Effects of Language of Instruction on Junior Secondary Students’ Performance in Mathematics

Abstract

This study investigated the Effects of Language of Instruction on Junior Secondary Students’ Performance and Terminology Achievement in Mathematics. A case study of Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of eighty (80) students were drawn from two (2) schools. The study was guided by two (2) research questions and two (2) hypotheses. Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) and Mathematics Terms Achievement Test (MTAT) were used as instruments for data collection. The students were taught the concepts of Algebra, Word Problem and Fraction for two weeks. The PRE-MAT and POST-MAT were administered to the students. Mathematics Terms Achievement Test (MTAT) was administered one week after the administration of POST-MAT. The students’ scripts were scored and the resulting data were subjected to data analysis. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Major findings of the study showed that the experimental group achieved higher and retained more mathematical concepts than their counterparts in the control group. It is therefore recommended that teaching mathematics strictly in English should be de-emphasis to enable the mathematics teachers to explain in the mother tongue whenever they are teaching. Also, curriculum developers should take into consideration the language interference between English and the language of the environment in their planning for junior secondary school students.