Language In Nigeria Research Articles

Investigating French Teachers’ Professional Pedagogical Skills for Quality Basic Education in Edo State

The French language is the second foreign language in Nigeria and its curriculum is core at the basic school level. Teachers’ professional pedagogical skills are important for quality basic education at this level; hence, this study was carried out. Two research questions were formulated with one hypothesis to guide this study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The research population comprised all the 36 French teachers in the public basic schools in Edo State as at the 2022 school year. All the 36 French teachers were used for the study rated by their French language head teacher. A questionnaire titled: “French Teachers’ Professional Pedagogical Skills for Quality Basic Education Questionnaire (FTPPSQBEQ)” was designed and validated. The reliability coefficient was established using Cronbach Alpha Statistics and a coefficient of 0.83 was obtained for the instrument and the hypothesis was tested using ANOVA statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The researcher personally administered the instrument to the respondents and data collected was analyzed using means and standard deviation. Findings revealed a high level of French teachers’ professional pedagogical skills for quality basic education in Edo State. In the same vein, the level of French teachers’ professional pedagogical skills for quality basic education in Edo State did not vary by teachers’ academic qualification. It was found that quality basic education is a function of teachers’ professional pedagogical skills and therefore recommended that language teacher’s education programme should emphasis pedagogical skills competence.

Teachers’ Perception of the Role of Indigenous Languages for Culture Preservation and Improved Teaching and Learning in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study explored on the role of indigenous languages towards culture preservation and improved teaching and learning in Nigeria, using the descriptive survey design. The sample size was 266 out of 5,393 primary school teachers who were randomly selected from a selected state. The study used a questionnaire as source of data from the field. Data was analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations. A negative perception of teachers was indicated if the weighted mean was between 1.00 and 2.49 while a positive perception was indicated if it fell between 2.50 and 4.00. The study revealed that teachers considered indigenous languages as a powerful tool for culture preservation. They also held the view that indigenous languages support effective teaching and learning as when the indigenous languages are used in teaching and learning, learners are more likely to have a better and deeper understanding of what is taught than when foreign languages are used in the teaching and learning process. The study recommends that stakeholders need to encourage and support the usage of indigenous languages in Nigeria for the sake of culture preservation and effective learning in schools. Parents should strengthen the use of indigenous languages at home places for culture preservation and effective learning in schools to be realized. Finally, the government should put in place mechanisms that would enforce language policy guidelines that favor the use of indigenous languages in school settings.

Radio as a Vehicle for Promotion of Indigenous Languages in Nigeria: A Study of Amuludun FM and Orisun FM Radio Stations

This paper explores the role of radio as a powerful medium for the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages in Nigeria. With a diverse linguistic landscape, Nigeria is home to numerous indigenous languages, many of which are at risk of extinction due to the dominance of English and other major languages. Radio, as a mass communication tool, is assumed to have the potential to revitalize the use of indigenous languages, thus fostering cultural identity and linguistic diversity. The paper examines the impact of radio in promoting indigenous languages in Nigeria and discusses the challenges, strategies, and possible initiatives to employ in language promoting indigenous language through radio broadcasts. In assessing the possibility of radio to serve as a Vehicle for Promotion of Indigenous Languages in Nigeria, the paper adopted survey method, using a structured questionnaire to gather data from 172 respondents drawn from the coverage areas of the selected indigenous radio stations. The study is anchored on Agenda Setting Theory. Data gathered were analysed and presented in tables and simples percentages. Findings show that Amuludun FM, Ibadan and Orisun FM, Ile-Ife, enjoy a high number of audiences who listen to the stations because of their peculiarity of using indigenous languages to present programmes. The respondents affirmed that Amuludun FM, Ibadan and Orisun FM, Ile-Ife promote indigenous language and also ensure effective communication through Yoruba indigenous language particularly for people in the Yoruba rural communities. The study recommends that Indigenous languages should be encouraged because it is the native language. Media campaigns for promotion of indigenous languages and implementation across schools must be intensified to prevent the indigenous languages from going into extinction.

Psychosocial Factors as Correlates of Pupils’ Academic Achievement in English Language: Implications for Educational Evaluators

Proper and adequate command of English Language is a key to understanding other school subjects. This is sequel to the fact that English Language is the official language in Nigeria’s education system. Yet, the Nigerian child is battling with achievement in the subject. It is therefore, necessary to investigate the factors responsible for poor achievement in the subject with a view to proffering solutions. Hence, the study investigated the relationship between psychosocial factors and pupils’ academic performance in English language. The study adopted correlational research design. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The questionnaire was face validated and trial tested and an internal consistency reliability index of 0.75 was obtained using Cronbach alpha method. Data obtained were analyzed using simple linear regression analysis. The findings of the study revealed among others that there is a significant relationship between attitude and pupils’ academic achievement in English language and that there is a positive relationship between motivation and pupils’ academic achievement in English language. These findings have implications for pupils’ education career since Nigerian universities do not admit a student without a credit in English language. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommended among others that pupils should be adequately motivated to achieve more in English language.

How Many Languages Are There

The question posed in the title is much more difficult to answer than the various lists on the Internet suggest. A good example of this is the dispute that arose between the author of this article and an English teacher (Mária Béres) a few years ago (by the way, she gave information about the world-famous Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, more specifically about the number of languages in Nigeria).

The Current Status of Arabic Language Teaching in Nigeria: Challenges and Developments

We discuss in this paper the teaching of the Arabic Language in Nigeria in the 21st century, considering the challenges that face this language and the developments it gains from its lovers and scholars in this country. Therefore, we started by narrating the history of Nigeria and emergence of Arabic Language therein, as we mentioned the means through which it arose in the country. We discussed the role of the colonialists in the weakness of the standard of Arabic Language and the contribution of some Arabic scholars in translating many English texts into Arabic. We also investigated the conditions of Arabic education in Nigerian universities and into the benefits for some students of Arabic Language with modern technological education.

Naija: The Cinderella for Nigerian and West African National Language, Unity and Identity

The perennial questions about the national language and the Nigerian Pidgin (Naija) status remain unresolved in Nigeria. Hence, this paper focuses on the national language question for Nigeria against the theoretical background of the national language, national identity, and linguistic relativism. The paper sets out to reevaluate the common arguments often articulated against adopting Naija as the national language and advance the reasons why it should be adopted as the national language. The paper adopted the qualitative approach to research. Primary data were generated from the interview, observation, and spontaneous speech recording, while secondary data were taken from library materials and the Internet. Educated and illiterate Nigerians constituted the study population, and mixed and purposive sampling methods were used to select informants. It is established in this paper that it is the de facto national language and the most undermined and neglected among the five major languages in Nigeria. The paper concludes that language, a critical factor of production, has been undermined. Adopting Naija as a national language will foster national unity and cohesion, accelerate scientific advancement, facilitate democratization and enhance teaching and learning in the long run.

The Use of ICT for the Teaching and Learning of English as a Second Language in Nigeria: The "What", "Why", and "How"

In language teaching, the use of computers has been on since before the coming of the internet. Later computer assisted language learning (CALL) developed and concerned itself with the pedagogical applications of the technology. Information Communication Technology (IT) which is an offshoot of science through its internet and computer-mediated communication (CMC) has gone beyond science to broaden the lexical inventories of the English language. It is against this backdrop that this paper tends to conduct a study on computer-mediated communication with a focus on the teaching and learning of the English language in Nigeria. The study aims to bring to the fore the issues and challenges associated with this new normal. The study also examines the benefits associated with the use of this technology in the teaching and learning of the English language. The study also employs Direct Participatory Observation and a questionnaire as means of gathering data for the research. Famous Mclunnham’s Technological Determinism Theory was employed as the theoretical framework of analysis. On the whole, the paper discovered among other things that the use of CMC made students confident and gives them the zeal of being online and wanting to discover and learn via the medium of computer-mediated communication. The study concludes that the use of this method of teaching and learning English in Nigeria has to be encouraged for efficiency and exactness for both in the teaching and learning of English in Nigeria. Solutions and recommendations were proffered to ameliorate the challenges associated with the use of these technological devices.

Challenges in simultaneous validation of mental health screening tools in multiple languages: Adolescent assessments in Hausa and Pidgin in Nigeria

BackgroundWith growing global recognition of the need to address mental health, a key challenge is determining who needs mental health services. Most self-report screening tools were developed in English-speaking high-income settings, and this cultural milieu influences the types and content of items, the manner in which items are asked, and the options for responding to items. Approaches have been developed for transcultural translation and validation. However, these approaches are typically applied in one language at a time, which is of limited utility in linguistically diverse settings. MethodsTo address challenges in cross-cultural validation, we undertook a unique process of simultaneously validating tools in two languages in Nigeria. Through this dual-language validation, we explored how cultural and contextual differences may influence what is considered valid for a mental health tool. We validated the Depression Self Rating Scale, Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS), and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale with a community sample of 330 adolescents aged 12–17. Validity was assessed in Hausa and Pidgin, two languages commonly spoken in Nigeria. Clinical psychologists used the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia to establish caseness. ResultsMost items had good discriminant validity, except on the CPSS, on which only 8 of 17 items discriminated by caseness. Findings indicate the influence of culture (e.g., linguistic differences in translatability of items) and context (e.g., items that reflect experiences of hunger or foodborne illness; different PTSD caseness by language might reflect differential trauma exposure between populations). We also identified items that operated differently between languages. ConclusionWe identified shortcomings in cross-cultural validation procedures with regard to determining whether language, context, or or other differences influence performance of items. For future validation efforts, we recommend systematically collecting information on context and stressful/traumatic exposures as a way to contextualize interpretation of the validity findings. AcronymsDepression Self Rating Scale (DSRS), Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS), Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale (DBDRS), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD), Area Under the Curve (AUC), Diagnostic Odds Ratio (DOR), Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

A Survey on the Acceptability of Equivalence-Based Translation Into Yorùbá Language in the Domain of Information and Communication Technology

This article contains a descriptive survey on the acceptability of equivalence-based translation of the menu of TECNO Android phones into the Yorùbá language, one of the three major languages in Nigeria. Words translated into Yorùbá were categorized into strategies of borrowing, semantic extension and composition and analysed from equivalence effect. In the follow-up survey, information and communication technology experts and general mobile phone users were carefully chosen and consulted for an assessment of the appropriateness of the translation. The study concluded that equivalence, the key term of linguistic translation theories, is still a viable concept in the translation of information and communication technology and equivalence-based translation into Yorùbá will not only promote the language but also contribute to effective communication in a multilingual global village that the world is fast becoming.

English: The Linguistic Alpha and Omega in Nigeria

This paper observed the dominant role of English language in Nigeria. Various factors responsible for the spread and domination of the language in Nigerians’ lives were observed. These include; the multilingual nature of the country; the inability of the country to select a national language from the three indigenous languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) or other minor languages; influence of the Western culture and attitudes of Nigerians towards the English language. The paper also discussed the various roles English language plays in Nigerian societies which make it dominates the indigenous languages in the country. English is both the official and the National language in Nigeria. It is the language of education, law, commerce and religion in the country. It is the language in which most activities are carried out. The writer concluded by recommending that the indigenous languages, especially the “three big”, should be promoted to the status of National language. A credit pass at O level in the indigenous languages should be made a criterion for admission into higher institutions of learning in the country. Otherwise, the values attached to the indigenous culture and traditions will be eroded; the incoming generation will have no indigenous languages to inherit but the English language.

Academic Interest and Self-esteem as Correlates of Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in English Language in Nigeria

Aims: This study examined academic interest and self-esteem as correlates of secondary school students’ academic achievement in English language in Nigeria.
 Study Design: Correlational survey
 Place and Duration of Study: Anambra State, Nigeria, conducted between December 2021 and March 2022.
 Method: The accessible population for this study comprises 18,297 senior secondary school two SS2 students from 261 secondary schools situated in the six education zones in Anambra state, the sampling technique adopted was the proportionate stratified random sampling technique. This was use to select 2,160 SS 2 students. The instruments adopted for data collection are: students’ academic interest scale, self-esteem scale and students’ academic achievement scores in English language. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis were statistical tools adopted for data analysis.
 Results: Table 1, 2 and 3 revealed a moderate positive relationship between secondary school students’ academic interest, self-esteem jointly with their academic achievement in English language. Similarly, hypothesis in Table 4, 5 and 6 reports that at 0.05 level of significance and 2158df, the t-test statistic value 15.95 with a Pvalue of 0.00 is less than 0.05, hence the second hypotheses is rejected. This implies that the relationship existing between self-esteem and academic achievement of secondary school students in English language in Anambra State is significant. Furthermore, at 0.05 level of significance 3df numerator and 2045df denominator, the F statistics value 314.12, with Pvalue of 0.00 is less than 0.05, the third null hypothesis is rejected. This goes to show that the relationship existing among secondary school students’ academic interest and self-esteem jointly with academic achievement in English language is significant.
 Conclusion: This study concludes that the joint relationship existing among academic interest, self-esteem jointly with the academic achievement of secondary school students in English language was reported to be moderate and also positive. This implies that the coefficient was close to 1.00 (perfect relationship). Justifying this, it could be likened to the fact that students only spend 45 to 90 minutes per day in school with each teacher, so it is nearly impossible for them to unconsciously transmit all of the knowledge they need to get to them within that time frame. So therefore, there is need for parents as well to fulfil their first job, which is to be a teacher to their children. In the same vein, the relationship existing among secondary school students’ academic interest and self-esteem jointly with academic achievement in English language is statistically significant.

Influence of Mother-Tongue On English Language Use Selected Mother-Tongue Factors Affecting English Language Usage, A Case Study of Ikom Local Government Area

Over the years, English Language has been accorded a very high prestige in Nigeria.The status and functions given to English in Nigeria has made it become imperative for every Nigerian citizen to learn how to speak, read and write the language. This is as a result of the pluralistic linguistic situation of Nigeria which has made it impossible for national language. This accounts for why English has been allotted prestigious domains of use in Nigeria. This study was undertaken to investigate and shed more light on the effect that mother-tongue influence has on spoken English in Nigeria. The focus of this study is on selected mother-tongue factors affecting English language in Nigeria. In order to manipulate variables properly to achieve tenable results, this study will focus on the phonetic and phonological levels of mother-tongue interference. 150 Ikom learners/users of English were sampled from SSS3 students selected from three secondary schools in Ikom Local Government Area, Cross-River State, where Ikom is their native language. Tape recorders and smart recorders were instruments of data collection alongside (phonetic) articulation tests. The technique employed in the analysis of data was descriptive and quantitative. The sources of data were relevant textbooks, magazines, journals, libraries (online and offline) and the internet. The findings revealed that, the mother-tongue of Ikom learners/and users of English negatively influences their spoken English, significantly in their articulation of English consonants, vowels and consonant clusters; and suprasegmentals such as stress and intonation.

جهود الشيخ الحاج محمد الأمين الكانمي البرنوي في تطوير الخط العربي في السودان الغربي

This modest brief research is about: The efforts of Sheikh Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Kanimi Al-Barnawi in developing Arabic calligraphy in Western Sudan. The researcher chose this topic for many purposes, including: (1) The desire to raise the status of the Arabic language. (2) To highlight the effective attempt that Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Kanimi was able to make in the field of Arabic calligraphy. (3) The researcher's longing to study Nigeria's Arabic productions. (4) Encouragement to try to trace the traces of that sheikh. As for the purposes of the research, there are: (1) Expanding the knowledge and intellectual level in the field of Nigerian Arabic calligraphy. (2) Shedding light on Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Kanmi’s interest in the Arabic language in Nigeria in particular, and in West Africa in general. Then the research will follow the descriptive approach so as to follow the efforts of Al-Kanmi and express it in a quantitative and qualitative manner, to clarify the characteristics features, and to analyze the data and reach conclusions. The research obtained the following results: (1) Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Kanmi was born in the year: one thousand seven hundred and seventy six (1776 AD), and he grew up in a house of knowledge, under the care of his father. Al-Kanimi learned the knowledge of Qur’an from his father (Muhammad Lenga), and the principles of Arabic and Islamic education, then continued to travel to different cities, including: Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina, Fez, Egypt, Tripoli, Qairawan, Tlemcen, and others. He learned the Islamic knowledge and language from its distinguished scholars so that he could navigate many types of knowledge and arts. (2) Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Kanmi is one of the prominent figures of Arabic calligraphy who made a great contribution to the revitalization and development of Arabic calligraphy in the country of Nigeria, where he was able to impose many poems for various puposes, as well as editing vauablelettershe sent to the leader of Sokoto jihad (Sheikh Othman bin Muhammad Fodio), and the correspondences that he was able to carry out between him and the neighboring countries, and those between him and the King of England.

SOCIO-CULTURAL CORRELATES OF STUDENTS INTEREST IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

English is the official language in Nigeria and a ubiquitous part of teaching and learning in the educational ecosystem. However, English as a second language in Nigeria has been fraught with many challenges. The purpose of this present study was to examine the sociocultural correlates of students interest in ESL. Two hundred and thirty secondary school students (n=230) were conveniently selected from rural and urban schools in the Anambra States as the respondents. Data for the survey was collected using a self-report measure assessing interest in ESL. Linear regression analysis was conducted on the data, and the result showed that sociocultural context statistically significantly predicted interest in ESL. The study concludes that the sociocultural environment is a significant determinant of students interest in ESL in Anambra State.

WRITING ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ANAMBRA STATE: A CORRELATIONAL STUDY

English is a ubiquitous part of the educational landscape of Nigeria and represents the most crucial subject in the school curriculum. English as a second language in Nigeria has been fraught with several challenges encompassing speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Perhaps, writing skill is a complex part of English that impedes education development in many instances. The present study examined the correlation between writing anxiety and academic dishonesty among undergraduates. Two hundred and fourteen undergraduates enrolled in a public higher institution in Anambra state participated in the study. A correlational research design was adopted, and the analysis indicated a positive correlation between writing anxiety and academic dishonesty. The study concludes that writing anxiety is a significant determinant of cheating in undergraduates.

THE ROLE OF PBWORKS IN ENHANCING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WRITING SKILLS

English is a ubiquitous part of the educational landscape of Nigeria and represents the most crucial subject in the school curriculum. English as a second language in Nigeria has been fraught with several challenges encompassing speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Perhaps, writing skill is a complex part of English that impedes education development in many instances. The present study examined PBworks as an online tool that could enhance the writing skills of undergraduates. Ninety-four undergraduates enrolled in a public higher institution in Enugu state participated in the study. A quasi-experimental design was adopted, and the analysis indicated that PBworks significantly improved writing skills. Also, it was found that the online tool contains features capable of promoting collaborative learning among users.

Patterns of lexical innovation in Nigerian English

The need for users of English as a second language in Nigeria to fill in the lexical gaps during communication where English has failed has resulted in lexical innovation in Nigerian English. Therefore, to keep communication effective and active, individuals or groups of people in the society create new words, or bend the already existing words in English to bear a ‘local colour’ and content to satisfy communicative needs. This study investigates lexical innovations in Nigerian English and their patterning, and provides explanations to the origin of these lexical items. Some lexical items that have the sociolinguistic features of Nigerian English obtained from market places, school environments and other public places were selected through a purposive sampling technique. Data was gathered through oral interviews, observations, note-taking, and literature related to lexical innovations in languages. The lexical items identified in Nigerian English were analysed along Bamiro’s categorisation processes from the point of view of Sapir-Whorf’s linguistic relativity. It was observed that lexical items in Nigerian English evolved as a result of transfer of meaning and culture, coinages, analogical creations and direct borrowings from indigenous languages.

PARENTAL ATTITUDE AS A PREDICTOR OF STUDENTS MOTIVATION AND INTEREST IN LEARNING FRENCH LANGUAGE

The increase in economic globalization has created the need for the promotion of foreign languages in Nigeria. As an official second language in Nigeria, the French language has not received the desired attention in the countrys educational system as most students show less motivation and interest in learning the French language. Perhaps, insinuations suggest a widespread negative attitude towards the teaching and learning of the French language in the school system. Thus, the primary objective of the present study was to explore parental attitudes as a factor that could predict the variation in students motivation and interest in learning the French language. The studys participants included adults identified as parents, and they were randomly pooled from different locations in Kogi State, Nigeria. They completed a self-report measure to ascertain their overall attitude towards the French language. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and the simple regression analysis revealed that parental attitude significantly predicted students motivation and interest in learning French. The study concluded that parents attitude is an essential determinant of students motivation and interest in learning the French language.

Al-Lughah al-‘Arabīyah ka-Lughah ‘Ālamīyah wa-al-Tanabbu’ ‘an Mustaqbalihā fī al-Mujtama‘ al-Nījīrī

Since the 20th century AD, Arabic has become a global language used at the United Nations in speaking, making official speeches, issuing documents, and in simultaneous translation into official languages, in addition to being an official language in the Organization of African Unity and other international organizations of the United Nations Africa remained related to Arab trade and civilization centuries before Islam, and when Islam came, the first Arab migration to the African continent was the migration to Abyssinia, and thus the Muslim Arabs found their first home after their homeland in Africa. Islam entered Kanem Borno in the 8th century, and in Kano in the 14th century. As for the western region; the country of Yoruba, reached it in the first half of the 14th century AD according to one saying and the 15th according to another, and the 16th according to a third. As for the eastern region, whose population is mostly Igbo, it was reached by displaced merchants from the two regions: the northern and western. The masters of the Arabic language in Nigeria have made effective efforts to advance the Arabic language, as these efforts herald the splendid independence of the Arabic language in Nigerian society.