ABSTRACT
The study investigated the patterns of interference in English tenses among Hausa/English bilinguals in institutions of higher learning in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Nine research questions and eight hypotheses tested at 0.05 levels of significance guided the study. Descriptive survey and ex-post facto research designs were adopted. The population of the study comprised all the 2876 National Certificate in Education (N.C.E.II) and National Diploma (ND II) students in 2016/2017 academic session offering English and Communication Skills in the Jigawa State College of Education, Gumel, Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, Kazaure and Jigawa State Polytechnic, Dutse. Intact classes were used, 476 respondents were drawn and used for the study. Two instruments were used for data collection. They are English- Hausa Error Analysis Test (EHEAT) and English Verb-Tense Achievement Test (EVTAT).The instruments were face and content validated by five experts in Language Education and Educational Measurement and Evaluation units from University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Bayero University, Kano. Kudder-Richardson (K-R 20) method was used to test the internal consistency of the English Verb-Tense Achievement Test (EVTAT) and the reliability Coefficient of 0.89 was obtained. The reliability of English Hausa Error Analysis Test (EHEAT) was determined using different reliability estimates. Sections one and two were determined through test re-test method and estimate of temporal stability computed using Pearson Product Moment Coefficient. The reliability indices for the two sections were found to be 0.84 and 0.73 respectively. The reliability of section three of EHEAT consisting of 3 essay topics was determined through inter-raters using Kendal Coefficient of Concordance. The reliability indices of the three essay topics were found to be 0.78, 0.71 and
0.74 respectively. The data collected were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviations for answering research questions while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study revealed that gender had influence on the interference errors made by male and female students in English verb-tenses. There was a significant difference in the mean interference errors committed by male and female students in English verb-tenses (t- val. = 5.15, P< 0.05); Location had influence on the interference errors committed by urban and rural students in English verb tenses. However, there was no significant difference in the mean interference errors committed by urban and rural students in English verb tenses (t-val
.= -1.44, P> 0.05). Proprietorship of schools had influence on the interference errors made by Hausa learners of English in English verb- tenses. There was a significant difference in the mean interference errors committed by students in federal and state institutions of higher learning in English verb tenses; (t-val.= -5.00, P> 0.00). Female Hausa learners of English had a slightly higher mean achievement scores in English verb tenses than their male counterparts. There was a significant difference in the mean achievements scores of male and female Hausa/English bilinguals in English verb tenses (t-val. = -6.16, P< 0.00), amongst many other findings of this study. The educational implications of the findings were examined. Some recommendations among others were made that; Teachers/lecturers should identify areas of difficulties and interference errors common to Hausa learners of English and provide useful remedial drills and exercises to reduce these errors thereby promoting academic achievements of students in English Language. Textbooks Writers and Curriculum Planners should incorporate ideas and materials that would promote effective teaching of English verb tenses. Government should adequately equip institutions in both urban and rural locations so that students could perform alike.
xiii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
English is one of the major languages of the world today. Quirk, Greenbum, Leech and Svartvik (2013) maintain that English has been accepted as a lingua franca in the global world. According to Dianam (2011), over a quarter of the world’s population, live in countries where English has some official status or is one of the native languages, if not the dominant native language. According to Crystal (2003b: 69) “recent estimates produce a grand total of 1.5 billion speakers from all sources: approximately 750 million first and second language speakers, and an equivalent number of speakers of English as a foreign language in the world”. However, Ethnologue (2015, 18th ed.) puts the figure of English speakers at 2.4 billion (consisting of about 400 million native speakers and 2 billion second and foreign speakers).This figure is on the high side and appears as they add up together
estimates from different dates and sources, language information is not collected on most national censuses. English is used for active communication in countries where it is the second language (L2). Nigeria falls into this category of users.
In Nigeria, English has come to play a significant role in all fields of human endeavour. English language in Nigeria enjoys a prestigious status (Fakeye, 2012). It is the language of literary arts, scholarship, administration, trade, commerce, international communication, information gathering and dissemination. Ayodele (2004) has succinctly summarized the role of English in Nigeria as the language of governance and administration, the language of the judiciary, and the language in which most of the newspapers and magazines are written. English has had a major influence on Nigerians since its introduction during the colonial period. It has served both the function of a
national language and of an official language, and would continue for a long time to do so
1
(Jowitt, 2009, Fakeye, 2010). The position English occupies in the lives of average Nigerians and in the affairs of the nation has fully been recognized by the 1999 constitution (as amended 2011) where it stipulates that “the business of the National Assembly shall be conducted in English, and in Hausas, Igbo and Yoruba when adequate arrangements have been made therefore” (Section 55:52) (Echezona,2013).
The role of English as a lingua franca and as a unifying force can be emphasized. Nigeria is a multilingual and multicultural nation (Fakeye, 2006). Given the diversity of mother tongues and the multiplicity of ethnic groups: three hundred and ninety five (395) (Hansford, Bendor-Samuel and Stanford, 1976), four hundred (400) (Bamgbose, 1992), four hundred and fifty (450) (Akinjobi, 2004) and five hundred and twenty-six (526) (Simons and Lewis, 2018) the need for a common language of communication becomes absolutely necessary. As a result, English language assumes the status of de facto and de jure official language especially since no local language enjoys the wider acceptance enjoyed by the language among the different nationalities in Nigeria. The need to fit into different spheres of national life on the one hand, and to be able to interact with other people of the world through effective communication on the other, makes the mastery of the English language both in the written or spoken forms imperative (Kolawole, 1998, Kolawole and Adeyanju, 2002, Makinde, 2007).This justifies the entrenchment of English as a dominant language in Nigeria (Oluwole, 2008)
English is the medium of instruction right from the fourth year of primary education to the university. The National Policy on Education (FRN, 2013:11-12) recognised the role of English in education when it stipulates that “the medium of instruction in the primary school shall be the language of immediate environment for the first three years… From the fourth year English, shall progressively be used as a medium of instruction…” This was probably because of the importance of English language in education, and because
classrooms have become too heterogeneous to allow for any mother tongue beyond manageable level.
Hausa, for instance, is one of the widely spoken languages in West Africa. It is classified as a member of the Chadic group of the Afro-asiatic family of languages (D’Aniello, 2004). Recently, its relationship to Cushitic, Berber and Semitic (i.e Arabic and Hebrew) languages was widely recognized (D’Aniello, 2004, Amfani, 2007b). Presently, it is believed to be spoken as first language (L1) and second language (L2) by approximately
40 to 50 million people in Nigeria, Niger Republic, Ghana, Northern Togo, Sudan, Cameroon, Chad, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso and many of the major cities in the North, West and Equatorial Africa (Utoh, 2003, Lawal, 2008, Bello, 2015). Even though the dialectical situation of Hausa is yet to be described in detail, Hausa linguists generally distinguish four blocks of dialects each consisting of sub-dialects; “Western Dialect” (e.g Sokoto/ Gobir dialects), “Northern Dialect” (Katsina, Daura and Damagaram dialects), “Eastern Dialect” (Gundiri and Hadejia dialects) and “Standard Dialect” which is generally considered to be based on Kano Hausa (Ahmed & Daura, 2007, Bello, 2015). Hausa is both used as a native language (first language) and as a second language in Nigeria.
In order to facilitate the reading and understanding of this study, it is pertinent to make some clarifications. In Hausa orthography every consonant letter represents a single phoneme. This is not true of the vowel sounds. There are both long and short vowel sounds, but the distinction between ‘long’ and ‘short’ vowels is not represented in the orthography, neither are the tones. It often happens, therefore that words which are phonetically different in spoken Hausa are written as if they are homonyms (Adeyanju,
1997a). However, three different tone patterns (“high”, “falling” and ‘low” tones) exist and two vowel lengths (‘short” and “long’) are identified in Hausa. While the “high’ and’ low” tones occur on syllables of any shape, the “falling” tone occurs only on Consonant-Vowel-
Consonant (CVC) syllables or on Consonant-Vowel (CV) syllables in which the Vowel (V) is a long syllable or diphthong. Wong, Szeto, and Wong (2007)affirm that, in well over half the languages of the world, it is possible to change the meaning of a word simply by changing the pitch level at which it is spoken. Languages that allow this, such as Hausa and Igbo, are known as tonal languages.
English and Hausa languages enjoy wider international acceptability. Each of them has a large number of L2 speakers. There is the need for Hausa learners of English to strive to effectively use the target language. This could only be possible if the learners are well versed not only in the grammar of each relevant language but also in its appropriate usage (Widdowson, 2007). In the present study, appropriateness in the use of English and Hausa verb-tenses and aspects is the major focus. The study is interested in helping teachers identify basic areas of observed difficulties between the two languages. This will guide teachers to identify areas where emphasis is needed in designing a syllabus.
In Hausa speaking milieu, bilingualism is a common pattern of language use. Ordinarily, the term “bilingual” refers to a person who speaks two or more languages (Giussani, Roux, Lubrano, Gaini & Bello, 2007).The simplest definition of a bilingual is a person who has some functional ability in a second language. This may vary from
a limited ability in one or more domains, to very strong command of both languages
which is sometimes called balanced bilingualism (Spolsky 1998). In a bilingual situation, what is important is to be able to identify each of the languages, that is, which varieties of the languages are involved. Secondly, it is important to identify the way each of the languages is acquired. It is useful to distinguish between mother (or native) tongue learning and second or foreign language learning.
A “bilingual learner” is in its broad sense (and as used in the context of this study) a person who uses his/ her first language (L1) at home in the community and is learning
through a second language (L2), for example English at school. The person may be learning all subjects except his native language through the L2, many scholars use bilingual learners instead of second language learners to highlight the value of the two languages (Cambridge Assessment International Education, 2017). However, others use “bilingual learners” to refer only to students on bilingual education programmes. Cambridge Assessment International Education, (2017), further uses “bilingual education” to refer to the use of two or more languages as medium of instruction for content subjects such as Science or
History.
In Jiagawa State, the study area, the bilingual situation shows that children (learners) grow up at home, at playground, and in the community speaking their mother tongue (Hausa Language) but are confronted with English as their second language in schools. Once a learner acquires his mother tongue, it is likely his verbal skills might be weak in the second language. This is because he has to think in his mother tongue before rendering or transferring his thoughts into the target language. It is also likely that the learner may develop apathy for the new language because of ignorance or hatred for the language and its accompanying cultures. This may result in low proficiency in the language. There is also the suggestion that for a bilingual to speak the target language, he has to suppress the influence of his first language structures on the second language. The foregoing scenario depicts the actual situation of bilingual students in Jigawa State. Hence, this is one of the main reasons for conducting such a study in Jigawa state.
In all social, cultural, commercial and some other formal gatherings, in Jigawa State, Hausa is commonly used, while English is only used at official functions, even though some functions are partially conducted in Hausa. At the primary school level, Hausa is used at the initial stage, and at a later stage Hausa and English are used, but outside the classroom, all activities are conducted in Hausa. At the secondary school level, English is
used across all levels as the medium of instruction, that is, English is used to teach all other subjects in the school curriculum except Hausa. In addition, it is being taught as one of the subjects offered in the school curriculum. The Hausa language has been reduced to writing with a standard orthography and a lot of literature written and several researches have been conducted in it. For instance, most of these research studies have their theoretical bases on the influence of Mother Tongue (MT) or First Language (L1) in the learning of the Target Language (TL) or Second Language (L2), a process that is known as linguistic transfer.
Transfer is a traditional term from psychology of learning which means imposition of previously learned patterns onto a new learning situations (Isurin, 2005).The phenomenon of linguistic transfer or cross- linguistic influence occurs when an individual is acquiring a second language (L2) and the influence of the first language (L1) interacts (interferes) in the same way with the acquisition of L2. According to Garcia (2009) the child (learner) can transfer to a new language the system of meaning he/ she already possesses on his/ her own. That is, what is learned in one language does not have to be re- learned in another (Calderon, 2014).Therefore, transfer from the mother tongue was, thus, considered as a form of influence of L1 habits on L2 learning.
In a second language acquisition, transfer is a major factor in the process of language learning. Its importance in L2 learning has been re-evaluated by researchers, linguists and classroom teachers time and again. There is growing evidence on the overwhelming influence of mother tongue on the target language. There exist situations where English sounds are mixed up as a result of negative effect of transfer from the mother tongue. These instances abound across all aspects of the learners’ interlanguage, that is at; discourse, lexical, semantic, syntactic, morphological, phonetics and phonology levels.
Linguists, in overall, are concerned with the static structures within a given language system. Based on this, the target language rules contain native language based linguistic transfer which results in linguistic errors. It therefore goes, without saying, that a native language can either facilitate or hinder the acquisition of the target language. In this way, native language based linguistic transfer is divided into two broad types: positive and negative transfers Positive transfer (facilitation) occurs when the two language systems’ structures align well with each other and provide an ease of transfer (Sharp, 2018), for words from different languages that are related in spelling and/or meaning. Positive transfer accelerates learning since conceptual knowledge will be transferred; it is just the linguistic levels that have to be taught (Garcia, 2009). Therefore, classroom that use levels and visuals assist students in assigning words to concepts thereby accelerating language learning process.
Negative transfer (inhibition) exist when the language systems do not match well in structure and meaning, and the ability to draw upon one system for the understanding of the other is not readily available (Sharp, 2018). The ability to acquire quickly a second language system can be predicted by the ease of learning the L2. According to Isurin (2005) the knowledge of the native language can indeed have a facilitating or inhibiting effect on the learners’ progress in mastering a new language. The point is that learning a L2 is based on prior knowledge of the L1 (MT). This means that learners of a new language will be influenced by their mother tongue (MT). That is why most of the research studies have their theoretical bases on the language learning theories in the 1950s and 1960s.
A lot of the language learning theories in 1950’S and 1960’S were based on the
behaviorists’ and structuralists’ tenet which saw learning as the process of imitation and reinforcement (i.e habit formation/language use). As a result, the concept of Contrastive Analysis (CA) was formulated by Fries (1945) and developed by Lado (1957). The
ultimate aim of CA is to compare the phonological and the morphological systems, syntactic and lexical meanings of two or more languages (Abushibah, El-Omari and Tobat,
2011). Contrastive Analysis is based on the premise that languages are different, and that because of these differences the Second language L2) learner encounters difficulties while learning the second language (Lado 1957, Crystal, 2003, Ellis, 2008). Contrastive Analysis (CA) or Cross Linguistic Transfer (CLT) refers to the identification of structural differences on linguistic forms; phonological (segmental and supra-segmental), syntactic (choice of given grammatical categories e.g number, gender, tense and sentence types), and morphological (canonical patterns i.e ways and sources combine to form words) between languages, seen as points of potential learning difficulties (Crystal, 2003a).
Contrastive analysis is a systematic study of two (or more) languages with a view to identifying their structural similarities and differences. The comparison between the two languages, that is, first language (L1) and second language (L2) is based on the assumption that similarities in linguistics structures of the two languages will facilitate learning of the second language (positive transfer) while differences will inhibit or hinder learning (negative transfer/interference).
Traditionally, contrastive analysis is defined as a method which helps the analyst to ascertain in which aspects the two languages are alike or differ, which include two main purposes; description and comparison (James, 1980, Chestermn, 2006, Kurtes 2006, Gast,
2013). According to Dost and Bohloulzadeh (2017), “Contrastive hypothesis” refers to the theory while “Contrastive analysis” focuses on the method of implementation of the hypothesis. On the other hand, “Contrastive analysis hypothesis” emphasizes both the theory and the method simultaneously.
In contrastive analysis (CA), it is important to note the influence of the mother tongue (first language) on the learning of the second language. CA holds that second
language will be affected by first language. Therefore, contrastive analysis as one of the theories of learners’ errors is relevant in the present study. The present study investigates patterns of interference which result from the influence of Hausa verbal structures on English verb tenses with a view to identifying the areas of similarities and differences.
The underlying assumption of Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) is based on three hypotheses; strong, weak and moderate. The strong hypothesis claims that one can predict the error of a language learner on the basis of comparison in the description of L1 and L2. The weak emphasizes what Brown (2007) calls a posteriori explanation of sources of errors in language learning, whose major tenet is that differences between languages do not predict difficulty (Ringbom, 1987, 2007). Lastly, the moderate hypothesis represents the middle position between the two. This hypothesis, according to Oller and Ziahosseiny (1970) focused on the nature of human learning and postulates the categorization of abstract and concrete patterns according to their perceived similarities and differences as the basis for learning. Therefore, wherever patterns are minimally distinct in form or meaning in one or more systems, confusion may result. These hypotheses are essentially assumptions about how the knowledge of the first language affects the learning and the use of the second language (Onuigbo and Eyisi, 2009). The second theory of learners’ errors which is central to this study is Error Analysis,
Error analysis is a careful study of large corpus of errors made by speakers of first language (L1) or mother tongue attempting to express themselves in the target language. Error analysis (EA) rather than predicting errors, as is done in contrastive analysis (CA), focuses on actual errors produced by second language (L2) learners. EA sets out to collect, analyze and correct errors. EA helps to discover problems in L2 learning and it is a process of providing to the teacher evidence of how language is learned and what strategies or
procedures the learner is employing in his discovery of the target language (Ngudda and
Nwoke, 2014)
Error analysis, according Crystal (2003a), is a technique for identifying, classifying and systematically interpreting the unacceptable forms produced by someone learning a foreign language using any principles or procedures provided by linguistics. Error analysis is a branch of applied linguistics which is concerned with compilation, study and analysis of errors made by second language learners.
Error Analysis is an activity to reveal errors found in writing and speaking. Error Analysis is conducted in order to (a) find out how well someone knows a language (b) find out how a person learns a language and (C) obtain information on common difficulties in language learning, as an aid in the teaching or preparation of teaching materials. This definition stresses the function of error analysis (Hasyim, 2002).The concept of error was defined by Brown (2007) as the process to observe, analyse and classify the deviation of the rules of the second language and then to reveal the systems operated by learners.
Several definitions of the term “error” have been given by some scholars. Most of them have the same things in common. That is why the researcher puts forward two basic definitions of error in this research. The two definitions are (1) errors are systematic deviations, when a learner has not learnt something and consistently “gets it wrong” and (2) an error is systematic deviation from the standard and they reveal the learners’ current mastery of the target language (Hasyim 2002, Crystal, 2003a, Lennon, 2008, Ellis, 2008). It seems that the phrase “systematic deviation” in these definitions is a key phrase which can be interpreted as the deviation which happens repeatedly.
Furthermore, it is necessary to differentiate between “error” and “mistake”. A mistake is also a deviation of the norms of the language but is not systematic. It means that the use of the norms of the language in sentences sometimes gets it right and sometimes
wrong (Hasyim 2002). According to Richards, Pratt and Pratt(1992) it was assumed that a mistake is made by a learner when writing or speaking which is caused by lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness or other aspects of performance. From the preceding, it could be concluded that a mistake is made by a learner because he/ she does not apply the rule(s) that he/ she actually knows. In other words, a mistake is a non-systematic deviation from the norms of the language. This study will mainly concentrate on systematic errors, there is no point trying to analyse random errors or mistakes.
The present study is interested in investigating students’ errors because it is on the basis of those errors that occur regularly that syllabuses are designed and remedial programmes are put in place to address the observed areas of students’ weaknesses. Error analysis is an indispensable diagnostic tool in the teaching – learning process. It provides insight into the nature of the learning process, methodology to be used, the materials to be designed to reflect the actual problems of the learners, and the remedial programmes to be put in place to address the actual learning needs of the learners. It is based on these reasons that error analysis is adopted in this study.Mistakes can be self-corrected by any relatively good secondary school students how much less students in higher education institutions in Nigeria.
Higher education refers to all organised learning activities provided at the tertiary level of education, that is, a post-secondary school education. The National Policy on Education NPE (2013) defines tertiary education as the education given after post basic education in institutions such as universities and inter-university centres such as the Nigeria French Language Village, Nigeria Arabic Language Village, National Institute of Nigerian Languages, institutions such as Innovation Enterprise Institutions (IEIs) and colleges of education, and monotechnics, polytechnics, and other specialized institutions such as colleges of agriculture, schools of health and technology, and the National Teachers
Institutes (NTI). The establishment of institutions of higher learning was to train different categories of people based on the needs and aspirations of the nation. Policies and regulations are drawn up by government to guide and direct the smooth operation of these institutions. Higher education laws are formulated to guide the type of buildings, facilities, equipment required in the institutions, the curricula, the entry qualification of students, rules guiding the movement of students, the qualification of teachers, their workloads and condition of service, process of certification and graduation.
There is both internal and external quality control mechanism put in place. The National Universities Commission (NUC) regulates the operation and quality of university education. The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) is saddled with responsibility of controlling the operation and quality of Colleges of Education in Nigeria. While the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) is responsible for the control of polytechnics and monotechnics education in the country. It is the responsibility of these quality control bodies to formulate a curriculum for their respective institutions. These types of institutions could either be owned by federal or state governments or even by private organisation(s) or individual(s). Each state of the federation has all of or some of these types of institutions. Jigawa State has all of these types of higher education institutions except a federal college of education. These institutions are expected to offer admission to students who have completed their secondary school education successfully.
It is expected that students who have completed their secondary school education could converse freely and proficiently with any educated person, understand any piece of presentation whether spoken or written, and would be able to write in a relatively good English. This expectation is even greater at the tertiary level of education. However, in reality this is not the case. People still hear and read about all kinds of poor quality, substandard, uneducated and unintelligible versions of English, not only at the post-
primary school level, but most unexpectedly at the tertiary level of education: the colleges of education, the polytechnics and the universities that affect performance and achievement of students.
The overall poor performance in English has always been a national phenomenon. An analysis of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) English examinations results nation-wide, for eleven years running (2007 to 2017) reveals a very low performance. For example in 2007, only 29.94% passed with credit, the remaining 70.06% failed or could not pass out at a credit level in English. In 2008, only 23.78% passed at credit level, the remaining 76.22% either failed or had no credit pass in English. In 2009, only 25.99% passed with credit, the .remaining 74.01% failed or had no credit pass. In
2010, 33.38% passed with credit, the remaining 66.62% failed or had no credit pass. However, in 2011 an impressive performance of 55.34% credit pass was recorded. However, in 2012, 38.81% passed with credit, while the remaining 61.19% failed or had no credit pass in English. In 2013, 36.57% had credit pass; the remaining 63.43% failed or had no credit pass in English. In 2014, only 31.28% passed with credit, the remaining 68.72% failed or had failed to make a credit in English. However, in 2016 an impressive performance of 52.97% credit pass was recorded and in 2017 a little more impressive performance of 59.22% credit pass was recorded. (Source WAEC Chief Examiners’ Annual Report, 2007-2017). In addition to the analysis above, the Chief Examiners for English, WAEC May/June 2007-2017 report that; the low level of performance in English language (24% -59%) over the eleven-year period calls for a review of the strategies for the teaching of the subject.
The situation at the tertiary level of education is not anything better. The poor academic achievement being witnessed at the secondary school level is negatively affecting students’ achievements at the higher education level. A careful analysis of the English and
Communication Skills results from 2007 to 2017 reveal that only between averagely 45% to 50% of students who offered the course obtained the requisite pass mark in it (Source: G. S. E Results File, 2007 to date). A careful perusal at the Jigawa State College of Education External Moderators Report for English from 2008 to 2017 reveals that performance of the students was extremely poor particularly in the area of language use. Across the three proficiency levels being moderated, the moderator consistently made some comments on the different course units examined. At the Pre-National Certificate in Education (Henceforth, Pre-N.C.E) level, the moderator observed that students’ “written English is extremely poor”. At the National Certificate in Education (Henceforth N.C.E 11), the moderator observed that “this mirrors the poor language use observed in all other language courses being offered in the college”. Lastly, at the N.C.E 111, the moderator was even more concerned about the linguistic competence of the students, when he observed that “the language of the students is extremely horrible” and concluded that the language use of the students was not commensurate with their level of education (Department of English Moderator’s Report File, 2008 to 2017).
In recent years, researchers have extended the scope of their inquiry into the problem of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). The motivation is two folds: first, it provides an added perspective on human language, and second, interest in second language teaching and bilingual education has resulted in a greater need to understand the mechanism underlying second language acquisition (Hakuta, & Cancino, 2012). Studies have found that L2 learners- “seem to rely on their L1 grammar to some extent. This is shown by the kind of errors L2 learners make, which often involve the transfer of grammatical rules from their (L1)” (Fromkin, Rodman and Hyamas, 2011:363). This is particularly shown through their accent.
There is much evidence from other studies that second language learners are influenced by their native language in the acquisition of the target language, a process known as transfer (Odlin, 1989, 2005b, Ellis, 2008 and Odlin, 2012,). Transfer can be described as a process of making use of perceived and/or assumed cross-linguistic similarities, and the effect may be either positive or negative (Ringbom, 2007).That is, similarities in linguistic structures in two languages will result in positive transfer, while differences will create an interference which is known as negative transfer (Isurin, 2005). Interference has been described by psychologists as the influence the learning of subsequent list has on the retention of the originally learnt list. When the influence is on the language one learnt first, it is retroactive interference. The detrimental effect of the retention of subsequent learnt list resulting from prior learning is called proactive interference.
Interference phenomenon is those instances of deviation from the norms of either languages which occur in the speech or writing of bilinguals as a result of their familiarity with more than one language (Odlin, 1989, 2005b, 2012, Tyler 2001, 2011). Common mother tongue interference among Hausa higher education students is the proactive or inhibitory interference, which occurs as a result of information previously stored in their memory. Based on this, Hausa learners of English find it difficult to effectively use aspects of English verb-tenses. This is one of the concerns of the present study.
Tense is a grammatical term that refers to how a verb shows the time of an action in the sentence. Siyal and Jindal (2008) define tense as the change that takes place in the form of the verb to indicate time. Tense is a grammatical category that is realized by verb inflections (Quirk and Greenbaum, 2004 & 2013).Tense shows how or when an action is performed. To show the completeness or incompleteness of an action, tense relates with the grammatical concept of aspect.
Aspect, on the other hand, is not concerned with relating a situation to any other time point but rather with internal temporal constituency of the one situation (Yusif, 2010, Yusif, 2011). Like tense, aspect is a way that verbs represent time. Tense relates to the time of referent to some other time, commonly the speech event, while aspect conveys other temporal information, such as duration, completion or frequency, as it relates to the time of the action. Tense is more concerned with past time versus present time and is based on morphological form (e.g. write, writes, and wrote).
Aspect is concerned with duration, and in English it is a matter of syntax, using parts of “to be” to form the progressive and “have” to form the perfective (Chalker and Weiner, 2014). Therefore, aspect of a verb indicates whether the expressed action is completed (perfective) or continuous (progressive). There may be also the combination of the perfective and progressive aspects to produce the perfective progressive aspects. Tense and aspect in English and Hausa have received considerable attention of scholars. Both tense and aspect are connected to time although they differ in various ways.
In English, there are four aspects according to which the tenses can be conveniently arranged;
a. The Progressive Aspect (Continuous) views the action in the process of happening, being in the middle of things and not having been completed. e.g. I am eating dinner at the moment (He is still eating and has not finished).
b. The Perfective Aspect views the action as having been completed before another point in time. The action is completed but may influence what follows e.g. I have (already) eaten my dinner.
c. The Perfective Progressive Aspect combines the qualities of the two aspects above and describes the action as an on-going one that has been going on until a certain point in time. e.g. I had been eating dinner when my mother came in.
d. The Simple (or Zero) Aspect does not relate to the flow of time and merely states whether or not the action occurs. e.g. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west (simple factual statement).
The teacher, who teaches, especially, verb–tense and aspect, is faced with many challenges. One of the challenges is that Hausa learners of English exhibit high degree of mother tongue interference, especially in their speech; for instance learners encounter problems while pronouncing some words with consonant sounds such as /P/ as in “pool” and /F/ as in “fool” . Secondly, the attitude of the Hausa milieu towards English in general and the nature of group dynamics in the language classroom is detrimental to the learners. Community attitude towards the language being learned can also have a profound impact on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) where the community has a broadly negative view of the target language and its speakers or a negative view of its relation to them, learning is typically much more difficult (David’s English Language Teaching World, 2006), (www.eltworld.net, 2006).
The main concern of this study therefore, is to determine the structural differences and similarities that exist in the tense and aspect systems of English and Hausa Languages. Similarly, the use of several aspects of English verb-tense by Hausa educated learners were analyzed to determine how they constituted interference in English verbal-tense. The study also intended to determine whether gender, location and school proprietorship (school ownership) had any significant effect on the academic achievements of students in English verb-tense.
Gender refers to the sum total of cultural values, attitudes, roles, practices and characteristics based on sex. According to Offorma (2004, 2016), gender is a learned, socially constructed conditions ascribed to males and females. The generalisation that female students do better than their male counterparts do in English and the arts, which
require verbal skills and that male students better than their female counterparts in mathematics and the natural sciences which require dexterity and high order cognitive thinking is empirically unresolved. This kind of stereotype may further stigmatise the situation and further affect the performance of the genders both ways. Studies abound as to whether males perform better than females or vice-versa. The differences in the scholastic achievement of boys and girls are generally attributed to biological causes and or to cultural stereotypes (Klein, 2004, Okoh, 2010). However, there still remains a contestable terrain for researchers and scholars worldwide. This study is expected to add further insights towards resolving the existing controversy. The study is interested in finding out whether female students use the English tense and aspect more proficiently than their male counterparts, and what could be the reasons for these differences.
Location refers to a place, a point or an area on the earth’s surface or elsewhere where people live and strive for their survival (Gersmehl, 2008). Location simply refers to urban and rural areas. Schools may be located either in urban or rural areas. According to Bersnes (2002) urban are those schools in municipalities or schools found within the towns and rural schools are located in the villages or semi-urban areas. On whether location has any significant effect on the academic achievements of students, Leleji (2009) observes that rural schools are poorly staffed, mainly by unqualified poorly motivated teachers, ill- equipped, poor attendance, dropout and failure rates high and inadequate basic amenities are destabilising for the teachers and students.
On the other hand, urban schools relatively have funds, equipment, higher quality buildings, qualified teachers and congenial environments. The implication of these assertions for the present study is that, the result of this study should prove the efficacy of this statement or otherwise. The study may enrich the understanding of the problem which
Nigerian students face with verb-tense and aspect thereby enhancing the confidence and successes recorded by students and teachers nationwide.
In Nigeria, school proprietorship or school type is one factor that affects the learning activities which in turn affects the performance of students. School ownership can either be public or private. A public school is any school controlled and/or supported by the state or federal government. A private school on the other hand, is a school supported and controlled by religious/social organizations or other private groups or individuals (Oke and Maliki, 2009). There is a widely-held view that students who attend private schools perform better than those that attend public schools in different parts of the world. Both Adomako (2005) and Asante (2005) noted that performance of private schools in Ghana has continued to be far better than that of the public schools at the basic level. Sato (2005) argued that there is more chance of a better academic achievement in private schools in Japan, just as Dalmia (2005) was of the view that public schools in the present day India were simply not up to the mark. In addition, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, USA, 2004) has provided evidence on school in the United State of America (USA) up till 2002 to support the view. Among the reasons adduced for the relatively low performance in public schools are ineffective supervision, poor parental support and differences in the school climate such as indiscipline and insecurity. Others are differences in infrastructural facilities, motivation of teachers, enrollment size and student-teacher ratio.
The general opinion in Nigeria is that private schools are better in terms of the availability of human and physical facilities and consequently students perform better in private schools. Ajayi (2004) found out that school type made a difference on students’ performance. Similarly, Philias and Wanjobi (2011) reiterated that school type (single sex or mixed, private or public) had effect on the academic performance of students. This
situation, experience has shown, made many parents to enroll their children in private secondary schools. School type or school ownership may also relate to whether the proprietorship is federal or state in case of public schools. This study is interested in finding out whether students in federal institutions of higher learning perform better than those in state-owned institutions of higher learning via Patterns of Interference in English Tenses among Hausa/English Bilinguals in Institutions of Higher learning in Jigawa State, Nigeria.
Based on the background so far presented, the main aim of this study therefore, is to determine the structural differences and similarities that exist in the tense and aspect systems of English and Hausa Languages. Similarly, the use of several aspects of English verb-tenses was analyzed to identify problems encountered by Hausa/English bilingual learners attempting to learn and use the English verbal-tenses correctly. The study also intends to determine whether variables such as gender, location, school proprietorship (school ownership) and school types have any significant effect on the academic achievements of students.
Statement of the Problem
English and Hausa languages enjoy wider international acceptability. Each of them has a large number of L2 speakers who are learners in higher education levels and should be well versed in communication using appropriate English tenses in both spoken and written forms.
However, most students admitted into institutions of higher learning in the country, are ill-prepared for their communication roles in these institutions. Many Hausa learners of English experience many problems in the formation and correct usage of English tenses. The poor academic achievement being witnessed at the secondary school level is negatively affecting students’ achievement at the higher education level. Recently, the
overall poor performance in English which was between 24% to 59%, in the eleven years, from 2007 to 2017, is becoming a national problem. Many of the students find it difficult to construct correct sentences, without mixing tenses, in their spoken or written communications. It has been observed, over the years, that most of the errors in English occur because of the inability of students to handle sequence of tenses properly in their spoken or written communications. This results in the students’ abysmal poor academic performance. The researcher has also observed that, even at the higher education levels, there is high degree of mother tongue interference in the spoken and written English of students which invariably affects their academic performance. This led to high degree of NCE and ND dropouts which cut across gender, location and proprietorship of schools in tertiary institutions of Jigawa state. Therefore, the problem of this study put in question form is: what is the Patterns of Interference in English Tenses among Hausa/English Bilingual students in Institutions of Higher Learning in Jigawa State, Nigeria?
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the study was to investigate Patterns of interference in English tenses among Hausa/English bilinguals in institutions of higher learning in Jigawa State, Nigeria, in order to identify the problems encountered by Hausa learners of English in English verb tense. Specifically the study sought to:
1 Identify the types of interference errorsin English verb-tenses made by Hausa learners of English in institutions of higher learning.
2 Find out the influence of gender on the interference errors in English verb-tenses made by Hausa learners of English in institutions of higher learning.
3 Determine the influence of location on the interference errors in English verb-tenses made by Hausa English bilinguals in institutions of higher learning.
4 Find out the influence of proprietorship of schools on the interference errors in English verb-tenses made by Hausa learners of English in institutions of higher learning.
5 Determine the influence of different types of institutions of higher learning on the interference errors in English verb-tenses made by Hausa learners of English.
6 Identify the achievement of male and female Hausa learners of English in English verb-tenses in institutions of Higher Learning.
7 Determine the influence of location on the achievement of Hausa learners of
English in institutions of higher learning in English verb tenses.
8 Determine the influence of proprietorship of schools on the achievements of Hausa learners of English in institutions of higher learning in English verb-tenses.
9 Identify the influence of different types of institutions of higher learning on the achievement of Hausa learners of English in English verb tenses.
Significance of the Study
The study is theoretically and practically significant. Theoretically, the study is anchored on the theory of language transfer based on the Behaviourists, Cognitivists (Mentalists) and the Connectionists perspectives. The major proponents of Behaviourists’ theory include John B .Watson, Ivan Pavlov, Edward L. Thorndike and B. F. Skinner. The basic tenet of the Behaviourists theory is based on the idea that all human behaviours are acquired through stimulus- response and the association between them. All behaviours are caused by external stimuli (operant conditioning), and can be explained without the need to consider internal mental states or consciousness. They focused on people’s behaviours that are directly observable rather than the mental system underlying the behaviours. Knowledge is a repertoire of behavioural responses to environmental stimuli. They view learning as a passive absorption of a predefined body of knowledge by the learner which is
promoted by repetition and positive reinforcement. In the classroom situation correct behavioural responses are transmitted by the teacher and absorbed by the students. This theory is relevant to this study because it considers all learning, including language learning, to be the establishment of habits through reinforcement and reward. The Behaviourists claim that second language learning is solely a process of language transfer based on negative effects of transfer of First Language (L1) features into Second Language (L2) which leads to interference.
While, the Cognitivsts’ theory grew out of Gestalt psychology in Germany in the early 1900s by Wolfgang Kohler and brought to America in the 1920s, it was later developed in the1960s by Noam Chomsky as a reaction to the Behaviourists paradigm. The basic tenets of the Cognitivists’ theory are that mental function can be understood. That each individual possess an innate capability to actively construct and discover knowledge. Learning is an active association and accommodation of new information to existing cognitive structures- fostering discovery by the learner. The teacher facilitates learning by providing an environment that promotes discovery and assimilation of knowledge. The models recognise both the positive and negative effects of language transfer. That is why they recommend that an adequate explanation of language transfer is one that considers both the positive and negative effects of transfer. Hence, learners play a vital role in determining how, when and where they transfer features of native language to second language. Accordingly, both the behaviourists and the cognitivists see error as indispensable in the learning process, which signaled a breakdown in the teaching-learning process. Hence, the relevance of the foregoing theories to the present study.
Practically, the result of the study is expected to benefit most students, teachers, textbook writers, curriculum planners, examination bodies, and future researchers. The results of the study may be of immense benefit to Hausa learners and teachers of English as
L2 who might put these problems into actual classroom practices. Based on the findings of the study, teachers will be able to identify areas of difficulties faced by either Hausa learners attempting to learn English or vice-versa. As a result, English teachers may be directed to look deeply into the parts of their syllabus that need some improvement while comparing L1 and L2. They may also be propelled to conduct remedial teaching using exercises and drills related to the problem areas of the target language. This may lead to greater improvement in students’ language use thereby reducing the menace of poor performance that bedevils all levels of the education sector.
For the special methods teachers in colleges of education and other related institutions, the results of the study may be of great benefit by emphasizing the use of contrastive analysis and error analysis as diagnostic tools that could be used to identify areas of perceived learning difficulties. It should be noted that CA and EA as diagnostic tools can help curriculum planners in material preparation, design of the linguistic and cultural content of the textbooks, diagnosis of learning difficulties and preparing language testing
The study may also provide valuable information for textbook writers, by directing attention to the area of students’ weaknesses. Error Analysis helps in determining the frequency and the stylistic distribution of certain structures in both English and Hausa Languages, informing the selection, grading and presentation of second language or foreign language in-put. The material developers should provide exhaustively drills and exercises, taking care to balance the most difficult items and the least difficult ones throughout the text(s). The study is expected to be of great benefit to curriculum designers, especially the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) who would undertake the review of the curriculum provisions to provide comprehensively for the effective teaching of English verb-tenses and aspects.
Similarly, examinations bodies will be properly guided in constructing test items that will directly address the identified areas of difficulties, particularly in the areas of English verb tenses and aspects.Based on their knowledge of the actual situation, teachers are expected to conduct remedial teaching using exercises and drills related to the problem areas of the target language. This may lead to greater improvement in students’ language use thereby reducing the menace of poor performance that bedevils all levels of the education sector.
The findings of the study will be helpful to future researchers as the information assembled in the research report may serve as a baseline data for future related studies. Scope of the Study
The study investigated patterns of interference in English tenses among Hausa/English bilinguals in institutions of higher learning in Jigawa State, Nigeria. The study was carried out in Jigawa State in the North-West geo-political zone of Nigeria. It was limited to three institutions of higher learning in Jigawa State, which are; Jigawa State College of Education, Gumel, Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, Kazaure and Jigawa State Polytechnic, Dutse.
The course on English and Communication Skills is selected because it is a compulsory course offered by all students in these institutions. It is also selected because students do not often do well in the subject. The study focused on verb tense and aspects which are important grammatical components of the English and Communication Skills syllabus taught in these institutions. Hausa and English languages are selected because of their close affinity since colonial days and because they share a large number of bilingual speakers/ learners. The study investigated the influence of some variables such as gender, location, proprietorship and types of institutions on the interference of Hausa with English tenses and aspects and their influence on the academic achievement of Hausa learners of English as a Second Language (L2).
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study;
1 What types of errorsin English verb-tenses are committed by Hausa/English bilinguals in institutions of higher learning?
2 What is the influence of gender on the interference errors made by Hausa/English bilinguals in English verb-tenses in institutions of higher learning?
3 To what extent does location influence the interference errors made in English verb tenses by Hausa learners of English in institutions of higher learning?
4 To what extent does proprietorship of schools (federal and state) have influence on the interference errors made in English verb-tenses by Hausa learners of English?
5 What is the influence of different types of institutions (colleges of education and polytechnics) on the interference errors made in English verb-tenses by Hausa/English bilinguals in institutions of higher learning?
6 What is the difference in the achievement scores of male and female Hausa learners of English in English verb tenses in institutions of higher learning?
7 To what extent does location influence the achievement scores of Hausa learners of
English in institution of higher learning in English verb tenses?
8 What is the influence of proprietorship of schools (federal and state) on the achievement scores of Hausa learners of English in institution of higher learning in English verb tenses?
9 What is the influence of types of institutions on the achievement scores of Hausa learners of English in institutions of higher learning in English verb tenses?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses drawn were tested at 0.05.level of significance.
HO1 There is no significant difference in the mean interference errors in English verb- tenses committed by male and female students in institutions of higher learning.
HO2 There is no significant difference in the mean interference errors in English verb- tenses committed by urban and rural students in institutions of higher learning.
HO3 There is no significant difference in the mean interference errors in English verb- tenses committed by students in federal and state institutions of higher learning.
HO4 There is no significant difference in the mean interference errors in English verb- tenses committed by Hausa/English bilinguals in different types of institutions of higher learning and their achievement.
HO5 There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores in English verb- tenses of male and female Hausa /English bilinguals in institutions of higher Learning.
HO6 There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of urban and rural bilingual students in institutions of higher learning in English verb tenses.
HO7 There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of bilingual students in federal and state institutions of higher learning in English verb tenses.
HO8 There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of Hausa/English bilinguals in different types of institutions of higher learning in English verb tenses.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
PATTERNS OF INTERFERENCE IN ENGLISH TENSES AMONG HAUSA ENGLISH BILINGUALS IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN JIGAWA STATE NIGERIA
PROJECTOPICS.com Support Team Are Always (24/7) Online To Help You With Your Project
Chat Us on WhatsApp » 07035244445
DO YOU NEED CLARIFICATION? CALL OUR HELP DESK:
07035244445 (Country Code: +234)YOU CAN REACH OUR SUPPORT TEAM VIA MAIL: [email protected]