COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5
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COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR MADE BY JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Grammar is the foundation of language, which offers the rules and patterns which structure a communication to be accurate, logical and socially suitable. To them, students learning English as a second or foreign language, acquisition of English grammar is one of the most persistent and intricate cognitive issues in the process of language learning one that continues into the secondary schooling period and, in many cases, well into adulthood. In Nigeria, with English as an official language, also used as a medium of instruction, and as an indicator of education level, not only linguistic errors in English can occur, but also they can have important social, academic, and economic implications to their users.
The junior secondary school students of South-East Nigeria which encompasses the states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo are in a rather urgent position in the continuum of learning English language. The age of these students is usually 10-16 and they are at the threshold of developing their English grammar and in this process their grammar is changing very fast, with formal training, through peer contacts and reading written materials. The grammatical structures that they will solidify during the years will determine their writing and communication in academics over the years to come. However, just like the large body of research on second language acquisition (SLA) and error correction testifies, it is also during this stage that systematic grammatical errors several of which can be traced back to the structural characteristics of Igbo, the language of predominance of the South-East Nigerian students, are most widespread, and most difficult to eliminate (Corder, 1967; Ellis, 2008; Kachru, 2005).
As a research process in applied linguistics, error analysis refers to the systematic identification, classification, and description of linguistic errors committed by the language learners. With the classical article of Corder (1967) that re-engineered the errors as evidence of interlanguage developmental processes of learners instead of errors, error analysis has produced an extensive literature that has shed light on the frequent errors in grammar happening to students with different mother tongues learning English as a second language. Researchers have reported typical patterns of English grammar errors among Hausa-speaking, Yoruba-speaking, and Igbo-speaking learners of English (Ugwu and Anagbogu, 2020; Ayeomoni, 2019; Obuasi, 2023), which serve as a theoretical and empirical framework on which the present study is based.
This research paper is narrowed down to those grammatical errors committed by junior secondary school learners in South-East Nigeria schools with the major theoretical and methodological approach being error analysis. The paper shall endeavour to record the areas of grammatical errors that are most common and systematic of these students, to elaborate on the linguistic and pedagogical cause of these mistakes, and to elicit viable suggestions as to the teaching of English language and curriculum development in the South-East Nigerian school scenario.
1.1 Background of the Study
South-East Nigeria is mainly composed of Igbo speakers, where English is the official language of education, state and form businesses. The five zone states (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo) are not only similar in terms of language background that is, Igbo, but more or less in terms of educational frameworks and issues. In these states, junior secondary schools are attended by a diverse group of students, i.e. not only children of rural and urban origin but also of different socioeconomic backgrounds and with different levels of previous contact with English via primary education and family literacy backgrounds (UBEC, 2022).
The junior secondary school curriculum of English language instituted by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council(NERDC, 2012) addresses the broad areas of grammatical structures which encompass tense, aspect, agreement, articles, prepositions, pronouns, sentence structure and punctuation. Nonetheless, the extent to which these grammatical constructions are acquired systematically by students of JSS also differs significantly, and the teachers as well as researchers all state that in some aspects of grammar, Igbo-speaking students of English have the issues of particular problematization (Ugwu & Anagbogu, 2020; Obuasi, 2023).
Igbo grammar has a number of structural characteristics that have been found to be possible causes of interference in the acquisition of English grammar by the JSS students. Igbo does not have the system of grammatical/definite and indefinite articles in the English language, which can be perhaps the reason behind the use and omission of a/an and the/the that is very often erroneous and abnormal among English learners of Igbo (Eze, 2021). The Igbo tense marking is more different with the English system, where aspect takes precedence over tense, thus possibly leading to general problems with the English tense and aspect agreement (Eze, 2021; Agbo and Eze, 2022). The system of subject-verb agreement in Igbo is another structure which is structurally different than English, which may be the reason behind the abundance of agreement errors in those studies of Nigerian English learners (Ugwu and Anagbogu, 2020).
In addition to mother-tongue interference, other elements have also been found to cause grammatical errors among the South-East Nigerian JSS students. These involve the exposure to non-standard varieties of the English language (specifically, the Nigerian Pidgin English, with its grammar totally different when compared with the Standard Nigerian English), lack of proper preparation of teachers to teach grammar, lack of practise in formal written English both in and outside of school and the fact that there are not very many English reading resources in most of the South-East Nigerian school settings (Ayeomoni, 2019; Obiechina, 2021). One of the goals of this research is to understand the relative role of these factors in the determined patterns of errors committed by students when working with English grammar.
The research of grammatical mistakes of second language English learners on the international level has yielded abundant and subtle results in various language settings. The synthesis of studies on written corrective feedback and grammar error reduction by Bitchener and Storch (2016) offers a thorough list of the type of grammatical construction articulations, articles, prepositions, verb tense, and subject-verb agreement that repeatedly prove to be problematic to the learners that vary widely in their linguistic backgrounds. James (1998) and Ellis (2008) established conceptual foundations of the analysis of errors that still prevail in the research on the topic. More recently, recent research in West Africa, such as Adebiyi (2023) in Nigeria and Mensah (2022) in Ghana, have also reported on grammatical error patterns in the written English of secondary school students which can be compared to the findings of the present study to provide an overview of the scale of their pattern.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Although the centrality of English grammar in academic achievement and the awareness that among teachers and educational administrators in South-East Nigeria that JSS students also commit systematic and frequent grammatical errors, there is a pronounced lack of systematic, rigorous, and region-specific empirical research study that records the nature, frequency, and origin of such errors. Majority of the available studies on the analysis of errors among Nigerian students mostly involve senior secondary or university students (Ayeomoni, 2019; Obuasi, 2023), study one state instead of the entire South-East area, or are mainly descriptive and do not provide enough analysis of the pedagogical and linguistic factors that cause the errors detected.
This educational implication is that JSS is the prelude to secondary education when grammatical habits correct and uncorrect are founded and fixed. Mistakes which have fossilised during the JSS years are much more difficult to correct during the later years (Ellis, 2008; Bitchener and Storch, 2016). The absence of a rigorous, zone-wide evidence base that determines the most prevalent and chronic grammatical errors committed by South-East Nigerian JSS students, language teachers, curriculum developers, and examination bodies prevents the latter with the specifics of designing a targeted instructional intervention and an assessment tool.
This study thus fills this gap by systematically recording and analysing the extensive grammatical errors among junior secondary school students in government schools in the South-East geopolitical region of Nigeria with the view of coming up with pedagogically actionable information on English language teaching and teacher development in the area.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of this study is to identify and analyse the common grammatical mistakes made by junior secondary school students in public schools in South-East Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to:
i. Identify the most common grammatical error types in the written English of JSS students in South-East Nigeria.
ii. Determine the frequency and distribution of grammatical errors across major grammatical categories, including tense, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, and pronouns.
iii. Examine the extent to which Igbo mother-tongue interference accounts for the grammatical errors identified.
iv. Investigate whether the frequency and types of grammatical errors differ significantly based on students’ gender, class level (JSS1, JSS2, JSS3), and state of origin within the South-East zone.
v. Make recommendations for pedagogical approaches and curriculum adjustments that can help reduce the frequency of common grammatical errors among South-East Nigerian JSS students.
1.4 Research Questions
- What are the most common grammatical error types in the written English of JSS students in South-East Nigerian public schools?
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What is the frequency and distribution of grammatical errors across major grammatical categories (tense, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, and pronouns)?
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To what extent does Igbo mother-tongue interference account for the grammatical errors identified?
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Do the frequency and types of grammatical errors differ significantly based on students’ gender, class level, and state of origin within the South-East zone?
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What pedagogical approaches can help reduce the frequency of common grammatical errors among South-East Nigerian JSS students?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
HO1: There is no significant difference in the frequency of grammatical errors made by male and female JSS students in South-East Nigerian public schools.
HO2: There is no significant difference in the types of grammatical errors made by JSS1, JSS2, and JSS3 students in South-East Nigerian public schools.
HO3: There is no significant difference in the frequency of grammatical errors made by students from different states within the South-East geopolitical zone.
HO4: Igbo mother-tongue interference does not significantly account for the grammatical errors identified in students’ written English.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study has significant contributions both theoretical and practical. In principle, it broadens and deepens the tradition of the second language acquisition research in error analysis, by offering a geographically and linguistically narrow local dataset of grammatical errors of an underrepresented geographically and linguistically specific context the Igbo-speaking South-East of Nigeria which has been underrepresented in the international literature. The research also brings forward theoretical debates concerning the nature and maintenance of mother-tongue interference in the nature of second language acquisition among adolescent learners who are taught a second language.
In practise, the results will offer English language teachers working in South-East Nigerian public junior secondary schools an overview of the particular grammatical framework that needs most attention (and most prolonged instructional input). In the case of curriculum developers and textbook authors that have to work on the JSS English language curriculum in South-East Nigeria, the study will determine the areas of grammar that teaching materials should be reinforced. In the case of the examination bodies, such as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) the conclusions of the study can be used to design grammar assessment questions that are sensitive towards the particular difficulties encountered by the South-East Nigerian learners. The teacher education institutions will also be benefitted because the findings can be applied to restructure grammar pedagogy modules in pre-service and in-service programmes of English language teachers.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The research will only include students in junior secondary schools (JSS1-JSS3) in the five states of the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, which are Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo. The nature of grammatical mistakes in written English is the particular study as demonstrated in composition writing and written exercises in grammar of students; they are not considered in oral grammatical mistakes and mistakes in other subjects other than English. The research deals with students aged 10-16 and both boys and girls take part in the research. This excludes the case of the private schools. The research is carried out in academic year 2024-2025.
1.8 Definition of Key Terms
Grammar: The systematic set of rules and principles governing the structure of a language, including morphology (word forms) and syntax (sentence structure), as applied in this study to Standard Nigerian English at the junior secondary school level.
Grammatical Errors: Deviations from the norms of Standard Nigerian English grammar in students’ written production, including morphological, syntactic, and lexico-grammatical errors.
Error Analysis: A branch of applied linguistics concerned with the systematic study of the errors produced by second language learners, aimed at identifying error types, measuring their frequency, and explaining their linguistic and pedagogical sources.
Interlanguage: The developing linguistic system of a second language learner, characterised by features of both the learner’s mother tongue and the target language and subject to change over time as the learner receives more input and instruction (Selinker, 1972).
Mother-Tongue Interference: The influence of the structural features of a learner’s first language (in this context, Igbo) on their production and comprehension in a second language (English), which may lead to grammatical errors in the target language.
Junior Secondary School: The first three years of secondary education in Nigeria (JSS1–JSS3), corresponding to Basic 7–9 in the Universal Basic Education framework, typically serving students between the ages of 10 and 16.
Fossilisation: The process by which certain grammatical errors become permanently fixed in a learner’s interlanguage, resisting further correction despite continued instruction and exposure to the target language (Ellis, 2008).
South-East Nigeria: The geopolitical zone comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states, characterised by a predominantly Igbo-speaking population.
References
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Agbo, I. I., & Eze, C. O. (2022). Aspect, tense and the Igbo learner of English: Implications for grammar pedagogy in South-East Nigerian secondary schools. Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching, 13(1), 57–74.
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Mensah, F. K. (2022). Common grammatical errors in the written English of junior secondary school students in Ghana. African Journal of Language and Literature, 9(3), 112–127.
Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council [NERDC]. (2012). English language curriculum for junior secondary schools. NERDC Press.
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