PARENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE AS LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION IN LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOLS
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PARENTS’ AND
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE AS LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION IN
LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOLS
ABSTRACT
This study
examined the parents’ and teachers’ perception of the use of mother tongue as
language of instruction in Lower Primary Schools (1 – 3). A total of four (4)
public primary schools in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State were
used. The study was carried out to ascertain whether the children’s mastery of
mother tongue at school, is influenced by their parents’ and teachers’
perception of the language.
The
descriptive survey research was used in order to collect data from respondents.
Two different questionnaires were used – one for the teachers and the other for
the parents. A total of two hundred and forty (240) respondents were randomly
selected and used for this study. The sample size is made up of one hundred and
twenty (120) parents and one hundred and twenty (120) teachers.
Two null
hypotheses were formulated and tested using the independent t-test statistical
tool at 0.05 level of significance. At the end of the analyses, the results
obtained show that:
(1) There is a significant difference
between parents’ perception of mother tongue and children’s mastery of mother
tongue at home.
(2) There is a significant difference
between teachers’ perception of mother tongue and children’s academic
performance at school.
Based on the
results obtained at the end of the analyses, it could be deduced that, the way
both parents and teachers perceive the use of mother tongue as a medium of
instruction at school, to a large extent influence the children’s mastery of
the mother tongue and their performance in it. Recommendations were proffered
also.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1Introduction/Background
to the Study
A primary
school pupil according to the National Policy on Education, 3rd Edition (1998)
comprises children aged between 6 – 11 years) plus. The primary education is
graded from Primary 1 to 6. The first three years of the primary education is
termed the lower primary.
Children at
the lower primary form the bedrock of the educational system in Nigeria.
Therefore, the success of the whole system of education is hinged on the
success of the lower primary education level. At this level, pupils are still
very attached to their homes which is one of the agents of socialization.
Hence, the mother tongue which is a means of transfer of cultural practices,
norms and mores of the society should be given utmost priority.
According to
Obanya (1985:19), the child’s mother tongue is the child’s first language, the
one in which he/she feels most at home with and which he/she uses most of the
time. Mother tongue according to Olayemi (1990), refers to any language
indigenous to Nigeria.
The National
Policy on Education (1998) stipulates the importance of language as a means of
promoting social interaction, national cohesion and preserving cultures. Thus,
every child should learn the language of the immediate environment.
Furthermore, in the interest of national unity, it is expedient that every
child should be required to learn one of the three Nigerian languages: Hausa,
Igbo and Yoruba.
According to
Agagu (1990), parents’ and teachers’ perception of the use of mother tongue or
the traditional language to teach the child is negative. This is because many
parents, especially the ones living in the urban areas of Nigeria, do not even
have the mastery of the mother tongues and this is applicable to the teachers.
As Agagu puts it, one cannot give what one does not have. As parents who are
the first teachers of the child at home, the educated urban dwellers
especially, do not know how to speak the mother tongue without code-mixing it
with English Language. They lack the capability and competence to impart it to
their children.
Also at
school, the teachers cannot teach the children with the mother tongue because
many do not have the mastery of the indigenous language such as Hausa, Igbo,
Yoruba, Efik, Urobo, Nupe etc. This has left the child to be more proficient in
English Language which his/her teachers and parents mostly apply in teaching
and interacting with them.
Language
plays a very important and active role in the effective education of the child.
In the process of educating the child, especially at the primary level,
different languages could be used, for example, the mother tongue of the child.
This is the first acquired language by the child from parents who are the
child’s first teachers, Abingbola (1995).
Once a solid
educational foundation is laid in the child’s first language, the child learns
more even through other languages spoken in his/her wider environment, Munonye
(1991). Children who come to school with a solid foundation in their mother
tongue develop stronger literacy abilities in the school language. For example,
when parents and other caregivers are able to spend time with children and tell
stories or discuss issues with them in their mother tongue, it will in a way
help them to develop vocabulary and concepts in their mother tongue (the L1)
thus, the children will be well prepared to learn the school language which is
English Language (L2) and this will enhance their success educationally. Mother
Tongue education encourages the understanding of those linguistic concepts in
English.
According to
Asuai (1994), the destruction of the local language and culture in schools is
highly counter-productive for the society itself. Whether it is done
intentionally or inadvertently, when the child’s mother tongue is destroyed or
ruptured, their relationships and interactions with parents and grandparents
especially the uneducated ones, will be affected. The need for the use of
mother tongue as a means of instruction in schools has featured prominently in
educational discussions in recent times. It has postulated that a child needs
to be tutored by both parents and teachers in the mother tongue at the early
stages, in order to enable him/her think clearly and communicate effectively in
his/her immediate environment or at school, Adekeke (1996).
Various
educationists including the former Minister of Education, Professor Babs
Fafunwa have recommended the use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction
in the first three years of the primary schools. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has been pioneering
and promoting the use of the mother tongue as a means of education and more
actively so in the last decade. For example, the 1925 Memorandum on Education,
the British Colonial Government Officially approved the use of mother tongue in
education. Also, Psychologists such as Baker (2000) and Cummins (1999) said
that: “the first twelve years is the most formative in a child’s life,
therefore, the mother tongue education for the child should be seen as a right
and it’s denial be viewed as denial of the fundamental human right”.
The
challenge for parents, teachers and policy-makers is to shape the evolution of
national identity in such a way that the right of the school children are
respected and the cultural, linguistic and economic resources of the nation are
maximized. Therefore, any credible educator will agree that schools should
build on the experiences and knowledge that children bring to the classroom and
instruction should also promote children’s abilities and talents, Maxwell
(1984).
Mother
tongue can be any of the indigenous languages in the country. The three major
languages – Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba have become the subjects of study and
examination even in secondary schools. At primary school level, which is our
major concern, some efforts in the use of mother tongue have been made,
although with varying degrees of success.
The Nigerian
National Curriculum Conference held in 1969, declared that: “The Nigerian
primary school child should be well grounded in his mother tongue”. Therefore,
both parents and teachers should have positive perceptions of the use of mother
tongue as the language of instruction for children in lower primary schools.
1.2Statement
of the Problem
Inspite of
the growing interest in the use of mother tongue as language of instruction,
English language serves as both a subject and medium of instruction in most
schools at the lower primary school level (1 – 3), Etim (1989).
Fawemi
(1999), identified the following problems in first language acquisition as:
linguistic inadequacies, societal acceptability, personnel problem, lack of
relevant materials in teaching and learning mother tongue and lack of finance.
According to him, many Nigerian languages are rendered useless economically and
are also viewed as inferior to English language. That is why, both parents and
teachers do not have the right perception of the local languages.
Most
teachers do not use mother tongue in reading and writing and will find it
difficult to teach the mother tongue, lack of funds to train staff, to develop
instructional materials and to provide training facilities, non availability of
instructional materials which includes textbooks and the inadequacy of the
available ones, are some of the problems of teaching and learning mother tongue
in schools, especially at the lower level of the primary school system, Ezewu
(1990).
Other problems
are: linguistic diversity problems of choice and unsteady educational policies
in Nigeria school system. The language policy as stipulated in the National
Policy on Education (1998) that, every child should learn the language of the
immediate environment is not implemented at the lower primary school level.
1.3Purpose
of Study
The main
purpose of this study is to examine parents’ and teachers’ perception of the
use of mother tongue as language of instruction in lower primary schools. The
specific objectives of this study are:
1. To examine the perception of
parents towards the use of mother tongue as language of instruction at lower
primary level.
2. To determine whether teachers have
positive perception of the use of mother tongue as language of instruction in
lower primary schools.
3. To find out the factors militating
against the use of mother tongue as language of instruction at the lower
primary school level.
4. To proffer possible solutions to
the problem of negative perception of both parents and teachers towards the use
of mother tongue as language of instruction in lower primary schools.
1.4Research
Questions
The study
provided answers to the following questions:
1. To what extent are parents
positively disposed towards the use of mother tongue as language of instruction
at lower primary school level?
2. To what extent are teachers
positively disposed to the use of mother tongue as language of instruction at
lower primary school level?
3. What are the factors militating
against the use of mother tongue as language of instruction at the lower
primary school level?
1.5Research
Hypotheses
The
following research hypothesis will be formulated and tested in this study:
1. There will be no significant
difference between the perception of parents and children’s mastery of the
mother tongue at home.
2. There will be no significant
difference between teachers’ perception of mother tongue and students’ academic
performance at school.
1.6Significance
of the Study
The result
of this study will be:
(1) Of immense benefit to the government
and the curriculum planners in the implementation of the use of mother tongue
as language of instruction at primary schools.
(2) It will encourage the teachers on the
use of mother tongue for instruction to pupils, especially at the lower primary
level.
(3) Parents will also learn from the
results and recommendations of this study, because it will help to change their
orientation about the use of mother tongue as language of instruction.
(4) The study will as well improve the
academic performance of pupils in lower primary schools.
(5) The society will benefit from this
study, because it will help the child to imbibe the cultural norms of the
society through the mother tongue.
1.7Scope of
the Study
This study
will cover the examination of parents’ and teachers’ perception of the use of
mother tongue as language of instruction in the lower primary schools (1 – 3)
in Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State.
1.8Limitation
of the Study
Limited time
and resources on the part of the researcher will not permit detailed and more result - oriented study of
this topic.
1.9Definition
of Terms
The
following terms were defined in this study:
(1) Mother Tongue: This refers to the
language a child first learns to speak when he/she is a child e.g. Yoruba,
Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, Efik, Fulfulde etc.
(2) Communication: This is the process of
expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information. One of the means
of communication in primary schools is the use of mother tongue.
(3) Ethnic: The customs of a particular
group, race or tribe. The three major ethnic groups in Nigeria are: Igbo, Hausa
and Yoruba.
(4) Achievement: This refers to the
process of doing things successfully, especially using one’s own efforts and
skill. The use of mother tongue as a means of communication and instruction in
the primary schools has improved the academic performance of the primary school
pupils.
(5) Linguistic: The scientific study of
language. The firm linguistic foundation on the use of mother tongue enables
the pupils to express themselves in English Language.
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