language among secondary school students.
2.5 Remedies for Students’ Poor Competence in English Language Learning
Competence in Speaking and writing activities can give students enormous confidence and satisfaction; it also include sensitive teacher's guidance which can encourage them into further study. Therefore, good speaking and writing tasks can be highly motivating in developing language competence. Buttressing this, Harmer (1998) observed that many speaking tasks (role-playing, discussion, problem-solving, etc.) are intrinsically enjoyable in themselves.
However, towards Students' language competence Harmer (2007) state that some kinds of activities are involved:
(1) Information- gap activities: An information- gap is where two speakers have different bits of information, and they can only complete the whole picture by sharing that information, there is a gap between them. Finally, by having the discussion they will get the information that is appropriate with the pictures. The students are absolutely asked to use English when discussing the pictures.2) Story Telling: In this activity, the students must be able to tell story in the target language, in this case is English. Teacher can encourage the students to retell stories which they have read in their books or found in newspaper or in internet. The best stories of course are those which the students tell about themselves and their family or friends.
(3) Favorite objects: It is an activity in which the students are asked to talk about their favorite objects. It can be done in pairs or in groups. In addition, the teacher also can use this activity for individual task. Each student is asked to tell about the characteristics of their favorite thing, while other students or the audiences try to guess what the favorite thing is.
(4) Meeting and Greeting: Student role-plays a formal or business social occasion where they meet a number of people and introduce themselves. It is usually taught in the beginner level of language learners. The students try to use meeting and greeting expression in front of the class with two or more students. 5) Describing things or person: Students are asked to describe something or someone with detail characteristics to other students. They can describe it in front of the class or in pairs with two students. It is almost same with describing favorite objects, but the other students or the audiences do not need to guess what the object is. Sometimes the teachers may provide certain things or person, and then students will describe those kinds of things and person.
(6) Students presentation: Individual students give talk on given topic or person. The students present some topic in front of the class while other students listen to the presentation and give feedback about the presentation. Some like interview that interview is for honing organizational and planning skills.
(7) Debate: Students are arranged in some groups. Then they are given a topic and prepare it. The students have a debate after that in certain time. This activity needs much time to prepare. Moreover it should be applied for the advance level for language learners such as senior high school level upper.
(8) Describing pictures: Each group has a picture that each member can see the picture. They have a certain minutes to say as many as they can that describe it. The sentences must be appropriate to the picture. It can be a kind of single pictures or even strip picture, so the students will describe the story according to the strip pictures.
(9) Picture differences: The students are in pairs. Each member of the pair has to find out the differences of the pictures that are given. The pictures are almost same. The teachers must find the pictures by themselves before applying this kind of activities. In the last section, the teacher will give more descriptions about the difference of the pictures provided for the students.
(10) Things in common: Students sit in pairs. They talk one another in order to find out as many things as they can that they have in common. These must be things that can be discovered through talking. For example, it is about animals‟ characteristics, school and education, and human characteristics.
(11) Solving a problem: The students are told that they an educational advisory committee, which has to advice the principle of a school on problem with the students. They should discuss the recommendation together with the principal.
(12) Discussion: The students are arranged in some groups. Then, the teacher gives a certain topic for each group. The students are given times to discuss about the topic provided. The last, there will be a student who represent each group to tell about the result of the discussion in front of the class.
Based on the suggested activities above, English Language teacher will need to give some correction about the students speaking and writing to avoid continuity in poor competence among students. It is important for teachers and learners to understand the goal of language teaching and learning, as well as how to achieve it. It is pointed out that the goal of language teaching is to develop learners’ communicative competence. (Liu, 2003; Rivers, 1978). As advised in Rivers (1978), “when selecting learning activities, we must always remember that our goal is for the students to be able to interact freely with others: to understand what others wish to communicate in the broadest sense and to be able to convey to others what they themselves wish to share” (Rivers, 1978, pp. 3-4). Following this point, Liu (2007) believes that the ultimate goal of language instruction is to equip learners with the ability to use the language for their communication. This reasonably explains why the four macro language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) fall into the two categories: vocal and written communication. Listening and speaking are the most important forms of vocal communication, whereas reading and writing are the most important forms of written communication.
Hence, for the effective development of students’ competence there things that teachers should be taken into consideration as guidance, they are:
Adoption of appropriate Methods in Language Teaching
To understand the current methods for English language teaching, the reasons for the dominance of several teaching methods in language classrooms, as well as the challenges that teachers and learners encounter, it is necessary to understand the major methods for language teaching. These methods are summarized below.
The grammar-translation method is a way of studying a language that approaches the language first through detailed analysis of its grammar rules, followed by application of this knowledge to the task of translating sentences and texts into and out of the target language” (Richards, 2008). According to the grammar-translation method, reading and writing are the main focus, while listening and speaking are not emphasized. Vocabulary is taught using bilingual word lists, grammar is taught deductively, and the student’s native language is the medium for instruction (Richards, 2008).
The direct method proposes that a foreign language should be learned the way children learn their first language, or the way children being transferred to another country language acquire as a second language naturally and without great difficulty (Rivers, 1968). Foreign language learning, therefore, must be natural, and language should be taught without translation and without the use of the learner’s native language. Instead, it should be taught through demonstration and action. Grammar should be taught inductively, and speaking and listening should be developed in small and intensive classes (Richards, 2008).
The audio-lingual method is a language teaching method that originated from the intensive language training courses of the US military and focuses on aural and oral skills. These courses were also known as the army method. Later, in its variations and adaptations, this method was renamed the audio-lingual method in the 1950s (Brown, 2007). The audio-lingual method is described by Brown (2007a) as follows:
New material is presented in dialogue form, little or no grammatical explanation is used, grammar is taught inductively, structural patterns are taught using repetitive skills, vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context, there is much use of tapes, language labs and visual aids, very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.
Communicative language teaching aims to develop the learner’s communicative competence. As pointed out by Richards (2008), in communicative language teaching classes, tasks and activities are designed to enable learners to achieve communicative objectives by participating in communicative processes such as exchanging information, negotiation of meaning, and interaction. In communicative language teaching, learner-centered learning is emphasized. Characteristics of communicative language teaching are summarized by Brown (2007) as follows:
Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of communicative competence and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence, language techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes, fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques, students ultimately have to use the language, productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts.
Collaborative or cooperative learning is described by Richards (2008) as a student-centered approach in which learners use cooperative activities, such as pair work or group work, to: express their viewpoints and opinions; share their ideas, information and experience; and discuss and debate with each other. Jacobs and Hall (2002) point out that, when using cooperative learning activities in language classrooms, teacher talk should be reduced and students’ talk should be increased, with a focus on negotiation of meaning and a greater amount of comprehensible input. In addition, a relaxed classroom atmosphere and motivation for learning should be emphasized. Collaborative learning aims to provide learners with interactive tasks that can help them develop communicative competence (Richards, 2008).
Student-centered collaborative approaches require teachers and learners to play roles that are different from the traditional approaches. According to Brown (2007), teachers play five main roles when using collaborative activities involving pair work and group work for students in language classrooms. Teachers should help students build up enough classroom language so that they can understand the teachers’ instructions, choose group techniques appropriate for students, plan group work, monitor tasks, and help debrief students to start the activity.
The Use of Teaching Materials
Teaching materials play an important role in promoting communicative language use. There are three kinds of teaching materials: text-based, task-based, and realia. These can be textbooks, games, role plays, simulations, and task-based communication activities designed to support communicative language teaching. Different kinds of authentic objects can be used in a communicative language teaching class to support communicative activities, from language-based realia such as signs, magazines, and newspapers to graphic and visual sources such as maps, pictures, symbols, graphs, and charts (Richards, 2008).
2.6 Empirical Review of Related Literature
Factors affecting school students' language learning competence has been the concern of socio-linguists and educationist since the last quarter of the twentieth century. Ramirez, (1986) conducted a study on students in a small rural school taught by the same teacher. It was found that the communicative abilities of students in the rural school were lower than those in urban schools. Moreover, urban school students produced more descriptions and speech acts. The issue has gained more interest with the beginning of the twenty first century.
Genc and Aydin (2011) examined some factors affecting the motivation level of the preparatory school students in using a web-based computer-assisted language-learning course. The sample group of the study consisted of 126 English-as-a-foreign-language learners at a preparatory school of a state university. It was found that there were no statistical differences between such selected demographic variables as learners' age, gender, grades, compulsory and optional status, type of high school, parents' educational status, the period of the participants' language-learning process, and experience of computer use. The only variable found to be statistically significant was the degree of importance of learning English for the participants; more than half the participants possess moderately high motivation level.
Hungi and Thuku (2010) employed a multilevel analysis procedure in order to examine the pupil and school levels factors that contributed to variation in reading achievement among Grade 6 primary school pupils in 14 southern African school systems. The most important factors affecting variation in pupil achievement across most of these school systems were grade repetition, pupil socioeconomic background, speaking the language of instruction at home, and pupil age. South Africa, Uganda and Namibia were among the school systems with the largest between-school variation while Seychelles and Mauritius had the largest within-school variation.
Woo (2009) investigated the multiple factors affecting English language learners' (ELLs) low reading achievement in standardized tests by exploring the complex, hierarchical relation in student, classroom, and school levels. Specifically, this study (a) identified the impact of student-, teacher-, and school characteristics on ELLs and non-ELLs' standardized reading achievement and (b) examined how these characteristics impact on their reading achievements differently for ELLs and non-ELLs. The HLM (hierarchical linear modeling) analyses determined that some factors were related to ELLs' and non-ELLs' reading achievement differently after controlling for student, teacher, and school variables. Specifically, the frequency of a language other than English spoken at home yielded different results for ELLs and non-ELLs. The frequency of a language other than English spoken at home was a significant, positive predictor of reading achievement for ELLs. Meanwhile, it was a non-significant, negative predictor for non-ELLs. Positive influence of the frequent uses of a language other than English at home on ELLs' reading performance implied a positive effect of first-language speaking on ELLs' reading. Another implication that this study brought was the importance of providing equal opportunity to learn to all students.
Andreou et al (2005) studied the affecting factors in second language learning. They investigated the influence of gender, among other factors, on the performance of phonological, syntactical and semantic tasks in L2. Females performed better than males in syntax and semantics which is explained by the general female superiority on verbal tasks based on differences in hemispheric specializations for language functions between the two sexes.
The factors cited in the review literatures are mainly social, situational, socioeconomic, attitudinal, or extracurricular factors as determinant for students’ competence in English language. The factors cover issues such as students' age, gender, grades, type or location of school. Student families' situation and position, parents' education status is also amongst the factors the literature reviews, as well as linguistic competence and frequency of use of language learner strategies. Students gain better achievement when utilizing online role-playing games than those who attended face-to-face instruction classes. Thus, the literatures are useful for this study because they served as evidence to prove that there is poor competence in learning English language around the world, even, in advance countries where English language is recognised as official language.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the procedure used in carrying out this study. It includes research design, population, the sample and sampling techniques, instrumentation, methods of data collection and the analytical tools employed in the study.
3.1 Research Design.
Descriptive method of survey type will be employed in the study. The design will be attempted to examine an accurate description of students’ factor as predictor for poor competence in English language learning in some selected secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State. Thus, the researcher will try to gather data on the identified research problem without manipulating any of the variables in the study.
3.2 Population of the Study
The target populations for the study comprised all students in public secondary in Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State.
3.3 Sample and Sampling Techniques
The study employed simple random sampling technique. Thus, sample for the study consists of four (4) secondary schools in Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State. In each school fifteen students will be randomly selected and the prepared questions for interview and questionnaire will be administered.
SN Schools Numbers of Students
1. Oke Ako High School, Igagan. 15
2. Maku Grammar school, Tapa. 15
3. Angel High College, Ayete 15
4. Muslim Academy Ayete. 15
3.4 Research Instruments
The instrument that will be used for the study is “Interview” and “questionnaire”. The interview questions and questionnaire will be designed and will be addressed by the target population to obtain the necessary information required in achieving the objectives of the study. The interview questions will be designed, as well, check list to grade the students’ speaking competency problem. Furthermore, the questionnaire will be divided into two sections. Section ‘A’ provided Demographic Information of the respondents and partly explains how the questionnaire is to be filled, while section B focus on research questions and key for the responds are: Strongly Agreed=SA, Agreed=A, Strongly, Disagreed=SD and Disagreed=D.
3.5 Validity of the Instruments
The instrument will be subjected to both face and content validity to ensure that they measured what they were expected to measure. Face validity entails looking at questions and questionnaire respectively and deciding if they really measures what they are expected to measure. Content validity on the other hand, it has to do with the use of recognized subject matter experts to evaluate whether questionnaire assess defined content.
3.6 Reliability of the Instrument
Pilot test of the instrument will be carried out to observe how the respondents react to both and questionnaires; whether the items are clear enough and easily understood, whether there is the need to include more items in certain areas, or whether there are some items to which they would not like to respond, etc. This will help determine the internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaires. A total of 5 students will be randomly selected as a sample outside the area of study, copies of the instrument will be administered as a small, the results will be analysed to determining the validity of the instrument.
3.7 Method of Data Collection
Permission will sought from the school authorities and the participants will enlightened on how to attend to the both the interview questions and the Questionnaire, the participants thereafter will be asked to complete the questionnaire. Ethical issues of assurances will be given on the basis of confidentiality and discretion of the study. The participants will be informed about the purpose of the study and its seriousness and they will be encouraged to be truthful in their responses. The researcher will administer the questionnaire with the assistance of one research assistant that assisted in the distribution and collection of the questionnaires.
3.8 Methods of Data Analysis
Data collected will be analysed with the use of percentages and frequency counts mean for each of the items will be calculated and analysed based on respondents responses to each item.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter contains the analysis and interpretation of the research questions that guide the study. It also contains discussion of findings in relation to the existing literatures and empirical studies.
4.1 Demographic Information of Respondents
Table 4.1: Gender Distribution of Respondents
S/N Gender Frequency Percent
1. Male 18 30
2. Female 42 70
Total 60 100
From table 4.1 above, it is evident that majority of respondents are female with 70% scale.
Table 4.2: Age Distribution of Respondents
S/N Age Range Frequency Percent
1. 10 - 14 years 36 60
2. 15- 19 years 17 28.3
3. 20 and above 7 16.7
Total 60 100
From table 4.2 above, it is evident that majority of respondents are in range 10 – 14 years with 60% scale.
Table 4.3: Academic Level of Respondents
S/N Class Taught Frequency Percentage
1. JSS 1 to 3 36 60
2. SSS 1 to 3 24 40
Total 60 100
From table 4.3 above, it is evident that majority of respondents are in JSS 1 to 3 with 60% scale.
4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis of Research Questions
It should be noted that any analysed data that is weighted less than Zero proved that the postulated items are less relevance.
Table 4.4: Respondents’ response on levels of students’ competence in English Language Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State
S/N Items Poor Fair Average Good Excellent Mean Standard D
1. Organization
Development of idea, Logical sequence, Relevant supporting detail and conclusion 25 18 11 1 5 1.7835 0.45380
2. Language Use (Verbal Effectiveness) Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Articulation 24 13 15 7 1 2.0533 0.56641
3. Delivery (Nonverbal Effectiveness)
Boldness, eye contact, gestures, posture. 28 21 2 5 4 1.8034 0.89968
Weighted Average 1.9693
(Data Source: SPSS)
From table 4.4 above, it is evident that the majority of the respondents are poor in English language competence. Moreover, with the weighted Average of 1.9693 which is greater than zero, it could be inferred that the postulated measures for grading students’ competence in English language are relevance.
Table 4.5: Respondents’ response on essential factors that predict learners’ poor competence in English Language learning
S/N ITEMS A SA D DS Mean Standard D
1. I feel timid while in the midst of crowd 28 25 2 5 1.8000 0.76968
2. I have listening defect 32 13 9 6 1.8625 0.89646
3. I feel fatigue to listen to discussion on, especially when the matter is discussed with English language. 38 12 8 2 1.6750 0.75933
4. I enjoy my conversation in Yoruba Language. 30 18 11 1 1.7875 0.72380
5. I did not have English textbooks for personal development 25 13 15 7 2.0500 0.92641
6. I easily forget things my teacher taught me. 28 25 2 5 1.8000 0.76968
Weighted Average 1.8675
(Data Source: SPSS)
From table 4.5 above, it is evident that the majority of the respondents agreed to the postulated essentialized factors that predicted students’ poor competence in English language. Moreover, with the weighted Average of 1.8675 which is greater than zero, it could be inferred that the postulated items are relevance to the essential factors that served as predictors to students’ poor competence in English language.
Table 4.6: Respondents’ response on specific ways do these factors predict learners’ poor competence in English Language learning
• S/N Items SA A SD D Mean Standard D
1. I feel shy to speak in English Language while in the class 32 8 9 11 1.9875 1.03720
2. Sometimes I do not understand what my teachers are saying in the class, especially, when speaking in English Language. 22 23 7 8 2.0125 0.87863
3. Many times I feel fatigue when my English teacher is teaching. 46 7 3 4 1.5625 0.79307
4. I can contribute to discussion in the class if I am allowed to speak in Yoruba Language. 25 23 8 4 1.8875 0.77938
5. I did not have access to English Textbooks for personal development in English grammar and vocabularies. 30 10 16 4 2.0500 1.33975
6. Sometimes, I do feel like contributing to discussion in the class but I do not know what to say. 32 8 9 11 1.9875 1.03720
Weighted Average 1.9675
(Data Source: SPSS)
From table 4.6 above, it is evident that the majority of the respondents agreed to the postulated specific ways which the factors could predict students’ poor competence in English language. Moreover, with the weighted Average 1.9675 which is greater than zero, it could be inferred that the postulated items are relevance to be the specific ways which the factors could predict students’ poor competence.
Table 4.7: Respondents’ response on remedial approaches to be adopted in curbing the factors that predict their poor competence in English Language learning
• S/N Items SA A SD D Mean Standard D
1. I like to participate in school debate competition if can be trained 35 13 8 4 1.6834 1.03720
2. I like listening to my speech after discussion if possible 16 25 8 11 2.5228 0.87863
3. I like listening to good speakers to emulate them 46 10 2 2 1.9327 0.79307
4. I like to become competent in speaking through constant engagement in English Language 41 15 2 2 1.4115 0.77938
5. I feel free to discuss with my English teacher personally if I am allowed. 50 4 4 2 1.3023 1.33975
6. I like learning with Audio-Visual materials 46 10 2 2 1.9327 0.79307
Weighted Average 1.6512
(Data Source: SPSS)
From table 4.7 above, it is evident that the majority of the respondents agreed on the postulated remedial approaches to be adopted in curbing the factors that predict their poor competence in English Language. Moreover, with the weighted Average 1.6512 which is greater than zero, it could be inferred that the postulated items are relevance to serve as remedial approaches to be adopted in curbing the factors that predict students poor competence in English Language.
4.3 Discussion of Findings
Research question one was on levels of students’ competence in English Language Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State. From the finding of this study, it was revealed that English language competence of the majority of the students in the study area is poor. The study revealed that in the aspect of language organisation which connotes: development of idea, logical sequence, relevant supporting detail and conclusion they were poorly performed in the organized speech presentation held during the course of this study. Also, in the aspect of language use (Verbal effectiveness) and delivery (nonverbal effectiveness), the study revealed that only few of the students performed better, while majority were very poor in vocabulary development, words pronunciation and articulation, boldness to deliver their opinion, eye contact with their listeners, body gestures and their standing postures. The, implication of this result is that, evidently, the students are poor in English language, especially speaking competence. However, there are factors that led to these problems, which the subsequent research questions prompt to make enquiry on.
Chapter two was on essential factors that predict learners’ poor competence in English Language learning. The result of this revealed that timidity, listening defect, fatigue when listen to discussion, more passion to speak in mother tongue, inaccessible to English texts books and forgetfulness were the essential factors that predict learners’ poor competence in English Language. These result buttress the opinions of scholars and previous researcher, such as: Krashen (1982) states that a variety of affective variables has been confirmed to be related to success in second language acquisition in research over the last decade but most of those studies examined the three categories: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety. Doff, (1998) speaking skills cannot be developed unless we develop listening skills, therefore, students must understand what is said to them to have a successful conversation. Shumin (1997) shares the ideas of Doff (1998) by stating that when one person speaks, the other responds through attending by means of the listening process.
Chapter three was on specific ways do these factors predict learners’ poor competence in English Language learning. The result of the finding revealed that many students feel shy to speak in English Language while in the class as a result of timidity experience, feel fatigue when their teachers is teaching and they did not contribute to discussion in the know what to say. Also the finding revealed that lack of access to English textbooks for personal development and passion to speak in Yoruba language were the ways the aforementioned predictive factors affect students’ English language competence.
Chapter four was on remedial approaches to be adopted in curbing the factors that predict their poor competence in English Language learning. The finding of the study revealed that many students show interest in participating in debate competition, if they can be trained; they like listen to their speech after discussion as well, listening to good speakers to emulate them; like to be constantly be engaged in English language. Also, the finding revealed that students feel free to discuss with their English teacher personally if they are allowed and lastly, they like learning with Audio-Visual materials. This result corroborate with Richards (2001) who opined that in communicative language teaching classes, tasks and activities are designed to enable learners to achieve communicative objectives by participating in communicative processes such as exchanging information, negotiation of meaning, and interaction. In communicative language teaching, learner-centered learning is emphasized.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary of the major findings, implications, limitations; it also puts forth the conclusion made based on the finding. It is the hope of the researcher that useful recommendations made in the study will be implemented by the concerned personalities on levels of students’ competence in English Language Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State.
5.1 Summary of the Study
The study focused on levels of students’ competence in English Language Ibarapa North Local Government Area Oyo State. In this study all the necessary literatures have been reviewed, both the theoretical, conceptual and empirical studies respectively.
The study was structured into five chapters. Chapter one gave the background to the study, statement of the problem, research questions significance of the study, scope of the study, and definition of terms were given within the chapter. Chapter two consisted of the review of the related literatures to the study. Chapter three gave the methodology used in study. The result and discussion of the findings from the analyzed data were presented in chapter four; this chapter is also made up of the description of the findings, the opinion of the respondents on the examined content.
In all, four research questions were raised and analysed. From the results, it was revealed that the level of English competence of secondary schools students in Ibarapa was very poor; there were essential predictive factors such as timidity, fatigue, passion to speak in mother’s tongue, inaccessible to English textbooks, and lost memory for their language competence. The result showed the extent by which the factors have affected them, shyness to contribute to discussion nor able to speak in gathering especially if the medium of communication is English.
Finally the result showed the students can cope peradventure they are encouraged, as the result revealed, they said: they like participate in debate competition if they can be trained as well like to be competent in speaking through constant engagement in English Language.
5.2 Conclusion
There is common wise thought that says “a discovered problem is half solved, since the findings of this study have revealed the problem and the postulated remedies have been confirmed relevance by the participants who were the major concerned. Therefore, the remedial approaches covered in this study are to be given special attentions.
5.3 Recommendations
Based on the result of the research finding, the writer would like to give some recommendations for the following people.
For the teacher, it is hopeful they should use variety of strategies (e.g. verbal problem-solving, role-playing, presentation, intonation, and body language etc.) in order to encourage his/her students to speak the English language fluently and accurately in front of his/ her colleagues. There is a need to use effective modern technology such as videos, smartphones, and computers to teach English. Instructors should teach oral skills courses in the laboratories and then decrease the number of students in the speaking class (not to exceed 25 students
For Students they are hoped to practice English at time, and they should realize that English is very important for them to face the globalization era.
Government at all level should make sure they provide appropriate facilities for the improvement of teaching and learning of English language for better outcome.
On the side of the parents, they should encourage their children not only buying them the needed texts but also trying to encourage them to be speaking English at to boost their speaking competence.
For the future researcher For the future researchers who want to conduct research with the same subject, the result of the research can be used as an additional reference or further research with different discussion
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