1.1 Introduction
Learning English as a second language is of utmost critical, and the need to guide the educators to contribute to successful teaching seen to be a vast necessity. Second-language acquisition plays an enormous role in a person’s holistic development. It has covered the entire aspect of personal development. According to Thirusanku & Melor (2012), the history of English as a second language is intimately associated with the United Kingdom’s age of imperialism over people of various countries, such as India, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and so forth. The importance of English as a second language has been established in order to strengthen the individual capability to communicate globally in order to achieve one’s desired task (Gill & Kirkpatrick, 2013).
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
In a globally interconnected world, learning a second language is a great way to progress as students, and later on in their lives, as professionals. A psychologist identified that speaking more than one language enhances cognitive functioning and leads to numerous mental wellbeing advantages. Being bilingual has also shown to improve decision-making skills. According to a study conducted by the University of Chicago, bilingual people tend to make more logical decisions. According to another study, multilingual people are more observant of their surroundings.
Learning English as a second language increases opportunities, social status, and social elasticity. It also continuously differentiates between the elite and the ostracized community (Gill & Kirkpatrick, 2013).
According to Scrase (2003), English is not only important for getting a better job, but it is present everywhere in social interaction. A person’s second language is the language that is not their mother tongue, but it is used in that person’s geographical area. Before independence, English was considered as a foreign language because it was not widely spoken in our country nor was it for general use until it reached prominence and started to be used liberally. Teaching English as a second language has become significant around the globe.
According to Abutalebi (2008), the successful learning of a second language happens mostly in the presence of the intended spoken language environment as compared to first language learning, which is acquired effortlessly. Verga and Kotz (2013) claimed that social interaction plays a major role and is a contributing factor towards the successful learning of a second language, but they failed to provide an adequate explanation of their finding. They also overlooked the finding of the study due to the technical constraints posed by interactive settings in imaging studies.
In order to advance the capability of students acquiring the necessary skills in English, every teacher who conducts lessons about any subject should not only focus on a specific subject, but continuously utilize various languages, especially English, to maximize its usage among their students.
Therefore, in Ojo Local Government Area where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to analyze the English Second Language Student Difficulties in Literature.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the issue of this problem is the concept of teachers and students due to the problems faced by students in the secondary school at the secondary school. English is not native language of Nigeria and it is not being spoken in homes. For English students, it is very difficult for English at secondary level, and students are afraid of learning English, writing and learning English. Earlier, there were insufficient investigations about the students in front of students in English at secondary level. This study was revealing facts and discovers what reasons behind its students are difficult to learn English. This study was also providing a solution to reducing its shortage.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to analyze the English Second Language Student Difficulties in Literature using Selected Senior Secondary School in Ojo Local Government Area as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To analysis the difficulties of students in English learning at secondary school level in the area under study.
- To identify the demographic characteristics of respondents in the area under study.
- To identify the difficulties that students faced to learn English language in class room.
- To point out various reasons and factors that caused difficulty in students during English learning.
- To formulate suggestions and possible solutions on the basis of respondents opinion in the area under study.
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:
- Are there factors that cause the difficulty in students during English learning?
- What are the demographic characteristics of respondents in the area under study?
- What are the difficulties that students faced to learn English language in class room?
- What are possible solutions on the basis of respondents’ opinion in the area under study?
- What are the difficulties of students in English learning at secondary school level in the area under study?
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.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant factor that instigates the difficulty in students during English learning in the area under study
- H1: There is a significant factor that instigates the difficulty in students during English learning in the area under study
1.7 Significance of Study
The study will elaborate the perception of teachers and students towards difficulties faced by the students in English learning at Secondary school level. It is the foundation for the further study about the difficulties faced by the students in English learning at Secondary school level. This study will also create awareness among teachers and students perception about difficulties faced by the students in English learning at Secondary school level.
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 scope of the research is focused on the Analysis of the English as a Second Language Student Difficulties in Literature using Selected Senior Secondary School in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State as a case study.
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).
