EFFECT OF INTUITIVE-IMITATIVE APPROACH ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEREST IN ENGLISH SEGMENTAL FEATURES IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE ENUGU STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

There is a perceived trend of poor academic achievement and interest of students in English Segmental Features in particular and Oral English in general in Nigerian schools today. This situation has been attributed to many factors one of which is poor teaching approach. Against this background, this study sought to assess the effect of intuitive-imitative approach on the academic  achievement  and  interest  of  students  in  English  segmental  features  in  Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. It adopted a quasi experimental design. Six research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study comprised three thousand, eight hundred and seventy (3870) students in all the 47 government co-educational secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone, Enugu State. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one hundred (100) students from two co-educational schools (52 students for experimental group (23 males and 29 females) and 48 students for control group (21 males and 27 females)) for the study. The instrument for data collection was English Segmental Features Achievement Test (ESFAT) and English Segmental Features Interest Inventory (ESFII). Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at an alpha level of0.05. The results of the data analyzed revealed that there is a significant difference in the mean achievement and interest scores of students taught English  segmental  features  using intuitive-imitative approach  and  those  taught  using analytic-linguistic approach in favour of the  group taught English segmental features using intuitive-imitative approach. The result equally revealed that gender is not a significant factor in students’ achievement in English segmental features and that the intuitive-imitative approach is gender friendly. The null hypotheses tested revealed that gender is not significant on students’ interest in English segmental features. It was also found that there is no significant interaction effect between gender and instructional approach with respect to students’ achievement, but that there is a significant interaction effect between gender and instructional approach with respect to students’ interest in English segmental features. Based on these findings, some recommendations amongst others were made. English language teachers should acquaint  themselves with the distinctive characteristics of intuitive-imitative in teaching the segmental features, school authorities should encourage students to watch news and listen to good newscasters and interact more often with their mates, as well as their teachers in standard English. This habit will make

them better speakers of the language.

xi

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Language is the major tool of communication in human society, and speech occupies a major position in most discussions of language as a communicative medium. Human beings use language for communication and without language, it will be difficult to know or appreciate what another person has in mind. The use of language distinguishes humans from non-humans. This is why Oluikpe (2014) asserts that it is often said that language is specific to man (technically stated: species specific) and universal to man (species uniform). According to Bloomfield (1984), language is defined as a system of speech sounds used arbitrarily for human communication. In support of this, Farinde (2005) sees language as a hallmark of any group of people, community or society which is one enormous advancement man has over other species of animals. In the same vein, Nuhu (2005) equally agrees with the above definition of language when he observed that language is a medium of instruction which plays a prominent role in placing human beings above other creatures.

Every race has a unique language they use in their environment for communication. Nigeria is believed to have over 400 distinct languages (Bamgbose, 1971, Osaji, 1979) while Adegbite (2010) asserts that there are 500 of such languages. For effective speech communication, the English language is Nigeria‟s lingua franca. Though the native language of the British, its use in Nigeria is one of the aftermaths of the colonization of Nigeria by Britain. So, the teaching and learning of the English language dates back to the early days of the British

colonization  efforts  and  the  introduction  of  Western  education  by  the  early  Christian

1

Missionaries. Esu (1997) pointed out that English language was introduced in Nigeria in 1842 by the first batch of missionaries who arrived in Badagry for education and evangelization.

In Nigeria, the English language is the medium of communication. According to Otagburuagu (2002), the national dilemma regarding having a language for effective communication among the ethnic groups, makes it necessary that English is used for inter-ethnic communication.  The English  language is  a binding force in  the  Nigerian society.  It  is  the language of administration, government, judiciary, science and technology, among others. The English language occupies a central position in the school system. It is a core subject, which is required for admission into higher institutions and for occupations and social interaction. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) (2013) recognizes the importance of the English language and made a policy that mandates its compulsory study in primary and secondary schools throughout the federation. According to this policy in the National Policy on Education, from primary  four  to  tertiary  institution,  English  shall  be  progressively  used  as  a  medium  of instruction at these levels of education. In line with this, the examination boards such as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) made the English Language a core subject in their examinations.

All human languages are built upon the same properties: sound, grammar and vocabulary. As far as sound is concerned, every language has its own sound system. The systematic use of sounds to encode meaning has been described as phonology. When speaking English, one uses about 20 different vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds. At the same time, in writing in English, one uses 5 vowel letters and 21 consonant letters. Consequently, according to Kelly (2000), the English language lacks a 1:1 ratio between spelling and pronunciation. However,

Celce-Murcia, Brinton, Goodwin and Griner (1996), assert that the creation of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which was introduced by phoneticians Henry Sweet, Wilhelm Viëtor and Paul Passy, made a one-to-one relationship possible between a written symbol and the sound it represents. So, the mastery of English is highly connected to the mastery of the spoken form of it. When one speaks, one produces a chain of speech sounds which are arranged in sequence to give syllables or words. It is necessary to speak the English language with the right speech sounds. If a speaker of the English language fails to articulate the sounds or words of the language accordingly, it brings distortion of the meaning of such sounds or words. This is why the teaching of Oral English is important in secondary schools.

Oral English is an important aspect of the English Language. However, it is not given adequate attention in the classroom. Elugbe (2000) states that in many schools, it is introduced to the students belatedly. This is to say that it is introduced after other aspects of English language have been taught. Even after it has been introduced, its teaching is devoid of effective techniques or approaches. Effective teaching of Oral English will not only give rise to good speech habits but will also affect the written form of the language for the better. Originally, there was a practical examination in Oral English which consisted of listening comprehension tests and oral production tests. In the late 1990s, there was a modification in the Oral English examination, a modification which gave birth to “Alternative to Practical”. Practical Oral English examination to test the students‟ competence in listening comprehension and oral production is no more used by examination bodies. Thus, the tape is no more used to administer the examination. Instead, there is now an alternative which consists of one paper made up of many sections of multiple choice objective questions.

Although the tape is no more used to administer the Oral English examination, the students need, more than before, the tapes, for individual practical exercises which will acquaint them, not just with vowel/consonant contrast but will more importantly make them better able to manipulate the stress and intonation features of the English Language. It will be observed that the “alternative to practical” is more academic than the previous tests because it gives room for more detailed questions on vowel/consonant quality and recognition, stress/intonation patterns and implications as well as syllable structure and consonant clusters. However, it does not really test the students‟ effectiveness in speech production since those who have mastered the speech symbols may just do well in the written test yet may still not be fluent in their pronunciation of English sounds and words. Hence, a gap which necessitated the present study on the effect of intuitive-imitative approach on senior secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features.

To be effective in oral communication, students need to be well grounded in the pronunciation of words and sounds. Pronunciation is the standard way in which a sound of word is made when spoken. It involves segmental features and supra-segmental features.   The segmental features include phonemes, which are the smallest distinctive units of speech sounds, for example /ð/ as in they. Phonemes are divided into consonant and vowel sounds. Consonant sounds can be either voiced or unvoiced, unlike vowel sounds which are always voiced. Onuigbo (2010) notes that there is always some kind of interruption of the airstream from the lungs when a consonant is produced. But when a vowel is produced, there is no obstruction to the airstream. Vowels can be pure as in monothongs (/i/ in fit), or combined, as in diphthongs (/au/, in house). Pure vowels can be either short as in sit /sit/ or long as in meet /mi:t/. Long vowel sounds are denoted by the symbol [:]. A diphthong involves a movement from one vowel sound to another.

In the context of this study, segmental features are defined as individual phonemes which include vowels (pure and diphthongs), and consonants. Their phonetic alphabets are represented as these: vowels – pure vowels: /i:, i, e, æ,a:, ɒ, ɔ:,u, u:, ʌ,ɜ:, ə/; diphthongs: /ei, əu, ai, au, ɔi, iə, , eə, uə/; consonants: /p, b, t, d, k, g, f, v, ө, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h, tʃ, ʤ, l, r, w, j,m, n, ŋ/

Pronunciation also involves supra-segmental features, which are features that apply to sets of phonemes such as stress, intonation, rhythm and adjustments in connected speech. Supra- segmental features refer to pronunciation adjustments that are made when a word occurs in a phrase or a sentence, thus pronunciation in connected speech may differ from pronunciation in isolation. Word stress means that a word has one or more syllables which are stressed. Stress features are of importance in the identification of individual words. However, the study focuses only on the segmental features leaving off the supra-segmental features.

It is widely thought that pronunciation is one of the most neglected aspects of English language teaching. This is because students are taught grammar and vocabulary, made to practice functional dialogues and become competent in listening and reading, yet little or nothing is said to them on pronunciation. Regarding this aspect of the language, it is important to remark that intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of communicative competence. This consideration suggests that teaching pronunciation is crucial in helping the students develop the skills that are necessary to communicate in the target language. Harmer (2001) claims that “pronunciation teaching not only makes students aware of different sounds and sound features (and what these mean), but can also improve their speaking immeasurably” and consequently “help them achieve the goal of improved comprehension and intelligibility”. In the context of this study, pronunciation is defined as the way in which the English language or words are voiced  or  pronounced  by students  during  communication  in  the  classroom  and  outside  the

classroom. Effective pronunciation will be a mirage if teachers do not utilize effective teaching method or approach that appeal to all the senses of students in learning situations.

Teaching method as noted by Agwu (2005) refers to the overall plan for the orderly presentation of the content of learning materials. Usually, a method is driven by a philosophy or an assumption about how students learn in school. Teaching method is therefore, a general process the teacher adopts in presenting his lesson to the students so that the students can learn. This  includes  assigning  roles  to  individual  students  in  the  classroom.  For  some  language teachers, approach is sometimes taken to mean method. Richards and Rogers (1986) distinguish these terms from each other. According to them an approach is a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning. Method, on the other hand, is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language materials no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon a selected approach. One approach can be made up of many methods. A  technique  on  the  other  hand  is  implementational.  It  is  a  particular  stratagem  used  to accomplish an immediate objective. According to Offorma (2006), techniques are sub sets of methods. A technique may be associated with more than one method. Cohen (2001) sees language-teaching techniques as those processes which are consciously selected by teachers and which may result in actions taken to enhance the learning or use of a second language. From the foregoing, language teaching techniques  are specific actions, behaviours, steps or strategies teachers  use  to  improve  their  teaching.  It  is  the  level  at  which  classroom  procedures  are described. What is more important in the teaching and learning process is that the students learn at the end of teaching. Hence, the use of good teaching approach in teaching segmental features plays an important role in harmonizing classroom instruction.

Nevertheless, it has been noted with dismay that even Oral English, a component of English language scheme in the secondary schools, is taught using the conventional approach. This conventional approach appears to have reduced students‟ interest in the subject which has affected  students‟ achievements  each  year  in  the  West  African  Senior  School  Certificate Examination (WASSCE). In WASSCE, secondary school students are examined in three papers

– paper one, paper two and paper three – in English language. Oral English occupies paper three slots, yet its teaching, according to Elugbe (2000), is devoid of effective teaching approach. This goes a long way to affect the students‟ performance in it, thereby affecting their general results in English language. Enyeazu (2001) gives credence to this when he asserts that oral English has been identified as one of the concepts that students find difficult to pass at national examinations. This, in turn, affects the students‟ general performance in English language. A close examination of the statistics of the performance of Nigerian students in English Language in WASSCE of ten consecutive years, as released by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), revealed that majority of the students failed the subject. For instance, in 2008, 35.02% passed at credit level;

41.52% in 2009, 38.9% in 2010, 42.05% in 2011, 40.82% in 2012, 36.57% in 2013, 31.28% in

2014, 38.68% in 2015, but recently, there have been a little improvement as 52.97% passed

English language at credit level in 2016, and 59.22% in 2017 (WAEC, 2017).

Also, results of previous research on oral reading fluency by Kuhn and Stahl (2000) and Hoofman (2003) showed that good fluency in oral reading had the potential of influencing students‟ development in literacy. To achieve this and more in Nigeria as regards oral English and English language in general, English as a second language (ESL) teachers need to use the right  approach  different  from  the  conventional  approach  to  boost  the  students‟ interest  in learning English segmental features in the classroom. In support of this claim, Abdulhamid

(2010) found that the conventional approach used by teachers has made many students lose interest in learning in the classroom. Abdulhamid added that the use of this approach sets the teacher as the only active participant in the class while the students are complete observers throughout the lesson. Thus, a problem and a gap which necessitated this present study on effect of  intuitive-imitative  approach  on  secondary  school  students‟ achievement  and  interest  in English segmental features.

Analytic-linguistic approach is the conventional approach used by many ESL teachers. In the analytic-linguistic approach, according to Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (2010), listening, production and imitation are supplemented by underlying linguistic knowledge and tools such as the sound symbols, articulatory descriptions, charts of the vocal apparatus and contrastive information. The learner is explicitly informed about how sounds are produced and how pronunciation works in general. This is more like an analyze and understand approach. This is a conscious process of learning in a pedagogical setting. The input is through organized instruction. Unlike the intuitive-imitative approach, the focus of the analytic-linguistic approach lies on informing the learners about speech sounds and rhythms. This is the common approach used by ESL teachers in Nigeria. A lot of students have always found this approach boring especially the speech chart that tend to place vowel symbols at various positions in the chart to indicate close, middle and open position of the sounds in the vocal cavity of humans. They are made to learn charts, written sound symbols and memorize them in order to master them. In this study, this approach was used for the control group where the ESL teacher taught the students the phonetic symbols and speech chart. The students were required to learn by heart the phonetic symbols and master them. Here, the teacher did most of the teaching and learning activities while

the students watched and, perhaps, learnt through that way. They were later made to transcribe words using these sound symbols and answered questions on these symbols.

Inability of teachers to use approaches that encourage students‟ active participation could lead students to laziness, rote memorization which eventually kills students‟ interest in the learning of English segmental features. Asogwa and Echemazu (2011) opine that most teachers rely on the conventional approach because of their experiences, as most of them still regard the way they were taught in their own days as the best way to teach in this 21st century. As a result of the problem, the researcher intends to investigate the effect of intuitive-imitative approach on secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features.

The intuitive-imitative approach, according to Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (2010), is an approach that does not provide the learners with explicit linguistic information, but rather relies on their listening and imitation skills in order for them to be able to imitate the sounds and rhythms of the target language in question. A necessary prerequisite of this approach is the availability of good models, which was mainly facilitated by the invention of record players and later of tape recorders, video cassettes and now, compact discs (CDs).This approach exposes students to listening before any speaking. The initial focus on listening without pressure to speak, gives the learner the opportunity to internalize the target sound system. When the learner does speak later on, the learner‟s pronunciation is supposedly quite good despite never having received explicit pronunciation instruction. This approach makes the students active in the teaching and learning process because it is more a listen and repeat kind of approach to teaching English segmental features.

It is also aimed at teaching foreign and second languages in ways that are similar to a

child‟s first language acquisition that is, acquiring language in a natural setting. It allows the

teaching of pronunciation through intuition and imitation: students imitate a model (an audio recording) and do their best to approximate the model through imitation and repetition. This instructional approach was grounded on observations of children learning their first language and of children and adults learning foreign languages in non-instructional settings. This approach requires the students to repeat the language items that have been presented to them. It places emphasis on repeating structural patterns through oral practice. This study used this approach for the experimental group where the ESL teacher guided the students to relate with the models in order to aid proficiency and fluency in the use of English sounds and words. The students were required to listen to the voice of a native English speaker, recorded and played from an audio device, and repeated the speech sounds and words voiced out. Here, the teacher operated the audio device. The ESL teacher guided the students to imitate the model correctly by playing the audio device and made sure the students repeated the sounds and words correctly. The teacher wrote out the sound symbols on the board. Each time the students listened and imitated the model, the teacher asked them to identify such sound(s) on the board. This made the teaching and learning of English segmental features interesting because both the teacher and the students were active participants. The teacher did correction where necessary.

Researches have shown that the use of the intuitive-imitative approach enhances teaching and language learning in schools among English as foreign language (EFL) learners. But no research in this study area known to the researcher has been done in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. Therefore, this is a gap that also necessitated the present study on effect of intuitive-imitative approach on secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features in Nsukka Education Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria.

On students‟ academic achievement, it is pertinent to note that people‟s perception of achievement differs as their culture differs. Individual differences, interest goals and motivations make the concept of achievement to have different conceptions. People measure achievement based on individual accomplishment. Omebe (2005) opines that academic achievement is the degree or level of success attained at the end of an academic endeavour. The yardstick for measuring one‟s level of academic is by assessing the academic performance of the individual through test and observation. Academic achievement helps in proper evaluation of students and identification of their strength and weakness.

In all these indications, it implies that achievement is a significant accomplishment, mastering its skills, control, or high standards of academic endeavour as well as reaching success and the attainment of all the aspirations of life. In this study, achievement is subsumed to mean the performance of students in teaching and learning or the skills, abilities and knowledge of individual  in  the  classroom  instruction  particularly  in  the  mastery  and  usage  of  segmental features in secondary schools. Achievement in this study was also used to refer to the correct grasp of segmental features and proper pronunciation of English speech sounds and words as used by students for effective sound communication as a result of effective teaching and learning of English segmental features and pronunciation in secondary schools.

There has  also  been  an  endless  debate on  factors  that  influence  students‟ academic achievement in secondary schools. However, in the context of this study “interest” and “gender” are considered as variables that could influence secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features in Nsukka Education Zone.

Students‟ interest is a factor that determines students‟ academic achievement in schools. Interest, according to Omebe (2005), is defined as a psychological state of having an affective

reaction to and focused attention for particular content and/or the relatively enduring predisposition to re-engage particular class of objects, events, or ideas. Dewey cited in Long (2007) defined interest  as the formation of a relationship between  a person and  an object. Interest, according to Ainley (2002), could also be essentially a function of the perceived likelihood to succeed on a specific group of tasks and the value of a consequence of doing well. The way each person learns depends on interest. Interest is very important in one‟s educational and life success. This is because one‟s action towards anything depends largely on one‟s interest on that thing.  Interest  drives one towards action especially when such action benefits one, thereby forming a relationship between a person and an object. Offorma (1987) attempted to identify students‟ interests in learning French and the constraints encountered by the teachers of French in the application of students‟ interest in teaching the language. One of her findings was that no significant differences existed in the interests as indicated by male and female students as well as in their achievement in the language.

For the purpose of this study, interest is defined as a temporary response relative to the effectiveness of the approach used by English Language teachers in the classroom. This is because, it affects the way students react or listen to the teacher. This could be as a result of the fact that students may come to the classroom with certain interest. It then becomes rewarding if teachers of English Language discover these interests and build on them especially with the use of good approaches of teaching that appeal to all senses in learning.

Gender is another factor that is believed to influence segmental features teaching and learning. The issue of gender has generated a lot of controversies in all works of life, particularly in the field of education. This has given rise to many definitions of gender. Maduabum (2000) sees  gender as masculinity and feminity dichotomy.  Lortie (2001) defines gender as social

definitions of male and female. In this study, gender refers to different roles played by male and female  students  in  learning  and  how  it  affects  their  interest  and  achievement  in  English segmental features in secondary schools. Gender as a factor of academic performance has for some time now generated a lot of concern for education at different levels. This concern arose because of differential gender achievement in all subjects offered in schools. Tucker (2003) believes that females tend to perform better than male counterparts in art subjects while the reverse is the case in subjects that require calculations. On the other hand, Opara (2003) focused on  the vocabulary aspect  of the English  language and  came up  with  the result  that  males performed better than the females. Other researchers such as Melton and Serep (2007) found that women perform better than men in French in schools.

At the onset of an activity, students differ in learning as a function of their prior experiences,  personal  qualities  and  social  support.  Personal  qualities  deal  with  gender differences. Gender issue has become the topic of discussion in this twenty-first century. Nuthanap (2007) asserts that although the literacy rate is more among boys than girls, it is quite interesting to observe that girls are securing better ranks than boys in almost all competitive examinations. In the modern world, it is very fascinating to find the girls to be more often in top ten ranks in class annual examinations. Thus, the present study is an attempt to find out the gender differences, if any, on the factors affecting academic achievement.

In view of the above, the desire to know the poor performance in English language in general and oral English in particular, has been the focus of researchers for a while now.Researchers  such  as  Elugbe  (2000)  and  Enyeazu  (2001)  have  observed  that  poor performance in English language is caused by the poor quality of ESL teachers, poor teaching approaches, overcrowded classrooms, and lack of language laboratories, among others, which

have made the students‟ pronunciation of English words and segmental features poor. This may be due to the conventional approach used to teach English segmental features in schools. It is for this reason that a research on the effect of intuitive-imitative approach on secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria, is not only imperative but also timely.

Statement of the Problem

The teaching and learning of English segmental features has been faced with several problems: poor interest of the students, poor achievement of students, lack of competence on the part of the teachers, etc. These problems may be due to teachers‟ use of the analytic-linguistic approach which has been the prevalent approach in teaching in secondary schools in Nigeria. This approach is teacher-centered and does not seem to inspire and motivate students‟ interest towards the learning of English segmental features and Oral English in general in senior secondary schools. The students may end up not acquiring the skills needed to enable them perform well in Oral English. Their inability to acquire the skills, therefore, may lead to their poor achievement in segmental features, and Oral English, which eventually affects their achievement and proficiency in English language generally. Therefore, the problems of this study are centred on investigation of the effect of intuitive-imitative approach on secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in segmental features in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State, and investigation on whether gender influences secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.

Purpose of the Study

The  general  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  determine  the  effect  of  intuitive-imitative approach  and  gender  on  secondary  school  students‟ achievement  and  interest  in  English segmental features. Specifically, the study was designed to determine the:

1.   effect of the intuitive-imitative approach on students‟ achievement in English segmental

features.

2.   effect  of  the  intuitive-imitative  approach  on  students‟ interest  in  English  segmental

features.

3.   influence of gender on students‟ achievement in English segmental features.

4.   influence of gender on students‟ interest in English segmental features.

5.   Interaction effect of approach and gender on students‟ achievement in English segmental

features.

6.   interaction effect of approach and  gender on students‟ interest in English segmental features.

Significance of the Study

This study is of significance both theoretically and practically. The study is anchored on

Krashen‟s theory of Second Language Acquisition.

Krashen‟s theory of Second Language Acquisition was pioneered by Stephen Krashen and based on five interrelated hypotheses. Krashen claims that Acquisition is a subconscious and intuitive process of constructing the system of a language. The theorist believed that there is a difference between acquisition and learning. Acquisition is a subconscious process, while Learning is a conscious process in which „learners attend to form, figure outrules, and are generally aware of their own process. Krashen‟s theory of SLA is relevant to this study because

both the theory and intuitive-imitative approach are grounded on the observations of children learning their first language and of adults learning foreign or second languages. Both of them introduce children learning their first language and adults learning foreign or second languages in non-instructional setting to listen before speaking. That is to learn through intuition and imitation.

Practically, the study would be beneficial to students, teachers, curriculum planners, educational administrators, larger society, researchers and textbook authors. The study would help to improve students‟ understanding of English segmental features and thus create the zeal to perfect   their  pronunciation   of  English   sounds   and   words   appropriately  through   active participation in the classroom. It will stimulate their interest in segmental features and change the negative perceptions they already have in learning Oral English. They would equally perform better  in  internal  and  external  examinations  without  depending  on  examination  malpractice which has been the problem in the educational sectors. This is because the students stand a chance  of  becoming  masters  on  their  own  through  involvement  in  different  roles  in  the classroom.

The study would help teachers to have an insight into the meaning, application and problems of using intuitive-imitative approach of teaching and thus change their approach when the need arises for proper students‟ achievement  and  interest  in  oral  English,  especially the English segmental features in secondary schools. The relevance of effective approach in the implementation of Oral English in secondary school would be made known to teachers as they are the chief implementers of planned curriculum of schools. This could be done by teachers observing the students‟ speeches and pronunciation of English sounds and equally identifying

individual problem(s) in using the approach in the teaching and learning of English segmental features in secondary schools.

The  study  would  help  curriculum  planners  or  designers  to  understand  curriculum problems that affect the application of effective teaching approach like intuitive-imitative in the implementation of Oral English curriculum in secondary schools especially in Nsukka Educational Zone of Enugu State.

The findings of the study would expose educational administrators to the importance of conducive environment in teaching and learning and thereby put these environmental conditions such as classroom building, learning materials, quality library etc. in place for proper implementation of Oral English aspect of the English Language curriculum.

The larger society would equally benefit from this study. This is because, the effective teaching and learning of English segmental features will bring desirable change in the speech and pronunciation of English sounds and words by students. This invariably would help to reduce high level of mispronounced English sounds, syllables or words as a result of mother tongue interference that has impeded effective communication of English among the various ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The findings of the study as  well as the concepts, theories and  approach would be reference materials for researchers especially those that specialize in Oral English.

Finally, the textbook authors on education would benefit from the study by updating their knowledge on the necessary approach required to stimulate students‟ interest in English pronunciation or topics, and besides disseminate the findings through textbooks they publish.

Scope of the Study

This study is limited to SS2 students of government owned co-educational senior secondary schools in Nsukka Educational Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. SS2 was chosen for this study because it is the intermediate class whose students are actually going through the teaching of oral English and are already conversant with their teachers‟ use of the conventional approach of teaching oral English in general and speech sounds in particular. The study specifically covers the effect of intuitive-imitative approach on senior secondary school students‟ achievement and interest in English segmental features. It also covers three content areas such as pure vowels, diphthongs and consonant sounds. The study will focus only on the segmental features leaving off the supra-segmental features in order to prevent complexity in the work and to be able to manage the work to bring out the best in the study.

Research Questions

The following research questions were created to guide the study;

1.   What is the effect of the intuitive-imitative approach on students‟ achievement in English

segmental features?

2.   What is the effect of the intuitive-imitative approach on students‟ interest in English segmental features?

3.   What is the influence of gender on students‟ achievement in English segmental features?

4.   What is the influence of gender on students‟ interest in English segmental features?

5.   What  is  the  interaction  effect  of  approach  and  gender  on  students‟  achievement  in

English segmental features?

6.   What is the interaction effect of approach and gender on students‟ interest in English segmental features?

Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. They were tested at 0.05 level of probability.

HO1:    There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught English segmental features using the intuitive-imitative approach and those taught with the analytic-linguistic approach.

HO2:    There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of students taught English segmental features using the intuitive-imitative approach and those taught with the analytic-linguistic approach.

HO3:    There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female students in English segmental features.

HO4:    There is no significant differencebetween the mean interest scores of male and female students in English segmental features.

HO5:    The  interaction  effect  of  approach  and  gender  on  students‟ achievement  in  English segmental features is not statistically significant. HO6:    The interaction effect of approach and gender on students‟ interest in English segmental features is not statistically significant.

₦5,000.00 – DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT Added to cart

---

---

---

---

---

Related Project Topics :