In order to help pupils to acquire the skills needed for effective writing, teachers are expected to be in the position to teach the skills Williams (1990), Tomlinson and Eilss (1992) advised that students should be aided to develop the necessary linguistics skills of using a variety of sentence structures and lexical items to express their ideas accurately. Teachers should also draw the attention of the pupils to the use and place of commas, full stops, question marks, correct spellings, figurative expression and the need for adequate paragraphing in writing.
Factors Affecting the Teaching and Learning of English Language in Nigerian Primary Schools
Teaching and learning are interrelated since one depends on the other. Efficient and effective teaching takes place when students have learnt something, concepts or ideas which will enhance a change in behavior of the pupils. Pupils still encounter problems in learning English in spite of the effort of the teachers.
Researchers have identified a number of factors responsible for the poor performance of students in this very important subject in the secondary school Akinkunmi (1984) identified some causes which according; to him are:government policies, attitudes of teachers, attitudes of students and that of the society where the school is established.
Bazauye (1992) also mentioned several problems which are government policy, teachers’ possessiveness to the condition of language, environment factors and students’ attitude to work. To Pollards and Triggs (1997) the following factors affect the teaching and learning of English Language: classroom environment relationship, lack of dedication of teachers, overcrowding in schools and linguistic interference.
To Nwigwe (1994), one fundamental problem is the size of classes. She opined that effective language teaching and learning cannot take place in large classes. She believed that oral drills, conversation and listening classes are almost impossible in large classes, because it will result to only teaching theoretical aspects of the skills, which is inadequate Further, she affirmed that most students are unwilling learners who often do not recognize the relevance of their learning According to her, most of the time the students are passive listeners and not receptive of whatever they are taught irrespective of the method of teaching used,
Further, Adewumi (2000), in his study on the relationship between supervisory climate and teacher-student performance in chools in Akwa-Ibom state, found a significant positive relationship between supervising climate and students’ performance There is an agreement between scholars, researchers and educationists that the fewer the students, the better the performance of the students in the school Many studies have also pointed out the importance of teacher/students’ ratio (Ojoawa 1989; Bolton 1998; Johnson 2000; Fabunmi 2000; Fabunmi, Peter and Isaiah 2007; Mantid and Marcus 2008).
Fabunmi, Peter and Isaiah (2007)’s findings revealed that class size, students’ classroom and class utilization rate when taken together, contributed significantly to secondary school students’ academic performance.
Infrastructure Facilities: Infrastructure could be explained as the entire school plant such as blocks of classrooms, staffrooms, laboratories, workshops, libraries, laboratory equipment, consumables, audio-visual aids, electricity, water, chairs, tables, stationeries, playground, storage spaces, etc winch the school has, AdesolaL2005. It has been realized that facilities are very important in the development and improvement of education in Nigeria. A school without facilities may not be able to achieve the stated goals and objectives of the system. When facilities are available and skillfully utilized, they influence learning and make it more meaningful Facilities in education are very vital because they aid teaching and learning
Bandele (2003) noted that the importance of physical facilities cannot be relegated Facilities like modem laboratories, libraries, and classrooms are to be put m place in all our schools Adesola (2005) found out that the level of available resources is indeed a plus to the teachers and goes to show the level of ingenuity and commitment of the teachers towards the effective delivery of lessons. Akinfolarin 2007) identified facilities as a major factor contributing to academic performance in the school system. Different studies conducted by Ayodele (2000) and Vandiver (2011) showed that a positive relationship exists between availability of facilities and students’ academic performance. Language in the secondary school Further, Lewis’ study (2001) also confirmed the above.
Adedeji, Olaniyan and Owoeye (2001) found that the better the allocation and utilization of school resources, the more effective and efficient the teaching and learning process which eventually lead to higher academic performance Bulach, Malore and Castleman (1994) in their study of twenty schools found a significant difference in students’ performance between schools with good school climate and those with a poor school climate. In the same vein, Itirase (2000) and Erpelding (1999) found that school with a positive climate had higher academic performance.
Oyenuga (2007) also attributed the poor teaching and learning in secondary schools to inadequate materials and infrastructural resources which are below expectation with some schools having few classrooms accommodation without windows, poor spacing and crowded seats Okonkwo (2010) attributed the student’s poor academic performance to indiscipline m schools and low level of educational standard.
