The Effect Of Language Interference On The Academic Performance Of Students In Secondary Schools

The Effect Of Language Interference On The Academic Performance Of Students In Secondary Schools

Assumable Contents

front page

front page

Certification – – – – – – i

Dedication – – – – – – ii

Acknowledgement – – – – – – – iii

Abstracts – – – – – – – – v

the contents table – – – – – – – vi

Introduction in general, Chapter One

Background information for the study is provided in paragraph 1.1.

1.2 The issue with the research – – – – – 4

1.3 Study objectives: – – – – – 6

1.4 Research questions (Provisional) – – – 7

1.5 The study’s scope is as follows: – – – – – –

The importance of language is discussed in section 1.6.

1.7 Study limitations – – – – – 9

1.8 Definition of Terms – – – – – – 10

CHAPITER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The definition of interference is as follows: 11

2.2 Language Learning – – – – – 18

2.3 First language or mother tongue — — — — 18

The position of the English language in

Nigerian Schools: 20

2.5 Elements that affect how English is used

between students. – – – – – – 23

Third Chapter: Research Method

3.1 Research approach – – – – – – 26

3.2 Study participants – – – – – – 27

3.3 Equipment for research – – – – – 28

3.4 Data gathering techniques – – – – – 28

Data Presentation, Analysis, And Discussion Of Findings In Chapter Four

4.1 Presentation of data – – – – – – 29

4.2 Analysis – – – – – – – 33

Research questions with their respective 4.3 responses: 38

Discussion of the results is at section 4.4, line 41.

Summary, Conclusion, And Recommendations For Chapter Five

5.1 Findings in brief – – – – – 44

5.2 The Verdict – – – – – – – 44

5.3 Recommendation – – – – – 45

References

Questionnaire in the appendices

Introduction in general, Chapter One

Background of the Study (1.1)

The study of language existed before to the 19th century. When Sir Williams Jones (1786) proposed an affinity between Sanskrit and Persian and Greek, the field of comparative linguistics was created. the beginning of the school of historical comparative linguistics with this discovery of affinity.

Jacob Grimm, Rasmus Rast, and others studied and confirmed the existence of the Indo-European language family in the 19th century. Ferdinand de Saussure, who lived in the 20th century, founded the structural or descriptive school of linguistics. He saw language as “a systematic structure, linking thought and sound.”

the origins of language

a. The Divine Source: According to Hindu mythology, the goddess Sarasvati, who was married to the universe’s creator Brahma, is the source of language. Most religious communities believe that humans acquire language from a divine source.

b. The Natural Sound Source: It is believed that the only natural sounds that early men and women could hear were those that were present around them. For instance, when an object flew by generating a sound, man only used the sound for that particular object. To support this, it has been noted that some words in contemporary languages have pronunciations that “echo” naturally occurring noises like splash, buzz, bang, etc.

c. Oral Gesture Source: Orally produced sound and physical gesture are related. Body language, for instance, can convey a variety of emotions and intents. This is referred to as “paralinguistics or non-verbal means of communication” in linguistics.

d. Glossed Genetics: This section focuses on the biological factors that influence how human language is formed and developed.

e. Physiological Adaptation: Utilization of human organs such as the brain, throat, larynx, lips, tongue, teeth, and mouth.

f. Interactions and Transition: Humans interact with one another economically, socially, and in other ways to express their feelings of joy and hatred.

When in transition, we share knowledge, ideas, skills, etc. using language or our linguistic abilities. Languages evolve over time, as is well known. For instance, the Anglo-Saxon and Romance languages are the roots of the English language. With the development of the tenets and pro-theory of historical linguistics, it has been established that French, Spanish, and Italian have their roots in Latin. Languages evolve, that much is clear.

Because they have a common ancestor from an earlier parent, languages are grouped or classified into families. As a result, language has existed since the beginning of time. One romance language that can be traced back to Latin is French. They are therefore related genetically. Languages evolve gradually, as shown by the development of middle English and modern English over history.

Typological and genetic classifications of languages are possible. Regular patterns can be identified in languages to categorize them typologically. For instance, the vowel patterns SOV, SVO, and OSV.

Type classification does not take relatedness into account. For instance, despite their differences, English and Yoruba share the SVO pattern. Structure has a role in the categorization of things according to typology.

However, genetic classification focuses on languages that share a common ancestor. It is known as PROTO-language, the common ancestor. The genesis of language can be traced back to their shared ancestor, historical language. The language will change as speakers of the same language travel from one location to another, but they can still communicate with one another.

1.2 The Problem of the Research

An individual’s social position can be inferred by the language that person uses. For this reason, according to Blackar (1999), “we actually exist and function in a world of language.” Thus, to some extent, language use is a factor reflecting social identity.

Learning and using a second language becomes extremely important in a politically, socially, culturally, and linguistically diverse society, but not because it enables intercultural communication. Due to the fact that Nigeria is a geographical and political entity that was conquered by the British, who come from a distinct linguistic background, English has become the primary language used in our society.

According to Wilson and Smith (2009), “it is widely held and proven that human beings are predisposed to learning certain types of language”. One is able to pick up a first language and pick up a second because to this intrinsic propensity. This ability, however, varies from person to person, and this is what Elindor (1989) described as “linguistic inequality” – a striking difference in the lexis users. Because of this difference, we can determine which of these two speakers belongs to a higher class and which to a lower class in the social hierarchy.

Traces of interference can be heard when listening to the majority of pupils in secondary schools in Calabar South. When we compare the voices of certain students with those of a monolingual student who speaks Efik, there is a clear distinction. We observe that the pupil of Efik descent possesses a sizable amount of English. The impact is felt at the phonological level of language.

At the phonological level, when we listen to the secondary school pupils in Calabar South, we can hear how English sounds are repeated as Efik sounds, causing interference. This is the issue that this study aims to look at.

1.3 The Study’s Objectives

The purpose of this study is to determine how language interference affects secondary school students’ academic performance in Calabar South. Since English is usually always the second language pupils encounter in the classroom, this study attempts to quantify the impact that language interference has on students’ academic performance due to the significance of language to Nigerian society.

1.4 Research Prompts

The following inquiries serve as a guide for this investigation;

Will kids have problems with their academic performance?

b. When these kids speak a language different than their native tongue, are there any obvious differences?

c. At what languages level are pupils in Calabar South’s secondary schools most aware of interference?

d. Do code-mixing and code-switching tend to be the most common aspects of linguistic interference?

Will secondary school teachers be made aware of the dominating impact of second language learning, and will this lessen the likelihood that these pupils will lose their native tongue?

Will pupils be able to hear the intonation patterns from their native languages when speaking their second language?

These questions were developed after taking into account the linguistic and sociolinguistic characteristics of secondary school students in Calabar South.

1.5 Study’s Purpose

Because men make up society and because no scientific study of linguistics has ever questioned the significance of language to man, language cannot be studied in isolation from society. Furthermore, the value of a second language, which has nearly become a status symbol in society, cannot be lightly discounted. This study will try to determine how language barriers affect secondary school students’ academic performance in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State.

1.6 Language’s Importance

i. It’s utilized to define and spread culture.

It is employed to convey national identity.

iii. Emotions are expressed in language.

iv. It facilitates social connection.

v. It is employed to manipulate reality

It is employed to document facts, or events that take place.

It is employed in communication.

Language is a thought-medium (see viii).

1.7.1 Study Limitations

Several obstacles were faced over the course of this research, which examined the impact of language interference on the academic performance of pupils in secondary schools in Calabar South. These obstacles included;

inability to distribute the study questionnaire due to a lack of funding. Because it was difficult to obtain the necessary materials, money was a major restriction. Some of the requirements that help this research be properly conducted were challenging to get, including the cost of the research questionnaire, transportation, time factor, and other unspecified needs.

The secondary school students also presented a challenge when it came to providing pertinent data for this research; even when I met with some of them to obtain pertinent data for the questionnaire, they resisted filling it out and refusing to provide me with their responses. Additionally, there was a lack of power.

1.8 Term Definitions

A subfield of linguistics called historical linguistics examines how language has changed over time. It investigates how languages alter over time, as well as the reasons for and effects of such changes both external to and internal to the languages.

Sociolinguistics: This field of study examines how language and society interact. It is a study of all relevant information regarding the interaction between language and social order.

Language: This is a dialect that cannot be understood by any other dialect anywhere in the world. Another way to think of language is as a vast system of speech components that undergo constant change while being used by successive cultural generations of humans.