Background of the Study
This research work deals with tense errors in English essays of
Secondary School. The research is to find out the type of tense errors
committed by the students who have sat for their J.S.S.C.E examination.
Statement of Problem
It has been discovered that second language learners of English
face some difficulties while learning the language. This is because
most second language learners find it difficult to speak or write good
English.
With the above in mind, this research work focuses on Tense
Errors in English Essays of Secondary Schools Students This is to find
out the tense errors the students make, the causes and possible
suggestion of how to reduce the problems.
The work addresses the following questions:
1. What are the errors students made?
2. What are the types of errors?
3. What are the causes of the errors?
4. What are the possible solutions to these errors?
Aim and Objectives
The aim of this research is to study Tense Errors in English Essays of Secondary Schools Students
The specific objectives are;
1. To identify the errors in the essays of the students.
2. To classify the errors identified into types
3. To find out and explain the possible causes of the errors.
4. To provide solutions to the causes of the errors.
Significance of the Study
The falling standard of education generally could be attributed to
poor comprehension of the English language lessons by students.
This is due to the fact that, English language serves as a bed
rock for understanding other disciplines of learning S.S.C.E holders
cannot fully communicate in the national language (English) and it is on
this basis that this work focuses on the tenses in the students
written essays.
Scope and Delimitation
This study is limited to the analysis of thirty scripts of S.S II
Students of Maimuna Gwarzo in Kaduna South local government. The
research is limited to found out tense errors made by students in the
schools so as to provide the lasting solutions to aid teachers and
students on how to guard against such problems.
Justification of the Study
This study is important as, it attempts to highlight the major
tense errors committed by the students in their speaking and writing,
and to provide the lasting solution on how to correct the errors.
Methodology
This section deals with how data is collected for the research
work. The study covers the use of tense errors in English essays of
secondary school students of some selected secondary schools in Kaduna
South Local Government. The data for this work is the essay papers of
thirty students of the schools.