It is an indisputable statement of fact
that the complex and multiple nature
of languages spoken in Africa have to a larger extent influenced their English language learning efforts. At school age for example, a child may speak the ethnic language used at home and in the immediate neighbourhood.
In the developing countries like Kenya
and Nigeria, to mention but a few, a
child may go to a school where his or
her mother tongue is used in the first
three years of education. The child,
however, has then to immediately start learning two other languages, Kiswahili as in Kenya and, in Nigeria, the major ethnic languages viz: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba as the indigenous national
languages and English the official
language.
In other situations, a child may have
one of these two other languages as
the L1 on the very first encounter with
a teacher, which is usually the case in
the urban settings. The importance of
English language acquisition as a
stepping-stone for proficiency in other
school subjects cannot be over-
emphasized. Some of the prominent
constraints that have stymied the
efforts of Africans at achieving
competence in the English language
include: Mother Tongue Interference:
According to Awoniyi: (1978) mother
tongue is defined as the language
which a group of people considered to
be inhabitants of an area acquired in
the early years and which eventually
becomes their natural instrument of
thought and communication. In
simplistic terms, mother tongue can be expressly defined as the language a child is first exposed to irrespective of the language of the parents.
Drawing from this viewpoint, the
person is defined as a native speaker of the first language, although one may also be a native speaker of more than one language if all of the languages were learned without formal education.
Often, a child learns the basics of the
first language from the family. It will
not be out of place to state that this
specie of constraint has almost
invariably constituted problems to
Africans in their grim determination to
develop sound grasp of the English
language.It is unfortunate that most school leavers do not possess the required English language competence skill for both cognitive and communicative functions. Statistics churned out by the West African Examination Council
(WAEC), which conducts the West
African Senior Secondary Certificate
Examination, indicates that less than
ten percent of secondary school leavers pass English at credit level.
At the tertiary level of education,
students have so much difficulty with
their communicative skills in English
that they cannot function effectively in the academic use of English (Okoro,
2000). In the same vein, Kolawole
(2002) also stressed that the standard of English language teaching and learning was abysmal due to a number of other reasons such as the use of tribal language in the lower classes of the primary school. Mother tongue constraint has, in every possible assessment, engendered a staggering and persistent decline in the quality of English Language spoken in Africa.
Generally, Africans have been
disproportionately placed in less
challenging classes in the study of the
English language.
In the light of the foregoing, it would be pertinent to state that improvement can be made to this if constructive and coordinated efforts are made to review the language policy on education which will make the pupils to have exposure to the subject quite early from the primary school, irrespective of the advantage of mother tongue. Above all,English language should be used as a medium of communication within and outside the classroom. Both teachers and students should endeavour to improve their proficiency level of the language, as a firm foundation in English language is very important for better performance. Socio-Linguistic Phenomenon: Sociolinguistic
constraints on the use of English are
mainly culturally determined.
For instance, a wife may not talk in
English to her husband if both of them speak the same local language; a young person may not use English
while talking to an elder if there is a
local language available to them.
However learned one is, one cannot go to the in-laws, the home village, the local authorities and other similar
groups of people and expect to speak
in English.
The same scenario plays out in social
gatherings or functions where one is
not expected to address the audience
in English if there is a local language
available to them. The teaching and
proper mastery of English language
cannot be achieved if this cultural
constraint on the use of English in
Africa prevails. Teacher Quality
Constraint: Common sense suggests
that a good teacher matters. It has
become a truism that the most
important thing a school can do is to
provide its students with good
teachers.
It is generally accepted that teachers
have more influence on student
achievement than any other
characteristic of schools. Schulman,
President of the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching,
describes a good teacher in the
following way: “In the classroom of a
good teacher, students are visible,
engaged, attentive and participating. In good teaching, students are
responsible for their learning; they are
accountable for their understanding.
Good teaching is passionate and it
induces an emotional response in
students.
Good teaching starts with inducing
habits of mind, but doesn’t stop there. Good teaching engages practical thinking and problem solving skills that can be applied in a variety of settings.
Good teaching affects students’ values,commitments and identities”. Students attending schools that have a substantial number of weak, ill-
prepared and inexperienced English
language teachers are less likely to
have a sound grasp of the English
language. In addition, teacher
absenteeism or a habitual practice of
teachers skipping work is also an issue.
However, in order to achieve
meaningful results in this regard, the
concerned authorities saddled with the responsibility of recruiting teachers should take into consideration the academic or intellectual ability; the pedagogical knowledge and the academic subject master competency of teachers as strong yardsticks to determine their employability.
Environmental Influence: The physical,social and cultural milieus for the study of the English Language influence the learning of every African student.
The environment – if not outright
dangerous, fails to enhance the
mastery of English. The multilingual
nature of Africa constitutes problems to African students who are being taught in their local languages to develop sound grasp of the English Language.
Certain kinds of grammatically wrong
sentences which have become
overused can still be found to be
imbibed by students.
Worse still, English language teachers
in Africa are confronted with the
difficulty of persuading the students
that those common expressions they
have been brought up with over the
years are in fact erroneous. Young
persons are inherently wired as
language learners and thus providing
them with a stimulating, rich language environment supplies them with the tools needed for further developing their spoken and written language abilities. The way of life of a nation is influenced by the percentage of its citizens who are literate.
African countries, being former colonies of some Western countries, its literacy culture ought to be as standardized as that of their colonizers but the obverse is the case. Douglas (2000) asserts that every child must become fully competent in reading to succeed in school and discharge responsibilities as a citizen of a democratic society. The decline in reading among children with special focus on Africa is an offshoot of technological advancements that have brought about overall changes in family, social and economic conditions.
Poor reading habits occur in children
and young people because reading is
not considered a relevant leisure
activity as it does not form part of
children’s social interaction and reading is considered a solitary pursuit and is not attractive compared with interactive activity on the internet.
This demonstrable lack of the requisite reading skills has impacted negatively on Africans’ competence in the English language learning and teaching. In order to achieve proficiency in the English language learning and teaching in Africa, there is compelling need by governments at all levels to rekindle the desire to read among the general populace of Africans by reducing the impact of grinding poverty that engenders low reading habits amongst them.
LINK:
www:sunnewsonline.com/new/opinion/english-language-learning-constraints/