EFFECT OF THE FUNCTIONAL-NOTIONAL APPROACH ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN OWERRI NORTH OF IMO STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of the Functional-Notional Approach (FNA) on students’ Achievement in English Grammar in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State. Five research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental  design involving the treatment and control groups. The sample of this study consisted of 162 Junior Secondary School Two (JSS 2) students drawn from three secondary schools out of a population of nineteen (19) government owned secondary schools in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to draw the respondents. Intact classes were used in each school for the experiments, so there was no random assignment of the subjects to the treatment and control groups. The instrument used for data collection was an achievement test on English Grammar which   consisted  of  20  multiple  choice  items.  The  lesson  plan   used   for  the experimental  group  was  developed  using  the  Indigenous  Communicative  Lesson Model, while the lesson plan for the control group was developed using the Grammar Translation  Method  (GTM)  which  is the conventional-method.  The instrument  for data collection and the lesson plans were face-validated by experts to ascertain the clarity and content coverage of the lesson objectives. A reliability index of the instrument was calculated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient which yielded a value of 0.84. The internal consistency of the test items was obtained using the Split-Half method by Spearman-Brown, which yielded a value of 0.95. The method of data analysis adopted in the study was the mean and standard deviation to answer  the  research  questions,  while  Analysis  of  Covariance  (ANCOVA)  was employed to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that the students who were exposed to teaching  English  Grammar using the FNA gained higher mean scores in the achievement  test than their counterparts taught using  the  conventional  method-GTM.  The  study  revealed  no  significant  mean difference in the achievement of male and female students taught English Grammar using the FNA. There was a significant mean difference in the achievement of urban and rural students taught English Grammar using the FNA. Finally, the study showed no significant interaction effect of treatment and gender as well as no significant interaction  effect of treatment and school location  in the achievement of students taught English Grammar. Some educational implications were raised which included the fact that teaching English Grammar with the FNA enhances functional use of grammatical   expressions   and  communicative   competence   among   the  learners. English Language teachers should also create learning environment as natural as what the child finds while learning the first language. This will make the language learning process more effective and speedy. Recommendations were made in the study for the students, the English Language teachers, authors, curriculum planners and authorities in teacher training institutions for the improvement of teaching English Grammar in secondary schools.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech sounds combined into words. Words are combined  into sentences, and this combination  forms ideas into thoughts. Language is also described as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates. Brown (2001) defines language as an interaction, and interpersonal activity which has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language  study has to  look at the use (function)  of language  in  context;  both its linguistic context (what is uttered before a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational  context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have to come together to speak).

Language is so vital in human existence that there is nothing human beings can do without the function of one form of language or the other. Block & Trager (2010) opine that every physiologically and mentally normal person acquires in childhood, the  ability  to  make  use,  as  both  speaker   and  hearer,  of  a  system  of  vocal communication   that   comprises   a   circumscribed   set   of   noises   resulting   from movements of certain organs within his throat and mouth. By means of these, he is able to impart information, to express feelings and emotions, to influence the activities of others.

The English Language occupies a unique place in education in Nigeria because of its significant role and status in national life. This observation is made by Baldeh (2011).  Supporting the view, Ezeude (2007,p. 211)    posits ‘’ It is heartening to recall the enviable position that Nigeria in her National Policy on Education (2004 Edition) accords to language teaching”. According to him, languages are grouped under ‘A’ as

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core subjects made compulsory at both junior and senior secondary levels. To demonstrate this further, English is made the medium of instruction in the country from the upper primary level to tertiary level of instruction. Furthermore, he observes that English is the language of science and technology; it is the passport to educational advancement and prestigious employment; it is the language of commerce, trade and administration, and a means of national and international communication.

It is against this background that the need for the educational system in the country to keep abreast of the times in lanaguge teaching has been emphasized by Ezeude (2007). In the same vein, Baldeh  (2011) further notes that an educational failure is primarily a linguistic failure, so a good educational system requires that the products of the system communicate  their thoughts, ideas, emotions,  and attitudes unambiguously and coherently.

Consequently, the essential use of language as the mot remarkable tool for man is stated by Uzoegwu (2005). According to her, man’s invention of language has been used for various purposes such as communication, social interaction, learning, storing information, maintenance  and transfer of culture. Therefore it is a means of social control and an instrument that enables man to communicate his thoughts. The English Language, according to Uzoegwu, empowers learners to live a fulfilled life, especially in Nigeria.To buttress its pride of place in the educational system in Nigeria, Olajire (2004)  observes  that  a  good  pass  (credit  and  above)  has  become  mandatory  for transition from primary to Junior Secondary School (JSS), and for admission to all levels of higher education in the country.

From  the  foregoing,  the  researcher  having  been  in  the  system  and  taught English as a subject for a number of years, has observed a steady decline in students’ performance in the subject. As a result, the researcher sees the need to make a contribution in the area of using the Functional-Notional Approach for improving the

teaching method in order to enhance students’ performance and achievement in communicative skills in English Grammar. The new teaching method in this study, which  is  the  Functional-Notional  Approach  (FNA),  is  designed  to  help  students acquire useful skills for the functional use of the language both for social interaction and for creditable performance in internal and external examinations. Essentially, the Functional-Notional  Approach  is an  embodiment  of the Communicative  Language Teaching (CLT) method. The goal of the CLT is to inculcate communicative competence into the language learner while the FNA actually applies the real communicative  approach  and  techniques  to  teach  the  learner  the practical  use  of language skills both in classroom situations and in his social environment. The FNA engages the learner to use language  functions such as participating  in a dialogue, making requests, asking for information and the like. Consequently, communicative competence is achieved by the learner.

However, some research and documentary evidences in Nigeria prove the fact that students’ performance in English Grammar has been poor over the past decades. For instance, in a seminar organised  for chief examiners  of English  Language  by WAEC (2010), the Chief Examiners were of the view that the most reliable measurement of language achievement and competence is in Paper 1, and the possible performance in the other papers (2 and 3) should be closely related to it.

To substantiate this view, Uzoegwu (2005) identifies that the poor performance of students in essay writing affects their achievement  in English Language because  essay writing normally has the highest score in English Language examination. Similarly, in a resumé of the Reports of the Chief Examiners November/December (2008), the Report lamented  the fact that candidates  exhibited  poor knowledge  of  the rules of grammar

which hindered good essay. The Report further cited the following examples of wrong grammar samples in candidates’ scripts:

a. Wrong concord: e.g.

(i) This days

(ii) The boys quickly runs for sticks.

b. Wrong tense usage: e.g. Since we leave school.

c. Wrong constructions after the verbs make, allow, enable, etc. e.g. (i) He made me to learn a trade.

(ii) This will enable me (‘to’ omitted) process my admission. d. Other wrong constructions, e.g.

She married lately (late). e. Wrong expressions: e.g.

(i) You must have to face your studies. (either ‘must’ or ‘have to’, but not both).

(ii) If you are illiterate, you cannot be able to succeed in business (cannot and “be able’’ only one).

The  Report  (May/June  2006,  p.6)  identifies  part  of  the  problem  as  poor teaching techniques, and proffers a possible solution thus: ‘’ In order to remedy these problems,  teachers  at  the  senior  secondary  level  should  expose  the  candidates  to speech, vocabulary development, as well as lexis and structure….. If the students are not adequately exposed to the skills of writing, they will continue to have problems.’’ In the same vein, the National Examination  Council (NECO) syllabus for JSS 1-3

Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), states clearly:

This new examination syllabus is designed to test level of mastery  of  basic  knowledge,  skills  and  abilities  in communicative competence which the candidate is expected to have acquired in the course of 9 year basic education….how  well the candidate  has been equipped to communicate effectively in the context of the different kinds of everyday situations…. (NECO 2007, p.37).

Also expressing  a deep  concern over the fallen  standards of English, Eyisi

(2006, p. 9) states:

The problem is made explicit as one engages in conversations  with  students  in  secondary  schools  and even higher institutions of learning. The grammatical statements which they utter in sheer boldness send shudders to one’s spine. They only possess a loose grasp of the Grammatical Structure of English .

Eyisi observes further that the sad situation depicts to a large extent why adequate attention should be given to teaching and learning of English grammar in schools.

In fact, the need for teaching of grammar in schools has been emphasised by language scholars including Anyanwu (2007) who offers about four (4) reasons why grammar should be taught in schools, namely:-

Languages differ and grammar is part of every language; Languages are formally taught;

Grammar is a mental discipline;

There is a heuristic intent to guide the learner.

As a mental discipline, Anyanwu explains that grammar helps to expand the frontiers of knowledge, to increase our repertoire of choices among its numerous paradigms and to sharpen our perception of the relatedness of grammar as a whole and grammar to the real world in which we live. Since grammar causes the mind to grow and the learner has come to feed his mind on knowledge, he must be given the best of the knowledge  of grammar  through  informed,  sustained  and  adequate  teaching  of the discipline.

There are two broad types of grammar which Anyanwu (2007) posits. They are (a)  prescriptive   grammar   and   (b)  descriptive   grammar.   Prescriptive   grammar, according to Anyanwu, emerged as a result of rules and prescription which dominated the English Language reforms. Under that arrangement, every attempt was made to

reduce English to rules which users were expected to memorize and use.  Anyanwu (2007) regards prescriptivists  as mentalists, traditionalists, diachronic grammarians, and so on. However, they have to their credit the elaborate structured discipline which language learning enjoys today.

On the other hand, descriptive grammar aims at identifying the language functions before the description. A language has structures which must be identified from the morphemic layer to the clause and sentence layer. Descriptive grammarians, like their prescriptive counterparts have also been regarded as functionalists, behaviourists, synchronic grammarians, and so on. Anyanwu (2007) therefore recommends the descriptive grammar because of its communicative  and functional tendencies.  However,  he  advises  that  the  prescriptiveness  be  applied  when  all description has been said and done. The role of the teacher in this regard is crucial and decisive. He is the captain and the model. He must be competent and knowledgeable. Incompetent teachers do not only induce errors, they reinforce them.

In language learning,    it has come to be appreciated that mastery of grammar can no longer be relegated to the background. Okwor (2007) observes that grammar is an integral feature of English Language teaching and learning in varying degrees from primary to tertiary levels of our educational system. In the same vein, Eyisi (2006) adds  that  every  game  has  a  set  of rules  that  govern  its  modus  operandi.  To  be successful, players must not only acquaint themselves with these rules, but must also endeavour to apply them in the course of playing. In the same vein, human language is a rule-governed  behaviour.  For one to use it effectively,  one must not only be familiar with its rules but must also be able to apply them correctly during usage.   On a  somewhat  concluding  note,  Baldeh  (2011)  reaffirms  that  it  would  be  a  great disservice to the education system if the teaching of grammar is abandoned in the

system for any reason. Thus, if the eager Nigerian  youth must forge ahead in the liberal arts, social sciences and science and technology, and display responsible roles in the country, then they desperately need effective communication skills.

From the foregoing,  the researcher in this study is taking a stand with the functionalists and focusing the study on the need to produce language users who will be able to use the English Language to perform academic functions as well as social and interactional functions in given situations. This approach is quite opposed to the Grammar Based method which produces only users of’ bookish’ English.

The Functional-Notional  Approach  lays  emphasis  on communicative competence in language teaching. It employs the application of language functions to teach the real communication in the classroom. The teacher focuses on inculcating the social aspects of the language in the learner, as well as the roles of the individual leaners in language interaction.  In essence, Communicative Language Teaching is the broad view of the Functional-Notional Approach. It applies the communicative techniques in language teaching. Therefore, the language class is one of more student- talk, less teacher-talk. The purposes and processes of verbal interaction are expressed through  role-play,  group activity,  seeking  and getting information,  and non-verbal stimuli including visuals, gesture and mime. These techniques place certain demands on the teacher for their preparation and execution. In practice, the Functional-Notional syllabus does not invent new language to teach, rather it selects the language which the learner is familiar  with, by making  use of a set  of criteria.  A very important characteristics of the Functional-Notional Approach is the fact that it takes into consideration the individual needs of the language learner by the different types of interaction and communication the learner may be involved in.

In this  study,  the researcher  has applied  the methods  of verbal  interaction, simulation, conversation and dialogue to expose students to the language functions of asking for permission, making requests, expressing necessities and obligations with the appropriate Modal Auxiliaries.The method is in line with the view expressed by Opeibi (2004, p.387), where he observes that it is not just enough to teach the rules of grammar which is  referred  to as ‘’ a bottom-up approach’’, it is as well important to employ the pragmatic methods of looking at language as a tool for communicative purposes.   The bottom-up approach as explained by Opeibi ( 2004 ) is an approach which  focuses on the formal language  system,  often  in isolated  sentences  without showing how that system operates in context. It divides communication into discrete levels which can be dealt with separately. The “top- bottom approach,’’ on the other hand, regards all the levels of a language as a whole, working together to achieve a specific goal, such as social relationship.

The tendency in the approach is to supplement the narrow grammatical perspective restricted to phonology and   syntax, with an analysis and teaching of the pragmatic  and  communicative  functions  of  English  in  verbal  interactions.   For instance, in order to achieve the objectives of the functionalist, the teacher should integrate, in the same lesson units, mastery of language structures through drills with a freer use of the same structures in communicative practice exercises.

The approach  is described  as functional  because it emphasises  the point of using language  for communicative  purposes more than  just using language  forms correctly.  According  to  Agbedo  (2007),  the context  in  which  language  is used  is extremely relevant to linguistic interaction between groups and individuals.

In the same vein, this study is based on the stand-point of socio-linguistics that is, using language to meet the societal needs of the learner, so that he, the learner, can

interact meaningfully in his social environment using the appropriate and acceptable language  forms.  According  to  Williams  (1999),  the Functional-Notional  Approach puts the spot-light on the learner as a social person. It views language as primarily intended for use in society. Williams  records that the Functional-Notional Approach (FNA) was the outcome of a project to prepare teaching materials for adult ‘guest- workers’ who would need to communicate in the language of their host countries. The project was carried out by representatives of the Council of Europe Modern Language Project. It set up  a list of language  functions  which  could  form the nucleus  of a

teaching  syllabus. One of the major publications of the project, Threshold   Levels

English, Pergamon (1980), specifies situations in which adults may be expected to use a foreign language with regard to roles, settings and topics (Williams 1999,p. 60).

Furthermore, the Functional- Notional Approach to language teaching is a material-oriented approach which emphasises syllabus content as well as method of teaching. It is material-oriented in the sense that the teacher deliberately selects and prepares  instructional  materials  to  suit  the  lesson  content.  Syllabus  content  is developed with reference to functions and notions in language. This approach is very much in line with the general emphasis on communication in the classroom, and it integrates concern for the social aspects of the language with concern for the role of the individual in language interactions. Materials for the syllabus consist of language functions which are identified by Williams (1999, p. 54) as ‘’speech acts’’, and not on the traditional units of grammar. Typical of the new trend is the title of a lesson unit such as ‘’ Asking for Information’’. Other units may have titles such as “Asking for Direction’’,   ‘’Apologising   to   Someone’’   Expressing   an   Opinion’’,   Interacting Socially’’ and so on. Williams stresses that those lesson titles represent a departure from  titles  such  as  ‘The  Present  Continuous  Tense’,  Countable  and  Uncountable

Nouns’, ‘Masculine and Feminine Pronouns’ and ‘Transitive and Intransitive Verbs’.What  communicative  competence aims to do is to help the learner turn his considerable dormant grammatical competence into a real mastery of the language, being in such everyday activities as buying stamps, going to the supermarket, asking the way, visiting the dentist, asking the time, and the like.

An appropriate scheme suitable for the Functional- Notional syllabus is prescribed by

Williams (1999,p.52) as stated below:

Title & Functions

Situation          Formulas         Structures               Activities

Asking for Info    At the bank       Excuse me.

Can   you  tell me..?

Interrogatives,

modals “can”

Dialogues

role playing, etc

An  example  of  dialogue  involving  the  formulas,  structures  and  lexical  items  for expressing the roles of a customer and a bank clerk.

Customer: Excuse me please. Bank Clerk: Yes, can I help you?

Customer: Certainly, I want to find out how much money I have in my account. Bank Clerk: What’s your account number?

Customer: I’ve forgotten it. Can I just write my name instead? Bank Clerk: I suppose so. Could you sign here please? Customer:   Alright. Thank you.

In addition, what informs the use of modal auxiliaries as language functions in the study is that they form the speech acts used in expressions of social interactions, making polite requests, expressing necessities, obligations, intentions and capabilities to others. The practice of these language functions offers users the opportunity to learn more accurate words to use in social interactions, which is the principal focus of

the FNA. The concept of communicative competence is described by Agbedo (2007) as the knowledge needed by a speaker or hearer to use linguistic forms appropriately. According to him:

The goal of a student of language should be to account for the fact that a normal child acquires knowledge of sentences   not   only   as   grammatical,    but   also   as appropriate.  He  acquires  competence  as  to  when  to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about with whom, when,  where,  in  what  manner….  It  is  this  type  of linguistic knowledge that characterises the objectives of the functionalist approach  to Language Teaching (LT). (Agbedo, 2007,p. 343).

Identifying  the  objectives  of  communicative  language  teaching,  Williams  (1999) reports that it can be specified with reference to the social purposes of language. The concerns would thus be:

– appropriateness of usage ;

– conventional usage;

– transactional usage; and

– interactional usage.

The principles of the Communicative Language Teaching have a broad view on the goals of language teaching which include how learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the roles of the teacher and learner  in the classroom.  The principles  recognise  communication  as a social interaction.  Communication  also  has  a  purpose,  in  which  case,  communicative activities  should  be  geared  towards  some functional  objective,  such  as asking  for direction   or   giving   information.   Broadly   speaking   therefore,   communicative competence   is   the   goal   of   the   Functional-Notional   Approach.   The   approach emphasises on syllabus content and organises learning materials around the specific

needs   of   the   learner   as   well   as   specific   classroom   situations   for   specific communicative purposes.

At this point, the study took an overview of certain traditional approaches to language  teaching,  their  merits  and  demerits,  as  well  as  their  similarities  and relationship   to   the   Functional-Notional   Approach.   Specifically,   the   traditional methods that were reviewed in relation to the FNA were the Grammar Translation Method (GTM), the Direct Method and the Audio Lingual Method.

One of the earliest methods in language teaching is the Grammar Translation Method originated by Johann Valentine Meidinger in Prussia, Germany at the end of the 18th  Century.  It is based on the premise that language is rule-governed. Some of the   characteristics   of  Grammar   Translation   Method   include:   memorisation   of vocabulary  items  with  their  native  language  equivalents  often  in  isolation  (rote method), and little or no systematic practice of pronunciation as speech is not emphasised. According to Odo (2007), a quick evaluation of the method shows that it is useful and economical when rules are stated and explained. Translation too can be an effective technique in second language teaching. But the neglect of aural and oral skills (listening  and  speaking)  as  well  as communicative  competence  is a serious defect of the method since language is largely speech – a means of communication. The  principle  underlying  the  Grammar  Translation  Method  is  the  fact  that  it emphasises the study of the form of language rather than the communicative use of language.

The defects in the Grammar Translation Method are based on the fact that it neglects  the  activities  for developing  communicative  competence  in  the  language class. It also has the tendency of selecting literary and artificial forms of language, with the primary aim of exemplifying grammatical rules. The result is that the teacher

does much talking, denying the students the active participation  that is so vital in second language teaching. Therefore, the Functional-Notional Approach has a number of advantages  over the old Grammar Translation  Method because  it emphsises on teaching  language  to  achieve  communicative  competence;  it sees the learner  as  a social person who needs language for social interaction, so it gives the learner room for participation in the language classroom.

Another  method  is the Direct  Method,  which  is said to have evolved  as a reaction or alternative to Grammar Translation. It ruled out translation  in teaching foreign  languages  and  is based  on  the  theory  that  language  learning  is  a natural process. Its objective was to make learners think in the language they are learning. So listening and speaking the language took precedence over reading and writing. The method does not recognise the explicit formulation and teaching of grammatical rules, rather learners are encouraged to acquire grammatical structures inductively by practising with complete and meaningful utterances. The method was one of those that emphasised actual communication, so it received overwhelming approval in the field of language teaching. However, it was faulted by scholars like Odo (2007)  for forcing  learners  too  early  to  communicate  in  the  foreign  language,  resulting  in inaccurate fluency and for being unrealistic in teaching a foreign or second language because of its unstructured procedure.. The method is mostly used at the primary and secondary levels  of education.  At the tertiary level, it is used in teaching  foreign languages. The method is useful because it encourages exciting learning experience. Learner participation is high. However, dissatisfaction with the less structured aspects of the method has led to its modification  which is the Graded Direct Method. The modified method tries to bring in some grammatical explanation and occasional translation. It is a kind of eclectic approach which makes it more in keeping with the

Functional-Notional  Approach,  and  it  is  useful  in  second  language  teaching  and learning in the classroom.

Next is the Audio-Lingual  or Aural Oral Method. It is a method based  on structural  linguistics and the theory of behavioural  psychology.  According to Odo (2007), structural linguistics based on the idea that language is made up of structural units which are used in pattern practice as in substitution, addition, combination of structural items and transformational drills.With this method, language items are not contextualised,  but learnt through practice  and  repetition,  mimicking  and memorisation. Some of the basic principles of the Audio-Lingual Method as pointed out  by  Odo  (2007)  include  the  points  that  language  is  speech  not  writing;  here emphasis is laid on listening and speaking before reading and writing. Language is a set of habits, so manipulative drills are used to teach the language so that learners form correct habits. A major defect is that communicative activities come after along process of rigid drills and exercises. On the other hand, the new method, Functional- Notional  Approach,  uses  communicative  functions  like  dialogues,  simulation  and drills to achieve communicative competence in the learner. The new approach (FNA) essentially sees language as a vehicle for the realisation of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social transactions between individuals.

The teaching methods discussed have their strengths and weaknesses and contributions to language teaching. This study therefore is in keeping with the view that Englsh Language teachers should  make use of the innovations as well as apply ecclectism in language teaching in order to flow with the tide of times, and observe the swing of the pendulum to the functional method for effective communication.

The study also investigated whether the Functional-Notional Approach will be effective in determining the gender disparity in English Language Teaching. Research

efforts  concerning  the  issues  of  gender  in  academic  achievement  appear  to  have attracted the attention of many educational  researchers  in recent times. One of the major   reasons   for  tenacious   interest   in   gender   issues   in   terms   of  academic achievement has been ascribed to the possible relationship between achievement and academic  opportunities.  In effect, the level of linguistic  achievement of a learner, determines to a great extent, the opportunities open to him to succeed in other areas of academic pursuit.

The findings of research in gender differences have long established that the measured cognitive abilities of populations of girls and boys differ a little, if at all, in contrast within given populations (Murphy, 2002). However, there is a whole array of processes in operation from earliest childhood onwards whereby a particular view of masculinity and femininity holds sway. Schools are actively involved in determining this  dorminant  perspective.  Despite  the  best  efforts  of  schools,  there  are  still inequalities in the aspirations, achievements and expectations of boys and girls.

Some research  findings show that male under-achievement  dominates much educational debate.  Paula (2012) reports that a chart of GCSE results from 1962  to

2006 shows that boys are lagging behind in most subjects, except English, and girls are dominating the examination leagues in all phases and subjects, and are more likely to go to the  university than their male counterparts.   Similarly, the issue of under- achievement of boys in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) has been pointed out by Offorma (2005).   Apart from enumerating the reasons for the low achievement of boys, the book recommended many useful language techniques for motivating boys such as target-setting, use of ICT materials, use of interesting topics, making learning fun, and single-sex modern language teaching which will promote the learning achievement of boys in MFL.

In the same vein, observations have been made on the area of language impairment. Lyons (2010) observes that Specific Language Impairment (SLI), is one of the most robust risk factors for many speech and language problems that have to do with a person’s sex. Clinicians have long noted the greater numbers of males in their case loads. According to Lyons (2010), several studies have shown that SLI is more common in males than females. (SLI is a developmental language disorder which has challenged speech-language pathologists for decades and in recent years has become the  subject  of  study).  He  discovered  that  among  the  children  with  language impairment  in  some of his studies,  there was  a 2:1  ratio  of males to  females.  A common outcome for the elevated rates of SLI in males has been that males in general have poorer verbal skills than females.

The import of the study on gender variable is to recommend and enforce an effective communicative approach to language learning which will enable the female folk in the educational system to improve on their language proficiency in order to take their pride of place and bridge the existing gap in the scheme of things.

In terms of school location,  the study investigated  whether the  Functional- Notional   Approach   will   determine   a   significant   difference   in   the   language achievement of students in urban and rural locations.  Research in this area of study has shown that the quality of the language environment is of paramount importance to success  in learning a new language.  As defined  by Dulay & Krashen  (2008), the language environment encompasses everything the language learner hears and sees in the new language. It may include a wide variety of situations- conversations  with friends, watching television, reading street signs and newspapers, as well as classroom activities;  or  it  may be  very  sparse,  including  only language  books  and  records. According to them, teaching a second language means creating for students a part of

their entire new language environment, and the entire responsibility of creating the language environment falls on the teacher who is teaching a language that is not used in the community.

In addition, findings have proved that a child growing up in the first two or three  years  requires  interaction  with  other  language  users  in  order  to  bring  the

‘language  faculty’  into  operation  with  a  particular  language  such  as  English. Therefore, Yule (2007,p. 175) opines that a child who does not hear, or is not allowed to use language will learn no language. Hence the importance of social interaction, meaning that the language a child learns is not genetically inherited, but it is acquired in a particular language-using environment.   Yule (2007, p.176) also points out the issue of ‘innateness’  as propounded  by Noam  Chomsky.  His theory of innateness states that every normal child is born with some innate tendencies to acquire language. This  is  what  he  describes  as  L.A.D.  (Language  Acquisition  Device).  Chomsky proposed  that  language  development  should  be  described  as  “language  growth’’ because the ‘’language organ’’ simply grows like any other body organ. The crucial requirement, Yule concludes, is the opportunity the child has to interact with others via language. That opportunity equips him to use language functionally in his social environment.

In this part of the study, the researcher has highlighted the influence which the language environment of a child can have on his entire developmental process, especially in his functional language achievement.

Statement of the Problem

The steady decline in the performance of secondary school students in English Language   internal   and   external   examinations,   has   been   of  much   concern   to educationists  in  the  country.  This  situation  is  because  most  of  the  students  are

deficient  in the use of grammar.  They have not acquired  the basic knowledge of grammatical structures and expressions to enable them articulate their thoughts meaningfully in written medium. Paper 1 of the English Language in SSCE ( WAEC

& NECO)  requires  the  skill of continuous  writing  in  Section  A (Essay Writing), Section B (Comprehension), and Section C (Summary). Basically, Paper 1 constitutes

60% of the total scores in English Language examinations.  Candidates’ scores are rather relatively higher in Papers 2 and 3 which are Lexis & Structure and Test of Orals respectively, and these two papers are in multiple choice forms such that the chances to guess are high. In spite of the relative high scores in Papers 2 and 3, the overall performance remains low.

Notably,   poor  teaching   method   has   been   identified   as   a  major   factor contributing   to   the   low  performance   of  candidates   in   external   examinations. Therefore, the recommendation by the WAEC Chief Examiners (2010), supported by the  International  Awards  and  Examiners  Appointment  Committee  (2012),  is  that teachers should adopt better methods and strategies of teaching the language more effectively. It is for this reason that the present study is focused on the application of the Functional-Notional Approach which applies the Communicative Language Teaching Method to inculcate communicative competence into the learner.  The need to help students acquire the basic writing skills is imperative, so that they will be able to achieve the set objectives by the examination bodies (WAEC & NECO), as well as perform their social communicative functions effectively. This will put them in the right footing to achieve the expected goals in education.

The problem of this study, therefore, put in a question form is: what is the effect of the Functional-Notional Approach to English Language teaching on students’ achievement in Grammatical Structures at the secondary school level?

Purpose of the Study

The  purpose  of  this  study  was  to  determine  the  effect  of  the  Functional- Notional Approach on students’ achievement in English grammar.

Specifically, the study sought to:

1.  Determine  the  difference  in  the  achievement  of  students  taught  English Grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach and those taught using the traditional method (Grammar Translation Method).

2.  Determine the effect of gender on the achievement of students taught English grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

3.  Determine the effect of school location on the achievement of students taught

English grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

4.  Determine the interaction effect of method and gender on the achievement of students taught English grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

5.  Determine the interaction effect of method and location on the achievement of students taught English grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

Significance of the Study

The  findings of this  study will  help  the  students,  teachers,  parents,  school authorities, authors, curriculum designers, and student teachers to proffer useful and practical  solutions  to  the  problems  of  poor  and  ineffective  methods  of  teaching English language in the secondary schools.

The study will be significant to the student in the sense that it is based on the Behaviourist Theory as exemplified by B.F. Skinner’s Stimulus – Response Theory of learning. Language is described as a socially learned communication system, that is, language learning is achieved through habit formation. This implies that the child will learn or form new habits by interacting with the new language environment where he

finds himself. For instance, in the classroom he interacts with his teacher and mates, there he forms new words (vocabulary), new expressions, and improves on the use of the previous ones he formed. All this is achieved through verbal interactions in the form of reinforcement, repetition or conversation. The child is linguistically active in his social  environment. Therefore, he is a functional  social  person  because of the language habits he has formed.

The study will therefore be of benefit in the following ways:

Secondary school students are likely to get more interested and more involved in class activities, since the lessons will employ the techniques of role-play, conversation, dialogues which will require students’ full participation  in class. The students will find the interactive and participatory process quite rewarding as they get along in exercising their communicative skills. The activities in class make the lessons lively and give no room for boredom. The approach is likely to enhance their achievement  in  grammatical  structures  and  consequently  in  their  performance  in English  Language  examinations.  The teacher  is likely to be motivated  and derive more job-satisfaction because the approach will engender a high level of interest and enthusiasm in the students. He will be further encouraged to teach especially as his students’ language achievement improves.

Parents and guardians will find the improved performance of their children and wards a welcome relief. This will make them appreciate the efforts of the teachers and they will become aware of the use of the Functional-Notional Approach (FNA) which has contributed to the good performance of their wards.

School authorities are likely to benefit when students’ performance in English Language improves as a result of the application of the FNA. A high percentage of the credits and above grades in English will uplift the standards of the school because

English Language results form the major indices of the overall academic standards of a school.

Curriculum planners are likely to find that the activities embedded in the FNA engage students maximally, making them active participants and contributors to the learning process. They may want to adjust the curriculum to include the new language activities which will likely produce the expected language experience in the students. Authors may also benefit from this because if they are aware of the language skills applied in the FNA, they may need to restructure the lesson units and contents of their books in order to accommodate the innovations in the curriculum, thereby attracting more patronage from students, parents and schools.

Student  teachers  are  equally  likely  to  benefit  from  this  study  when  the approach  is  applied  in  their  own  curriculum  in  the  teacher  training  programme, because it will put them in a good stead to be abreast of the innovations in the area of language teaching. They can easily adopt the FNA when they teach.

Scope of the Study

This study was limited to English Language lessons, with JSS 2 students in the secondary schools.

The study was on English Grammar, specifically on the use of modal auxiliaries in making requests, asking for permission, expressing abilities, possibilities, necessities and obligations with the Functional-Notional Approach.

The grammatical items taught with the approach were:- ‘can’ and ‘could’; ‘may’ and

‘might’;   ‘must’,   ‘should’,   ‘ought   to’;   as   modal   auxiliaries   to   achieve   good grammatical expressions. modal auxiliaries were used as the grammatical items in the study because they provided appropriate words and expressions in such situations as making   requests,   asking   for   permission,   expressing   abilities,   capabilities   and

obligations.  This  is  a  recommendation  made  by  Williams  (1999)  and  Baker  & Westrup (2005).

The study also examined the effect of the FNA on the variables of gender and school  location.  Although  some  variables  like teacher  factor,  motivation,  attitude, aptitude and intelligence  could come to play, the study necessarily focused on the areas of gender and school location. The study was carried out in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.

Research Questions

The following Research Questions guided the study:-

1.  What is the difference in the mean scores of students taught English grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach and those taught with the traditional method (Grammar Translation Method)?

2.  What are the relative mean achievement scores of male and female students taught English Grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach?

3.  What are the relative mean achievement  scores of urban  and rural students taught English Grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach?

4. What is the interaction effect of treatment and gender on students’ mean achievement scores in English Grammar?

5.  What   is  the   interaction   effect   of  treatment   and   location   on   students’

achievement scores in English Grammar?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at

0.05 level of significance.

Ho1  There  will  be  no  significant  mean  difference  in  the  achievement  of students taught  English  grammar  using  the  Functional-Notional  Approach  and  those taught with the traditional method (Grammar Translation Method).

Ho2  There will be no significant  mean difference in the achievement  of male and female   students   taught   English   grammar   using   the   Functional-Notional Approach.

Ho3  There will be no significant mean difference in the achievement of urban and rural students taught English Grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

Ho4 There will be no significant interaction effect of male and female students taught

English Grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

Ho5  There will be no significant interaction effect of urban and rural students taught

English Grammar using the Functional-Notional Approach.

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