COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5
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PROBLEMS FACED BY PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS WHEN TEACHING ENGLISH AS THE ONLY MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN RURAL SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
It is well known that teaching is one of the most challenging jobs in any given society and the situation is only aggravated when the teacher has to teach in a language that most of the students do not understand. This challenge is especially acute when it comes to primary school teachers in rural communities in Nigeria: they are professionally required to teach English as a subject and the instrument through which all other subjects will be taught, to students whose first language is some indigenous Nigerian language: Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, or one of the more than five hundred and forty native languages spoken in the country (Ethnologue, 2023). This institutional contradiction between language policy and lived linguistic reality is one of the key issues that face Nigerian primary education nowadays.
Anambra State is an Igbo speaking state in the South-East part of Nigeria and has a long history of formal education that dates back to the colonial times. In spite of the impressive achievements in the area of educational access, school enrolment, and teacher training made within the past decades, primary schools in the rural areas of Anambra still experience systemic issues concerning teacher quality, the availability of resources, and the mismatch between the language of instruction and that of the home (Ezeokoli and Ugwu, 2020). Most of the pupils of primary schools in Anambra, being exposed to the English language practically only in the classroom, since it is the official medium of instruction after primary four and up (FRN, 2014), face the challenge of a language barrier that is quite difficult to cross but extremely weighty on the teacher.
The issues that the primary school teachers might be experiencing in this situation are multi-layered. On the pedagogical level, the task of teachers is to simultaneously impart English linguistic skills and apply English as a cognitive tool to study mathematics, basic science, social studies and other subjects a dual task that demands a high level of bilingual skills and pedagogical skill which many primary school teachers in rural areas have not been trained to undertake (Agbedo, 2015; Uchenna & Ezeugo, 2022). On the institutional level, teachers are subjected to the policy environment, which explicitly outlaws code-switching, although classroom practises render a certain amount of vernacular use to be practically unavoidable (Akindele, 2018). Socioculturally, educators have to negotiate between the demands of the communities in which English is regarded as a ticket to an economically active life despite the understanding that only English-based instructions can be both cognitively and emotionally dehumanising to the young learners (Benson, 2004; Chimbutane, 2021).
This work explores the particular issues that the primary school teachers face when teaching in English as the sole medium of instruction in rural schools in the state of Anambra. The proposed study will produce evidence-based knowledge that will be beneficial to professional development programmes, curriculum and language policy change by preempting teachers experience, perspectives and coping mechanisms in a manner that is likely to instil better perspectives of teachers and their students in rural Anambra.
The policy regarding the language in education that is currently in place in Nigeria, as expressed in the National Policy on Education of 2014 (FRN, 2014), indicates that the language of instruction in the first three years of primary education must be the mother-tongue of the child, or the language of the local community, and that English must be used as the language of instruction in primary year four. Practically, however, even this small concession in favour of the teaching of the mother-tongue is ill executed in most of the states of Nigeria. In Anambra State like in much of the country, the transition in English-medium instruction is being made far earlier than policy suggests due to a combination of parental pressure, colonial education culture, and administrative policy (Obiechina, 2021; Agbedo, 2015).
The school setting in the rural schools of Anambra is typified with a number of structural characteristics that complicate the issue of English-only instructions. The teacher-pupil ratios in the rural schools are quite high and often the ratio are much higher than forty pupils to one teacher and this means that individualised language support will be impossible to achieve (UBEC, 2022). Numerous rural primary schools do not have the basic instructional resources, such as textbooks in English, English dictionaries, as well as audio-visual aids that might facilitate the learning of the English language (Uchenna and Ezeta, 2022). Most of the rural communities in Anambra have very weak internet connectivity, which could enable them to access additional resources on learning English (NCC, 2023).
It has also been found that teacher preparation in the issue of English-medium instruction in Igbo-dominated rural settings is insufficient. Agbedo (2015) worries that the historic Nigerian teacher training programmes have focused on content knowledge over language pedagogy and that most of the primary school teachers lack the specialised skills of scaffolding the acquisition of the English language and at the same time instructing content subjects. Obiechina (2021) supports this finding by carrying out a study in Anambra State and finding that most teachers in rural primary schools were generally dependent on Igbo-English code-switching as a compensatory measure although they were anxious about the policy implication of such a move.
International studies are valuable in giving a comparative context of the situation in Nigerian rural primary schools. Benson (2004) is a comprehensive source of records on the systemic disadvantage to rural children whose mother tongue is sidelined by the school system in a multilingual African situation. More recently, Heugh (2020) and Piper et al. (2018) have shown through surveys in large scale in respectively Ethiopia and Kenya that children who are taught in their mother tongue during the early years of primary school perform better on a test of literacy, numeracy, and content knowledge compared to children who are taught in a second language or foreign language. Such results put some pressing doubt over the sustainability and fairness of English-only rural primary school policies in Anambra.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Although it is true that language policy plays a central role in defining the quality of education, surprisingly very little methodical focus has been given to the identification of the actual problems of this programme and the challenges facing primary school teachers that are to be deployed in the implementation of the English-only instruction in the rural state of Anambra. Although some Nigerian studies already investigated the issue of medium of instruction on the secondary level or in urban conditions (Owolabi, 2020; Okafor, 2022), and some studies were conducted in the state of Anambra with a focus on teacher performance and school quality (Obiechina, 2021; Ezeokoli and Ugwu, 2020), there is still a gap in the available empirical evidence on the specific issues teachers experience at the primary school level in rural areas when teaching using English.
This gap is consequential because primary education is the foundation upon which all subsequent learning is built. If rural primary school teachers are not adequately supported in teaching through English and if English-only instruction is creating barriers to foundational literacy and numeracy development among rural Anambra children then the downstream effects on secondary and tertiary education outcomes, as well as on lifelong economic prospects, are likely to be severe. Without rigorous documentation of teachers’ problems, policymakers, teacher educators, and school administrators lack the evidence base needed to design targeted interventions.
This study therefore sets out to systematically investigate the problems faced by primary school teachers in rural Anambra State when teaching English as the only medium of instruction, with a view to generating actionable evidence for policy and practice improvement.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of this study is to investigate the problems faced by primary school teachers when teaching English as the only medium of instruction in rural schools in Anambra State. Specifically, the study seeks to:
i. Identify the specific pedagogical problems teachers encounter when delivering all subjects through the medium of English in rural primary schools.
ii. Examine the challenges teachers face relating to their own English language proficiency when implementing English-only instruction.
iii. Assess the resource-related problems that hinder effective English-medium instruction in rural Anambra primary schools.
iv. Determine how the linguistic background of pupils compounds teachers’ challenges in implementing English-only instruction.
v. Explore the coping strategies employed by teachers in the face of these problems and assess their effectiveness.
1.4 Research Questions
- What specific pedagogical problems do teachers encounter when delivering all subjects through the medium of English in rural Anambra primary schools?
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What challenges related to their own English language proficiency do teachers face when implementing English-only instruction?
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What resource-related problems hinder effective English-medium instruction in rural Anambra primary schools?
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How does the Igbo-dominant linguistic background of pupils compound teachers’ challenges in implementing English-only instruction?
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What coping strategies do teachers employ to manage the problems of English-only instruction, and how effective are these strategies?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
HO1: There is no significant difference in the pedagogical problems reported by male and female primary school teachers when teaching through English-only instruction in rural Anambra schools.
HO2: There is no significant relationship between teachers’ years of experience and the severity of problems they encounter in implementing English-only instruction.
HO3: There is no significant difference in resource-related problems reported by teachers in different rural communities within Anambra State.
HO4: Teachers’ coping strategies for English-only instruction challenges do not significantly differ based on their level of professional qualification.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study is significant at multiple levels. For educational policymakers in Anambra State and at the national level, the findings will provide empirically grounded evidence to inform decisions about whether, and how, to revise language-in-education policy to better support rural primary school teachers and their pupils. The study’s findings may support arguments for more flexible policies that permit and support strategic use of Igbo alongside English in rural primary classrooms.
For teacher educators at the Anambra State colleges of education and universities that train primary school teachers, the study will illuminate specific competency gaps and pedagogical challenges that should be addressed in pre-service and in-service training programmes. For school administrators and supervisors, the findings will provide a richer understanding of what teachers need in terms of resources, support, and professional development to implement English-medium instruction more effectively.
More broadly, this study contributes to the international literature on language-in-education policy implementation in rural multilingual contexts, adding to a body of work that spans Africa, Asia, and Latin America and that is increasingly informing global conversations about linguistic rights, educational equity, and the decolonisation of curriculum.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study is limited to public primary schools (Primary 4 to Primary 6) in selected rural communities in Anambra State, Nigeria. It focuses exclusively on the challenges faced by primary school teachers not pupils in implementing English-only instruction. The study covers teachers across all subject areas, since English-only instruction applies to all subjects rather than to English language teaching alone. The study is geographically delimited to rural local government areas in Anambra State and does not include urban or peri-urban schools, or private primary schools. The study is conducted during the 2024–2025 academic year.
1.8 Definition of Key Terms
Primary School Teachers: Professionally trained or employed individuals responsible for teaching pupils in primary schools (Primary 1 to Primary 6) in Nigeria, in this study specifically those teaching in rural public primary schools in Anambra State.
English as the Only Medium of Instruction: The exclusive use of the English language by teachers to deliver lesson content, conduct classroom interaction, and assess learning across all subject areas in the primary school curriculum.
Rural Schools: Public primary schools located in communities that are geographically remote from major urban centres, typically characterised by limited infrastructure, lower population density, and predominantly agricultural economic activity.
Pedagogical Problems: Difficulties and challenges relating to the methods, strategies, and techniques of teaching, specifically those arising from the requirement to use English as the sole instructional language.
Code-switching: The alternating use of Igbo and English (or another language) within a single instructional episode, employed by teachers as a strategy to facilitate student understanding.
Mother Tongue: The first language acquired by a child in the home environment, in this context predominantly Igbo for rural Anambra primary school pupils.
References
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