1.1 Introduction
English language is learnt and taught as a second language and it is also the country’s official language, as well as the Language of Instruction (LOI) in schools, colleges and universities. Assessment of students’ achievement in English language and other subjects in the curriculum is done through writing. Writing is a skill that draws from other language skills of listening, speaking and reading and it also encourages learners to be organized, logical and creative in their thinking. Society demands that learners should be helped to acquire skills that will enable them to express their ideas clearly and effectively.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
English language, our colonial heritage is not a foreign language in Nigeria. It is the language of government, the language of education, the language which connects various ethnic groups in Nigeria together. It is a child’s second or first language in Nigeria. A child who, speaks his mother tongue first before acquiring English language, English is that child’s second language. Also, in a family where English language is spoken freely, a child speaks English language first before acquiring any other language, therefore, English is that child’s first language.
The yardstick with which an average Nigerian English language, when you hear people say, the standard of education has fallen in Nigeria, they means school graduates are no longer able to speak English language flawlessly is it not annoying to hear a university graduate say my mother has went out? Or, “I did not saw them they come”, or, “I have not see my wallet?
There was an occasion when the chief speaker says, “They all know that they cannot do it, without the slightest compunction that he had dropped a clangour in such occasion.
The examples I have given are but a tip of icegerg. The mistakes in such expression arise from incorrect use of tenses
This project seeks to show how an evaluation of the use of English Tenses by secondary school students. A long neglects of teaching of when to use a particular tense and how to construct the tense at primary and secondary school levels have dismal effect in attaining excellence in attaining excellence in English language b school graduates at all levels of education.
Most secondary school English language texts merely present English tenses and their aspects without showing when to use or construct it which result into incorrect use of tenses, which is the bane of attaining excellence in English Language. The subjective of this project is to offer how tenses can be used by secondary school students so as to be able to speak and write English language without making mistakes which arise from wrong use of tenses.
Therefore, in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to assess the uses of Tense in Essay Writings by Students in Some Selected Public Senior Secondary Schools.
1.3 Statement of Problems
The students’ lack of mastery of tenses has led to their poor use of English. The study intends to show that unless tenses are properly taught by the teacher and effectively mastered by students they will not be able to communicate effectively in English language.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to assess the uses of Tense in Essay Writings by Students in Some Selected Public Senior Secondary Schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To enable students recognize which tense or tenses suit particular essay writing
- To enable students to understand when to use a particular tense and how to construct the tense.
- The study will offer easy approach to the use of tenses
- To make English Language easy to learn, to be understood and spoken by students
- The study will minimize the number of failure registered annually in public examination like N.E.C.O, W.A.E.C and NABTEB in English Language
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- How adequate are English language textbooks for secondary school in teaching English tenses?
- Do English language teachers of secondary school supplement what English textbooks offer in tenses?
- Are English language teachers at secondary schools aware of the inadequate information on tenses offered in English language textbooks for secondary school?
- Are English language teachers at secondary schools aware that students’ common mistakes in essay writing are largely on the wrong use of tenses?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
- H01: Understanding when to use a particular tenses and how to construct it helps to write good English expression and speak English language correctly.
- H02: The effective teaching of English tenses beyond what English textbooks for secondary schools offer enhances student’s effective mastery of English tenses
1.7 Significance of Study
This study is important in many respects one, what is learnt from the study will be of immense value to the researcher who may like to investigate the teaching of English Language in general and English tenses in particular.
- This study will also make the English language teachers to be aware of how tenses could be mastered by students learning English as a second language.
- The study will enable students to use English language and to attain proficiency in the language.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the assessment of the uses of Tense in Essay Writings by Students in Some Selected Public Senior Secondary Schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
- Achievement: Successful accomplishment of a task in essay writing usually by reasons of skill, hard work and interest.
- Challenges: Difficulties students face in the process of learning essay writing skills.
- Communicative competence: The ability that students need to develop in order to express themselves appropriately and effectively in various situations like in essay writing.
- Effective interaction: Refers to a process of actively involving students in essay writing lessons that incorporate learning activities such as questioning, explaining and discussion.
- Effective learning: A process that produces a desired outcome in essay writing among students.
- Effective teaching: A process that produces the desired result in the teaching and learning of essay writing skills.
- English as a second language: The English language learned by students to whom the language is a second language in their country.
- Essay: A text or a piece of writing that students creatively com- pose, either independently, in a group or with the help of a teacher, in response to a writing exercise or task.
- Improvement: The process of making the learning of essay writing skills better.
