CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
The use
of language for verbal communication is what basically differentiates man from
the lower animals. In most speech communities, language acquisition begins with
the mother tongue. The mother tongue is often conceived as the first language
of the child’s parents. Thus, the child usually acquires the mother tongue
before being introduced to the learning of a second language.
The learning of any language usually takes cognizance of the
phonetic system of the language. This is often identified as the segmental
phonemes, made up of the vowel and consonant sound segments. The composition
and distribution of the segmental phonemes may however differ from language to
language. Studies have revealed that the acquisition of the mother tongue by
the child is very crucial because often times it is used as a resource for the
learning of a second language. Since the phonological systems of any two
languages are never the same, however, the second language learner may take to
substituting some elements of the phonological system of the second language
(L2) with those of his first language (L1). This phenomenon may impede meaning
because in the face of such phonological conflicts, the native speaker may find
certain utterances made by the second language learner unintelligible. Language
transfer theorists believe that the lexis, grammar and phonology of the
learner’s first language impose themselves on the second language habit,
thereby resulting in interference problems. Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech and
Svartvik (1974:26) observe that “we tend to impose our native phonological
pattern on any foreign language we learn.” Based on this linguistic principle,
the researcher is convinced that the possibility of Idoma learners of English
being phonologically influenced by the Idoma language cannot be disputed.
Obviously, in designing the oral English curriculum for secondary schools in
Nigeria, the belief that mother tongue interference negatively affects
students’ speaking skills, appears to be the fundamental consideration that
informs the content of the senior school certificate oral English syllabus. In
acknowledgement of this fact, the West African Senior School Certificate
Examination (WASSCE) syllabus (2004-2008:191) clearly states, among other
things, that the examination sets out to examine candidates’ ability to “use an
acceptable pronunciation that can be comprehended by others.” This statement of
objective underscores the need for adequate attention to be given to the
teaching and learning of the English segmental phonemes.
Ironically, however, oral English as a language skill has suffered systematic
neglect in our schools over the years. This development, to a large extent, has
impacted negatively on the verbal accuracy and fluency of majority of our students,
to the chagrin of parents, teachers, the government and other stake-holders in
the nation’s education sector. This is because of the pivotal role played by
the English language in the socio-economic and political life of our nation,
Nigeria. For instance, in the words of Mazrui (1971) in Uzo (1999:2), the
English language is “the medium of intellectual transformation, occupational
and social mobility, and the crystallization of national consciousness”.
Consequently, the researcher views the degenerating trend in the spoken English
of our students as a negative development that portends negative consequences
for our educational system.
Apparently, the factors responsible for the dwindling performance of students
in oral English in particular, could be blamed on a number of indices, among
which are poor attitudes towards the second language, low investment in
education, poor training of teachers, non-availability of teaching aids, poor
teaching methods, government take-over of schools resulting in poor supervision
and lowering of standards, poor social environment, poor motivation among the
learners and the teachers, lack of commitment among the teachers, the explosion
in in-take and student population, with consequent pressure and collapse of facilities,
and of course mother tongue interference (Akwanya, 2007). While researches have
tried to address these problems by offering practical solutions as it were,
records have it that students’ deteriorating performance in English in external
examinations like WASSCE and NECO (National Examinations Commission) has
continued unabated. For instance the WAEC Chief Examiner’s report on English
for the May/June (2007:7) states that:
Contrary to expectation, the performance of the candidates was
awfully poor. Some of the candidates scored zero in the whole paper, having
failed to write an answer that can earn a single mark in any section of the
paper. It appears that a good number of schools registered illiterate and
unqualified candidates for this test.
In
reaction to the content of this report, the researcher has therefore decided to
investigate into a crucial aspect of language concept which he thinks could
have a fundamental impact on students’ performance in oral English; i.e the
incidence of mother tongue interference as it affects the teaching and learning
of the English segmental phonemes. In addressing the topic under investigation,
the researcher feels that a comparison of the segmental phonemes of English and
the indigenous language (Idoma) and an analysis of the similarities and
dissimilarities in the phonemic inventory of the two languages would provide a
road map for solution to students’ pronunciation problems. Thus, the principles
of contrastive and error analysis will be used as parameters to guide the
theoretical focus of the work.
In a
world that has been reduced to a mere global village by ICT and its related
technologies like GSM phones and a huge net work of internet services,
communication in modern times should be accepted as increasingly interactive.
It is therefore being suggested that, modern language teaching and learning
should leave no stone unturned in ensuring that fluency and accuracy are not
compromised by whatever techniques and strategies which are blended in any
approach that is designed for the teaching of the English segmental phonemes in
our secondary schools.
Statement of the problem
Over the
years, the dwindling performance of students in oral English has been a source
of concern to various stakeholders in the nation’s education sector.
Investigations into this phenomenon have variously revealed that most of the
spelling errors and misuse of words in candidates’ scripts in external
examinations like WASSCE and NECO are actually deficiencies transferred or
carried over from the spoken medium to the written medium. Experts are equally
of the view that the first step towards accurate pronunciation in any foreign
language being learnt starts with the learning of the phonetic system of the
language. This will ensure, to a large extent, that the foreign or second
language learner overcomes most of his pronunciation deficiencies. Based on
this premise, the statement of the problem of this study can be posed thus: to
what extent does the mother tongue interfere with the teaching and learning of
the English segmental phonemes in secondary schools in Otukpo Local Government
Area of Benue State?
Purpose of the Study
The study
is specifically designed to achieve the following objectives:-
1. To identify the set of
phonemes that pose articulatory problems to Idoma learners of English.
2. To identify and
categorize the pronunciation problems associated with Idoma learners of
English.
3. To identify some instructional
approaches that can be used to minimize mother tongue interference in student’s
pronunciation of the English segmental phonemes.
Significance of the Study
If this
study is successfully carried out, its findings will be significant in a number
of ways to students, teachers and curriculum designers of English as a second
language.
For
language teachers, the findings of this study will help to create awareness on
the common pronunciation errors committed by majority of second language
learners in the articulation of the English segmental phonemes. This awareness
will help the teacher to organize his materials and strategize his teaching
techniques to enhance students’ pronunciation.
Secondly,
the findings of this study will also benefit the students of English as a
second language. When the students are equipped with adequate knowledge of the
similarities and differences in the in the phonetic systems of English and
Idoma, it would go a long way in enhancing their communicative competence and
therefore help to achieve the objective of the oral English curriculum in our
secondary schools.
Thirdly,
the findings of this study are also expected to help curriculum planners in
formulating, revising and updating the Oral English curriculum based on the
latest findings relating to language transfer at the phonological level.
Finally,
the findings of this study are expected to ignite further investigation into
the influence of mother tongue in the teaching and learning of English as a
second language.
The Scope of the Study
The scope
of the study actually took cognizance of language transfer at one linguistic
level – phonetics. The study was therefore intended to make a contrastive
analysis of the segmental phonemes of English and Idoma; analyze the phonemic
differences and similarities in the two languages, with a view to identifying
the set of phonemes that pose pronunciation problems to Idoma learners of
English. The study was further expected to determine the extent to which mother
tongue can affect gender achievement in the teaching and learning of the
English segmental phonemes and of course examine some instructional approaches
that can enhance students’ performance in oral English.
Research Questions
The
following research questions are formulated to guide the study:
1. What
category of phonemes do Idoma learners of English find difficult to articulate?
2. How
effective is the sentence drilling approach in the teaching and learning of the
English segmental phonemes?
3. To what
extent does the Idoma language influence gender achievement in Oral English?
Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses (H0) were formulated
and tested at 0.05 level of significance.
H01 Mother tongue influence has no significant effect
on students’ perception of the English segmental phonemes.
H02 The sentence drilling approach has no
significant effect on students’ achievement in oral English.
H03 Mother tongue has no significant effect on gender
achievement in oral English.