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 (1point). 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:
- The teacher of a language such as English should master how to pronounce all the speech sounds used in the dialect of the language,
- The person should be able to put these sounds together into words and sentences and pronounce them readily and correctly,
- Master how to grammatically combine words to achieve desired meanings and unity of a spoken or written text, and
- 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.
