Literature and the Development of Language Skills Among Users of English as Second Language in Secondary Schools in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.
ABSTRACT
The study of a second language aims at a good command of the language for the purpose of communication and does not therefore rule out a reading of the literature in the language.
To achieve communicative competence in English language, Nigerian educational planners have joined the two subjects to be one in the Nigerian junior secondary schools. But the problem is lack of effective implementation in the Nigerian schools.
The aim of this study is to investigate the attitude of teachers towards the use of this method in Ihiala Local Government Area, demonstrate how a literary text could be used in the language classroom and then recommend ways for effective implementation.
Using a qualitative interview method and document analysis, the researcher elicited the teachers’ perceptions about the method and demonstrated using a novel to show how a literary text could be used in the language classroom.
The results of the data collected in phase 1 showed that the literary text is a good and useful tool for learning a second language because it leads the learner into developing the language skills, exposes the learner to real language and active participation in the class.
Preference is given to reading and listening to other language skills. Phase 2 data analysis has shown that so many activities could be used to expose students to language skills and communicative competence by using literature.
INTRODUCTION
The study of a second language aims at a good command of the language for the purpose of communication. English is a second language in Nigeria and very important in the nation’s educational system.
English appears indispensable in all aspects of Nigerian’s national development. It is the language of government and administration; the language of trade, and the language of the law.
The English language in Nigeria has remained the official language, a prestigious and elitist code, and every citizen yearns to acquire it. Whether this acquisition will be successful or otherwise is to a large extent dependent upon the effectiveness and efficiency of its teaching and study.
Regrettably, however, effective teaching and study of English in Nigerian schools are seriously handicapped as a result of numerous complex problems, including the methods of teaching and studying the language.
From the records, the failure of this particular subject in Nigeria’s educational institutions and examinations like WASC and JAMB has shown that the methods both teachers and students have been using have not really solved the problem.
There is need to find a better method or procedure which should be employed by teachers and students of the English language so as to achieve greater impact in the knowledge of English as a second language.
At present, English textbooks written by renowned authors are being used and integrated into the curriculum. These texts are mostly used for exercises on reading comprehension.
Using them compels the reader to concentrate on the given texts at the surface level of the texts and vocabulary and leads students to look into a dictionary each and every new word they come across and it is expected that referring to the dictionary is a habit students should cultivate (Denka cited by Neelakshi).
REFERENCES
Aiex N. K. ‘Using Literature to Teach Reading.’
Anyanwu Policarp Azoma & Otagburuagu Emeka Joseph. Language Learning, Concepts and Issues in Language Studies. Owerri. Springfield Publishers. 2002.
Azikiwe, Uche. Language Teaching and Learning. Nimo: Rex Charles & Patrick LTD. 2005 Bagherkazemi Marzieh & Alemi Minoo. ‘Literature in the EFL/ESL Classroom: Consensus and Controversy’. 2010.
Benegas Dario Luis. ‘Meeting the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – Literature in ELT’. https:// 2009.
Brockopp Dorathy Young & Hastings-Tolsma Marie T. ‘Fundamental of Nursing Research.’ 2003.
StudentsandScholarship Team.
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