Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the increasing preference for the English language among school children in Calabar and Owerri in the South–South and South–East geopolitical regions of Nigeria. Data for the study were sourced through participant observation, semi-structured interviews and the administration of questionnaires. With the aid of 20 research assistants who were bi/multilinguals in Nigerian indigenous language(s) and English, 678 questionnaires were randomly administered. Upon retrieval, 600 were validated from respondents in 20 randomly selected private secondary schools in the two urban cities. Findings show remarkable pressure from parents, peers, teachers, religion and personal choices that account for the increasing preference for English language use among the students. The practice is believed to be influenced by the official status of English and the prominent roles it performs in the Nigerian multilingual setting. In spite of the negative implications of the trend in Nigeria’s sociolinguistic context, participants related that they were motivated by the minimal roles of indigenous languages and the widening and accessible opportunities where one is proficient in English. It is recommended that stakeholders should garner collective efforts for renewed advocacy to encourage the use of Nigerian indigenous languages in order to save them from further endangerment and extinction.
Published Version
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