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A SURVEY OF THE CAUSES OF POOR LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION SKILLS AMONG STUDENTS

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Communication is a derived from the Latin word ‘communis’ meaning in English “to share” and is a process of exchanging information, ideals thoughts, feelings and emotion through speech, signals, writing or behaviour. Communication is define by valenzuela, as any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about person needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge or affective states. In communication process, a sender (encoder) encodes a medium/channel to send it to the receive (decoder) who decoded the message after processing the information and sends appropriate feedback/reply using a medium/channel as well. People communicate with each other in a number of ways that depend upon the message and the context of situation it is sent. Choice of communication channel and the individual’s style of communication also affect communication so that there are a variety of communication contexts and styles.

Communication Medium

Communication is based on the channel/medium which are used, verbal or non- verbal.

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication refers to the form of communication in which messages are transmitted verbally, i.e mouth sometimes known as oral production or communication. The main objective of every communication is primarily to have audience understand subject matter or message tried to be conveyed to them.

In oral/ verbal communication spoken words are used. It embraces speech, video coverage, face to face conversation radio, television transmission. In oral production communication is influenced by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of voice.

Written Communication

Written communication in written communication, graphic marks/ sigs or symbols are used to convey intended communicative meaning. A written message may be printed or hand written. In written communication messages can be transmitted via e- mail, letter, report, memo and the likes. Message in written communication is encoded in the vocabulary and grammar of the language, writing legibility style, precision and clarity of the language used.

Non-Verbal Communication               

        Non-verbal communication is the sending, receiving through non-spoken medium messages accompanied by gesture, body posture, facial expressions. Tone or voice carriage, obvious words are not in display.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Students should be proficient in communicating with English Language since it is the language of instruction as well as a subject taught in the interest of mastery for proficient use in the academic, business and social settings worldwide. In spite of the fact that all the textbooks used in schools are written in English Language to teach and as a subject learned, it is still sad that most Nigeria students find it difficult to express themselves well in the language and their performance in the subject in the school cert level as a subject is still abysmally poor.  

   This prompts probing into the find out the factors responsible for the mass failure in examinations and daily poor expression usage. What may be the cause of poor communication among students in English language;

Can the problem be that of interference with the mother tongue? Can it be phonological or lexical problem? Can it be that experienced and qualified teachers are not used in teaching the subjects in schools?

The above mentioned questions forms the crux or the most important part of the problem to be examined.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to critically examine the concept communication vis-à-vis the problems and causes of poor language communication skills among senior secondary school students. Also to gear efforts to solving towards solving or ameliorating them.

English as a Means of Communication in Education

        In today’s social, business and academic world, English is no longer considered a foreign language. It is globally adopted as a common means of communication. It officially now has a special status in numerous countries of the world with a population of over a few billion speakers. It is spoken in well over a hundred and fifteen countries. English language is widely used as a tool of communication in education and other diverse human endeavours.

        It is an indispensable tool in the contemporary world as a powerful means of communication. In Nigeria, it is the official language as well as the language of everyday social interaction (second language). Based on this, there is need toi sustain and attain international proficiency and mastery. It is one of the parameters for measuring a nations development in contemporary world. English as a language has spread to almost all parts of the world, hence the universal adoption of English as a world language. Thus, Brumfat (1915) asserts “certainly it is now true that English language is no longer the exclusive property of native speakers of it”.  

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In the educational settings, great importance is placed on the use of English language, hence this study would be found useful in improving the quality of communication among students in the selected schools of the Local Government Areas of Oyo State. The study would also help to inform government, communities and parents about the importance of English language as a global means of communication and hence assume responsibilities of providing adequate funds to support (like teaching aids) in the teaching of the subject in schools. It is therefore, the hope of the researcher that the study would immensely benefit students and teachers alike.  

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

The linguistic environment, mother tongue inference, home background are some of the factors that affect students verbal skills. It is also assumed that both female and male students have the problem of poor communication with English Language. The inability of the teacher to the English subject matter and poor teaching method adopted in teaching do affect students communicating with English Language.  

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions are adopted to guide the direction of the direction of the study.

Is there possibility of L1 (Mother Tongue) inference with L2 (English Language) learning mastery? Is there a relationship between student’s verbal interaction in the school and of home background? Do performances of students in the use of English vary with the factor of experience/qualified teachers teaching the subject? DELIMITATION

The study was carried out in Ibadan, Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. The scope is limited to five selected secondary schools in the Local Government Area specified. The schools are;  

Orogun Grammar School, Orogun Akinyele High School, Ibadan Ibadan Boys High School Sty. Annes School, Molete Honey Comb Group of Schools U. I. Ibadan

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