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ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to identify the factors affecting the acquisition of speaking skills in English amongst secondary students in Toro Local Government Area, Nigeria. Teachers use Standard English for instruction yet the learners find it difficult to communicate using Standard English and this is reflected when expressing themselves. The main concern was to identify factors affecting students‟ acquisition of speaking skills in English. The objectives were to: establish the instructional resources used in teaching speaking skills in English, establish the methods teachers of English use in the teaching of speaking skills, establish the common errors that students made when speaking in English and to identify other factors affecting the acquisition of speaking skills in English. The findings of the study were to provide teachers of English, students and the heads of English department with insights on the problems that students face in the process of acquiring speaking skills in English as well as help them improve their verbal communicative ability. The scope involved students from 5 public primary schools in Toro LGA, Nigeria. The research was guided by Krashen‟s theory of language acquisition and learning. Literature was reviewed as per the study objectives and a descriptive survey design was employed to gather information on the factors that affected students‟ acquisition of speaking skills in English. The variables under investigation were independent, intervening and dependent variables. The target population comprised 1210 students and 9 teachers of English out of which 4 were Heads of Department.  In one school, a Hausa teacher was the HoD. The total population was 1219 respondents. The sample size comprised 3 randomly and purposively selected public primary schools, 137 form three students, 6 form three teachers of English out of whom were 3 were heads of the English department making a total of 145 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedule, observed schedule and a checklist then analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The analyzed data were presented descriptively using tables, charts, graphs and percentages. The findings indicated that English course books, literary texts and the chalk board were the most available and accessible instructional resources in the schools. Teachers used few learner-centred teaching methods that enhanced students to speak English in the classroom. Role play was disliked by teachers as it was time consuming. However, in the questionnaires teachers indicated that they employed the method in teaching English speaking skills. Students made errors when they spoke in English. Students‟ acquisition of speaking skills in English was affected by their age of enrolment, lack of motivation and lack of practice. It was concluded that schools lacked variety of instructional resources. Age of enrolment in school affected acquisition of speaking skills. Teachers did not employ enough teaching methods that could give students opportunities to practice speaking good English. This would minimize the errors they made while speaking English. The researcher recommended provision of a variety of instructional resources and teachers to vary the teaching methods that enable students to acquire speaking skills in English successfully. Children should start school at the right age.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Language is very important in the daily lives of people since it is the means by which people communicate. In the school curriculum, English language performs a very vital role in the learning process in terms of the learners‟ proficiency in all the four language skills. For instance, it is the language of instruction in the Nigerian   education system in all the subject areas except Hausa and foreign languages (FLs) like French (Kimemia, 2001). Speaking, therefore, as a skill is defined as the oral mode or the productive skill which is more complicated and which involves more than just pronouncing words (Iqbal, 2012). While speaking, people get involved in three major kinds of speaking situations and these are: interactive (discussion and dialogues), partially interactive (lecture) and noninteractive (sermons and speeches) speaking situations. Interactive speaking situations include face-to-face conversation and telephone calls, in which we are alternately listening and speaking. In this situation, one has a chance to ask for clarification, repetition or slower speech from our conversation partner. On the other hand, partially interactive situations involve giving a speech to a live audience, where the conversation is that the audience does not interrupt the speech.  The speaker can nevertheless see the audience and judge from the expressions on their faces and body language whether or not he or she is being understood.

In the acquisition of a second language, speaking is a vital skill to master. In spite of that, according to Baker and Westrup (2003), in many countries, because speaking skills are not assessed teachers usually disregard the skill and focus on other areas of language learning features such as grammar or vocabulary. That was especially true in the case of English Education in Vietnamese high schools. However, in numerous colleges, students‟ ability to speak in English is appreciated and has become a criterion in evaluating linguistic performance. As a result, at the English department of Hanoi University, speaking English is a subject on the curriculum taught during the first two years.

Mistakes, therefore, should be welcome (Iqbal, 2012) in Communicative language teaching and in speaking activities like imitating, answering verbal cues and interactive conversation.  Oral presentation of content should be practical and functional in real life.  Appropriate feedback should also be provided, but one should not interrupt the communication process as this will discourage further verbal communication. In addition, both fluency and accuracy in the use of English should be addressed and strategies like asking for clarification, paraphrasing, use of gestures, and initiation of talk using words like; hey, so and by the way should be encouraged. Thus listening and speaking skills need a lot of emphasis in the learning process since these skills form a strong foundation in the teaching of English.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The ability to speak fluently in English is the chief goal of many learners. Successful language communication through speaking and writing modes require constant practice. This implies that teachers of English need to examine the teaching of speaking as a skill by taking into consideration the content and methodology that would help learners learn to speak English (Floden, 1997).  It is argued that speaking skills have not developed because they are not tested in certificates. The reason for difficulties in testing speaking being speaking skills involve a combination of skills which may have correlation or do not lend themselves well to objective testing (Kitao & Kitao, 1996). This, therefore, means that English language cannot be learnt by just mastering the rules of grammar or through the lecture method. Rather, English is learned through conversation and discussion in context. This is true because the main purpose of learning English language is to improve the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) to enable them use English language communicatively.

The perennial poor performance in English in the schools in Toro Local Government Area and the type of form four leavers who join universities and colleges has raised a lot of concern to the general public. Some can hardly construct a grammatical English sentence as evidenced in the application letters written for admission to various institutions of learning. However, as much as English language proficiency plays a vital role in the learner‟s day-to-day life, many students still perceive speaking in English a hard subject to learn. Speaking in English is considered hard to acquire, leading to poor performance in English and in other subjects that require English language proficiency to learn.

In view of the above arguments, proper attention needs to be given to factors affecting the acquisition of speaking skills in English among learners at the Primary school level. The essence of this research was, therefore, to investigate the various factors affecting students‟ acquisition of speaking skills in the English language.

1.3 Research objectives

The specific objectives that guided the study were to:

1. Investigate which instructional resources are used in the teaching of speaking

skills in English.

1. Establish the teaching methods used in teaching speaking skills in English.       Establish the common errors that students make when speaking in English.  iv.            Identify other factors affecting students‟ acquisition of speaking skills in English.

1.4 Research questions

The study sought to answer the following research questions:

1. Which instructional resources are used in the teaching of speaking skills in English?
2. Which teaching methods do teachers of English use when teaching English speaking skills?
3. Which errors did students commonly make when speaking in English?
4. Which other factors affect students‟ acquisition of speaking skills in English?

1.5 Significance of the study

The findings of the study will provide teachers of English, Heads of English Department, students and administrators with insights on some of the problems learners face in the process of acquiring speaking skills in English and help them where possible. In addition, it will help teachers improve their teaching methodology with a view of bringing up students who are able to speak good English. This can be achieved through involving them in tasks like brainstorming, discussions and information gap. These activities will encourage students to speak English.