The Effect of Discussion Method of Teaching on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Performance in English Test of Orals

Abstract

Test of Orals is an aspect of English Language, a requisite subject for Nigerian secondary school students to pass at a credit level before gaining admission for university education. However, increasing failure in the performance of the Nigerian secondary students in the English Language has been attributed to the consistent poor performance in the aspect of Test of Orals. Consequently, this mixed-methods research examined the effect of the discussion method of teaching on the Nigerian secondary students’ performances in the Test of Orals. An intact class of 24 students were pretested, and then posttested after an intervention. Students’ performances in the pretest and posttest were quantitatively analysed via paired sample t-test. This was followed by collecting qualitative data from the tested students by interview on how they perceive the effect of the discussion method of teaching. While the quantitative result generally revealed that the discussion method of teaching was effective in improving the students’ performances in the ‘Test of Orals’, the qualitative result revealed that the intervention programme was effective as it made the English Language course interesting. Thus, it is recommended that discussion method of teaching can be used to help students improve their performances in ‘Test of Orals.