EFFECT OF CROSSWORD PUZZLE GAME ON  SENIOR SECONDARY I STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Language is a means of communication. It is also necessary for all aspects of development and civilization. Different societies have different languages or means of verbal communication.  Language in any society serves diverse functions such as a tool for socialization, a means of cultural identity, a means of preservation of culture and a whole lot of other functions. But the most important of these functions is the role of language as a medium of communication (Pelt, 2005), and this role is given such  a  central  place  as  a  result  of  the  natural  inclination  of  humans  to  pass information. This natural desire to share feelings, ideas and thoughts in a highly multilingual nation like Nigeria creates a dire  need for a language of inter ethnic and cross cultural communication, a language of unification and a language of national and inter ethnic communication.

As a result of the role of English as a language of international communication and the multilingual nature of the Nigerian society, English language was voluntarily adopted for official and inter-ethnic communication in the country (Akabogu, 2006). English Language since then has come to serve various vital functions in the life of the nation. For instance, it is the language of education, commerce and industry, government, international communication, the media, law and legal drafting, science and technology and the language of social interaction. Of all these functions however, its role as the language of education is paramount since education gives life and essence to all other spheres of human endeavour (Obanya, 2002). This function is given greater vigour as a result of the position given to it by the National Policy on Education  (2004)  which  makes  English  Language  mandatory  in  secondary  and tertiary education in Nigeria. It is also the language of evaluation in schools as it is used for assessing students after primary school for the First School Leaving Certificates, Junior Secondary School Certificate Examinations, Senior Secondary

School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other professional examinations. The importance of English as a school subject can further be illustrated by the fact that a candidate must obtain a credit pass in it to gain admission into any Nigerian University to study any course (JAMB,

2005).

English  Language  is  a  school  subject  and  like  every  other  school  subject requires formal instruction. Instruction in English language involves instruction on the  four  basic  language  skills;  listening,  speaking,  reading  and  writing.  This  is because acquiring a new language necessarily involves developing these four modalities in varying degrees and combinations (Tankersly, 2003). Tankersly further explains  that  these  four  skills  include  associated  skills,  such  as  knowledge  of grammar, spelling, pronunciation, syntax, meaning and usage. Of all these sub skills however, grammar occupies a central position in any language learning endeavour.

Grammar  is  prominent  in  language  teaching,  particularly  in  English  as  a Second Language (ESL).   Grammar can be defined as the structural foundation of one to study and use language meaningfully. Practically, in the teaching of grammar learners are taught rules of languages. According to Ur (2000), in the case of the learners,  grammatical  rules  enable  them  to  know  and  apply  how  such  sentence patterns should be put together. The teaching of grammar should also ultimately centre attention on the way grammatical items or sentence patterns are correctly used. In other words, teaching grammar should encompass language structure or sentence patterns, meaning and use.

Grammar is taught to furnish the basis for a set of language skills: listening, speaking reading and writing. In listening and speaking, grammar plays a crucial part in grasping and expressing spoken language (e.g. expressions) since learning the grammar of a language is considered necessary to acquire the capability of producing grammatically acceptable utterances in the language (Widodo, 2004).

In reading, grammar enables learners to comprehend sentence interrelationship in a paragraph, a passage and a text. In the context of writing, grammar allows the learners to put their ideas into intelligible sentences so that they can successfully communicate in a written form. In the case of vocabulary, grammar provides a path way to learners on how some lexical items should be combined into a good sentence so that meaningful and communicative statements or expressions can be formed. In other words, Doff (2000) states that by learning grammar, students can express meanings in the form of phrases, clauses and sentences. Long and Richards (2000) add that it cannot be ignored that grammar plays a central role in the four language skills and vocabulary to establish communicative tasks.

In the context of ESL, teaching grammar has traditionally been dominated by a grammar translation method where the use of mother tongue is clearly important to elicit the meaning of target language by translating the target language into native languages. According to Larson-Freeman (2000) and Richards and Rodgers (2002), in such a method, learners are required to learn about grammar rules and vocabulary of the target language.  In the case of grammar, it is deductively taught; that is, learners are provided with the grammar rules and examples are given to memorize them. For example, in the teaching of nouns or pronouns, students are encouraged to memorize the definitions of nouns and pronouns without encouraging them to make meaningful sentences with nouns and pronouns.

According to modern linguists, grammar is a device that specifies the infinite set of well-formed sentences and assigns to each of them one or more structural descriptions.  In  other words,  grammar tells one  what  the  possible sentence of a language is and provides a description of them.  The central concern of grammar in this sense is syntax –the principles and methods by which words are arranged in a language to bring about meaning.

Grammar is the structural foundation of one’s ability to express oneself. The more one is aware of how it works, the more one can monitor the meaning and

effectiveness of the use of language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English.

In order to develop a high level of competence in the English grammar, and to ensure a high level of performance, the second language learner has to internalize the structures of the language to the point of automaticity. Speaking on the importance and relevance of grammar as a tool for language learning, Bright and Mcgregor in Otagburuagu and Anyanwu (2002: 236) assert that: “Nobody disputes that the foreign Student  must  learn  the  grammar  of  English  in  the  sense  that  the  sentences  he produces must conform to English patterns in the accepted model”.

It is, therefore, apparent that the learning of English especially by a second language user is impossible without considerable reference to grammar, and indeed without a detailed knowledge of grammatical processes. This is because the patterns and forms of a language are what constitutes grammar-the common core of language. It is, therefore, only logical that in English as a second language situation, knowledge of grammar is essential for the acquisition of the forms and patterns of the language.

Most people are familiar with the phenomenon of students who know the definitions and types of nouns and pronouns but who are unable to use them in meaningful contexts. According to Larsen –Freeman (2001), grammar knowledge is important, but only insofar as it enables students to communicate accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately.

The most sensible method of teaching grammar according to Richards and Rodgers (2001) is that aspect that combines the most effective aspects of a variety of language teaching methodologies. Such a method would include a proactive of the target structure. Additionally, such method would have the following characteristics:

–      Students learn and apply grammar to communication situations in a “natural”

sequence; listening, speaking, reading and writing.

–       The  teacher  uses  charts,  actions,  pictures,  or  objects    to  present  the  target grammatical items

–      Contexts for instruction come from everyday life

–      Classroom activities are interactive

–      Instruction includes attention to form, meaning and usage

–      Lessons include pronunciation practices.

In  teaching  and  learning  of  English  grammar  in  Nigerian  schools,  the  teacher-centred method  (lecture method) of grammar instruction  still predominates.   Lecture method  of teaching is a method where the teacher is the central focus of information transfer. This method makes students passive recipients of information, communication in one way, the teacher talks and students listen, which is clearly a teacher centered method.  Hativa (2000) defines lecture as a transfer of note from teachers’ lesson notes to students’ notebooks. Lecture is based on the idea that the teachers’ role is to tell the students what they need to know and also that students learn by taking in what the teacher tells them, reviewing and committing  the  materials  to  memory.  Though  some  teachers  use  this  method  in  the secondary schools, it is the argument of this study that it is a bad teaching method for secondary school teaching and learning.

Typically, the teacher stands in front of the class and presents information for the students to learn. Sometimes they write on the board or use an overhead projector to provide visuals for students. Students are expected to take note while listening to the lecture. Usually, very little exchange of information occurs between the teacher and the students during lecture. Teacher, who relies exclusively on lecture method of teaching, risks alienating a large number of students from the lesson. Hativa (2000) continues that the lecture style of delivery is frequently driven by a teacher’s desire to disseminate as much information as possible in a specified amount of time. Lecture

method of teaching is still the most frequently used  method of instruction.  This traditional  method  has  been  criticized  by  Schell  (2008:P39)  who  explains  that “today’s “Net Generation,” or “digital natives,” have become disengaged with traditional   instruction.   According   to   him,   they   require   multiple   streams   of information, prefer inductive reasoning, want frequent and quick interactions with content and have exceptional visual literacy skill”. The continuous use of this method over the  years has shown  no  improvement in performance  in  English Language proficiency in language and its grammar in particular. This is evident in the WAEC chief Examiners’ report on English Language, which has persistently reported poor performance in English language as shown in reports on performance in English from

2008 to 2013 as summarized in the WAEC chief Examiners’ report for 2013 paper 1. The report further identified candidate’s inability to read and comprehend questions correctly, poor understanding and usage of English and lack of understanding of the demands of the question, poor construction of loose sentences and neglect of the rules of  grammar  as  the  cause  of  students’  low grades.  This  inability  to  comprehend questions  and  neglect  the  rules  of  grammar  may be  as  a  result  of  very  limited knowledge of grammar by students such that certain terms, expressions and texts are not well understood and as a result of this lack of understanding, the questions are not properly answered.

In solving students’ problem of poor achievement in grammar, there is need to investigate ways of making the teaching and learning of grammar less abstract, as is evident in the traditional methods which are teacher centered, boring and ineffective (Amuseghan, 2007). This can be done by creating practical ways in which students not only learn the use of words but see and learn words in relaxed  and playful atmosphere. Very little work has however been done on how achievement in English Language can be improved by tapping from the social interests, needs and activities around the learner which engage and interest the learner, modifying the needs to have educational goals and relating them to grammar instructions. One of such ways of

teaching and learning of English grammar in a relaxed and playful atmosphere is the use of games which has received limited research attention in Nigeria.

Games have been subject to various definitions depending on the context, from which it is viewed. Schell (2008:37) is of the view that, “A game is a problem- solving activity, approached with a playful attitude”. Games can simply be defined as structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports/games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games. Games can be broadly characterized into two: manual games and electronic games. Manual games are basically games which can be played with ordinary objects around, such as boards, papers and card. Electronic games however, are games that involve human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Games, whether electronic or manual are characterized by rules, goals and objectives, outcomes and feedback, conflict, competition, challenge/opposition, interaction, and representation of story, (Prenksy,2001). They are distinguished by two key elements: an interactive playing environment, and the struggle of the player against some kind of opposition.

Games in learning can be generally defined as an activity which has elements of play, relaxation and fun as its technique but learning as its ultimate goal. Games have a lot of advantages in the classroom, some of which are explained by Freiermuth (2002) as having a high motivational value and can be played by small groups and thereby encourage co-operation. They impose discipline through rules, encourage discussion  through  tactics  and  introduce  new  ideas  for  exploration.  Games  can increase  concentration,  games can  encourage  creativity,  flexibility and  relevance, receptiveness,  sharpen  problem-solving  skills  and  provide  realistic  socio-cultural

context for language learning, Freiermuth also added that games are learner-centered since they give students the opportunity to resolve problems without the intervention of a teacher. Schwienhorst (2002) also notes that games create an environment where education is mostly learner-centered and also provide realistic socio cultural context for language learning.

Although these advantages have been credited to games, the use of games in Nigerian classrooms has been described by Ndububa and Ajibade (2008) as very peripheral. They explain teachers still resort to the traditional lecture method and when games are used at all, the games are usually the old, normal and monotonous ones. Also, Munrad (2009) in explaining  methods of grammar instruction in school laments that the classes are all dominated by the teacher with little  or no opportunity for students’ input  and  when  games are  used  at  all,  it is done very briefly and haphazardly  and  without   the  much  needed  variety.  In  teaching and  learning of grammar in Nigerian schools, the lecture method of grammar instruction still predominates, this is evident in the finding of studies such as Basturk and Yusuf (2010) and Adeniyi and Lawal (2012) who have found out that despite the demands to vary grammar instruction to accommodate needs and interest of learners, teachers still cling to the lecture methods of grammar instruction. This traditional method has been criticized by Schell (2008:39) who explains that;

Today’s “Net Generations,” or “digital natives,” have become disengaged with  traditional  instruction.  According  to  him,  they  require  multiple streams  of  information,  prefer  inductive  reasoning,  want  frequent  and quick  interactions  with  content,  and  have  exceptional  visual  literacy skills”. These needs of the ‘modern’ learners can be satisfied with the use of games in the classroom.  Games, if properly designed and matched to the syllabus, can be  used  to present new grammar items to be learnt in varied forms such as crossword puzzle games. Games can be used to teach

parts of speech like nouns and pronouns, games can engage the students actively throughout the period of grammar instruction.

Games in the classroom can generally foster the interaction between the learner and other learners and between the learner and the content of instruction. The absence of this much needed meaningful interaction in the classroom therefore creates a gap between  what  is  taught  in  the  classroom  and  the  experiences  and  activities  the learners meet outside the classroom. It is critical that language teaching not only seeks to bridge this gap in order to make these two “worlds” closer, but of course also harnesses the power of these games for instructional gain. It is for these reasons that a research on the effect of games on achievement in English grammar is not only imperative but also timely.

Achievement is the level of knowledge, skills or accomplishment in area of endeavour. Lawal (2001) posited that achievement tends to focus on the principles, tenets, facts and formulae which learners have mastered as a result of the teachers’ instructional decision making activities in various subjects. Thus, the level of attainment in the desired knowledge and skills in English grammar by secondary school students determines whether there is high, average or low achievement based on gender, school location and ability differences. The influence of gender, location, on achievement ability had been quite fundamental in the sense that they seek to uncover if there is any effect of gender, location and ability on achievement.

The place of gender in English language learning is yet to be exactly stated. According to Neboh (2009), one related factor that is confronting the use of learner centred approach is the ability to have some impact on both male and female students equally. Gender according to Ozofor (2001) is culturally/socially constructed characteristics or roles which are associated with males and females in any society. The place of gender in language teaching and learning is yet to be exactly defined. While some studies have found out that females perform better than males, a few others have discovered that males outperform females. The issue of gender therefore

needs to be investigated in the study in order to contribute to the clarification of the gender debate in English language learning.

The achievement of students in any academic task has always been of special interest to educators, parents and society at large. Many parents prefer to enroll their children in Government Colleges where better academic ability is guaranteed for their children. It also appears that some parents believe that their children cannot perform very well academically in co-educational schools (mixed schools). To this end, many of them would prefer to register their children in single sex schools to enhance better academic performance. Many parents also believe that the academic performance in urban  schools  is  higher  compared  to  academic  performance of  students in  rural schools and therefore enroll their wards in the urban schools. It appears most of the rural secondary schools cannot compete favourably   with urban colleges in terms of students’ academic performance as a result of their inefficiency which includes teachers’ factors (low qualification, lack of experience, poor salaries and allowances and poor supervision) and students factors (poor ability of students, under age, unwillingness to learn and bad peer group’s influence). It is against this background that the issue of ability needs to be investigated to see if there is any effect of ability on students’ achievement in grammar.

School location is concerned with the area where a school is located; schools are located in different areas due to need or availability of land. School can be located in urban or rural areas in Nigeria (Okeke 2000). The location of a school affects the provision and use of different facilities for teaching and learning. The location of school   also   determines   the   performance   of   students   in   different   subjects. Furthermore, location of schools also comes into play here because it may determine some vital learning ingredients such as learning facilities, infrastructure, teacher’s method and class size.  Therefore the effect of school location will be ascertained by this study.

Statement of the Problem

The persistent feature of failure in WAEC chief Examiner’s reports on English language over the years and several research findings on the declining performance of students in English language is a cause for concern. The problem can be largely attributed to the continuous use of traditional, teacher centred method of grammar instruction in which learners’ language needs, ideas and expectations are relegated to the background.

This situation calls for a reconsideration of issues in the teaching and learning of all aspects of  English language and especially its grammar. There is need to improve the teaching of English language in general and its grammar in particular by exploring  a  more  innovative  learner  centred  method  which  will  bridge  the  gap between  social  activities,  learners’  desire  for  involvement  and  the  methods  of grammar instruction. Such method is games for English grammar instruction. The viability of games for instruction in other subjects has been proven. However, the use of games which has the potential of making English grammar instruction less abstract and giving students multiple exposures to words has not been adequately attended to, particularly in teaching and learning the English grammar. This necessity demands an investigation into  games which  attracts the  patronage of many people especially youths to be formulated or modified and used in the classroom in teaching English grammar. This study therefore seeks to find out the effect of crossword Puzzle games on students’ achievement in English grammar.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to find out the effects of crossword puzzle game on students’  achievement  in  English  Language  grammar  in  secondary  schools  with special reference to schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. In specific terms, the study will determine:

1.       The achievement scores of students taught English grammar using crossword puzzle game and lecture method.

2.       The achievement scores of students in urban and rural schools taught English grammar using crossword puzzle game.

3.       The achievement scores of male and female students taught English grammar using crossword puzzle game

4.       The achievement scores of students with high, and low ability taught English grammar using crossword puzzle game

5.       The interaction effect of method and location on mean achievement scores of students in English grammar.

6.       The interaction effect of method and gender on mean achievement scores of students in English grammar

7.       The interaction effect of method and ability on mean achievement scores of students in English grammar.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will have both theoretical and practical significance. This  study  will  be  used  to  explore  the  validity  of  some  major  tenets  of  the psychologist theory. This learning theory of Piaget (1967) maintains that the learner should play a central role in mediating and controlling learning. Activities, opportunities, tools and environments are provided to encourage Meta cognition, self analysis  regulation  and  awareness.  This  has  a  close  relationship  with  games  in teaching which is student centered. The result of this study will therefore help in authenticating or debunking the tenets of the psychologist’s theory.

The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to students, teachers, authors,  school  administrators  and  curriculum  planners.  Students  are  the  people

directly involved in this study. They are the ones who perform poorly in grammar. The finding of this study will be helpful to students in the sense that some lapses in the organization and structure of  sentences shall hopefully be corrected so  as to enable them avoid such pitfalls in future. The study will also help them to be self reliant, to have self confidence and make error free sentences. It will also make students to develop the spirit of team work and self confidence in grammar in and out of the classroom. Again, the study will also help teachers of English to discard the methods that are likely to bring boredom during grammar lesson

One of the major problems of teaching grammar has been the teacher centered nature of grammar instruction and inadequate connection between the activities of game or leisure activities and school work. If the result of this study shows that the use of games in teaching grammar can enhance the increase in students’ performance, curriculum planners will see the need to include games in the school curriculum for vast improvement in teaching and learning of grammar. The findings of this study will also provide a guide to English language teachers. It will reveal the efficacy of games to grammar instruction on the basis of which they will see games as a more effective aid to grammar instruction. In line with this, the teaching and learning of grammar will become more interesting, less tedious, effective and meaningful to students and teachers.

It is also assumed that the study will help authors map out more illustrations and add more areas of concentration for both students and teachers in their text books. Similarly, the findings from this study can also help to inform school administrators of the areas which need to be emphasized at various seminars and workshops in order to improve teachers understanding of difficult areas in the curriculum, which will in turn help the students to be better informed.

Further, the result of this study will help curriculum planners and teachers to keep abreast of curriculum development in grammar by using simple and relevant

examples in curriculum. Thus, they can make amendments in the curriculum to carter for as much as possible, all the areas of difficulties.

To the society, the study will generally create an awareness that games are not just for fun  or mere waste  of  time but can be  used  for meaningful educational activities and since grammar acquisition never ends, every individual can engage in grammar games as leisure activities and make avenues for learning and relaxation at the same time. Also, the findings of the research will enlighten parents to provide word games (cross word Puzzle) for their children instead of ordinary games or watching television.

Finally, other benefits of the study include the fact that the study would serve as an empirical basis for future research evidence and citations as there is paucity of research evidence on the use of games for instruction in Nigeria.

Scope of Study

The study will determine the effects of crossword puzzle game on students’ achievement in English grammar. It will be conducted strictly using secondary school one (SS1) student in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.   It will examine the effects of the method on gender, ability levels, and school location as variables. As an experimental study which can be generalized or which is generalisable, the study will concentrate in four secondary schools within Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. The zone is made up of three local governments

The study is limited to the teaching of:

–    Nouns (Names of people animals, place and things)

–    Types of nouns (proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns and common nouns)

–    Pronouns (words used in place of nouns)

–      Types  of pronouns  (personal  pronouns,  possessive  pronouns,  reflexive  pronouns, demonstrative pronouns)

These are some of the grammar topics in SS1 syllables for 1st term.

Research Questions.

The following research questions guided the study.

1.       What are the mean achievement scores of students taught English grammar using crossword puzzle game and those taught English grammar using lecture method.

2.       What are the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught

English grammar?

3.       How does location affect the mean achievement scores of students in English grammar when they are taught with crossword puzzle game?

4.       What is the effect of ability level on the mean achievement scores of students in English grammar?

5.       What is the interaction effect of method and gender on students’ achievement in English grammar?

6.       What is the interaction effect of method and location on student’s achievement in English grammar?

7.       What is the interaction effect of method and ability on student’s achievement in English grammar?

Hypotheses

The following null-hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and would be tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught English grammar using crossword puzzle game and lecture method.

Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students in English grammar.

Ho3: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of urban and rural students in English grammar

Ho4: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of high and low ability students in English grammar.

Ho5: There is no  significant interaction effect of method and gender on students achievement in English grammar.

Ho6: There is no significant interaction effect of method and location on students achievement in English grammar.

Ho7: There is no interaction effect of method and ability on students achievement in English grammar.

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