Identification and Analysis of Difficulties in Reading French Language in Senior Secondary Schools in Nsukka Education Zone

Identification and Analysis of  Difficulties in Reading French Language in Senior Secondary Schools in Nsukka Education Zone.

ABSTRACT

This work dealt with the identification and analysis of difficulties in reading French language in Senior Secondary Schools in Nsukka Education Zone. The introductory aspect looked at some definitions of language and the need for the study of French language in Nigeria, including some of the problems militating against the implementation of French language policies.

Such variables as phonological awareness, reading fluency, multilingualism, gender and location  of students were speculated as possible causes of students’ difficulties  in  reading French Language. The study was delimited to identifying and analyzing the difficulties of Senior Secondary School French language students’  reading  in relation to pronunciation, lexis, syntax, and fluency.

Four research questions and two null hypotheses guided the work. Descriptive  survey research design was adopted in this research. One hundred and twenty (120) senior secondary school students of French language were randomly composed from thirteen (13) secondary schools that offer French language in the zone. A French Language Reading Achievement Test (FLRAT) was used to  collate the necessary data.

The study revealed that the major areas of difficulty in pronunciation were in articulation of syllable and nasalization, while recognition of suffixes  and  gender issue in French language grammar constituted difficulties in reading syntax, with distinction of homophones difficulties in reading lexis.

INTRODUCTION

Human beings have the gift of language which distinguishes them from the rest of the animal world. They are said to be homo sapiens by reason of language. Man alone has the power to articulate speech and it is largely  by  virtue of this power that human beings can reason. It  is difficult to  think of  what the world of man would look like without language.

Of course, one would find it difficult to imagine the implications of such a situation, since the very thought itself would be in language. Language has been variously defined. According to  Safra  (2002) language consists of vocal sounds to which meanings have been assigned by cultural conventions and which is often supplemented by various gestures.

Language is the medium man uses to shape and express his thought. Language consists of a number of verbal and non-verbal presentations of ideas, concepts and these are represented through symbols and signs in the written form, by means of which our thoughts are logically and intelligibly proved to be truth. Language gives human existence its central meaning and focus.

From the definitions of language, one could infer that there are certain features peculiar to human language. For instance, the use of vocal symbols (speech sounds), use of gestures; nods, smiles, and of course, verbalization. Animals and birds can vocalize but not verbalize.

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StudentsandScholarship Team.