ABSTRACT
This research work set out to examine
the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of English Language in secondary
schools in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State. The specific objectives of
the study are: to determine the available ICT facilities for the teaching and
learning of English Language in secondary schools in Ido Local Government Area
of Oyo State; to determine the ICT skills possessed by oral English teachers
and students; to find out the level of the use of ICT facilities by oral
English teachers and students; to find out the benefits of ICT in the teaching
and learning of English Language and to find out the obstacles to the effective
use of ICT facilities in the teaching and learning of English Language.
Relevant literature was reviewed. The population of the study was four hundred
and fifty-two SSII students and twelve English language teachers randomly
sampled from twelve secondary schools. Data was collected through
questionnaire. Simple percentage was used to analyze the data. The results
revealed that only a few ICT facilities are available in the secondary schools
in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The subjects of the study agree that the use of ICT in the teaching and
learning of English Language is beneficial. But, most of the oral English
teachers and students do not use them because they do not posses ICT skills. It
was generally discovered that effective use of ICT in the teaching and oral
English in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State was hampered by lack of
knowledge of ICT, non-availability of computers for the class size, constant
electric power failure, lack of trained personnel to handle ICT instructional
materials, absence of language laboratories, non-possession of personal
computer and access to internet facilities. Recommendations made include that
the school administration should encourage government, individuals and NGOs to
provide and/or donate ICT facilities to schools. The ICT facilities if provided
and/or donated should be used during classroom interactions as the teachers and
students should be adequately trained at cheaper or no cost for the proper
utilization of the ICT facilities.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The
English language is not indigenous to . Yet, it is studied and
used in
more actively than most of the indigenous languages. The English language is ’s
second language but many parents prefer their children speaking English to
their indigenous languages. In some primary schools, English is used as the
medium of communication. Whoever speaks indigenous languages is made to pay
some money or is severely punished.
In
some secondary schools, the same thing is observed. Nigerian tertiary
institutions are not left out in the wide spread use of English. The work
places cannot but be mentioned. Our aged parents who are half-educated or did
not attend any school still hunger and thirst for the English language.
No
wonder, Bamgbose (1971) asserts, “Of all heritage left behind in by the
British at the end of the colonial administration, probably none is more
important than the English language”.
If this is the case,
the Nigerian users of English should aim at pronouncing English words in a way
that brings out their messages best without altering the language to the extent
that its value as a medium of communication will be lost. Where this foundation
is laid is in the lower levels of education; nursery, primary and post primary
schools.
Hence, as important as it is, the English
language teaching and learning in Nigerian secondary schools should not be
handled lightly. The teaching and learning of the English language here does
not only refer to grammar but also oral English.
Iyiola, (2010:2)
affirms, “To say that the English of Nigerians is appalling is to state the
obvious. This is so because over the years, attention has not been paid to the
teaching of the speech sounds of English in schools… He further observes,
however the emphasis in recent times on the phonic method of teaching English
at the primary school level, and the inclusion of an oral English component in
the SSCE syllabus is an indication of a renewed interest in correct
pronunciation”.
Onuigbo
(1996:103) writes, “ Oral English as a component of the language scheme in the secondary schools, is
a very welcome development, a positive development which will not only give
rise to good speech habits but will also affect the written form of the
language for the better”.
To
Omosowone and Akindolire (2003:126), “Oral English is now an integral and
essential part of the English language syllabus that also carries reasonable
mark in the school Certificate Examination. Oral English is integrated in the
school curriculum, not only for the purpose of examination but also, to teach
students how to speak English language correctly and meaningfully for effective
communication”.
Meanwhile,
Ukwuegbu, Okoro, Idris, Okebukola, Owokade and Okebukola (2002:185) write, “The
senior secondary school oral English paper has become an important aspect of
the English language examination”. They further say, “You should also know that
beyond learning oral English for the purpose of passing your examination, you
need it to be a better listener and communicator”.
According
to Ogunsanwo, Duruaku, Ezechukwu and Nwachukwu (2003:241),
“Since speech is
used more in every language than other forms, it is necessary that learners of
a language become quite familiar with the correct speech forms of the language.
Unlike the old system under which oral English was an optional paper and
carried no credit in the School Certificate Examination, the present system
provides appropriately for Oral English as a necessary part of the English
language syllabus and one that earns credit in the Senior School Certification
Examination. Accordingly, in the teaching of the English language, proper
attention to speech behaviour in English has become absolutely necessary.
In
any case, the approach to the study of Oral English extends beyond the purpose
of examination to its practical usefulness in life. The study will necessarily
demand intensive practice not only within the classroom but also outside it –
at play, at home, among friends, and so on. The learner should read aloud by
himself and repeat difficult sounds many times over to be familiar with their
correct pronunciation”.
Hence,
as an important aspect of the English language, it should be properly taught
and learnt. Onuigbo (1990) asserts, “The spoken form of English deserves a
special attention if the communicative role of language should be maintained”.
Iyiola (2010:2) asserts
“The goal of the oral English course therefore should not be just to enable the
students score high marks in oral English in the SSCE or JAMB but also that
they may become good speakers of English Language… proficiency in spoken
English Language is not voluntary. It is obligatory. All teachers of English language
and indeed all teachers must make concerted effort to improve on their spoken
English, so that they can be good models to their students…” Gimson (1980) caps it all:
The foreign
teacher of English constitutes a special case. He has the obligation to
present his students with as faithful a model of English as possible. In the
first place and particularly if he is dealing with young pupils, his students
will imitate a bad pronunciation as exactly as they will a good one.
According to Abolade
and Yusuf (2005) as quoted in
(2010), Information and communication technology (ICT) refers to those
different types of technologies which are utilized for processing, transmitting
and communicating data and information. Tools such as computers, internet,
interface boxes, e-mail, varieties of software and materials form important
aspects of ICT. Information and communication technology relates principally to
studying concepts, skills, processes and application of electronic devices.
Molony
(2006) describes information communication technology as any technology that
enables communication and transmission of information. Beebe (2004) says
information communication technology is a shorthand form for computers,
software, networks, satellite links and related systems that allow people to
access, analyze, create, exchange and use data, information and knowledge in
ways that until recently, were almost unimaginable. She opined that ICT can be
used interchangeably with “internet”.
De
Watteville and Gilbert 2000) say that Information Communication Technology
means required analysis, manipulation, storage and distribution of information
and the design and provision of equipment and software for these purposes.
According
to Iloanusi and Osuagwu (2011), information communication technology (ICT) is
the processing and maintenance of information, and the use of all forms of
computer, communication network and mobile technologies to mediate information.
They go further to say that information communication technologies include all
media employed in transmitting audio, video, data or multimedia such as cable,
satellite, fiber optics, wireless (radio, intra-red, Bluetooth, Wifi). And that
network technologies include personal area networks (PAN), campus area network
(CAN), intranets, extranets, LANs, WANs, MANs and the internets. Computer
technologies include all removable media such as optical discs, disks, flash
memories, video books, multimedia projectors, interactive electronic boards,
and continuously emerging state-of-the-art PCs. And that mobile technologies
include mobile phones, PDAs, palmtops, etc. These technologies have information
as their material object.
According to Adebayo (2005) cited in Egbe (2010), in education this
technology covers the use of computers, radio, satellites, online self-learning
packages, telepresence system interactive CDs, video, internet optical fibre
technologies and all types of information Technology (IT) hardware and
software.
To
lloanusi and Osuagwu (2010), Information Communication Technology applied to
education enhances the delivery and access to knowledge, and improves the
curriculum. It produces richer learning outcomes compared to education without
ICT. It encourages critical thinking and offers unlimited means of achieving
educational goals.
Hence, (2010) writes that the challenges of
carrying out teaching, learning and research started changing, dramatically
with the emergence of new technologies which include information and
communication technologies (ICT). According to Nwabuko (2010), education
recently has been influenced by the development of global Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) especially E-learning activities in the cyber
space through the internet. And this according to Mustapha (2004) quoted in
Nwabuko (2010), could facilitate quality education. For instance, in the teaching
and learning of English Language, if a recorded sound is played twenty times,
it will produce the same sound but if a teacher pronounces a particular sound
twice, different sounds will be produced.
No
wonder Clark, Yallop and Fletcher (2007:7) assert that advances in technology
in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have opened up new ways of
investigating the articulatory and acoustic properties of speech and have
substantially enlarged the scope of phonetics such that new frontiers such as
forensic phonetics have been opened. Forensic phonetics is a new branch of
phonetics which is used in the detection of criminals where the forensic
phonetician uses his equipment for the detection of the voice.
Egbe
(2010:168) affirms that using tapes, television and videos, the teacher can
make the children listen and watch the enunciation of the standard varieties as
well as other forms from across the world, thus creating versatility and
flexibility in their speech. He further states that language laboratories with
at least a radio cassette player, television with a multimedia receiver like
the DSTV, as well as the video compact disc player should be installed in all
public schools for use in teaching English pronunciation.
Different technological
resources are now available for effective spoken English practice in formal and
informal settings. These resources include the following:
Audioblogging: This is a situation
whereby a kind of diary published online in a web log in which a person (its
author) writes about what he/she likes in a chronological order is substituted
for the written posts with voice recording. It is a medium to capture personal
thoughts in the form of speech. This emerging technology has been identified as
a tool that could potentially enhance the teaching and learning of oral
conversation skills. According to Tan, Ow and Tan (2006) teachers using
Audioblogs in English classes have reported improvement in students’ oral
skills. The authors found that the use of Audioblogs enabled students who had a
weak proficiency in oral skills to acquire formulaic expressions when they
listened to oral performance of stronger students.
Podcasting
and Videocasting: Podcasting is a voice recording posted
online in a web page or site for others to listen to and download, usually for
MP3 players for personal use. Sound is instrumental to learning a L2 as
pupils need to develop the communication skills of listening and speaking (as
well as reading and writing). Furthermore, if it is accompanied by image, its
effect on the learner is stronger (Videocasts).
Videoconferencing: This puts L2 learners
in real-time contact with other students of ESL from different countries and
cultures. They can exchange personal information, take part in role plays,
participate in games, and above all, communicate in the L2 with a
real purpose. This is done through a web-based video- conferencing link via a
Webcam and program such as Microsoft NetMeeting.
Voice Chatting: This is a powerful
software tool which also provides teachers with authentic situations to use the
L2. Students learn better if they use the L2
for a real purpose. With a software application like Skype, students can talk
on the phone via the internet with ESL learners from other countries. It is
agreed among researches that activities that involve real communication promote
learning.
ICT
Policies in
, in a
quest to join ICT world, set up an ICT policy. The federal executive council
approved this policy and established the National Information Technology
Development Policy as the implementing body. This policy was lunched for
implementation in April 2001.
According
to Osei (2007:33), some of the objectives of ’s ICT policy include the
following:
1.
To ensure that ICT resources are readily
available to promote efficient national development.
2.
To guarantee that the country benefits
maximally, and contributes meaningfully by providing the global solutions to
the challenges of the information age.
3.
To empower Nigerians to participate in
software and ICT development.
4.
To encourage local participation and manufacture
of ICT infrastructure and maximize its use nationwide.
5.
To establish and to develop ICT skill
and prepare them for global
competitiveness.
6.
To create ICT awareness and ensure
universal access in promoting ICT diffusion in all sectors of national life.
7.
To create an enabling environment and
facilitate private sector (National and multinational) investment in the ICT
sector.
8.
To encourage government and private
sector joint venture collaboration.
9.
To develop human capital with emphasis
on creating and supporting a knowledge-based society.
10. To
build a pool of ICT literate manpower using the NYSC, NDE and other platforms
as a train-the-trainer scheme for capacity building.
According to Iloanusi
and Osuagwu (2010), it is possibly in line with the government policy as shown
above that several governmental and non-governmental organizations, banks and
individuals have funded the implementation of ICT in Nigerian educational
institutions at all levels and strategic plans and projects are always ongoing to
revisit targets in the area of ICT. With this commitment from governmental and
non-governmental organizations, this study is designed to examine how the
provisions of ICT is exploited in the teaching and learning of English Language
in Nigerian schools. Besides, the study is designed to examine how the various
institutions have exploited the ICT facilities in solving the administrative
problems of school and colleges in . In the past, language
laboratories were equipped with radio cassettes for talk exchanges but today, digital and multimedia systems are
readily installed for effective interaction and instruction in the
laboratories. In the same way, online registration of courses, display and
checking of results are today common practices. Apart from the traditional
curricular offerings, a number of schools are broadening their ICT services by
contracting ICT companies to impart hands-on-experience to all enrolled
students in their schools at schools’ cost. Others have established recognized
ICT centers where students take extra-curricular courses and acquire
certificates. The concern of the project however is to examine the potential
benefits of this current technological platform in the teaching and learning of
English Language in schools as well as the level of awareness of its provision
in the process of teaching and learning.
1.2
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The study is aimed at
finding out the benefits of Information and Communication Technology in the teaching
and learning of English Language in secondary schools in Ido Local Government
Area of Oyo State. The specific objectives of the study are:
1. To
examine the available ICT facilities for teaching and learning of English
Language in secondary schools in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
2. To
appraise the ICT skills possessed by Oral English teachers and students.
3. To
evaluate the use of ICT facilities by Oral English teachers and students.
4. To
examine benefits of ICT in the teaching and learning of English Language.
5. Obstacles
to the effective use of ICT facilities in teaching and learning of English
Language.
1.3
Research Problem
Information and
Communication Technology is no longer a new development in the lives of
Nigerians. A great measure of ICT awareness is created both within and outside
institutions of learning. The indispensable role of ICT in teaching and
learning of language studies especially the oral aspect is richly acknowledged
but learners are yet to benefit fully from this.
The Federal Government
of Nigeria is aware of the importance of ICT in Education and therefore states
as follows:
To
achieve the policy objectives of education, government shall provide
appropriate information and communication facilities (ICT) to ensure that the
benefits of the united library permeate all levels of education in (NPE,
2004:52)
Policy makers and
educators are aware of the need for the use of ICT as procedural strategy in
language teaching and learning but little studies have been carried out in this
respect. This project provides the necessary information to fill the gap with
reference to the benefits of ICT in the teaching and learning of English
Language in secondary schools in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
1.4 Relevance of the Study
This study on the use of ICT in the teaching and
learning of English Language in secondary schools in Ido Local Government Area
of Oyo State will be relevant to teachers, students, curriculum planners,
educational researchers and government.
The teachers will find the result beneficial because
it will come up with the best method of teaching and learning of English
Language using ICT. ICT is a new technological innovation in and
teachers have not utilized it fully in the teaching and learning of English
Language. This study will avail the teachers of the information that will
enable them to utilize ICT in the teaching and learning of English Language
with wonderful results.
Students will also find the results of this study
useful because it will expose them to the strategies in the teaching and
learning of English Language. With ICT facilities in a language laboratory, the
students can interact with the native speakers of English, using the computer.
There is no doubt that these strategies and technologies will help them achieve
proficiency in the use of the English Language.
Moreover, curriculum planners will explore the
result of this study and incorporate it in planning the English language
curriculum for effective teaching and learning. Again, this study will make its
contribution to the literature on ICT thereby contributing to educational
research in .
Finally, the result of this study will help the
government to stand to its responsibility of providing ICT facilities for
secondary schools. ICT facilities if provided to secondary schools, will
enhance effective teaching and learning of English Language.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The study would be carried out in
particularly in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State. It would concentrate on
senior secondary two (II) classes of selected secondary schools in the LGA. The
study will also focus of “Test of Oral” examination aspect of English langauge
in the senior secondary school. The study is mainly interested in investigating
the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of English Language.
1.6
Research Questions
The following research questions are posed to guide
this study.
1. What
are the available ICT facilities for the teaching and learning of English
Language in secondary schools in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State?
2. What
ICT skills are possessed by Oral English teachers and students?
3. To
what extent are ICT facilities used in the teaching and learning of English
Language in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State?
4. What
are the benefits of ICT in the teaching and learning of English Language?
5. What are the factors that impede the effective
use of ICT in teaching and learning of English Language in secondary schools in
Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State?