CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background to the Study

As part of the British colonial policy during the colonial era, the indigenes of colonies of which Ghana was not an exception were compelled to learn the language of the colonial master (that is; English language). As a result of this policy, English had so much power and as Sackey (1997) puts it, ‘without it, there could be no participation in the economic and political life. Also, Roberts (1996) explains that English Language has become a powerful language due to the fact that it has broken linguistic barriers to become a widely spoken international language particularly, as a second or foreign language. For this reason, even after colonial rule, Nigeria had to adopt English Language as an official language for formal education, the media, and for government and business purposes in the country.

In a multilingual country like Nigeria, English language is considered as an essential tool in achieving effective communication. The use of English language for formal teaching and learning in the Gold Coast started when Britain became their colonial master (Sackey, 1997). He further explains that the teaching of English language started in Castle schools where the language was learnt through “repeated readings of primers and spelling books”.

It has been a subject of ongoing research that what language is as a communication tool, how languages have emerged and evolved, and until today, many definitions and theories have been proposed about language (Roucek, 1968). Dilaçar (1968) states that language is a social system which reaches an agreement among individuals. Aksan (1977) also describes language as a versatile and advanced arrangement which provides thoughts, feelings and desires to be transferred to others through using the elements and rules common in terms of sound and meaning in a society. According to Soner (2007), Language was born with the occurrence of the first man described as hominid on Earth a million years ago. From the moment he came to earth, human being as a cultural asset has felt the need to communicate with the environment, and this led to the emergence of different languages in communities. Due to the fact that human being is a live speaking, language keeps up to date in all the ages.

In Owusu-Ansah (2005) analysis of the Chief Examiner of WAEC’s report, concerning the Junior High School Certificate Examination between 1993 and 2003, he highlighted spelling errors as a major problem in written grammar of students. He opined that students’ inability to spell words correctly lead to the deduction of marks resulting in poor performance.

Again, reports of Chief Examiners on the performance of students in B.E.C.E. from 2001 – 2010 also revealed spelling errors as the type of errors most students commit in their final examinations. These reports buttress the previous reports that highlighted spelling errors as being common in written grammar of students.

2.2 Statement of the Problem

The performance of students in English spelling especially in Junior School has been falling, and this has attracted the attention of English language researchers, educational policy makers, the conscious masses as well as the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) (Daily Graphic, 17th April, 2000 and WAEC’s 6th Annual Endowment Fund Lecture, Accra 12th March, 2001 by Prof. Florence Abena Dolphyne). Due to the status of English language in the educational system in Nigeria, failure in the subject at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (B.E.C.E.) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), serves as an automatic hindrance to the next level of education. Revelations from the reports of WAEC Chief Examiners from previous years to recent years or time on B.E.C.E. revealed several errors contributing to the poor performance of students in English. Prominent among them was spelling errors. It was therefore imperative to investigate spelling errors made by JHS students in Okobo Local Government Area of Nigeria to unearth the causes and prescribe solutions to them. It is of our view that even though a lot of researchers have worked on grammatical errors in the grammar of written essays of students whether specifically or generally, a few of them such as Geber (1984) and Twum (2011) who studied spelling errors in the written grammar of Junior High School students, Kirkpatrick (2009) who worked on spelling errors of American slang words, Kyte (1958) who explored common spelling errors made by intermediate students, etc., have delved into spelling errors and that most researchers focus on other types of errors. For this reason, this study is an attempt to fill the gap in the literature, explores spelling problems evident in teaching and learning of students, causal factor of English spelling problem, effects of English spelling problem and the way forward in Junior Secondary School Okobo Local Government Secondary School.

2.3 Research Questions

The following are the research questions to be addressed in the study:

1. What is the type of English spelling errors evident in the scripts of Nigeria Junior Secondary School Students?
2. What are the causal factors of English spelling problems in the Nigeria Junior Secondary School?
3. What are the effects of English spelling problems in the Nigeria Junior Secondary School?
4. What can be done to remedy English spelling problem in the Nigeria Junior Secondary School?

2.4   Research Objectives

Research objectives to be address in this study are as follows:

1. to assess the various types of English spelling problems in Junior Secondary School Okobo Local Government Area.
2. to examine the causes of English spelling problems in Junior Secondary School Okobo Local Government Area.
3. to evaluate the effects of English spelling problems in Junior Secondary School Okobo Local Government Area.
4. to find solution to English spelling problems in Junior Secondary School Okobo Local Government Area.

2.5 Research Hypotheses

H0 there is no significant relationship between English spelling problem and Nigeria Junior Secondary School.

2.6 Significance of the Study

This study will be of immense importance to both Okobo Local Government Area and Nigeria at large where English is used as the official language and academia in general. For instance, it will create awareness which will draw the attention of language users to these errors and help them to avoid committing these errors. To this end, it was posited that the present study sheds more light or provides some insight on the kind of errors found in written essays of Junior High schools and, therefore, goes a no small way to prevent repetition of such problems.

Further, the study has implications for pedagogy in that it could guide teachers not only to identify the problematic areas of L2 learners (second language learners) but also to bring out areas for which remedial programmes are needed.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This is mainly focused on the Okobo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.