ABSTRACT
The study language learning positive behaviour Use and writing proficiency in English language among senior secondary school students in Enugu Education zone was carried out with the intention of ensuring that the leaner develops the ability to use the English language correctly. The study employed an ex-post facto design. The multi stage techniques were used to select the samples that were used for the study. The schools were located in the urban and rural areas of Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. The sample was 40% of the total population, that was 680 students who were made up of 340 male and 340 female students from selected schools in the Urban and rural areas of the zone. Questionnaire was used for the information, it has 25 items in all. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and t- test. The results of the study showed that there is no significant difference between the frequency of language learning positive behaviour use and writing proficiency of the students; that the senior secondary school students were medium frequency users of language learning positive behavour; that language learning positive behavoiur is frequently used among the male and female students with slight difference in favour of the female; and that language learning positive behaviour is used more frequently among the Urban school students than the rural senior secondary school students. Teachers should endeavour to create student centred classroom in which the teacher gives the students frequent opportunities to practice preventing, writing rewriting and regularly assists the students to achieve the skill o writing. Government should organize retraining programmes like conferences, seminars and workshops to develop in the teachers the knowledge of LLPB.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Language has been described as man’s most important gift, a vehicle for communicating thought and creativity. It is a good instrument for handling of ideas and experiences, communicating them through written or spoken form and for receiving them by hearing and reading. Adefugbo (1980) states that communication is the only tool for interaction between two or more people. In the light of this, the role of language can be fully appreciated.
However, every speech community has its own language of communication which may be intelligible to speakers from outside the community. Civilization has made people to learn the language outside the person’s speech community in other to communicate with the people from other land. This tendency gives rise to a second language and foreign language adventure. In case of Nigeria, the English language is the language which is inherited from the British colonial masters. Nationally and internationally, the English language plays a vital role in Nigeria.
The English language is recognized by most countries of the world as a universal language. The industrial revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries gave English language the needed impetus to become the language of industry and commerce, of technology and invention (Graddol, 1997). Knowledge of English is necessary for accessing many discourses at a global level, from international relations, to popular culture, to academia (Makay, 2002). Since the world is gradually becoming a global village where information and knowledge are shared among all countries of the world, one needs to be knowledgeable in the most universal of all tongues – English.
In Nigeria, English language gains prominence over and above all other European languages like French, Spanish, German, Italian etc. Its pre-eminent role is without doubt in the social, economic and political development of Nigeria. English in Nigeria today, is an essential tool in everyday life. Its official status plays a very important communicative role in bridging the socio-political gap between the various “ethnic Nationalities” within the country. It is now the official language, a defacto lingua franca. The provisions in the 1979 constitution, paragraphs 51 and 91 in respect of language bear eloquent testimony that the English language is the cornerstone of the Nigerian nation. Thus English is the language for the transaction of business and commerce, the language for the implementation of the machinery of government and the language of the mass media
The entrenchment of English in Nigeria is most noticeable in the field of education where English plays two principal roles as a medium of instruction and a school subject. From his/her first year in the primary school, the Nigerian child is introduced to English, which continues as the medium of instruction until graduation from the university. Access to knowledge and the outside world is through the medium of the English Language as English is the language of communication, language of textbooks and research. Banjo (1981) reaffirmed the importance of English in Nigeria when he stated that:
English is the life blood of the whole educational system in the secondary school level. If students lack linguistic skill and achieve poor results in English, then there will not be students capable of understanding, university courses… the whole future of primary, higher education and consequently the whole political and economic future of our nation (would be) in question (p.154).
Because of this, the Nigerian public expects all secondary students to be proficient in the use of the English language so that they can go through their studies with very little linguistic impediments and so contribute to the overall development of the country. Students’ knowledge of English should extend beyond the ability to observe or memorize sentences printed in English. They should be able to form basic concepts, think, plan and write coherently as failure at the school certificate level mars the chances of students gaining admission into higher institutions in Nigeria.
