The English language is an essential
pre-requisite for propelling educational wheel of Nigeria. Joseph and
Joshua (2010) added that the government having recognized the importance
of English language for enhancing educational attainment as well as for
improving communicative competence and ability of citizens has made it a
core and compulsory subject for all in Nigerian schools. The English
language continues to be a medium of instruction for all subjects from
primary level to tertiary level in so many countries including Nigeria.
It is a medium of instruction, a compulsory and core subject that must
be offered and passed at all levels of education in Nigeria’s
educational system.
It is therefore obvious that without a thorough
mastery of the language, it is not possible to have a sufficient firm
grasp of what the learner has to learn. The knowledge of English
language helps in understanding other school subjects since it is used
to teach all other subjects except local languages. Good foundation of
the language paves way to success in life. The knowledge of the content
of school’s subject is transferred to the students at all levels of
education via the English language medium. In spite of these, the
English language achievement of the Nigerian school students has been on
a steady decline over the years. An online article published on 6
January 2010 by News desk showed that the falling standard of education
as exemplified by the falling performance of students at various
examinations is alarming. This is leaving many stakeholders in the
sector to wonder about the future of education in the country as well as
the place of Nigeria in the 21st century when competitors among
countries will not be defined based on endowment of natural resources
alone but more importantly on the competitiveness of their human capital
(David, 2012).
Formal education in Nigeria today is a product of
English Language. Without English, there is the possibility that there
may not be anything more than elementary formal education in Nigeria.
English language is a major school subject in Nigerian Educational
system. It is not only the medium of instructions at all levels of
education in Nigeria but also a pre-requisite to entering into
post-primary and secondary institutions; Muhammed (2005) Despite the
importance of English Language, the primary school pupils uses and
performance in English Language has not been encouraging.
Many scholars and specialists in the English language field have had to ask questions pertaining to the low level of proficiency and performance of primary school pupils in the various aspects of English Language and in English Language examinations sometimes, they blame it on the individual background, mother tongue interference, comprehension problem, social factor, individual differences, etc. For instance, Eze (2004) in his opinion stated that “the poor performance of students in English Language examinations can be attributed to their inability to interpret written language and also answer comprehension questions in their own words†Obayan (2003) also agreed with the above where he said that students can do well in English Language examination if only they can be able to answer the questions in their own words and avoid needless lifting which results to vague answers.
Various researchers especially in English Language have teaching an learning of English language is determined by a number of variables such as family, schools, society and motivation factors, (Aremu & Joken 2003; Aremu Oluwole 2001). Gillian and Gillian (2002) observed that social factors such as parents’ educational attainments have been found to be more important than economic factors in explaining children’s educational outcomes.
The teaching and learning of pupils in English Language has been found to be strongly associated with factors such as the home, literacy environment, teachers’ teaching styles and investments in resources that promote learning such as quality child care, educational materials and excursion to education resources (Shonkoff & Philips, 2000). Other factors include spa renting which in turn affect their children’s development and educational achievement. High level of illiteracy, poverty and low social status coupled with high rate of paternal and maternal deprivation, lack of money to purchase necessary textbooks, working materials and school fees for their children. These ugly situations have made some young school pupils to drop out of school and to engage in subsistence life by becoming house- helps or engaging in other menial jobs to support their academic pursuit.
The fact that primary school occupies the foundation of education in our educational sector and it carries out great roles in teaching . and knowledge acquisition of the pupils, therefore this study is intended to investigate the factors affecting the teaching and learning of English is Primary School in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Statement of the Problem
As the primary school undoubtedly forms the crux of education in Nigeria SO the English language is the core and compulsory subject that must be learnt by all the primary school pupils. In the course of teaching the subject there tendencies are that the teacher confront some difficulties since the subject is neither the pupils’ nor the teachers’ first language. This problem could probably be part of the reasons why the researchers carried out various researches on variables related to English Language.
