English Language Achievement Test Research Articles

Emotional intelligence, self-esteem and gender as correlate of secondary school students’ academic achievement in Anambra State, Nigeria

This study investigated emotional intelligence, self-esteem and gender as correlate of secondary school students’ academic achievement in Anambra State. Three research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The study was carried out in Onitsha, and Awka education zones of Anambra State, Nigeria. The design adopted for this study was correlational research designs. The population of the study comprised all the year two senior secondary school (SSS2) students in the 263 public secondary schools in Anambra state. The sample for the study consists of 1,028 students obtained through non-proportionate stratified random sampling technique from 18 secondary schools in Onitsha, and Awka education zones. The instruments for data collection include a structured questionnaire that was used to collect data on the student’s emotional intelligence called Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (EIQ), a Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) and Mathematics and English Language Achievement Test (MEAT). The instrument was face and content validated by two experts. The research questions were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson r) while hypothesis was tested using multiple regression. Results of the research showed that there was a significant relationship between emotional intelligence, self-esteem and gender with academic achievement of secondary school students in mathematics and English language. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made. One of the recommendations is that government should organize seminar and workshop for teachers to enable them to understand the concepts of emotional intelligence and self-esteem in order to build their own emotions and that oftheir students.

The Effect of English Education with Digital Stories on Self-Efficacy, Achievement, and Opinions of Foreign National Teacher Candidates

This study aims to determine the effects of English as a foreign language education (EFL) designed using digital stories on the self-efficacy and achievement of foreign national teacher candidates and to reveal the educational experiences of prospective teachers with digital stories. To realize this purpose, a mixed pattern approach has been adopted. The research was conducted with 30 foreign national teacher candidates in the 2021-2022 academic year. Digital stories have been developed for education faculties by the teaching of EFL. Digital story training was applied online for ten weeks as a two-hour lesson. The research data were collected through a Self-Efficacy Scale, an Achievement Test, and Interview Questions for Teaching English with Digital Stories. It was determined that English education with digital stories increased the self-efficacy and achievement of the participants after the training compared to the pre-training. In addition, participants' awareness of digital stories increased; they described education as fun, economical, and instructive and thought positively in general. Accordingly, it is recommended to prefer English education with digital stories when it is desired to develop self-efficacy, achievement, and digital story experiences. Keywords: Foreign language education, Teacher training, Educational technology, Self-efficacy, Achievement, Digital Storytelling.

Influence of Multiple-Choice Item Ordering on Academic Achievement in English Language and Mathematics in Unity Schools in North-East, Nigeria

The study investigated the influence of test item ordering on academic achievement in English language and Mathematics in unity schools in North-East, Nigeria. The study was experimental. The population comprised all the 5403 JSS 3 students in unity schools in North-East, Nigeria. A sample of 600 JSS 3 students was used. Two instruments, each prepared in three different formats were used for the study viz: (1) Mathematics Achievement Test and (2) English Language Achievement each of the test was prepared in three formats following the ways the items were arranged (1) Easy to difficult (ETD), (2) Difficult to easy (DTE), and (3) Mixed difficulty indices (MDI). The instruments were validated by four experts; two in measurement and evaluation, one in mathematics, and one in English language. Test-retest reliability was used to establish reliability indices of the two instruments. The reliability estimates that were obtained for the Mathematics achievement test are as follows: format 0.512, for format ETD, 0.849 for DTE and 0.718 for MDI. The reliability estimates that were obtained for the English Language achievement test are as follows: 0.728 for format ETD, 0.669 for format DTE and 0.877 for format MDI. ANOVA was used to test the null hypotheses. The major finding of the study were: (1) the results showed that JSS 3 students that were exposed to Difficult to easy (DTE) format in Mathematics had the highest mean achievement scores. (2) There was a significant difference between the mean achievement scores in English language of JSS 3 students exposed to different orderings of the items in favour of DTE test item format. Based on the findings, it was recommended that English Language tests items should be ordered from the difficult ones to the easy ones since the highest academic achievement of students was recorded using this method and that Mathematics tests items should be ordered from the easy ones to the difficult ones since the highest academic achievement of students was recorded using this method.

Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies as Predictors of Reading Comprehension Achievement among Students with Learning Disabilities in Nigeria

Reading is an essential language skill in students’ educational success. However, reports have shown that the most prevalent type of academic difficulties among secondary school students with learning disabilities is reading difficulties. Previous studies focused more on interventions to improve reading comprehension achievement of students with learning disabilities than on the influence of metacognitive strategies on students’ reading comprehension achievement. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of metacognitive awareness of (before, during and after) reading strategies on the reading comprehension achievement of students with learning disabilities in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive research design. A sample of 100 students with learning disabilities was purposively selected from nine SSS in Ibadan, Nigeria. Instruments used were Academic records, Screening Checklist for Suspected Learning Disabilities, English Language Achievement Test, Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Questionnaire and the Reading Comprehension Test. Data collected were analyzed using the Multiple regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance. There was a joint contribution of the independent variables (metacognitive awareness of before, during and after reading strategies) to reading comprehension achievement (F(3,96)=3.61; R2=0.101). The result also reveals the relative contributions of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies (before, during and after) to the reading comprehension achievement among students with learning disabilities as follows: before (β = 0.25), after (β = 0.23) and during (β = -0.17) reading strategies. The study concludes that metacognitive awareness of (before, during and after) reading strategies influence reading comprehension achievement of students with learning disabilities. It is therefore recommended that students with learning disabilities should be trained on the use of metacognitive (before, during and after) reading strategies for improved reading comprehension achievement.

Teachers’ Motivation as a Correlate to Secondary School Students’ Achievement in English Language in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria

The study was on Teachers’ motivation as a correlate to secondary school students’ achievement in English language in Nsukka education zone Enugu State, Nigeria. The study sought to find out how teacher’s motivation correlates with student’s academic achievement in English Language in secondary schools in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. Four specific purposes were formulated to guide the study. Four research questions and four null hypotheses were formulated to guide the conduct of the study. The design of the study was correlational research design and the population of the study was one hundred and twenty-twoo (122) English language teachers and one hundred and twenty-four (124) SS II students in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was Teachers’ Motivation Rating Scale (TMRS) for English language teachers and English Language Achievement Test (ELAT) for the students. Data were analyzed using correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination (r2) for all the research questions and t-cal and t-cri (sig t) were used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that: teachers’ condition of service, provision of incentives to teachers, provision of adequate instructional materials for teaching and school leadership all had a very high relationship/correlation with students’ academic achievement in English language, and there were no significant relationship between teachers’ condition of service, provision of incentives for teachers, provision of adequate instructional materials for teaching and school leadership and students’ academic achievement in English language. Based on these findings, the researcher made some recommendations.

Psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on achievement of adolescents with hearing impairment in English language

This study examined psychosocial impact of Covid-19 on the achievement of secondary school adolescents with hearing disabilities in English Language in Lagos State. A survey research design was employed with population of hearing-impaired adolescents. A sample of hundred adolescents with hearing impairment was selected for the study using purposive sampling technique to select the participants and simple random sampling to select four schools practicing inclusion. The instruments for data collection were ELAT (English Language Achievement Test) and Psychosocial Scale (PSS) with reliabilities of 0.69 and 0.79 respectively. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression were used to analyse data collected. The hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the four hypotheses tested revealed that aggression, self-esteem and communication have positive relationship to the academic achievement of the hearing-impaired adolescents in English Language as a result of Covid-19. Further findings discovered that there was a combined effect of aggression, self-esteem and communication on academic performance of secondary school adolescents with hearing impairment in English Language. Therefore, teaching methodology should be more of cooperative learning approach to motivate sense of belongings and friendliness of adolescents with hearing impairment in Lagos State.

THE HOME AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT AS CORRELATE OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONGST STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN OBIO-AKPOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE

The study examined home and school environment as correlate of academic achievement in English Language amongst students with hearing impairment in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. Correlational research design was used for the study. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study consisted of (65) 35 females and 30 male senior secondary school students with hearing impairment in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 50 respondents with age ranging from 13-22 years for the study. A self-designed questionnaire titled: ‘Home and School Environment Questionnaire (HSEQ) and English Language Achievement Test (ELAT) was used for data collection. The reliability coefficient for (HSEQ) was r=0.80 and (ELAT) was r=0.70. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used in answering the research questions and testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that there was a high positive and significant relationship between parents’ educational attainment, family size, and class size, on academic achievement in English Language among students with hearing impairment in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. It was recommended among others that; Government and other well-meaning individuals should assist in the decongestion of our already over populated classrooms in order to aid students’ academic achievement across all subject areas.

TEACHERS’ CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE AS PREDICTORS OF STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SELECTED SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS

Purpose: In spite of the fact that English language is very important in the society the performance of the students in the recent time in English language examination is not encouraging. Several factors have been mentioned as being responsible to students' inability to perform very well, such as teaching strategies and students’ attitude. This study therefore examined teachers’ content knowledge and attitude as predictors of students' achievement in English language in Ibadan Metropolis
 Methodology: Descriptive research design was adopted using forty-four (44) teachers and One thousand seven hundred and sixteen (1716) senior secondary two students selected through random sampling technique. Three research instruments were used to generate data namely: Teachers' attitude to English language teaching questionnaire, Teachers subject mastery scale and English language achievement test. The data collected were analysed using multiple regressive at 0.05 level of significance.
 Results: Findings indicated that there is a significant positive relationship between teachers' subject mastery and students' achievement (r=0.614; p<0.05). Also, there is significant positive correlation between Teachers attitude and students" achievement in English language (0.284; p<0.05). There is a composite relationship between the two independent variables and the dependent variable (academic achievement) (R =0.732). The independent variables accounted for 53.6% of the total variance in the students' academic achievement (Adjusted R2 =0.536) and this composite contribution is significant (F(2,1714) = 28.921; p>0.05. Subject mastery had significant relative contribution to achievement (β = 0.037; t=3.105, p<0.05) and teachers attitude also had significant relative contribution to achievement (β=0.102; t=4.087; p>0.05).
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: It was recommended, therefore that teachers should have a good content knowledge to improve students' performance in English language and the government should make sure that teachers employed to teach at various levels of learning most possess the necessary content knowledge.

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

This study investigated impact of transformational leadership style on students’ academic achievement in English language Owerri Municipal Council of Imo State. Based on the purpose of the study, one research question guided the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all 18 Principals and 1, 267 SS2 students. The instruments used for data collection were transformational leadership style questionnaire adapted and developed by Leithwood and Jantzi (1999) and English language Achievement Test (ELAT). The validity of the instruments was done by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation and one expert in Educational Foundation and Administration. The reliability of the instruments was 0.93 and 0.90, determined using Cronbach Alpha and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) statistics. Data collected were analyzed using correlations. Thus, it concludes that, transformational leadership styles have positive relationship with student’s academic achievement.

Peer Group Influence and Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in English Language

The study was on the influence peer group on the academic performance secondary school students in English language in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, Nigeria. To carry out the purpose of the research, a null hypothesis was formulated to guide the study. The descriptive research design was utilised for the research. A sample size of two hundred (200) respondents was selected randomly for the study through the simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire and an English Language achievement test were the instruments used in the collection data. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation by experts in measurement and evaluation. The reliability estimates of the instruments were established through test-retest reliability method. Pearson moment product correlation analysis was the statistical tool adopted to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the finding revealed that peer group significantly influences the academic performance secondary school students in English Language. Based on the finding, it was recommended that students should be on the type of friends they keep so as not to fall into the company of bad friends (peer) who may influence them negatively.

EFFECTS OF TWO MODES OF COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION ON PUPILS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE SPELLING IN NIGER STATE- NIGERIA

The study investigated the effects of two modes of Computer Assisted Tutorial, Drill and Practice Instructional packages (CAI) on Pupils Achievement and Retention in English Language Spelling in Niger State. Findings show that CAI Tutorial, drill and practice packages mode strategy of instruction enhanced achievement and retention of English language spelling. The study adopted quasi–experimental design. Purposive sampling was used to select six schools from the seven educational zones in Niger State. The study sample comprised of 87 males and 93 females. Experimental groups were taught with CAI Tutorial, Drill and Practice packages while Control group was taught with lecture method. Six research questions and six hypotheses guided the study. English Language Achievement Test (ELAT) was used for data collection. The CAI packages and ELAT were face validated by experts while the reliability was established using Kuder Richardson (KR 20) analysis and the reliability coefficient was found to be r = 0.74. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used in the testing of the hypotheses. It is recommended that, curriculum planners should infuse CAI packages into English language programmes so that primary school teachers’ can use it to teach English language concepts.

School Administration and Academic Performance of Secondary School Students

The research investigated the relationship between school administration and performance in English language among secondary school students in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, four null hypotheses were formulated to direct the study. The descriptive research design was adopted for the study. A sample size of two hundred (200) respondents was randomly selected for the study. The selection was done through the simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire and an English Language achievement test were the instruments used for data collection. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation by experts in measurement and evaluation. The reliability estimate of the instrument was established through test-re-test reliability method. Pearson Moment Product Correlation Analysis was the statistical analysis technique adopted to test the hypotheses under study. Each hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the findings revealed that school administration significantly related to the academic performance of students in English Language of secondary school students in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended that school administrators to effectively play their roles in order to enhance academic achievement of students.

Truancy and Secondary School Students' Academic Performance in English Language

The research investigated the influence of truancy on the academic performance in English language of secondary school students in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve this, a null hypothesis was formulated to direct the study. The descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The study sample size was two hundred (200) respondents who were randomly selected for the study. The selection was done through the simple random sampling technique. An English Language achievement test and a questionnaire were the instruments used for data collection. These instruments were subjected to face and content validation by experts in measurement and evaluation. The reliability estimate of the instrument was established through test re-test reliability method. Pearson moment product correlation analysis was the test statistical technique adopted to test the hypothesis under study at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the finding showed that truancy significantly influences the academic performance of secondary school students in English language. Based on the finding, it was recommended that well behaved students should be given special recognition/award by the school and other well-meaning individuals, as recommended by the school authority.

Emotional Intelligence and its Relationship to Academic Performance Among Saudi EFL Undergraduate Students

AbstractThe purpose of the present study was to provide a description of the emotional intelligence level of Saudi EFL undergraduate students, as well as to examine the effect of emotional intelligence on success in foreign language learning. A total of 80 Saudi undergraduate students from the English Department at King Khalid University participated in this study. Data was collected by means of Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), and by an English achievement test. SSEIT questionnaire data was matched with the students’ academic scores in the English language achievement test, and was analysed using SPSS. The findings indicated that Saudi EFL students scored a high level of emotional intelligence. The most popular intelligence subscales they used were “Utilization of Emotion” followed by “Management of Others Emotion” and “Management of Self Emotion” and finally, “Perception of Emotion”. Another finding indicated that two of the four subscales, “Utilization of Emotion and “Management of Others Emotion” were significantly associated with their English achievement level. The implications of the value of emotional intelligence in fostering academic achievement were considerable for both EFL teachers and academic policy makers.

Effectiveness of a Training Program in Improving Study Skills and English Language Achievement among High School Students

The current study aimed to identify the effectiveness of a training program in the development of study skills and improvement of English language achievement among the 10th grade students. To achieve the study objectives, a training program was designed and applied to (35) first-grade high school students. The respondents were pre- and post- tested by a list of study skills and English language achievement test. The results showed statistically significant differences in favor of the posttest of study skills and English language achievement, suggesting the effectiveness of the utilized training program. The study recommended the need to train teachers on designing the educational tasks of English language course based on study skills.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing on the Academic Performance of Senior Secondary Students in Private Schools in Niger State, Nigeria

Large numbers of students in spite of having normal intelligence level have an inadequate academic motivation and do not show a good academic performance in different levels of education. The unmotivated students in classroom interaction with the teacher could be responsible for the observed poor performance of students and the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Nigeria. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of motivational interview in promoting motivation among students in private secondary schools. It was aimed at answering the question: Does motivational interview have significant influence on academic performance of senior secondary SS 2 students in private schools? The study adopted the pretest-posttest experimental group design-two levels of independent variables (experimental groups and a control) and two levels of gender (male and female). The experimental group participants are given the MI intervention, while the control group participants received no intervention. A purposeful sampling procedure was adopted to obtain 120 participants from the two (2) sample secondary schools. Data were collected by employing English language Achievement Test (ELAT), Motivation strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the Brief Academic Motivational Instrument (BAMI) as well as classroom observations. Both pretest and posttest scores were analyzed using the descriptive and t-test statistical analysis to test the hypotheses. Evidently, the experimental group that was exposed to motivational interviewing performed better than the control group that was exposed to traditional teaching method. This implied that with motivational interviewing combined with conventional teaching methods students performed with higher scores than when taught with conventional teaching method only. It is recommended that secondary school teachers should be trained on the effective use of motivational interview, MI skills and strategies for instruction through seminars, workshops and conferences.

Study habits, locus of control and gender as determinants of academic achievement of students with hearing impairment in two south-western states, Nigeria

The study examined study habits, locus of control and gender as determinants of academic achievement in English Language among students with hearing impairment in Lagos and Oyo States, Nigeria. Senior secondary students with hearing impairment in inclusive and integrated schools in the two states constituted the population of the study. The sample size of 258 participants was selected through multistage technique. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Study Habit Inventory, English Language Achievement Test and Locus of Control Scale with reliability of 0.73, 0.81 and 0.79 respectively were the instruments used to gather data for the study. The three research hypotheses raised were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data gathered were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, Analysis of Variance and multiple regression analysis. The study revealed that study habits and locus of control have influence on the academic achievement of students with hearing impairment. In addition, locus of control contributed mostly to the academic achievement of students with hearing impairment. It was recommended that students with hearing impairment should be helped to develop good study habits and locus of control.

The association between EFL teachers’ interpersonal behavior and students’ achievement in English language: selected secondary schools in focus

This study attempted to map EFL teachers’ interpersonal behavior as perceived by students, its relationship with the students’ English language achievement, and to examine if it could predict students’ English language achievement. The samples of the study were randomly selected 353 grade 9 students from Secondary schools in Ethiopia. Data Arba Minch and Chamo Preparatory and were collected through interpersonal behavior questionnaire and English language achievement test. In order to map teachers’ interpersonal behavior, mean and standard deviations of the QTI dimensions were used while multiple regression was used to examine the correlations between teachers’ interpersonal behavior and English language achievement test scores. Furthermore, multiple regression was used in order to examine the degree to which EFL teachers’ interpersonal behaviors predicted their students’ English language achievement score. The findings indicated that understanding was perceived as interpersonal behavior which occurred most often in English language classes followed by leadership, strict and student responsibility/freedom behaviors respectively. Divergently, uncertain behavior was found to be least perceived behavior. With respect to the major dimensions of interpersonal behavior, the result showed that teachers in the sample areas are less dominant but more cooperative over the communication process with their students. Concerning associations, this study found positive and significant correlations between students’ English language achievement and their teachers’ leadership and understanding behaviors. Regarding the dimensions, both proximity and influence were correlated positively and significantly with students’ English language achievement. It was also found that teachers’ interpersonal behavior all together explained 6.3% of the variances in the students’ English language achievement scores. Pertaining to the relative contribution of each independent variable, understanding, followed by leadership interpersonal behavior was found to be the most powerful and significant variable on the students’ English language achievement while dimension wise, only influence was determining students’ English language achievement significantly.Keywords: Interpersonal behavior, Perceived behavior, EFL teachers’, Communication process, Achievement

Impact Of Mobile Phone Usage On Academic Performance Among Secondary School Students In Taraba State, Nigeria

This study employed survey design in investigating the influence of mobile phone usage on academic performance among secondary school student in Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria. The sample for the study was 300 respondents selected from the total population of 6,482 respondents. Stratified sampling technique was employed to select the sample. The Mobile Phone Usage Questionnaire (MPUQ) adapted from Twum (2011), Mathematic Achievement Test (MAT) and English Language Achievement test (ELAT), were the instrument used for this study. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA to answer the research questions and hypotheses. The finding of this study, revealed that mobile phone usage significantly influence academic performance among male and female senior secondary school students (t = 6.113, P = 0.02), age difference was not a significant factor in mobile phone usage on academic performance among senior secondary school students (f = 6.431, P = 0.022), parent’s occupation was not a significant factor in mobile phone usage on academic performance among senior secondary school students (f = 9.005, p= 0.031) and that the frequency of mobile phone usage does not significantly influence academic performance among male and female senior secondary school students (t = 8.131, p = 0.02). It was recommended that, School psychologists, teachers, school administrators, parents and students should be sensitized on the influence of mobile phone usage on academic performance among secondary school students irrespective of gender and age differences.

The Effect of Parental Supportiveness and Gender on English Language Achievement of Primary School Children in South-Eastern, Nigeria

English is a very important language in Nigeria today. It is a unifying language for the federation and also a major language of instruction in Nigerian schools. It is as well the official language of government business and the language of commerce and trade. Most school books and reading materials are written in English, but the standard of written and spoken English language by Nigerian pupils is very poor. It has been suspected that poor English language skill is a major contributor to the recurring mass failure of Nigerian students in public examinations. This study therefore investigated the effect of parental home-work supervision on English Language achievement of primary school children. The study is a quasi-experiment with pretest, post-test control group design. The experimental group adopted monitored parental home-work supervision while for the control group, the parent were neither trained nor monitored. The treatment lasted six weeks before the post test. English Language Achievement Test with reliability of 0.87 was used to measure learner achievement. The result showed that monitored parental home-work supervision was significantly better than the control (t- obt = 3.40, p<.05). The effect of gender was not significant. Regular Parental home-work supervision was recommended. Keywords: Parental Supportiveness, home-work, supervision, Gender, Achievement and English Language