Abstract
This study sought to examine students’ motivation for studying Ghanaian languages in University of Cape Coast. It adopted a descriptive survey design with a sample of 144 students in University of Cape Coast. The statistical methods employed were descriptive and inferential statistics. Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were used to test the hypotheses set to guide the study. It was revealed that students were motivated by both instrumental and integrative factors. However, it was revealed that students were more motivated by integrative factors than instrumental factors. Also, there were no differences between male and female students concerning how motivated they are in studying Ghanaian languages. Finally, it was revealed that students who believed they were pursuing Ghanaian languages because it has been prescribed as part of the university’s requirement for fulfilling the Bachelor of Arts Education honour were less motivated while students who are pursuing it because it is their desired programme of study were more motivated. Contrary to the preconceived notion that Ghanaian language students are using their programme of study as an easy route to attain good grades, it could be concluded that they are rather impelled by the desire to get a better knowledge of the Ghanaian culture.
Highlights
IntroductionA notable policy that emphasised the use of local languages at the lower level of education and a transition to the Englishonly instruction was the Guggisberg’s Ordinance in the year 1925
The results show that there is a statistically significant difference between the motivation of students who willingly applied to study Ghanaian language and those who considered it to be part of the University’s requirement to fulfilling the Bachelor of Education (Arts) and Bachelor of Arts degree (BA), U=842.00, p < 0.003 (2 tailed)
The purpose of the study was informed by the recent increase in the number of students pursuing the Ghanaian languages programme in the University of Cape Coast
Summary
A notable policy that emphasised the use of local languages at the lower level of education and a transition to the Englishonly instruction was the Guggisberg’s Ordinance in the year 1925. This policy emphasised that the local languages should be used as the LOI in the first three years of education and be made a subject of study at the upper level (primary 4 upwards) of education. It is surprising that after the administration of the nation fell in the hands of Ghanaians, there were inconsistencies regarding the implementation of the Language in Education policy of Ghana [20]
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