In 1949, the nursing council of nigeria was established to complement the efforts to the various training bodies and creating standards for nurse. Introduction of problems of teaching english as a second language in nigeria secondary school background of the study statement of the problems purpose of the study. The taxonomy of nigerian varieties of spoken english academic. The choice of such language english has been made for nigeria by the british colonial administration. Introduction a language is a system of conventional, arbitrary symbols by which. The paper therefore agrees with banjos suggestion of a gradualist approach since a lot of operational factors will be taken into consideration in a pluralistic nation like nigeria. English language, the nigerian education system and human. The regional government in nigeria began the training of nurses by setting individual regional standard in 1949, the school of nursing, eleyele was established to facilitate the training of nurses, later in 1952, the university college hospital ibadan started the training of nurses in a higher standard. Why is english chosen as nigerias official language. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. This unifying role and its allied issues are discussed in this paper with a view to showing that the imposition or adoption of any language apart from english as the nations official language will lead to a chain of sociopolitical crisis that could.
Department of general studies education college of education, ikereekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract the paper examined teachers education in relation to english language. Official language policies have variously been enunciated in documents such as the national policy on education 1977, revised in 1981, and the 1979 constitution. This role falls on the english language which is the nations official and second language, as well as her lingua franca. The study of languages is becoming more and more popular every day. It generally appears that the official language of a country is the one in which the laws of the country are made and publicised, whereas the national language is.
They are divided into a complex nexus of interrelated clans. There are over 500 native languages spoken in nigeria. This article examines the role of english in nigeria as a medium of. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in nigeria. As reported in 2003, nigerian english and nigerian pidgin were spoken as a second language by 60 million people in nigeria. Two main modern pronouncements on language policy in nigeria merit our attention, to wit the national policy on education 1977, revised in 1981, and the 1979 constitution, which is more cited than its 1989 reincarnation. Among the causes of difficulty in pronouncing english among the hausa speakers is the segmental deviation. As a second language, its acquisition makes its nigerian users either bilingual or multi lingual. Communication in the english language is much more popular in the countrys urban communities than it is in the rural areas. Status of the english language in nigeria nnamdi azikiwe. The instrument was divided into four parts to cater for four variables. It is only a language which the peoples of nigeria can use to relate with one another that can be used to build the nation.
Framed by theories of l2 speech and evolutionary approaches to language. In a typical nigerian classroom, one finds students from diverse cultural backgrounds and mother tongues igbo, yoruba, hausa, efik, echie, to mention but a few who. As a second language, its acquisition makes its nigerian users either. This study compares and contrasts the segmental phonemes of english. The christian missionaries who came from great britain introduced formal western education to nigeria, just before the middle of the 19 th century. Nigeria learn english as a second language and features of the hausa language are heavily evident in their spoken english. Some people learn them for work, others simply because they receive immense pleasure from the learning process, thus turning this activity into their hobby.
Language situation at the colonia era when britain took over as the colonial power in nigeria, english became the tool with which the new territory would be administered. The official language of nigeria is english, the former language of colonial british nigeria. Ironically, it is also nigerias dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions of learning. The acquisition and use of english as a second language in nigeria tope omoniyi. English has been one of the major languages in the world. History and importance of english language in nigeria.
Students presume that english language is a difficult language to learn and so do not make effort to learn it. The difference between nigeria and italy is that nigeria claims to be an english speaking country while italy is not. Nigerian english became a nativized language that functions uniquely within its. In using a prestige language like english in nigeria, speakers despite their level of competence. Going by this historical position, it is safe to conclude that english predates colonization in nigeria. Everything official in nigeria is been done with the use of english language, it is nigerias official language. It is no longer news that the english language in nigeria has been the official language and the language of. The result also shows that multilingualism affects teaching and learning and general performance of students and the educational system in nigeria.
English as a global language, second edition institute for cultural. International journal of english language teaching vol. The country is also home to more than 520 languages, but there are many more languages which are yet to be classified. Nigeria is a multilingual nation with over 520 languages being spoken in the country. History of the english language carsonnewman college. The role of nigerian pidgin english as communication device grin. The use of the english language in nigeria dates back to the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century when british merchants and christian missionaries settled in the coastal towns called. Nigeria, the need to bring diverse ethnic nationalists under one linguistic umbrella becomes paramount. Nigerian pidgin english described as a combination of indigenous language and english. Without language, man would be incapable of a sustained and result oriented thinking. Additionally, loanwords and collocations have emerged from the native languages of nigeria, which come from the need to express concepts specific to the culture of. Pdf this book chapter examines the teaching and learning of english. English language is termed as nigeria second language, it is being used as a communication tool by everyone in the country.
Pdf english language dominance and the fate of indigenous. Since the 1990s the nigerian movie industry, sometimes called nollywood has emerged to become known, to come out of a situation as a fastgrowing cultural force anything that is able to make a big change in a person or thing all over the continent. September, 2011 page 20 journal of the nigeria english studies association jnesa 14. Top 10 important uses of english language for nigerians.
The language situation in africa today was a government primary school which had swahili medium upto the fourth grade. Nigeria is famous for its english language literature and its popular music. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in. After stating the many numerous functions of the english language in nigeria, the problems msilitating against the effective teaching of the language were stated to include. Having been colonised by the british, the future of english language is 100% guaranteed in nigeria. Problems of teaching english as a second language in. In the present day nigeria, the quality of the english language spoken by. Nigerian english presentation 1 linkedin slideshare.
Pdf on oct 9, 2016, ife ajepe and others published english language dominance and the fate of indigenous languages in nigeria find. English is the lingua franca used in nigerian schools and society. English as a second language in contemporary nigerian society, a. The functions of nigerian english in relation to other nigerian languages v. Nigeria is the most populous country in africa with over 186 million residents.
The english language, like all languages, traces its ultimate ancestry to a time predating the written word. Since history relies heavily on written documents as records of the past, it follows logically that the roots of language must be prehistoric. Uchechukwu 2008 observed that, english is spoken by more than a quarter of a billion people. Promoting the teaching and learning of english language in. Pdf the functions of english in nigeria from the earliest times to. The need for a languagecommon to everyone has given english language much prominence and by this, the english language in nigeria polity has become a necessary and welcomed evil that people have to. Prior to the middle of the 19th century, studies of the english language were informal.
Ironically, it is also nigeria s dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions of learning. Students perception on the use of humor in the teaching. Through language, people interact, share ideas and express their feelings. Prior to then, education was done informally, as children were taught tradition, culture, history, and the likes by their parents who were in turn taught by their own parents.
Teaching and learning of english language in a multilingual society. Contrastive analysis of the segmental phonemes of english. Each part has five 5 questions four 4 of which were in a yes, no, and not sure scale the fifth question in each part was openended. When christian missionaries arrived from the uk a long time ago, they introduced western education to nigerians. Factors responsible for the dwindling use of indigenous languages and preference for english language were also examined. It is becoming increasingly popular as a second language for nonenglish speaking people throughout the work. The paper does not lose sight of the efficacy of the english language in the advancement of the nations technological, social, economic, educational and in fact. A second language is one that comes after ones primary language. International journal of language, literature and gender studies.
Abstractalthough english language is now the language of government, business and commerce, education, the mass media, literature and internal as well as external communication, there are still problems in the teaching of english as a second language in secondary schools. Effects of english language on national development olofin alabi olusoji principal lecturer, the federal polytechnic, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. The nigerian police force uses the english language which is the nations official language. It basically uses english words mixed into yoruba, benin or igbo grammar. Klattlinguistic uses of segmental duration in english. The english language has been modified a lot to birth several words that serve the purpose of giving convenience to the speaker or speakers of that form of language. What is the functions of english language in nigeria. David crystal, world authority on the english language, presents a lively.
Finally, the study identified that the use of mother tongueindigenous language should be chosen to enhance academic performances of. The role english language plays in human development in nigeria is the focal point of this paper. It is unfortunate that those who speak english in nigeria far below nativelike control of grammatical, phonological and pragmatic competencies to claim literacy in the. Basically, language is the most frequently used and the most highly developed form of human communication. Basically, children learned about culture, traditions, and history from older relatives who passed on their knowledge. History of english language in nigeria english is the official language in nigeria was made so to unite the country linguistically and culturally. A greater population of speakers of english language in nigeria, at present, are either bilinguals or multilinguals. A veritable instrument for fostering teachers education in nigeria obadare, f. The study recommends that media stations like sunrise fm and radio nigeria enugu and by extension other radio stations in nigeria to urgently allot more of their airtime to programmes that could provide respite to sexual recklessness among the. The state of the english language in nigeria education. Nigeria is a multilingual country comprises of different ethnic groups, which occupied geographically, a complicated landscape from its historiccultural, political, economic and educational developments.
Grammar what is the functions of english language in. Effects of english language on national development. It is chosen to be the official language partially because people of some parts speak english because of the colonies ruled. Although english language is nigerias lingua franca, more efforts are needed to teach it in schools before its full developmental potentials can be achieved in the country. Consequently, this paper sought to highlight the roles the english language performs in the building. As the official language, the english language has come to be seen as probably the most important language.
Pdf teaching and learning of english language in a multilingual. In nigeria where english is a second language it is imperative for the teaching and learning implications to be properly addressed in such a diverse l2 classrooms. Science and technology cannot progress in nigeria without the language. It is being taught in schools from the prenursery down to the tertiary institutions. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses problems. Here are wrong words and phrases commonly used by nigerians. What future does the english language have in nigeria. The paper suggests that, the language policy can be used to foster a desirable and the real nigerianism philosophy of our forefathers. Institute of political studies, faculty of political studies, charles university in prague, czech republic.
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