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, Limitation 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).
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. For this diversity of language, Nigeria needs one language that will bridge the linguistic barriers among its component states. The choice of such language (English) has been made for Nigeria by the British colonial administration; 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. They also overlooked the finding of the study due to the technical constraints posed by interactive settings in imaging studies.
Therefore, in Ojo Local Government Area where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know of problems encountered during teaching English Language as a Second Language in Nigerian Secondary School.
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.
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 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 find out if there is any problem in the time allotted to the teaching and learning of English language as a second language;
- To find out how lack of teaching and learning material have contributed problems in the teaching and learning of English language;
- To ascertain the effect of shortage of specialist teachers on the teaching of English language as a second language;
- To point out various reasons and factors that caused difficulty in students during English learning; 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 insufficient time allotted to the teaching and learning of English language in the school time table affect the mastery of English language?
- Does inadequate supply of teaching materials militate against the teaching and learning of English as a second language?
- Does shortage of specialist teachers hinder the teaching and learning of English as a second language?
- What are the difficulties of students in English learning at secondary school level in the area under study?
