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 questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of 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. 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).
From the early age, a normal child responds to the sounds which his elders use to communicate with him. In his bid to communicate and get his needs identified and satisfied, the child begins to imitate the sounds which he has heard from his elders. His dire need to communicate with the adult community and his constant hearing and imitation of the language make it possible for him to acquire his mother tongue or his first language. Ogbuehi (2003) asserts that every normal child acquires the sound system and the speech patterns of his mother tongue in a normal way through imitation of sounds from adult group.
English language is not only used in Nigeria but also has domains of usage in international levels too. Paul (2005) said that, English is flexible enough to be used for the most trivals conversation or for transacting the most important affairs of the day. Thus, it is English language that gives Nigeria opportunity to take part in the deliberation and decisions in international organization such as united nation organization common wealth of nation, world health organization.
In Nigeria, English serves several purposes that are very important to her existence. It is the lingua franca of the country and the official language in the society due to multi ethnic groups that speak different language. Uchechukwu (2008) observed that, English is spoken by more than a quarter of a billion people. It is becoming increasingly popular as a second language for non-English speaking people throughout the work. Thus, English is regarded as a second language. Nigeria civil service, government establishment armed forces, the public and judiciary system English is the prescribed language of communication among the various ethnic groups with different language background. In social gathering, English is used among people for social interaction.
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.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Phonological Issues Encountered by Secondary School Students Studying English Language.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that learning English phonetics requires constant practice and patience. The kind of feeling that prevails among students is that it is not possible to achieve fluency or mastery in the English language. This kind of predetermined limited success approach prevents students from learning English effectively.
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.
Since the most important factor in the teaching learning process is the teacher, there is a great need to train more teachers in English language. Teachers provide background experiences for their students and also determine their academic achievement.
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 find out the Phonological Issues Encountered by Secondary School Students Studying English Language. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To identify the difficulties encountered by students during English phonetics learning at secondary school level in the area under study;
- To find out if incompetence teachers influence students’ pronunciation in English;
- To ascertain whether home background influence learners’ pronunciation in the study of English Language;
- To determine whether mother tongue impinges on pronunciation in English; and
- 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?
- Does mother tongue impinge on pronunciation in English as a second language?
- Does incompetence teacher influence students’ pronunciation in English?
- Does home background influence learners’ pronunciation in the study of English?
- What are the difficulties of students in English phonetics 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: Home background does not influence learners’ pronunciation in the study of English phonetics
- H1: Home background influence learners’ pronunciation in the study of English phonetics
1.7 Significance of Study
The relevance of this research will be relevant to the following stakeholders:
- The results of this study will be helpful to teachers and students since they will provide guidance on how to address issues that impact students’ pronunciation.
- For educators, presenters, public speakers, and students alike, the study will be important. The study is pertinent in light of this research since it attempted to shed light on the difficulties and obstacles associated with learning English.
- Presenters and public speakers will find the study useful given the nature of their work. It will also assist them in identifying their phonetic shortcomings and how to improve them.
The findings of this research will also 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 Phonological Issues Encountered by Secondary School Students Studying English Language. The study will cover only the students in Okwuato Secondary School, Umuhu / Ibeku located at Mbutu, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, there were some problems encountered which stood as limitations to the research work. Some of the limitations include:
- 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.
- 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).
- Initial Cooperation Delay from Respondents: A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.
1.10 Definition of Terms
Problems:
It can be defined as something that is very difficult to deal with or understand.
Teaching:
It is a way of given lessons in a class to a learner. It is also a way to show someone how to do something.
English:
It is the language of England, use in many varieties throughout the word.
Language:
This can be said to be human or the communication of all creature through the structural use of word. It is also a system of symbols and rules for writing something.
