Generally speaking, the poor communicative competence of primary school pupils in English language and their poor performance in English Language examinations have made many well-meaning Nigerians, researchers, educators and writers to be seriously worried about the teaching of the subject in primary school. This is why Jowit (1999) commented that “the quality of the English spoken and written by Nigerians (mostly pupils and students) is perceived by most Nigerians to have been deteriorating over the yearsâ€
Ko1awe (1997) stated that the situation is very bad as many primary school leavers find it very difficult to speak simple and correct English As a result a large number of secondary school leavers cannot write applications for jobs on their own correctly Many cannot further their education because of their poor background at the primary school which greatly constitute their inability to pass English at credit level in Secondary school, which is a basic requirement for admission in institutions of higher education.
Reading Skills
Reading involves the task of seeing what is being read so the marks on the page are translated with the eye sending signals to the brain, which decodes based on the extent of words in the brain vocabulary bank. Ojedokun( 2007) stressed that teaching “how to read is necessary for the lifelong learning, and a basic requirement for the information ageâ€
Collins and Check (1999) described reading as a process that requires the use of complex thorough process to interpret printed symbols as meaningful units and comprehend them as a thought unit in order to understand a printed message According to Rubin (2002), reading is a total integrative process that starts with the reader and includes the affective, perceptual and cognitive domains.
Okebukola (2004) affirmed that through reading, humans have the tools to transmit knowledge to each succeeding generation; it allows one to listen to the wisdom and people of the ages. Henry’s study (2004) showed that 30 million Nigerians have graduated from High schools with poor reading skills. Tracy (2008) asserted that being a former British colony, Nigeria’s literacy culture ought to be as standardized as that of Britain. About 99% of British citizens can read and write. The same cannot be said of Nigeria.
According to Bisong (1985) reading efficiently is an imperative condition for comprehending a piece of communication. Banjo (2008) explained that: “One of the main causes of mass failure in various examinations among candidates is their inabilir to imbibe the good reading cultureâ€. Since reading aids comprehension a learner can only pass an examination in English language if he can comprehend what he has read to the extent that he can interpret in his own words.
Teaching the reading skills properly is necessary for success in other subjects taught in the schools. Reading helps the learners to adequately acquire communicative skills, new ideas and information which give them a wider knowledge and understanding of the world. In Nigerian primary schools, the traditional method of teaching and learning by memorizing subject contents which gives students only the surface knowledge (students do not understand the content) is mostly practiced. According to Olajide (2004) in Nigeria, pupils in primary schools, students in either secondary school or Teachers’ grade II are restricted to the basal texts mostly imposed by the government.
 
Writing Skill
Writing is different from the other language skills of listening, speaking, reading and speaking These skills can be taught without much ado because the learner may not be taught how to arrange his ideas, put the ideas across, punctuate effectively, use the correct spellings, etc Writing however, involves all these and a lot more It is one thing to have a topic and a target audience, it is another thing to know how to put the ideas in written form Thus the technical nature of writing requires that it should be handled properly.
Writing is composing something in written form. It is the use of letters or other symbols on a surface usually paper especially with a pen or pencil, Oxford Dictionary (2010). Writing therefore is putting information on a sheet of paper or storing data or expressing views or ideas in the appropriate places on a form.
Effective writing requires skills. Angelo (1981) said that writing has principles and forms which students must be taught in order to help them overcome their writing problems. Paragraph development, sentence formation, appropriateness of words, good spellings and punctuation as well as other mechanical principles are what learners must overcome to write’ effectively.
Williams (1990) cited in Kolawole (2000) advised teachers on mechanical principles and the need to teach students - how to organize their writings into paragraphs and coherent ideas. Osisanwo (1987) saw Composition as the inculcation of habits of writing effortlessly or with relative ease, the basic structures an. patterns of the language. It is also relying on the foundation of these habits to develop the ability to write clearly, concisely and using appropriate styles and registers about a wide range of topics.
The importance of writing and its technical nature call for the need to teach it very well Writing is different from other language skills such as listening, speaking and reading. These skills can be taught without the learner having to learn how to use appropriate vocabularies in written form, how to write good spellings, how to punctuate effectively, etc. Teaching writing requires that it should be handled in the way that will benefit learners.
