A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ORAL ENGLISH PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC AND

PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN ADO- EKITI, EKITI NIGERIA.

BY

FATUNBI OLUWASEUN ESTHER

ENG/11/0069

AN ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERARY

STUDIES, FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE EKITI, EKITI
NIGERIA.IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF
BACHELOR OF ART (BA) DEGREE IN ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES.

OCTOBER 2015

CERTIFICATION

This project has been approved by the departmental project committee of the
department of English and literary studies, Federal University Oye-Ekiti.

Miss Victoria Ogunkunle

Date

(Project Supervisor)

Dr Niyi Akingbe

Date

(Head of Department)

DEDICATION

I hereby dedicate this project to God Almighty for his love, grace, mercies and
guidance throughout the course of study. Also to my beloved family, who in their
unmeasured love stood by me till the end.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My sincere gratitude goes to the Almighty God for he bestowed upon me wisdom, knowledge
and understanding and for the successful completion of this project which marks the end, yet the
beginning of another stage in life.
My profound gratitude goes to my project supervisor Miss Ogunkunle Victoria who among the
work load on her still took time to guide me through this project, and also all my lecturers.
Words are not enough to express my appreciation to my dearest parent, Mr. David Fatunbi and
Mrs. Agnes Fatunbi for their support, love, assistance and prayers over me to make this project a
success and ensuring that I get a good education. May the blessing of the Almighty God never
cease from them. Amen
My gratitude and appreciation goes also to my friends; Moses Fatunbi, Ayodeji Ogundele,
Omobolanle Yusuff, Adebisi Taiwo, Oladapo Funmilayo for their contribution
encouragement to my success in life.
May almighty God reward them all (Amen).

and

ABSTRACT
Speaking is one of the language skills that enhances students performance in the English language. This
is because speech is the primary manifestation of competence in language use. This study examines the
differences and similarities in the spoken English of private and public schools in Ado Ekiti. The study
aimed at examining the Oral performances of the students and identifying the factors affecting Oral
English performance in schools. Error analysis is the theory used for analysis. The data were obtained
through the use of questionnaire purposively administered to the students from selected schools. Interview
and observation were also used. The data were analyzed by transcribing the words pronounced by the
students. The four stages of error analysis were used to analyze the errors identified. The reports of the
questionnaire were used to identify the similarities and differences in public and private schools. The
findings revealed that public secondary school students in Ado-Ekiti perform better in Oral English than
their private secondary school counterparts also in Ado-Ekiti. It is also discovered that private secondary
schools in Ado-Ekiti have a shortage of Oral English teachers while public secondary schools have more
proficient teachers. However, both private and public secondary schools lack teaching aids for Oral
English.Secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti need to focus attention on Oral English teaching so as to

improve the performances of the students in the English language. Also, private schools in AdoEkiti need to employ competent Oral English instructors to handle the teaching of Oral English.
It is recommended that private school administrators should provide creative and dynamic Oral

English instructors. In addition, prominence should be given to Oral English.Governments at all

levels should provide language laboratories and materials for use in secondary schools because
it helps to reduce Mother tongue interference in Oral communication.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Certification.i
Dedication..ii
Acknowledgement.iii
Abstract..iv
Table of content.v

CHAPTER ONE
1.0

Introduction1

1.1

Background to the study..1

1.2

Statement of Research problem3

1.3

Aims and Objectives.4

1.4

Significance of the study..5

1.5

Scope and limitations ...5

CHAPTER TWO
2.0

Literature Review and Theoretical framework.6

2.1

Literature review...6

2.1.1

Oral English component and mechanism..6

2.1.2

Teaching English as a Second language in Nigeria10

2.1.3

Oral English performance in public and private schools...13

2.1.4

Learning environment.15

2.1.5

Mother tongue interference..17

2.2

Theoretical framework.19

CHAPTER THREE
3.0

Research Methodology27

3.1

Introduction..27

3.2

Sources of Data. ..27

3.3

Sampling Frame and Technique..27

3.4

Method of Data Analysis..28

CHAPTER FOUR
4.0

Introduction.29

4.1

Section A : Demographic distribution of teachers respondent...29

4.2

Section B: table of word pronunciation..32

4.2.1

Private School respondent analysis..34

4.2.2

Public School respondent analysis..36

4.2.

Error Analysis of the words....38

4.3

Section C: Demographic of Students questionnaire.44

4.3.1

Analysis of section C....44

4.4

Section D: Demographic of Students questionnaire...45

4.4.1

Analysis of section D46

CHAPTER FIVE
5.0

Summary, Recommendation and Conclusion..47

5.1

Summary of Major Findings.47

5.2

Recommendation...48

5.3

Conclusion.49

Reference...50
Appendix55
8

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
English language is the official language of instruction at various level of education in Nigeria. It
is a significant subject in the school curriculum. The four basic skills of Language which are
listening, speaking, writing and reading are given due attention in the Senior Secondary School
English curriculum. The mastery of these four skills improves a students performance in the
English language and by extension in the other subject since they are taught in English language.
Among these skills, speaking is very significant because as Egbe (2007:31) state, speaking is
the primary manifestation of language; writing is both secondary and dependent upon it. He
further buttresses this fact by saying that the knowledge of language entails having the
knowledge of

Systemof language, vowel and consonant, accurate pronunciation, stress and intonations.

Sequences of sounds and their meaning, the speaker of English know that soup is quite
diverse from soap in meaning and in pronunciation.

According to David Crystal (2004:11) Oral English is the more natural and widespread mode of
communication, though ironically the one most student find difficult to comprehend and
articulate properly. Presumably because it is so much more difficult to see what is happening in
speech than in writing. In recent years, linguists have found it easier to see what is happening

in speech through the availability of corpus resources. Computerized databases containing real
lifeexamples of both spoken and written English.
According to (Akere 2005), the aim of teaching Oral English at the senior secondary school is
geared towards increasing the learners Oral communication skills which will enable them to
communicate successfully in English and in different domain of interaction. Developing the
learners Oral communication skills helps to reduce the event of ambiguity through incorrect
pronunciation and mother tongue interference which has hitherto marred communicative
competence among student of the senior secondary school.
According to David (2008), the significance of teaching Oral English has been emphasized.
Today, there is more than ever before a demand on English student to show mastery over not
only the written English but very importantly the spoken English. David further strains that
student whose Oral English is underdeveloped are at a disadvantage in every aspect of personal
relationship in private and public secondary schools.
As important as the Oral communication skills is, it has been revealed that student find it
problematic to obtain the skills in both public and private schools. Also, the performance of the
student from public school and private schools varies base on different factors. Many studies
have attempted an investigation of the attainment of Oral English skills, the difficulty faced by
students and the factors affecting the performance of students among others.
In the view of David (2008), private and public schools differs in terms of the level in which
Oral English is being taught. Macaulay (2010) recognized teachers model as a hitch in the
teaching of Oral English at the senior secondary school level. Oluikpe (2002) asserts that the
averageNigerian child still finds it overwhelmingly difficult in learning the skills of spoken
10

English. Igboanusi (2006) says that the problem is unequivocally placed at the door step of the
Oral English teachers. Oladuni and Tonibare, (2014, p.73) indicated that there are significant
difference between the level of exposures of pupils in public and private schools to English at
home.
Some solutions have been suggested to Oral English pedagogical problems in Nigeria.
Bamgbose et al (1995) suggest that a conscious effort be made to modify the form and content of
text in respect of the standard Nigerian Varity in the country. Normanzidan (2012) suggest that
learners have insufficient or lack exposure to English as there is a limited opportunity to use Oral
English outside the classroom. Chang (2010), indicated that the reasons for students
performance in Oral English is derived from learners laziness, lack of efficiency of the school
and insufficiencyof the parents promotion.
Some scholars have examined these problems and some solutions have been proffered on Oral
English performance. The present study will add to the solutions by carrying out a comparative
study of Oral English performance of private and public secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
In spite of the emphasis placed on the teaching and learning of Oral English in the secondary
school syllabus, it has been revealed that some schools offer little consideration to it in the
classroom and students still fail in most Oral English assessments. Many researchers have
examined the problem faced by student in learning and performance of Oral English among
public and private schools generally, Such studies as Orisawuyi (2007), states that the student
perform poorly generally in Oral English because of the lack of competent teachers. Uchendu
(1999) asserts that instructional materials are unavailable in both private and public secondary
11

schools and so on however such studies comparing Oral English performance of public and
private secondary school in Ado-Ekiti are not common. Therefore this study fills the gap by
carrying out a comparative study of the Oral English performance of private and public
secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti .
Specifically, this study focuses on the performance of students in Oral English in both public and
private secondary schools. This is because it has been discovered that student are facing
difficulties in understanding what they are being taught in class. This is evident in student
performance in test and examination. Also, the obvious difference observed in Oral English
performance of both public and private secondary school students make a comparative study of
their performance and the factors responsible for the performances a worthy exercise.
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to carry out a comparative study of Oral English performance among
public and private schools in Ado-Ekiti.
The specific objectivesare:

To examine the performance of public and private secondary school students in Oral
English in Ado-Ekiti.

To identify factors affecting Oral English performance among public and private
secondary school students in Ado-Ekiti.

To compare the performance and factors affecting the performance of Oral English in
public and private secondary school students in Ado-Ekiti.

12

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is important because it will help to manage the problem student and teachers
encounter in the course of teaching and learning Oral English in secondary schools. It will also
assist the schoolbook writer to discover the areas of difficulties the learners face in the learning
of Oral English. It will highlight the importance of Oral English and its teaching to students in
both private and secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti..
This study will draw attention to the current situation of Oral English and it influences on student
performance in secondary school within the Ado-Ekiti metropolis. It will also enable the
planners to know that a solid foundation should be laid on learners centeredness and
communicative use of English language should be emphasized at the primary level. The study
will enable the curriculum planners see the need to broaden the content and methodology to
beused at the senior secondary school.
1.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This research focuses on the Oral aspect of the English language. This is because there is an
increase in the amount of failure recorded in Oral English examination amongst secondary
school student. This study is limited to four secondary schools (two private schools and two
public schools) in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state, Nigeria.
The secondary schools considered are:
Anglican High School Ado-Ekiti
Nova Secondary School Ado-Ekiti
Christ Girls Secondary School Ado-Ekiti
Jokotayo Secondary School Ado-Ekiti
13

CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the researcher review previous literature and research finding in relation to the
study. The review covers the following areas. Oral English component and mechanism, Teaching
Oral English as a second language in Nigeria, Oral English performance in private and public
school, Learning environment and Mother tongue interference.
2.1.1

ORAL ENGLISH COMPONENT AND MECHANISM

The component of Oral English can be categorized into two major forms, segmental and suprasegmental, According to Akimajian et al (2010), phonology is essentially the description of the
system and pattern of speech sounds of a language. Phonology is a branchof linguistics which is
concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in language.
Segmental phonology relates to isolated sounds which are made up of vowels and consonant
sounds. This aspect analyses sounds into district segment such as phoneme and study the internal
structure of sounds. Under segmental phonology the distinctive features that differentiate
between sounds and the behavior of speech sounds in certain phonological environment are
studied. Supra segmental (beyond the segmental) on the other hand is made up of voice qualities,
it is concerned with the other aspect of phonology such as tone, stress and intonation. It studies
the individual sound segment such as stress, syllable etc. It studies the principle of organization

14

that governs the combination of different phonemes and the features of speech sound beyond the
individual segment.
According to Oyedokun (2004), speech production is made possible by the use of certain body
mechanism. These mechanism or organs are primarily used for chewing (of food)and breathing
.In other words, the art of speech is their secondary function .The organs include: the lungs,
tongue, mouth and vocal cords.
According to Eruton (2015), in phonetics and phonology, articulation is the movement of the
tongue, lips, jaw and other speech organs (the articulators) in other to make speech sounds.
Sound is produced simply by expelling air from the lungs. However, to vary this sound quality in
a method that can be useful for speaking, two speech organs normally need to come close to each
other to contact each other, so as to create an obstruction that shapes the air in a particular
fashion. Articulation can be made known with magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate how
the tongue, lips and jaw move and the rise and fall of the soft plate. Such movement alters
resonating properties of the vocal tract and imposes a time varying formant structure.
He further describes that place of articulation is an obstruction which is necessarily formed
when two articulators come close together. Generally, one is moving (the active articulator and
the other is stationary, the passive articulators).As a result, what is normally termed the place of
articulation is actually a combination of place of active articulation and a place of passive
articulation. For example, the English sound is said to be labiodental, which is shorthand way of
saying that the active articulator is the lower lip, which moves up (along with the jaw in general)
to

contact

the

upper

teeth.

The

places

of

articulation

used

in

English

are:

bilabial,labiodental,dental,alveolar, post alveolar,palatal,velar, and laryngeal,while manner of

15

articulation general refers to the characteristics of the speech organs other than the location of the
obstruction (s).There are multiple parameters involved here, The manner of articulation used in
English are:

Degree of structure: How much blockage occurs at primary articulation (the place of
greatest obstruction).the types in English are stop, fricative, affricate, approximant.

Alternative air flow: The air travels a path other than down the center of the mouth. The
types are nasal and lateral.

Dynamic movement of the tongue: The types are flap, thrills.

Akimajian et al (2010) identified four basic components of English. They are: Consonant sounds,
Vowel sounds, Stress and Intonation
Consonant sounds are speech sounds in which the air is at least partly blocked. Consonant may
come singly or as a combination of sounds. There are 21 consonant letters in English, and 24
consonant sounds.Because of the history of English language there is no neat one to one
relationship between letter and sounds. Consonant may be voice or voiceless. In articulatory
phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the
vocal tract. This is responsible for the production of voiced and voiceless sounds.
Vowels are produced with a relatively open vocal tract. The parameters of vowel are: the height
of the tongue, the part of the tongueraised the length of production and shape of the lips. We
have front vowel, back and central vowel, the front vowel is produced because that part of the
tongue is moved e.g. /i/, /i:/, /e/, //,the back vowel is produced because that part of the tongue
moves in the production e.g. /u/, /u:/ /a:/ while central vowel is produced because the tongue
moves at the centre in their production. E.g. /3/.There are 3 major types of vowels in American
16

English:lax(or short), tense (or long) and reduced. The lax vowels are produced with somewhat
less muscular tension than the tense ones and are also somewhat shorter in duration. The reduced
vowels could equally well be called the unstressed vowel while British English is generally
described as having short vowel,long vowel and diphthongs. There are said to be seven short
vowel, five long vowel and eight diphthongs.
According to Oyedokun (2004 p.43), English is referred to as stress- timed language because
the language uses stress, stress can be identified as the degree of force with which a syllable is
uttered. In other words, in two or more syllables, the one (syllable) that is uttered with greater
force(than the other)is said to be stressed syllables, stress may also signify meaning change or
emphasis. For example, in the sentence I want tea not coffee, the item tea is stressed to indicate
preference. Stress is marked either at the word level of the sentence(sentence stress).The stress
pattern in English is an ordered form, following certain basic rules or convention. In English
there are three degrees of stress namely: primary, secondary and unstressed. A stressed syllable
is indicated by placing a stroke at the beginning of the syllable as in be hind.
According Oyedokun (2004, p.46), intonation means melody of speech, the changing pitch of the
voice.The stress placement to some extent, also determine intonation. This is because important
changes of pitch occur only stressed syllables .English has two intonation patterns: falling and
rising pattern. Intonationhas to do with a group not a syllable and it is also another aspect of
supra segmental phonology or prosody. It refers simply to the variation in the pitch of a speaker
voiced used to convey or alter meaning. It is the pattern of pitch change (rise and fall) in speech.
Tench (1991), observes that Oral English is more than a matter of consonant, vowel and
diphthongs. According to him when one listen to the sound of people and listen out for the rise

17

and fall of pitch of the voice, to the pausing out grouping together of words and phrases, and to
the suppression of others. He will detect that there is really more to Oral English and
pronunciation, words are indeed represented by consonant, vowel and diphthong. But beyond
this, they are represented by accented syllable which means that in all dialect of English, the
pattern of pronunciation depends not only on the sounds of the vowel and consonant, but also on
the stress each syllable obtain when pronounced .it is pronounced with little or no stress. A
syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable.
All these determine that speech or Oral English goes beyond speech sounds including among
other vital things or factors, a complexity of sounds, syllable, intonation and other dynamic
attribute of speech delivery.
2.1.2 TEACHING ORAL ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA
A persons second language or L2 is a language that is not the native language of the speaker,
but that is used in the environment of that person. A second language can be said to be any
language learned in addition to ones native language, especially in context of secondary
language acquisition. A persons first language is the dominant language, and the language one is
mostly comfortable with. Second language is also a language widely used, especially in
educational and governmental functions in a region where most of its speaker are nonnative,
suchas English in India or Nigeria.
In an environment where a language is used as a second language, there is usually the mother
tongue which is a dominant language for most speakers and the second language which is used
as the official language. For instance in Nigeria, English language is been taught and learn as a
second language. It is the language of business, government and medium of instruction in school
18

etc. On the other hand, French language is being taught and learnt as foreign language. Today,
there are many factors that leads to the learning of second language. As the world is becoming a
global village there is an increase in the movement of people.
Formal western education was introduced into the Nigeria by Christians missionaries just before
the middle of the 19th century for about four decades after the initial date, both the nature and
main thrust of language. Missionaries were left to decide education in the country. The slave
trade activities along the western coast of African in the 18th century is believedto have led to the
initial contact between the European, his language and this paved the way for the missionaries
and the British colonial masters.
Omolewa (1995), states that English language came into Nigeria before the arrival of the
missionaries in the country. Baldeh (1990), assert that during this period; the implementation,
acceptance and the role of English in the body of politics in Nigeria started with it being adopted
as the channel of instruction In 1882 and vehicle for the training of the badly needed man power
to man the fledging government services (1-2) both the colonial masters and their missionary
counterparts realized that for effective administration and overall success, they could not do
without the natives.Subsequent years saw the emergence of English language as the national
lingua franca or official language. This fact is due, first, to the multi-ethno linguistics
composition of Nigeria where the language is seen as neutral and second, status of the English as
aworld language.
Adegbite (1999), stated that teaching Oral English at the senior secondary level demands that
the teacher know the basic difference between speech in L1 of the child (i.e. spoken Yoruba) and
speech in English language which serves as L2 comparison between the pronunciation of L1 and

19

L2 which has been referred to as providing background material in language teaching. This
means that as a result of the teachers comparisons between the L1 and L2 of the children, he
will be able to a great extent, determine the selection of items included for students of Oral
English with particular L1 and should influence the design, drills and exercise fit for these
students. According to him teaching Oral English in Nigeria should therefore entails the
appropriate knowledge of sound systems of both English language and native language of the
speaker.
According to Quick (2006), language is like a religion which is clearly a powerful and unifying
force. This implies that English language is used in Nigeria today as a powerful and unifying
instrument to both the students and society at large. Ever since the introduction of English in
Nigeria by the missionaries that invaded the country during 18 th century, English language has
gained dominance and popularity as the world most popular language which is widely used by
the government, mass media, in business etc. This means that all the sector of our economy
today make use of English language as a means of communication in carrying out their duties
Okolie (2000), is of the opinion that teaching the sounds of English language also includes the
correction of the pupils errors which will be numerous when English is learned as a second
language. This is because the sounds of the mother tongue are bound to find their way into the
pupils English pronunciation. The teacher is thus, be acquainted with the common errors in
pronunciation of his pupils below is given a list of typical errors from the students whose nature
language is Yoruba (a) vowel English // as in /mn/ a Yoruba speaker pronounces this as
/md3n/ since the sound // does not exist in his L1 .He pronounces consonant /ts/ as /sos/ as the
sound /ts/ is absent in his L1.

20

Obayan (2006), was of the opinion that gender has a lot to do with the performance of students in
Oral English language. He also said that females tend to be more favorably disposed to the study
of English language and other linguistic courses than the male gender.
Douglas (2001) discovered that male children perform better than their female counterparts in
the study of science.
2.1.3 ORAL ENGLISH PERFORMANCE IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECONDARY
SCHOOLS
The teaching and learning of Oral Englishin Nigeria secondary schools have declined over
theyear,it is a problem affecting both teachers and learners. According to Batibo (1990), the
location of schools whether private or public, has a major influence on Oral English learning and
usage as well.Batibo describes the private secondary school as far better than public schools.
Since they have good potentials and surrounding, they are also motivated by the school and
home environment for their personal and academic use. Most public secondary schools lack
basic school amenities although not all depending on when the school was built and learners are
less motivated to learn English.
Batibo notes other reason which leads to the decline in Oral English performance such as lack of
text books and subsidiary reading materials, deficient teachers, inappropriate teaching strategies,
lack of motivation and lack of proper language impact. Batibo (1990) claims that public school
have a negative attitude towards English due to inadequate teaching methods and teaching aids
while private schools are more interested and motivated due to the availability of teaching aids
and appropriate teaching method used. He further discusses the reasons for the decline in Oral
English teaching and learning as follows:
21

The shortage of textbooks is usually the main problem where people share a book or
there is only the teachers copy while reference and subsidiary books are often old, very
few or not at all there.

Lack of competent teachers is another reason whereby teachers have poor command of
Oral English, these teachers teaches English only because it is mandatory for them to do
so.

The use of inappropriate teaching strategies: teachers lack creativity to devise their own
teaching methods and materials instead they rely heavily on textbooks, use methods such
as translation, choral repetition and direct note taking.

Another reason is lack of proper motivation, the main source of interest and motivating for
learners depends highly on the teachers methodology and whether teaching materials are
available.
Lindberg and Narman (2005), states that in public areas,the grades of Oral English examination
have been poor, one of the reasons being the lack of teachers but also the local environment in
which many children come from doesnt expose them to speak well in English. They further
explain that the delivery of resources is unequal between schools and environment .Thus many
are deserting public schools for private school where opportunities for teaching English are
available including private tutors which helps them pass examinations as well as adequate
textbooks and teachers. However, most children from public areas come from poor families and
so have to attend the nearest school where there are no facilities to support the effective teaching
and learning of Oral English.

22

2.1.4 LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

One of the reasons why student in secondary school face so much difficulty using English is their
reluctance in the language. RoyCampbell &Qorro (1997) they observedthat student are
reluctant to actively contribute in class discussion because teachers would condemn them or
other students will mock them because of their lack of ability to express themselves in English.
However, student who have had early contact to English from the beginning of primary school
are able to cope when communicating using Oral English in secondary school and their
performance tends to be better off in Oral English test Conducted unlike those who started
learning English from class three and thus have less exposure in the language. (Roy-Campbell &
Qorro ,1997).
The socio economic background of a student matters a lot. for instance parent who support their
children by paying for extra tuitions class after school and buying supplementary reading books
help their children to improve their Oral English knowledge and skills. (Roy Campbell & Qorro
1997).such opportunities help them to cope with their academic studies in secondary school
using Oral English when communicating unlike children who are unable to get additional
support from their families.
Its important for learning environment to be conducive for the learners to allow effective
teaching and learning to occur. However, this isnt the case in most public and private secondary
school apart from the factors mentioned above there are other issues that exist including:
overcrowded classrooms, few teaching and learning materials such as textbooks and
supplementary books, shortage of well-qualified teachers and the situation differ across private
and public secondary schools. These are some of the issues that this study intend to discuss later

23

on which may also contribute to the substandard performance of Oral English in secondary
school.
According to Femi (2006:102) the background of a child to an extent has a very strong
influence on the childs physical and mental development process. Children from rich
background develop faster than a child from a poor background who some time experiences
some difficulties in the process of growing up. Chukuemeka (2006:18) share the same view with
Femi where he said that children from rich background, whose parent are educated are usually
exposed more than children from poor home who are usually shy and finally in terms of
presentation. They always do not like to come out to the public place because of their poor status
which sometimes leads to intensively complex.
Roy-Campbell & Qorro (1997) research also shows that children who had a language
background of studying English from kindergarten or class one and a home environment that
was helpful that allowed them to practice English with family or with friends, had a positive
contribution in helping them learn English language while those who started English later and
usually spoke their mother tongue at home or with friends indicated that their poor competence
in English was due to the weak basis from primary school.
In Nigeria to be precise, children from rich background attends the best school in the country
(private schools) where as children from poor homes are usually seen in public owned schools
which is less expensive.

24

2.1.5

MOTHER TONGUE INTERFERENCE

Mother tongue is one of the factors that influence child ability to speak English fluently. Ezema
(2006), was of the opinion that children find it very hard to learn a new language especially in a
situation where they are only been taught how to do things in their native dialect. This will take a
long time for the children to gain knowledge with the new language. In Nigeria for instance,
there are taught morals in their various native dialect. So, there is every possibility that when
they want to express themselves in English, there is bound to be same interference in either
information or pronunciation. E.g. the vowel sound /i/ and /i:/ look alike but are distinct in terms
of function. Children who have only spoken their native dialect all their life will find it very
difficult to notice the difference between the two.
The whole problem of teaching and learning revolved round the teacher prolise importance in
educational system which cannot be over emphasized.Haliday et al (2006), was of the opinion
that the issues of qualified English teacher is one of the determining factors to the performance
of student in English language examination. He went further to say that a good English teacher is
one of the determined factors to the performance in English language examination.
Mother tongue interference is one of the problems that bring about poor performance among
students learning Oral English. Dustan (1999) verifies this assertion when she strongly wrote
that:
Many teachers will realize there is a strong tendency on the part of anyone learning a second
language to use the sound, syllable, structure and rhythm of his mother-tongue in place of
sounds, syllables, structure and rhythm of the language he is learning.

25

According to Adekunle (2007), it appears that the more significance source of trouble in the
second language situation like Nigeria is the tendency to substitute the rhythm of the mother
tongue for that of English language. The basic elements of the rhythm of English (stress pitch
and intonation) require a high degree of proficiency for a speech in English sound than it is
required by the vowels and consonants.
The first identifiable area where learners of English language in Nigeria have problem is in the
phonological area and this contributes to the poor performance of students in oral English. The
pronunciation difficulty of the students is due to interference. Students are so conditioned by the
habits of their mother tongue that very often; one cannot even hear the strange sounds of a new
language let alone produce them. Egbe (2007 ) in his article Spoken and Written further stress
that a Nigerian speaks the way he does, not only because of the influence of written words but
because he may transfer to English the tonal habits of his first language.
Awonusi (2004b) identifies mother tongue interference in the accent of Nigerian speakers of
English language. He identifies six major areas where the mother-tongue accents can interfere
with the English accents of the speaker. They include:

There is no use or absence of dental fricatives

There is a high level of spelling induced pronunciation for example honor, hair,
bomb, castle. Often honor and hair are pronounced with /h/ sound at the
beginning of the words by a Nigerian speaker while this sound /h/ is not pronounced in
these two instances. The word tomb and bomb which both have the /b/ sound are
produced at the end of these words by Nigerian speaker. But the Received Pronunciation
(RP) does not have a final /bi/ in these words.

26

H- Dropping is also common in Nigerian pronunciation and sometimes, it leads to what is

known as phonological hyper-correction of English. For example: house, head,
hammer are pronounced without h.

There is non-aspiration of /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/ in any position either within word initial or final
position by the Nigerian speaker of English. This is because /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/ are not
aspirated in his language.

Nigerian English also operates a simple vowel system which according to Adetugbo can
be thus /i, a, e, o, u/.

There is also a peculiar pattern of stress placement which differs from RP.

2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Error analysis (EA) is the study of the kind and quantity of error that occurs, particularly in the
fields of applied linguistic. It is concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of the errors
made by second or foreign language learners. James (1998, p.30) describes that error analysis is
not a branch of linguistic theory but applied linguistics. He therefore proceeds by saying that
(EA) is the process of determining the incidence, nature, causes and consequences of
unsuccessful language. Error analysis was an alternative to contrastive analysis (CA), an
approach influenced by behaviorism through which applied linguists sought to use the formal
distinctions between the learners' first and second languages to predict errors. Errors are
considered to be systemic and rule, governed and appear because a learners knowledge of the
rules of the target language is incomplete. Meanwhile, mistakes are systemic features of
production that speakers will correct if their attention is drawn to them. Order scholars asserts

27

that there are three major causes of errors, which are label transfer errors, analogical error and
teaching induced error.
In second language acquisition,Error analysis studies the types and causes of language learning
errors. Errors are integral part of language learning. The learner of English as a second language
is unaware of the existence of the particular system or rule in English language. The learners
errors have long been an area of attention for second and foreign language researchers. The basic
task of Error Analysis is to explains how learning occurs by examining the learners output and
this includes his/her correct and incorrect utterances. There are two major methods to the study
of learners Errors, namely contrastive analysis and error analysis. Error analysis cannot be
studied correctly without moving upon the notion of contrastive analysis. Contrastive analysis
and error analysis have been commonly recognized as branches of Applied Linguistic. Error
analysis offered support to Chomskys theory of language acquisition. Chomskys view was that
language acquisition was not a product of habit formation but rather one of rule formation. Error
analysis provides a prove for the fact that children acquiring their first language first adopt
certain rules and then master the shortcomings of these rules ,which indicates that the children
were not simply repeating forms from the input they encountered.
Dulay et al (1974) says errors are the flawed side of learners speech or writing, they are those
parts of conversation and composition that deviate from some selected norm of

language

performance. Typicallyresearchers distinguish between errors and mistakes. One of them is

Corder (1967) who associates errors with failure in competence and mistakes with failure in
performance making use of Chomskys distinction. Error analysis is a theory substituting the
contrastive analyses, which was abandoned by linguist and teacher due to its infection and
unreliability. It is rather a methodology for dealing with data.
28

Brown (2001), assert that error analysis is a field of study to observe, analyses and classify the
learners errors. In general error analysis is a serious process used by both the researcher and
teacher to get information about the student error. It involves identifying the errors and their
causes, collecting and classifying then in the sample according to their hypothesis, describing
and explaining error analysis.
Error analysis began to wane as errors which were seen as improperly formed habits or
interference from the native language. Therefore, (EA) refers to the description and examination
of the error committed by learners while attempting to use a language.For the purpose of using
the result to guide corrective actions, EA is integral and useful to language learning in that:

It is the part of the process of learning a language.

It presents the progress of a learner

The result of the exercise can be used by teachers, syllabus etc.

It provides useful information resulting from mother tongue (MT) L1 interference.

It complements findings of contrastive analysis.

Sources of Errors includes:Mother tongue interference, Lack of good model, Method of teaching,
Inadequate teaching materials, Loan words, Problem of a language, Overgeneralization of rules,
Code mixing and Inherent difficulties of a target language(complexities,irregular tense
problem,spelling error)

29

Corder created five procedures to analyzing errors(Saville-Troike 2006).

Collect samples of learners language: data is collected over a period of time and
compared.

Identification of errors: a difference is made between an error and mistake.an error is

where the language learner does not possess the knowledge of the correct usage.
Amistake is where the language learner possesses the knowledge,but has a lapse in
memory. Identification of errors involves identifying deviations or ungrammatical
expression in language use .Errors can be found in all levels of language use.

Description of errors: once the mistakes are eliminated from the errors,what classification
is the error? Is it language level (structural- phonology), general linguistic (passive
sentences) or specific linguistic elements (nouns, articles). Therefore, errors are described
linguistically to find out their nature,they are also classified based on their description, it
can be orthographical (spelling), morphological (word formation) etc. This may involve
frequency count of error in data.

Explanation of errors: why was the error made?

Interlingua (between two languages): theerror could be interference from first language to the
second language.
Intralingua (within the language): the errors could be developmental which shows a gap in the
knowledge of the rule.
These errors are explained on the possible cause of it. The causes identified are explained.

Evaluation or errors: how serious are the errors? Does it cause a lack of understanding?

30

This is a very important stage in error analysis.one should find the possible solutions for their
identified problems. When errors are identified and analyzed, analyst must be able to provide
corrective measure for the error.
The procedure for error analysis is classified into four strategies according to James (1998, p.19),
his first stage is error detection which is when errors are identified and detected. It is actually,
spotting of the error itself. The following stage is called error location and it is when the
informant locates the error. James argues that some errors are difficult to locate because they can
be diffused throughout the sentence or the whole text and appear only after the whole text is
carefully examined. The third stage is error description; it is obvious that a learners language
has to be described in terms of some language system. The inter language hypothesis would
suggest that the learners language is a language in its own right. James (1998, pg.95-96) also
disputesthat the description of grammar used must be comprehensive, simple, self-explanatory,
easily learnable and user friendly. Finally, the last step in error analysis is error classification or
categorization James (1998, p.97) categorized errors into dictionary or taxonomy. Dictionary of
error are categorized alphabetically and contain both lexical and grammatical information.
There is a difference between EA from the CA and this is the importance of the mother tongue.
When doing EA the mother tongue does not enter the picture at all and therefore has no
importance. In CA, the mother tongue is of vital importance while EA is comparative, because it
describes errors on the basis of comparing the learners interlanguage with the target language.
James (1998,p.62-63) also refers to error analysis as the study of linguistic ignorance which
investigate, what people do not know and how they attempt to cope with their inexperience.
The fact that learners find ways to cope with their ignorance makes a connection between EA
and learners strategies, which is divided into learning strategies and communication strategies.
31

Corders (1967) suggests that error analysis can be differentiated from performance analysis in
the sense that performance analysis is the study of the whole performance data from what
individual learns, whereas the term EA is reserved for the study of erroneous utterance, produced
by groups of learner. (Corder 1967, p.207 cited in James 1998, p.3). Early works in EA dealing
with L2 data were taxonomic. I.e. they focus on collecting and classifying errors. On the other
hand, early analyses dealing with native speakers data were mainly interested in searching for
the causes of errors (James 1998). The most important and innovatory feature of EA is that it is
quite error-friendly, meaning that errors are not seen as something negative or pathological
anymore, but as Corder (1967) claims, a learners error is significant in that, they provide to the
researcher of how language is learned or acquired.
James (1998, p.12) gives Corders five important points, originally published in Corder seminal
paper titled Significant of Learners Errors.

L1 acquisition and L2 learning are parallel processes; they are ruled by the same
mechanisms, procedures, and strategies. Learning a L2 is probably facilitated by the
knowledge of the L1.

Errors are based on learner intake. Errors reflect the learners inbuilt syllables or what
they have taken in, but not what the teachers have put into them, so there is a different
between input and intake.

Errors show that both learners of L1 and L2 develop on independent language system- a
transitional competence.

The terms error and mistake could be used interchangeably to mean the same.

32

Errors are important because they tell the teacher what he or she should teach they serve
as a source of information for the researchers about the learning processed and errors
allow the learners to test their L2 hypotheses.

James (1998) paraphrases Corders (1967)argument that it is not demanded legitimate to

compare the Childs or the F1 learners ID (idiosyncratic dialect) to the dialect of adult or of native
speakers respectively nor pathologically deviant in their language, so it would be wrong to refer
to their reporters as erroneous James (1998 p.16). Schachter (1974) condemn that EA does not
take into consideration the strategy of avoidance, i.e. that learners tend to avoid certain language
items which they are not sure about, and so they dont make error in the area where they would
be expected to make them. More criticism comes from Dulay et al (1992, p.41-143) who point to
the fact that EA complicates explanation and descriptive aspect. In other words the process and
the product and also that error categories lack precision and specification. However despite all
the criticism, EA remains the widest spread practice, because it has proven to be the most
effective approach to L2 learners error. Brown (1994 p.105) insist that it is crucial to make a
distinction between mistake and errors because they are technically two different phenomenon.
The basic distinction between a mistakes and an error is also based on the concept of
corrigibility. If the learners is able to self-correct after using an incorrect expression or utterance
this is a mistake. On the other hand, when the learner produces an unintentionally deviant
utterance and is not able to self-correct, he or she committed an error.
Corder (19967) in James (1998p.78) associates the error vs. mistake, as a difference to the issue
of competence vs. performance. In this way, errors are seen as failures of competence and
mistake as a failure of performance. Corder argues that mistake are of no significance to the

33

process of language learning since they do not reflect a defeat in our knowledge and they can
occur in L1 as well as L2.On the other hand, errors are of significance, and only learners of L2
make them.
Error analysis (EA) involves identifying the errors and their causes,collecting and classifying
thesample according to their hypothesis. Describing and explaining the error will be used to
analyze the data of this study.EAis part of the learning process of a language and it is not a tool
of judgment it is a tool for helping. It is applied in thisstudy because students make
mistakes.They are not aware of them and they cannot be self-corrected. EA will help us know the
students error since students have different source of error which affects them when producing
words.
The four stages of error analysis which are identification, description, explanation and correction
will be applied to this study.
Firstly,the students error will be located and detected. For example if the students made a
phonological error or spelling error. The identification stage satisfies this motive. This is
followed by the description stage.The students error will be described linguistically to find out
where the problem lies. Thirdly, the students error will be analyzed and explained based on
what has been identified.The students error will beanalyzed at this stage. This is the explanation
stage.Lastly, in correcting the students error, students error will be corrected because this is a
very important stage,solutions will be identified for the problems.
In conclusion,EA is relevant to the study because it is very important in learning a language.
Hence its usage in identifying the cause of the students errors and correcting them is the essence
of this project.
34

CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
In order to achieve the aim and objectives of this research, various approaches, methods and
techniques of data collection are employed. This method include: Oral interview, Questionnaires
and Observations. The primary data and secondary data were employed to obtain relevant
information.
3.2 SOURCES OF DATA
These are mostly primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are oral interview, the use of
questionnaire and observation technique. These were considered to be most useful considering
the objective and scope of the study. Secondary sources were journals, textbooks and periodicals
from where information on study area, literature review materials and similar information were
obtained.
3.3 SAMPLING FRAME AND TECHNIQUE
The sampling frame of this research is the students and teachers. These groups of people were
considered to be appropriately based on their knowledge of Oral English. A purposive technique
was adopted for the selection of 100 individuals, 50 from public secondaryschools and 50 from
private secondary schools;questionnaires were administered on these individuals to obtain the
required information. This is because the choice of area of study was done purposely because of

35

its recent raising prominence in education awareness both in the public and private secondary
areas.
3.4 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS
This provides details of how the data for the study were collected and presented for easy
explanation and understanding.
The data collected during thefield work wereanalyzed following this process:
First, the responses of teachersto the interviewconducted were recorded.This was corroborated
with notes taken during the observation.
This was followed by the transcription and translation of data.Relevant information that showed
thedifferences and similarities between both schools was identified here.The four stages of Error
Analysis were employed in the identification and discussion of errors in the data collected.
The SectionsCand D of the questionnaire were analyzed and the findings thereof were
accommodated in theinterpretation of the data. This identified the discrepancies and similarities
in existence in both category of schools (public and private).
These analyses were complemented with the use of descriptive statistical procedures such as
tables, percentage etc.

36

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This study was out to critically evaluate the students performance in Oral English among private
and public secondary school. The aim of this chapter is to present the data analysis and the result
obtained from the study.
Simple percentages were used to represent the information received on the instruments.in
applying the simple percentage method of analysis option, which has d highest currency, is
believed to give the most accurate answer to the question asked in the questionnaire.at the
beginning of the study, the researcher sought to find answer to the following research question.
4.2 TABLE 1
DEMOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF TEACHERS RESPONDENT

Indices

Private schools

Public schools

No

No of teachers

Percentage

of Percentage

teachers

Gender
Male
Female

16.7

16.7

8.3

66.6

Total

25.0

10

83.3

37

Oral English -teacher

Total
Experience
1-3
3-5
10-15
Total

--

33.4

--

33.4

8.3

----

-----

16.7

16.7

---

----

66.6

25.0

10

83.3

25.0

-----

-----

Population of
student
in
each class
3
30-40
41-50

---

--

10

83.3

51-60

---

---

-----

------

Total

25.0

10

83.3

--

--

--

--

16.7

16.7

8.3

66.6

--

--

--

--

10

83.3

Qualification
s.sc
B.A edu
B.A
M.Ed

8.3

Total

25.0

38

This gives an overview of the teachers status of the respondent within the study. The
informationcollected is summarized in table 1.
This table shows that 16.7% of the private respondents and also 16.7% of the public respondents
are male while 8.3% of private respondent and 66.6% of public respondents are female. Also the
table shows that private schools does not have Oral English teacher while33.4% of the public
school has Oral English teacher. It can be seen that 8.3% of private respondent have 3-5 years
while 16.7% of public respondent have teaching experience of 3-5 years, 66.6% have 10-15
years. From this, it can be summarized that the majority of the public respondent have a wealth
of experience on the job.
Concerning population of the student in class, the table shows that the classes in private school
have 30 students in a class while public school has 50 students in a class. On the qualification of
the respondent ,it can be seen that 16.7% of private school hold B.A EDU english,8.3% hold B.A
while in public school 16.7% hold B.EDU in English, 66.6% holds B.A.it can be seen that public
school respondent are well qualified for d job.
From the data on the demographic aspect of the questionnaire, it can be concluded that in public
schools there are adequately trained teachers of English language to handle Oral English
effectively.

39

4.3 SECTION B ANALYSIS:TABLE 2

SECTION B
Words

Bomb

Education

Elevator

Actual pronunciation

/ bmb/
/b:mb /
/b3m/
/b mb/
/b:mb/

/ bm /

/ ed.ukei.n/

/klD/

Of

/v/

/education /
/edkern /
/ed3.uIkein/
/ed.ju.kei.sn/
/edu.keisn/
/elevator /
/eleveit/
/eliveitr/
/elaveitr/
/eli:vet/

/ eliveit/

Cloth

Wrong pronunciation

/kl /
/ klDt /
/kIu./
/kIudz/
/Klt/
/kIa:t/

/v/
/f /
/:v/
/:f/
/f/

40

/hf /
/v /
Have

/hv /
/f/
/hv/
/h:v/
/heiv/

Purple

/P:pl /

Vehicle

/v:l/

Pursue

/'su;/

women

/imin/

House

/ P^ /
/^Pl /
/p'pl/
/p3pl/
/P3:pel/
/p3:'pel/

/vek /
/veh /
/viekl/
/vi:Kl/
/vi:lkI/
/viIKI/

/p'u: /
/P3:su/
/psju:/
/p'sju:/
/p3:sju:/
/wumen /
/wi:men/
/wi:min/
/wum.in/
/wi:min/
/us/
/:us/
/ue/
/u/
/ue/

/hus/

41

4.3.1 Private schools respondents: TABLE 3

Words

No of student

Actual

Percentage of Wrong

Percentage of

pronunciation

correct

wrong

pronunciation

pronunciation
Bomb

50

15

Education

50

20

Elevator

50

Cloth

Of

pronunciation
35

70%

40%

30

60%

24

48%

26

52%

50

15

30%

35

70%

50

10

20%

40

80%

70%

15

30%

30%

Have

50

35

Purple

50

25

50%

25

50%

Vehicle

50

20

40%

30

60%

Pursue

50

10

20%

40

80%

Women

50

16

16%

42

84%

House

50

15

30%

35

70%

42

The table above reveals that 70% of the respondents produced the word Bomb wrongly while
30% of the respondents produced the word correctly. 40% of the respondent produced the word
Education correctly while 60% of the respondents produced the word wrongly. 48% of the
respondents produced the word Elevator correctly while 52% of the respondents produced the
word wrongly.30% of the respondents produced the word Cloth rightly while 60% of the
respondents produced the word wrongly. 20% of the respondent produced the word Of
correctly while 80% of the respondent produced the word correctly.
70% of the respondents produced the word Have correctly while 30% of the respondents
produced the word wrongly. 50% of the respondent produced the word Purple correctly while
50% of the respondents produced the word wrongly. 40% of the respondents produced the word
Vehicle correctly while 60% of the respondent produced the word wrongly. 20% of the
respondents produced the word Pursue correctly while 80% of the respondents produced the
word wrongly. 16% of the respondent produced the word Women correctly while 84% of the
respondent produced the word wrongly. 30% of the respondents produced the word House
correctly while 70% of the respondents produced the word wrongly.
The word Bomb, Education, Cloth, Of, Have, Vehicle, Pursue, Women, House
and Off have the highest percentage of the wrong pronunciation which are result of mother
tongue interference. The information on the table shows that most students from private
secondary schools in Ado Ekiti are deficient in Oral English. This is because the percentage of
the students that pronounced the given words wrongly is more than average for every word
pronounced.The implication is that these students are not well grounded in speech work at the

43

secondary school level. This is because the private schools have no experts to handle speech
work.
4.3.2 Public schools respondents: TABLE 4
Words

No of student

Actual

Percentage of Wrong

Percentage of

pronunciation

correct

wrong

pronunciation

pronunciation

pronunciation

Bomb

50

40

80 %

10

20 %

Education

50

35

70 %

15

30 %

Elevator

50

20

40 %

30

60 %

Cloth

50

16

32 %

34

68 %

Of

50

35

70 %

15

30 %

Have

50

26

52 %

24

48 %

Purple

50

33

66 %

17

34 %

Vehicle

50

25

50 %

35

50 %

Pursue

50

25

50 %

25

50 %

Women

50

30

60 %

20

40 %

House

50

20

40 %

30

60 %

44

The table above shows that 80% of the respondents produced the word Bomb correctly while
20% of the respondents produced the word wrongly. 70% of the respondents produced the word
Education while 30% of the respondents produced the word wrongly. 40% of the respondents
produced the word Elevator correctly while 60% of the respondents produced the word
wrongly. 32% of the respondents produced the word Cloth correctly while 68% of the
respondents produced the word wrongly. 70% of the respondents produced the wordOf
correctly while 30% of the respondent produced the word wrongly. 52% of the respondents
produced the word Have correctly while 48% of the respondents produced the word wrongly.
66% of the respondents produced the word Purple correctly while 34% of the respondents
produced the word wrongly. 50% of the respondents produced the word Vehicle correctly
while 50% of the respondents produced the word wrongly. 50% of the respondents produced the
word Pursue correctly while 50% of the respondents produced the word wrongly. 60% of the
respondents produced the word Women correctly while 40% of the respondents produced the
word wrongly. 40% of the respondents produced the word House correctly while 60% of the
respondent produced the word wrongly.
The word Elevator, Cloth, Vehicle,House have the highest percentage of the wrong
pronunciation which are result of the learning environment. The information on the table shows
that most students from public secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti are proficient in oral English.
This is because the percentage of the students that pronounced the words correctly is higher than
those who realize the sound inaccurately. The implication is that these students are versed in
speech work at the secondary school level. This is because the public schools have expert to
handle speech work.
45

4.3.3 ERROR ANALYSIS

The four stages of Error Analysis which are: Identification, Description, Explanation, Correction
are used to analyse the words pronounced in section B, Table 2.
bomb
The sound /b/ is usually the error made in the pronunciation of this word which is because the
sound /b/ is a voiced bilabial plosive and it is usually added by the speaker at the end of the word
whereas it should be silent. But in this part of the world, it is common to find people producing
the four letter just as its appears. Orthographically,the word bomb has two bs,the initial b and
the terminal b. Phonologically,following the speech convention of the native speaker, the first b
is pronounced while the second b is silent. Most of the students produced both bs which is the
initial and the terminal which is affected by their mother tongue interference and also students
who tend to produce the word wrongly are affected by teachers who does not have wide horizon
of the correct pronunciation. This is because teacher teaching Oral English does not have wide
horizon of the correct pronunciation. Bomb should be rightly pronounced as /bm/.
education
The /d3/ sound is the common error realized here. Sound /d3/ is a post Alveolar affricate sound
but substituted with /d/ which is an alveolar plosive sound. Overgeneralization occurs in this
word for example:
/d//doun/ down
d

/d3/ /sljr/ solider

46

/t/ /pak/packed

Phonologically /d/ can generate the three sounds /d/./d3/ and /t/ depending on their
occurrence.The right pronunciation is usually neglected by users here. Hence they produce /d3/
and /t/ sound as /d/.the student tend to generalize the usage of /d / but this is not correct in all
cases as the /d3/ variance of /d/ is expected to be used here. Therefore,the students those
pronounce the word/eidukein/ are mainly affected by the problem of overgeneralization and
mother tongue interference. Misplacement of stress also occurs in this word, students without
recourse to the stress pattern produce the word due to lack of ignorance and not being competent
enough. Education should be rightly produced as /ed3.ukei.n/.
elevator
The Error detected is at the /i/sound which is used as /e/sound by these speakers. The /e/ sound is
retained in pronunciation because graphologically the students see /i/ sound as given rise to /e/.
The /i/ allomorph variance of /e/ is expected to be used here but users usually neglect this and
produce the sound /e/ instead of the /i/ sound and this make /i/ the correct phones in
pronunciation of this word.Overgeneralization occur in this word
/i/
e

/i:/

/e/

/mrkt/ market
/bet/ bet

/m/ me

47

The students are more conversant with the sound /i:/ and /e/ and they are not familiar with the
word /i/. Therefore,the students tend to reproduce /i/ as /e/.students produce the word wrongly
due to mother tongue interference and overgeneralization. Stress is placed on theinitial sound /e/
instead of the /vei/sound. Elevator should be rightly produced as /elivert/
cloth
The error is identified

at the // sound which is usually mistakenly pronounced and replaced

with either /t/ or // sounds. The error is located in the voiceless plosive /t/ or the voiced // is
used instead of the voiceless //. The /th/ at the end of the word is supposed to be realized as a
voiceless interdental fricative //. It is noticed however that these tested variables are of few
exceptions which realize the /th/ as ordinary /t/.
Overgeneralization occur in this word

/t/ /tm/thyme
th

/ / /THiNG/ thing

// /TH/ they
Nigerians mispronounce the word in that they replace/ / as /t/ and substitute // as /t/ because
these sounds are not contained in indigenous language. Majority of the student produce the word

48

wrongly because they approximate the sound// for /t/ and// and the sounds not contained in
our indigenous language. Cloth should be rightly produced as /kl/
of
The Error is identified at the // for /:/ .The short // is heard in the pronunciation instead of the
long form /:/.It is not uncommon to hear users especially from southern Nigeria often tend to
neglect the short and long form of the vowel sounds.

/f/ /film/ film

f
/v/ /v/of
A very common violation of this is found in the word of whose // is long /:/ but when
pronounced, we hear something like/f/that is the short from for the long one. Nigerian speakers
produce the word of as off, hence the students substitute the word off for of in
pronunciation. In producing the word of stress is not realized because it is a monosyllabic
word. Of should be rightly pronounced as /v/.
have
The Error associated with the word is the pronunciation of the sound /f/

for /v/ and /h/, it is

described as the voiced and voiceless sound. The voiced fricative /v/ is realized as the voiceless
/f/ hereby the participant, thereby giving off a pronunciation as /hf/ instead of /hv/.Also, some
participants tend to neglect the /h/ sounds before the // and start have with the a // .Here, the
49

initial h is erroneously not produced. Most students produced the word wrongly,because Yoruba
Speaker does not have the letter v,in their sound hence theyreplace /f/ for/v/.There is no glottal
sound/h/,/h/ dropping is very common in Nigerian pronunciation and sometimes, it leads to what
is known as phonological hyper-correction of English. Students who tend to produce the word
wrongly does not have the letter (v) in their sound hence they replace (f) for (v).Have should be
rightly pronounced as /hv/.
purple
The Erorr identified is the replacement of /^/ with /3:/.The /^/ sound is used readily here instead
of /3:/. The error of generalization is what it is contended with here. The /^/ sound is sued readily
for u but here, the sound changes because of the succeeding /^/ sound, the long /3/ sound /3:/-so
a sound like / p^'p l/instead of /p3:pl/. students finds it hard to stress/p/sound. Nigerian shift
stress from the /p/ letter to the second letter/u/.This is called misplacement of stress./. Purple
should be rightly pronounced as / p3:pl/.
vehicle
The Error is at the level of /a/sound which is used instead of / i:/, the /I:/ long sound is replaced
with /e/. the long /i/ -/i:/ allomorph of /e/,is expected to be used here but it is noticed that the
participating students neglect this variation and go ahead to produce the /e/ as it is .vehicle
should be rightly pronounced as /vl:lkl/.In Yoruba setting,the /u/sound is prominent in their
sound,the students gives stress to the letter /u/.
pursue

50

Sound /j/ is equated to // which is the error identified here. The // description is used instead of
/j/ sound. The presence of the letters readily makes the sound. Pursue should be rightly
pronounced a/p'sju:/.the students produced the word wrongly based on their mother tongue
interference which is placed at the end part of the word when it is being produced. Stress is
extremely placed on the letter/u/.
women
/u/ is used instead of /i/ and /e/ instead /i/ and this is the error identified with the pronunciation
of this word. The question of allomorphs arises here. The o letter is realized in the common (u)
sound instead of the short /i/ sound allomorphs and the letter is ordinarily realized as /e/ instead
of the short /i/ allomorphs. This makes it sound more/ wumen / like the spelling suggest instead
of /wimin/. Students who produced the word wrongly pronounce the letter (u) instead of letter (i)
in the word /wimin/, this is caused by the mother tongue interference. Women should be rightly
pronounced as / wim.in/
house
/h/ is usually omitted while pronouncing this word. This is a common error to a participant from
the southern western part of the country. They tend to commit an error of omission. The /h/
sound is usually left not especially when it begins a word as in this case. Participant start
producing from the ou-/

/or / u/.thereby given off something like /use / or /:w/ instead of

/huis /. H dropping occur in this word, students who tend to pronounce the word wrongly omit
the letter h when producing the word. House should be rightly pronounced as / huis /.

51

4.4

SECTION C ANALYSIS
Private school percentage

Do you have adequate facilities of Oral

Public school percentage

20%

80%

English in your school

Do you use what you have learnt in Oral

30%

70%

English when communicating in English

Is there any value in being competent in oral

20%

80%

English

Do you believe your performance may affect

40%

60%

your use of English

Do you have adequate facilities in your school for Oral English? Item 1 in section D of
the students questionnaire was used to answer this question. It was observed that in
private schools 20% of the respondent agreed and 80% disagreed while in public schools
80% agreedand 20% disagreed that their school have facilities for oral English. The
response shows that public schools still have enough facilities than the private schools.
52

The question of Do you use what you have learnt in Oral English when communicating in
English?Item 2 in section D. findings reveals that in private schools 30% agreed and 70%
disagreed while in public schools 70% disagreed and 30% disagreed. This responseshows
that few private schools use what they have learnt in communicating in English while
most public schools use Oral English when communicating.

The student response to the question whether there is any value in being competent in
Oral English, this response shows that in private schools 20% agreed and 80%disagreed
while in public school 80% agreed and 20 % disagreed. This shows that in private
schools, few are interested in being competent in Oral English while in public schools,
there is a value in being competent in Oral English.

Do you believe your performance may affect your use of English? Item 4 of section D of
the students questionnaire were used to answer this question. It can be seen that the
respondent of public schools agreed with 40% and disagreed with 60% while the
respondent of public schools also agreed with 40% and disagree with 60%. Both schools
believe that their performance cannot affect their use of English.

4.5 SECTION D ANALYSIS

Private school percentage

Our teacher gives attention to

Public school percentage

10%

90%

Oral English learning

Oral English learning is a

45%

55%

waste of time

53

Our teacher teaches us oral

20%

80%

English very well

Our teacher gives attention to Oral English learning? Item 2 section E shows that in
private school 10%agreed and 90% disagree while in public school 90% agreed while
10% disagreed. The response shows that public school teachers give attention to Oral
English learning than their private counterpart.

Oral English learning is a waste of time? This question was addressed by the student
questionnaire. Item 2 in section E. It is found out that in public school 55% agreed and
45% disagreed while in private school 45 % agreed and 55% disagreed. Both private and
public school accepted the fact that Oral English is a waste of time. This is because
private schools lackOral English teacher and instructional aids while public schools have
shortage of Oral English materials.

Our teacher teaches us Oral English very well? The response of item 3 in section E shows
that, in private school 20% agreed and 80% disagreed while in public school 80% agreed
and 20% disagreed. The response shows that private schools lack Oral English teacher
which makes them deficient in Oral English while public school are proficient in Oral
English because they have Oral English teacher and they are being taught very well.

54

CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

The aim of this study is to carry out a comparative study of Oral English performance in both
private and public schools in Ado-Ekiti. It focuses on the performance of students from these
schools in Oral English. In this research, it has been discovered that there are similarities and
also differences among the schools especially in the factors affecting Oral English performance.
Apparently,both private and public schools lack necessary material for the teaching and the
learning of Oral English.
It is also discovered that private schools have no experts to handle speech work which made the
students deficient in Oral English. On the other hand, public schools have experts to handle
speech works and this has positively affected the students performances.
In addition, a good number of public school students are intelligent, able to express their
opinions well and have a good command of the English language while private school students
are not well grounded in speech work. It is observed that the numbers of students in public
schools are way larger than those of the private schools. Hence, the number of students in the
class does not affect the performance of the students in Oral English

55

5.2

RECOMMENDATION

From the findings of this study, the researcher is of the opinion that student will perform better
in Oral English in both private and public secondary school if the following recommendation
given are implemented to improve Oral English teaching and learning:

The private schools administrator should provide creative and dynamic Oral English
instructors to handle the students Oral English classes.

Government at all level should provide language laboratories for use in secondary
schools

The government should endeavor to provide adequate and updated instructional aids and
private schools should source for funds to facilitate teaching and learning of Oral English.

Finally, parents and guardians should also encourage their children and wards respectively to use
what they have learnt in Oral English when communicating in the society. Also, they should
ensure that their children are provided with Oral English textbooks and other necessary Oral
English testing materials.
These recommendations, if looked into, will help in raising the standard of Spoken English in
Ado-Ekiti and Ekiti state generally.

56

5.3 CONCLUSION
The comparative study of Oral English performance of private and public schools in Ado-Ekiti,
Ekiti has been examined in the study. The onus of good performance of students in Oral English
among private and public secondary school lies heavily on the teachers but their ability to
properly carry out the job is being hampered by a number of fact. Also Oral English does have a
great influence on the academic achievement of learners as well as factors related to teaching and
learning such as methodologies of teaching and learning, student participation in class activities,
teaching and learning materials.
Although public secondary school teachers seems to be well qualified and competent enough to
enhance good performance than the private secondary school that lack necessary facilities and
inadequate methodology. Both private and public school lack language laboratories which
giveroom for the poor performance of students, hence right model is not ensured. Students are
not exposed to variety of activities so as to enhance effective teaching and learning.
Hence, the government should make provision of Oral English laboratory and materials available
for use in secondary schoolsbecause it helps to reduce the students mother tongue interference
and make the students fluent when communicating in and around Ekiti state and thestudents
should be encouraged by the teachers. Although private school does not have much time to spend
on Oral English because there are few students in class, it is very difficult for the administrator to
get a good English teacher. Therefore, adequate and didactic materials should be used regularly.

57

All these could pave way for good performance of student in Oral English both in private and
public secondary school.

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62

APPENDIX
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE EKITI, EKITI STATE, NIGERIA
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES
QUESTIONNAIRE
FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ORAL ENGLISH AMONG
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL IN ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE, NIGERIA.
To whom it may concern
Dear sir/ma,
I am a final year student conducting a research project aimed at studying the above topic. It is
purely an academic exercise for the award of degree, and it has nothing to do with you as a
person. As such, information given by you will be treated confidentiality.
I plead that your respond to these questions are honestly as you can. Your cooperation is highly
needed.
Serial number date of interview..
Interview outcome: Completed Not CompletedRefused..
SECTION A

63

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
Age at last birthday: ..
Sex: (1) Male (2) Female
Level of education: (1) Primary (2) Secondary (3) Post-Secondary
Ethnicity: (1) Yoruba (2) Igbo (3) Hausa (4) others
Religion: (1) Christianity (2) Islam(3) traditional
Fathers occupation: ..
Mothers occupation: ..

SECTION B
WORD PRONUNCIATION
Please pronounce these words appropriately.
Words

Correct

Student

Right

transcription

transcription

Bomb
Education
Elevator
Cloth
Of
64

Wrong

Have
Purple
Vehicle
Pursue
Women
House

SECTION C
Please answer the question appropriately, using Yes or No.
Yes
Do

you

have

No

adequate

facilities in your school for

oral English?
Do you use what you have
learnt in oral English when
communicating in English?
Is there any value in being
competent in oral English?
Do

you

believe

your

performance may affect your

use of English?

65

SECTION D
Choose any of the following to answer the question below
SA to represent strongly agree
A to represent agree
SD to represent strongly
D to represent disagree

SA
Our

SD

teacher

teaches us oral
English very well
Our teacher gives
attention

to

English learning
Oral
learning

English
is

waste of time

66

67