ABSTRACT
The general purpose of this study was to find out the level of
competencies possessed by English language teachers for effective teaching of
English language in secondary schools. The study was guided by six research
questions and five null hypotheses. The descriptive survey research design was
adopted for this study. The study was carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of
Enugu state. The population of the study comprised all the 151 English language
teachers. All the population was used as sample. The instrument used for data
collection was a researcher-structured questionnaire entitled; English Language
Teacher’s Competence Questionnaire (ELTCQ). The questionnaire was structured on
a four point scale of highly competent (4 points), competent (3 points), fairly
competent (2 points) and not competent (1 point). To ensure the validity of the
instrument, the researcher subjected the instrument to face validation by three
experts. The experts scrutinized the instrument in terms of relevance, clarity,
usability and suitability of the items in eliciting the required information
from the respondents. Their correction and suggestions were used in the
production of the final version of the instrument. The reliability of the
instrument was established by administering 20 copies of the instrument to
English language teachers in the senior secondary schools in Obollo-Afor
Education Zone which is outside the study area. The teachers have similar
characteristics as those in the population of this study. Cronbach Alpha was used
to determine the estimate of internal consistency of ELTCQ which yielded
reliability co-efficient of 0.86. The questionnaire was administered by the
researcher with the help of 4 research assistants. All the research questions
formulated for this study were answered using mean scores. The
criterion mean for accepting or rejecting any item was 2.50. The hypotheses
were tested at 0.05 level of significance using the t-test and analysis of
variance (ANOVA). The result of the study among others showed that teachers’
qualification and experience are significant predictors of teachers’ competency
in teaching English Language. The implications of the above findings were
examined and it was recommended among other things that teachers’ qualification
and experience should be considered by employers of labour in the course of
teachers’ recruitment and employment. This will help to employ only teachers
who are qualified to teach English Language.The limitations of this study were
highlighted and suggestions were made for further
studies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
English language seems to have gained prominence as a global
language especially in this technology-driven age. Knowledge of English
language has become necessary for assessing many discourses at a global level,
from international relations, to popular culture, and to academia (Mackay,
2002). Mackay further stated that in the world which is now becoming a global
village, where information and communication technology is shared among all
countries, one needs to be conversant with a universal language such as English
language. Supporting Mackey’s opinion, Rylatt and Lohan (2007) assertedthat
access to knowledge and the entire world is through the medium of English
language as it’s the language of communication, text books and research.
According to Mackay (2002) it is estimated that there are about 300 million
people that use English language as a second language, over 45 countries use it
as official/co-official language, and it has been spoken extensively in other
countries where it has no official status. From the above views, it appears
English language is the only language that has been accepted as official
language globally. Sequeira (2012) opined that English language plays a vital
role in the political and economic life of the countries that use it either as
a second language or official language.
English language has gained prominence over all other languages
in Nigeria due to her relationship with Britain during colonialism.
Its prominent role is without doubt in the social, economic and political
development of Nigeria (Igbokwe, 2007). English language as an official
language in Nigeria plays a very important communicative role in bridging the
socio-political gap between various ethnic groups in the country. In addition
to its usefulness in business, mass media and literature, the use of English
language as a medium of communication in Nigeria is most noticeable in the
field of education. For instance,Igbokwe (2007) pointed out that from the first
year in primary school, a Nigerian child is introduced to English language and
it is used as a medium of instruction until graduation from the university.
Supporting the viewAnyadiegwu(2012)stated thatthe average Nigerian’s access to
the culture and scientific knowledge of the world is largely through English
language. He further emphasize that in Nigeria education system, English
language is the medium of instruction at all levels of education in different
subjects except of course, the indigenous languages and other foreign languages
like French.
Apart from being the medium of instruction, the language is
taught as a subject/discipline in all Nigerian schools except those with strict
religious inclinations like the Arabic schools found in the Northern part of
Nigeria.Supporting the above views on the role of English language in Nigeria
educational system, Jekayinfa (2011) opined that English language occupies a
vital and indispensable position in education. However, the above views maybe
the reason for considering the English language as one of the core subjects at
all levels of education in Nigeria.
Education, in the views of Sadka (2007) refersto the process by
which teachers build up strong character in students from an early stage in
life through adulthood and this affords one the opportunity to carryout certain
roles and assume some responsibilities in society. The major objective of
education according to the UNESCO (2008) is imparting and enabling individuals
to acquire knowledge. From the above assertions on the aims of education, it is
pertinent to consider the different factors that are necessary for an
educational system to be considered successful.
One of the most important factors that can make educational
system successful is to have competent teachers who possess requisite skills
for the success of any educational system. Smith and Lusterman (2004) consider
teaching as a two-way relationship, that is, between students and teachers
revealingthat what students learn depend mostly on the teacher and the
teacher’s commitment towards their job. The implication is that for students to
learn effectively and efficiently, a teacher has to perform a number of
activities both inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, a teacher’s
competence is crucial in today’s classrooms in that it can bring about positive
development in students. In same vein, Chaudhary (2008) pointed out that a
teacher is expected to possess certain level of knowledge, attitude and skills
which are referred to as teacher competence. He went further to defined
competency as “the quality of being competent, adequate, possession of required
skills”, knowledge and qualification to perform tasks or duty, and stated thata
teacher’s competence includes; the right way of conveying units of knowledge,
application and skills. To Olaitan and Ali (1997),competence is the
successfulperformance of task through the use of knowledge, skills, attitudes
and judgment. From the above explanations on competence, it appears as if
competence is generally referred to as the state of being functionally suitable
in the performance of duty/tasks.
Moreover, Adakonye and Ogbonyomi (2012) commenting on English
language teachers’ competence affirm that one of the most important
competencies expected of English language teachers is grammatical/communicative
competence (introduced by Dell Hymes in 1966). They advocated in their work
that English language teachers should be proficient in English language (e.g.
spelling and grammar) and be conscious and meticulous in teaching of grammar in
order to achieve communicative competence in learners.
Again, another typology of competence which emanated from Dell
Hymes’ ideology is contextual/sociolinguistic competence this according to
researchers includecontextual/sociolinguistic competence and the
pragmatic aspects of speech acts such as the cultural values, norms and conventions.
To Adakonye and Ogbonyomi (2012), sociolinguistic competence refers to all the
social contexts that exist in the use of language such as topic, participants,
their relationship social status, sex, age. These variables influence
linguistic choices, styles and registers of speech. In other words,
contextual/sociolinguistic typology of competence emphasizes the considerations
of language use according to distinct contexts. This implies that in teaching
English language in a particular context, the teachers’ instructional
strategies are expected to be culturally sensitive. That is, the instructors
are required to be sensitive and responsive to the unique differences of
students taking cognizance of their cultural values, norms and societal
conventions.
Canale and Swain in 1980 classified sociolinguistic competence
to include discourse competence and strategic competence. Discourse competence
according to Alderson (2000)includes the knowledge of cohesion and coherence in
various types of discourse as they are quite crucial in interpreting utterances
particularly when the literal meaning is at variance with the speaker’s
intention.This research agrees with Anyadiegwu (2012)that strategic
competencerefersto the verbal and non-verbal strategies that compensate for
breakdowns and at the same time enhance effectiveness of communication such as
discourse structure, background knowledge and ambiguity. Lin (2009) asserted
that strategic competence is associated with the Interlocutors’ ability in
using communication strategies. However, the above views/assertions of
scholars on types of competence reveal that all the identified types of
competence are embedded in communicative competence. Therefore, communicative
competence in the context of second language teaching is a synthesis of
knowledge of basic grammatical principles, knowledge of how language is used in
social settings to perform communicative functions, and knowledge of how
utterances and communicative functions can be combined according to the
principles of discourse. In the teaching and learning of the English language,
the Communicative Language Teaching [CLT] approach has been advocated by
applied linguists (Ayodele, 1998).Consequently, the emphasis on language
teaching in this approach (the CLT) is on communicative proficiency rather than
on mere mastery of structures.
Furthermore, teachers’ Information and Communication Technology
[ICT] competency cannot be ignored in the discourse on English language
teachers’ competence in the 21st century education. ICT competency
describes what a teacher should know and be able to do with technology
inprofessional practice. It is alsoa combination of attributes describing a
teacher’sprofessional performance involving the use of ICT to facilitate
quality improvement and transformation in educationaldelivery. This emphasizes
the use of technology totransform the roles of the teachers from knowledge
experts to knowledge facilitatorsand the learner from passive to active
participants in learning and knowledgeconstruction. To achieve this, several
organizations (e.g UNESCO) have been carrying out programmes in Sub-Sarahan
Africa to examine how prepared are the teachers to deliver 21st century
education (Hooker, Mwiyeria & Verma, 2011). The implication here is that
recognizing the need to enhance ones specific competencies in order to reach
and teach all students require an understanding and acceptance of new ideas and
willingness to view English language instruction through varied cultural
lenses.
Contrary to the above views, Richard (2011) affirmed that a
teacher’s competency in the 21st century means that he/she
should have firm knowledge of the curriculum of the subject he/she is teaching.
In other words, English curriculum can be referred to as the total learning
experience provided by a school which includes the content of courses (the
syllabus), the methods employed (strategies), and other aspects, like norms and
values, which relate to the way the school is organized. In other words,
English language curriculum provides opportunity for students to learn
content-related information while acquiring English language skills in
listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
In addition, Ogbonna-Ohuche (2012) describing what are expected
of a teacher of English language itemized the under listed as the requisite
skills:
1. The
teacher of a language such as English should master how to pronounce all the
speech sounds used in the dialect of the language,
2. The
person should be able to put these sounds together into words and
sentences and pronounce them readily and correctly,
3. Master
how to grammatically combine words to achieve desired meanings and unity
of a spoken or written text, and
4. Master
the use of verbal (spoken) and non-verbal (eg gestures) strategies to
compensate for any possible communication break-down.
Also Uzoagulu (2013) while discussing teachers’ competence in
Nigerian schools noted that factors that influence students’ performance in
English language include qualification, age, gender, experience and location.
Considering the fact that the English language is a vast field of study where
an individual might not be competent and experienced in all its various
aspects, it does appear that qualified and experienced teachers with higher
qualifications are needed to teach in our schools.
Some schools have more aged teachers than young ones and so the
schools may experience retardation in teaching and learning because the aged
teachers are not conversant and competent with the modern ICT and this makes it
impossible for them to teach some of the speech sounds in English language
correctly.
Also some schools have more female teachers than males. These
female teachers are sometimes lazy to teach and many a time go for
maternity leave for a long period of time thereby disorganizing their lessons
in the school time table.
Some of the secondary schools are also located in the rural
areas. Those in the urban areas have to some extent competent and experienced
teachers while many of those in the rural areas do not have English language
teachers and sometimes teachers who did not study English language are asks to
serve as English language teacher to the detriment of the studentsThis study
therefore sets to assess competencies possessed by English language teachers
for effective teaching of English in secondary schools in Nsukka EducationZone
and the extent to which the factors mentioned above influence the teachers’
effectiveness.
Statement of problem
English language has been seen to occupy a vital and
indispensable position in education. Apart from the fact that it is the
language of business, mass media, literature as well as those of internal and
external communications, it is also the medium of instruction in a child’s
first year in the school. The role of English language in Nigeria has been well
described by Spencer when he observed that English in West Africa cannot be
seen as a temporarily borrowed language, on the contrary, it is by now part of
the linguistic property of those who use it. However, despite the importance of
English language in the overall education development in the country, it is
appalling to know that some of the schools do not have qualified teachers in
the subject,no varied text books to teach the subject in schools and also no
conducive reading and teaching
environment for both teachers and students to teach and learn
English well in schools, the teachers in Nsukka Education Zone have no
experience on how to use the audio visual aids and ICT which is used to teach
the speech sound in English language. Again most of the teachers are old and
aged and are mostly in the rural areas and this makes it impossible for them to
be versatile with the current English text books used in the teaching and
learning of English language in the zone. Another problem of teaching English
language in secondary schools in Nsukka Education zone is that teachers who are
not specialist in the discipline are co-opted in the teaching of the subject in
some of the schools. Some of these teachers display incompetency in basic
segments of the subject like phonetics/phonology, grammar and essay writing.
However in most of the secondary schools in Nigeria, especially those in Nsukka
Education zone quality and qualified teachers of English language are still
lacking as a good number of this all important subject read Social studies
andArts courses in the university. This is what worries and motivates the
researcher to embark on this work.
English language now determines success or failure in education
and life in the Nigerian society. Performance of students in English is
woeful year in year out. Many students are greatly handicapped in their
performance in many school subjects because their knowledge of English Language
is greatly inadequate, and coupled with the fact that all school subjects except
the mother tongues are taught in English from nursery and primary schools to
all levels of tertiary institutions. It has been reported that most students
fail in most school Certificate subjects because they have problem of
proficiency in English Language, and unless a child can acquire facility in the
second language, where it is the official language of instruction, he/she is
inevitably retarded in reasoning and achievement. The implication of this is
that a student must be proficient in English language before he/she can perform
creditably well in other school subjects.
The teachers’ qualification is another factor to be considered
in examining English language teachers’ competency. The knowledge of the
subject matter in the subject area and the professional teacher’s education is
very important. English language teachingand learning in Nigeria is beset with
many problems which include lack of enoughqualified teachers of English
language especially at primary school level (public andprivate schools) where teachers
are assigned to teach all the school subjects. Most ofthese teachers have no
professional background in English language. The amount ofexperience of
teachers should be considered in assessing factors thatinfluence students’
achievement because no teacher can effectively teach a subject he/she does not
haveknowledge of.It is expected that a qualified English language teacher apart
frompossessing the minimum academic qualification of Nigeria certificate in
education in English should be creative in his class room teaching. He should
explore avenues of utilizing appropriate teaching methodology and teaching
material that will aid students’ grasping of the topic. Apart from this the
teacher must be up to date in his area of discipline by reading latest text
books on the subject as well as attending seminars and workshops that will keep
abreast with the innovations in the teaching techniques in the area of
spelling, grammar phonology essay and lexis.
Integration of ICT which has being reported as playing vital
roles in facilitating teaching is yet to be widely accepted and integrated into
English language teaching process. Most of the teachers of English language are
not computer literate.
Moreover, ICT which has been reported as playing vital roles in
facilitating teaching is yet to be widely accepted and integrated into the
teaching process.
Although several researches have been done in Nigeria in the
area of teachers’ competency and its implication on students’ performance, none
has focused on competencies possessed by English language teachers for
effective teaching of English in secondary schools in Nsukka Local Government
Area [LGA]. Therefore, this study sets to investigate the competencies
possessed by English language teachers for effective teaching of English
language in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to find out the level of
competencies possessed by English language teachers for effective teaching of
English language in secondary schools. Specifically, this study sought
toascertain:
1. The
level of Competencies possessed by English language teachers in Nsukka
Education Zone for effective teaching of English language
2. The extent
the qualification of teachers influence the competencies possessed by teachers
of English language in Nsukka Education Zone for effective teaching of English
language.
3. The
extent to which the age of English language teachers in Nsukka Education zone influence
their competencies in teaching English language.
4. The
extent to which gender influence the competencies possessed by teachers of
English language in Nsukka education zone for effective teaching of English
language.
5. The
extent to which the experience of English language teachers in Nsukka Education
zone influence their competencies for effective teaching of English language.
6. The
extent to which location of English language teachers in Nsukka Education zone
influence their competencies for effective teaching of English language.
Significance of the study
Theoretically, this study would provide opportunities for a
better understanding and elaboration of the Classical and Operant Conditioning
theory of B.F Skinner and Ivan Pavlov as discussed by Abiri (2005) and Urdang
(2002). This can be done by providing competent English language teachers
adequate instructional materials and enabling environment that are learner
friendly and motivates interest for learners of English language to ascertain
whether it will improve learners’ communicative competence. To illustrate the
above view, Classical Conditioning Theory proposed that when a child associates
the learning of a school subject with success, he/she will develop favourable
attitude towards the study of the subject, enjoy studying the subject and then
work hard at it. But, where the child has associated the subject with failure,
that child will dislike the subject, develop an unfavourable attitude towards
the subject and will not work hard at it. English language teachers therefore
have to possess certain level of professional competencies in order to capture
students’ interest and attention in the class for effective learning of English
language which will result in improved performance in the subject.
Also, the Operant Conditioning theory propounded by B.F Skinner
posits that learning can be defined by selecting and confirming responses. The
emphasis in the learning process is on the effect of positive and negative
consequences of behaviour. In this theory, learning is explained in terms of
reinforcement or contingency management. In this case, the teachers of English
language need to reinforce the students positively by using encouragement words
or praise to motivate them to perform better.
Again, the following people would benefit from this study; the
ministry of education, the teachers, the students, institutions of higher
learning and other researchers. The study will function as a guide by ensuring
harmonization of all future activities in the field of English language. This
study will help the ministry of education to determine the competencies of
English language teachers in secondary schools thereby knowing if the
objectives of the nations’ education policy can be achieved as teachers’
competency are expected to either aid or mar the achievement of the objectives.
Moreover, this study would help the ministry of education to be
able to determine how to improve teachers’ skills; either by sending them for
refresher courses or organizing in-service training for them. The results from
this study will also make the ministry of education to liaise with the
pre-teachers training institutions to ensure that new teachers attain required
competency standard before qualifying for the job of teaching. As well, it will
instigate the need for the ministry of education to liaise with the policy
makers to ensure that the nation’s education policy is comprehensible by the
teachers and achievable within the context of the classroom.
In same vein, when the teachers are competent, the learners are
the most beneficiaries. The students are in the better position to gain more
knowledge from this study. This is because if the level of teachers’ competency
is known and improved (if need be) and necessary infrastructure provided, it
will encourage the idea of constructive approach to teaching thereby making the
learners to learn at their own pace.
In addition, the policy makers would also use the information
from this study to make policies that will help institutions, specifically secondary
schools to achieve the goals and objectives of education policy in Nigeria.
This study would also provide information that will guide the policy makers to
make policies that would ensure that the English language curriculum for junior
and senior secondary schools in Nigeria are adaptive to the nation’s learning
environment taking cognizance of the available instructional materials. This
study will enable them to make policies that will make the English language
teachers to use the English language curriculum as a guide for effective
teaching of English language and not as a ‘tele-guide’ which must be
judiciously followed without innovative inputs that can aid learning.
Furthermore, this study will serve as a motivator for English
language teachers to appraise themselves and their competencies. Other change
agents and expertise who are directly or indirectly involved in English
language teaching will also benefit from the findings of this study as it will
encourage them to step up in their competency to be able to compete with other
English language teachers in the continent. Most importantly, the findings from
this research work will be a useful material for classroom discussion, workshop
andin teaching and learning in Arts education programmes. The findings can also
be presented in symposium, seminar and conference.
Scope of the Study
The study will be carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu
State to find out the competencies possessed by English language teachers for
effective teaching of English language in secondary schools. The study will
find out the types of competencies possessed by English language teachers
such as the content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, the leaner centered
teaching, the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching
English language and the competence on the use of assessment tools for
assessing learners of English language and the extent to which they
integrate them into their teaching process for effective teaching of English
language in secondary schools. Also, the study will find out the influence of
age, experience and qualification on the competencies possessed by English
language teachers.This study is limited to all the English language teachers in
secondary schools in Nsukka education zone.
Research questions
The following research questions are formulated to guide the
study.
1. What is
the level of Competences possessed by English language teachers in Nsukka
Education Zone for effective teaching of English language?
2. To what
extent does qualification influence the competences possessed by teachers of
English language in Nsukka Education Zone for effective teaching of English
language?
3. To what
extent does the age of English language teachers in Nsukka Education Zone influence
their competences in teaching English language?
4. To what
extent does gender influence the competencies possessed by teachers of English
language in Nsukka Education Zone for effective teaching of English language?
5. To what
extent does the experience of English language teachers in Nsukka Education
Zone influence their competencies for effective teaching of English language?
6. To what
extent does location of English language teachers in Nsukka Education Zone
influence their competencies for effective teaching of English language?
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated and tested at alpha
level of 0.05 level of significance.
H01: Qualification is not a
significant factor in the mean scores of competencies possessed by English
language teachers in schools in Nsukka Education Zone for effective teaching of
English language.
H02: Age is not a
significant factor in the mean scores of competencies possessed by English
language teachers in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone for effective
teaching of English language.
H03: Gender is not a
significant factor in the mean scores of competencies possessed by English
language teachers in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone for effective
teaching of English language.
H04: Teachers’ experience is
not a significant factor in the mean scores of competencies possessed by
English language teachers in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone for
effective teaching of English language.
H05: Location is not a
significant factor in the mean scores of competencies possessed by English
language teachers in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone for effective
teaching of English language.