netotse:

@all the slate-and-chalk- people
he said her english is terrible, he didnt say she's an illiterate! esp since there are many educated nigerians that cant string proper sentences together. . .sometimes i'm tempted to think NL is their headquarters sef

@all the till-death-do-us-part people
he didnt say he was thinking of getting a divorce did he?

@all the so-what people
so he shouldn't try to do anything about it abi? wot if he's running for gov later in life and during his campaign she comes out and says 'i will always does my best for the people of this state' i'm sure some of the same ppl will jump on the poor man. what if his job requires him having to attend functions with her?

@OP
in addition to some of the good suggestions, (getting novels and documentaries for her to watch) i'd recommend y'all start reading aloud to each other occasionally maybe before bedtime(if its only her it might seem 'somehow' plus the reading to each other sounds, romantic ), my siblings and i used to take turns reading aloud to the family every day while we were growing up,  and i can tell you it worked wonders for my spoken engreeesh o. . .i cant fit to shout!

he should have thought of that b4 getting married to her then innit
well just tell her to keep smiling wen u 2 go out or wen she needs to address d public lol

YOUR WIFE'S DEFICIENCY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE BECAUSE I DOUBT THAT HAS NOT MADE HER LESS INTELLIGENT AND LOVING.OF WHAT USE IS A WIFE THAT HAS A FLAWLESS COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUGE BUT LACKS THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD WIFE?

MARRIAGE IS FOR BETTER

i beg to differ
little things like ur wife's ability to speak english clearly can make or mar a man
it counts in the impression your boss, colleagues, business partners and friends have of u and your family and can affect opportunities and good things coming your way

behind every great man was a woman who spoke queens english
behind every left behind man was a woman who,
you complete the rest,

guy dont listen to what people are telling u on this thread
forget about the slate chalk and other suggestions
na opats most dey yarn
go and enroll ur wife in a finishing school
when she sees her juniors, mates and peers looking and acting sophisticated,
it will surely sink into her head why she needs to improve herself
if dat wont help
then God help u cos it means u ve just married a liability

Lol! She needs to pay Hon.Patrick Obahiagbon a visit.

nana:

Lol! She needs to pay Hon.Patrick Obahiagbon a visit.

funnu girl

nana:

Lol! She needs to pay Hon.Patrick Obahiagbon a visit.

DEATHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

nana:

Lol! She needs to pay Hon.Patrick Obahiagbon a visit.

I reckon if she pays pastor chris okotie a visit, after one annointing service , miraculously her english will change, take a look at chris thread for reference

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-153160.0.html

live with it

Speak bad English too and it will be 1-1 goalless draw

@Poster
Halloooo Deer. How are Jouuuuu?

Reading English Novels will help, but she may not understand the rules guiding the structures of the language. Advise her to look for A - One in English by Dele Asade  and Common Mistakes in English, these two will help if she can make one hour out everyday to study. Buy the two books for her.I used them. They helped me.


http://www.stopsmokingblueprints..com/

Abeg people, why do we make fun of a man's heart cries and pain?

In my own opinion, l believe this man loves his wife otherwise, why should he be bothered, (with all those "figure-18's" craving  for attention?)
Secondly, for him to have "sought help publicly" shows that he cares and the issue is bothering him but he does not want it to affect their marriage beyond control and thus, the need to seek help.

Having said that, from my own experience, l think the best ways to assist her (and really what have you done in the past 2years + courtship period?)
are:

1.) Start by buying her Novels: Start with the 'low volumes' like "Mills and Booms" (women like love story and happy endings and that may actually attract her attention not to dump them for those "yeye home movies" ).
You can then graduate to James Hardley Chase; she will also learn a few tricks from this one but l hope she wont use them on you sha .
When she's engrossed in Novels, she can graduate to all those best sellers.
Encourage her to tell you the story she read about in each Novel. Correct her lovingly, when she "scatters" the language, dont make fun of her or call her names, P-L-E-A-S-E

2.) Along with some English Textbooks mentioned by others earlier, pls buy her "The First Aid in English", and then let her practice with "Lexis and Structure textbook", it will help her with sentence construction and grammar.

3.) Buy and let her read newspapers, listen to "real" News stations (quite a few of our broadcasters nowadays are not good role model for impeccable English but we can excuse them in these days of school closure and ASUU strikes, every now and then) and engage her in debates, on topical issues, in ENGLISH

4. And you too, make it a habit to speak English with her within the house.
5. For the time being, suggest to her that she keeps a low profile in public debates, especially if English is being used, till she improves herself and builds confidence in public speaking.

By the way, its nothing to fret about once she is determined to improve herself and you are committed to helping her.
Going by the "explosive grammar" on Nairaland itself, you can bet she is not alone


BTW: I hope she does not find out you brought this to a public forum but if she does, cool her down and explain why you needed to seek help on her behalf.
Seal your "wayo explanation" with a few kisses   and a nice gift that day

I appreciate you for being concerned and wanting to improve your wife, some other fella would just start "cutting shows" and later use it as an excuse in future

After all said and done, when she becomes "sophisti-K-ted" in future, l hope she will remember this day and not think your own English is now an embarrassment to her!

I hope you all remember how you were encouraging some posters to marry their fiancees who couldn't speak English.

Truly I cant stand that. I couldn't have even married her in the first place. Anyway, everybody has their own criteria and yardstick for a life-partner.

However, there is hope!

There are 2 prominent (pardon me for using this word) Nigerians whose command of English was an apology in the time past. But they have improves tremendously now. Today, each time I listen to them speak, I keep wondering what happened. Do u know who they are? Prophet T.B. Joshua and Chris Uba of Anambra State. They improved beyond comprehension.

You too can make your wife the same, only if she is willing.

She doesnt need much of text books and readers as recommended by some NL member. For those recommending all sort of books, Nigerians don’t read! So, buying all the Cambridge University books won’t help. What she needs is simulation—interactive learning. Luckily there are e-learning books, videos, films and the likes.

With this she can sit back and learn English, which most of us Nigerians thought cannot be read or studied. Thereafter, a few books can then follow to complement the e-learning. You can agree with me that Nigerians do NOT like reading. I doubt if your wife is an exception.

You must also guide her through this and be patient. I hope she also wants to learn, b/c u can take a horse to the river, but u cannot force it to drink

hmmm. is all your fault man

Chalk and blackboard will do.

@topic
Lwkmd

poster
you must be an ingrate coming out to embarrass your wife publicly like this.where was your mind when you were dating her.i guessed you never knew that her lack of good spoken english would be a problem in the long run.but ask yourself,what have you done to change the situation since you guys got married.i know some women that are currently attending part-time programmes in university of abuja.look mr poster,learn to live with this destiny of yours and develop your wife afterall investing in a wife is not all about buying clothes.

Get her private tutors and encourage her to learn.

@netotse, thank u! sometimes i just wonder abt some responses here,

english no be her language, na borrow language, since he sabi speak pigin and her native language, why u dey worry yourself? u no dey understand wetin she dey talk?.

Send her to uk, let her stay there for 5 years before she come back she will be speaking english the way u want.

E yin omo nigeria yi gan mi o mo ohun ti o ma n se yin gan. E ma jeun yo tan e tun ma wa bekun bekun kiri.

Have u ever see a white man living in Nigeria for long time with his white spouse and start complaining or worry that her or his spouse yoruba ibo or hausa language is terrible.

Let appreciate ourselves

This is ephemeral in a relationship,in as much as she is obedient and God fearing and takes care of the family very well,shikena. Or do you want a lady that is fluent and yet stubbborn ? U can put her thru and correct her is she makes a mistake with her spoken English but that is not enough to castigate her.

It's simple damn it!!!! Send her to school !!!!

oga, what is ur problem, abi u want to divorce ur wife because u are having an affairs on so called socialise babes, better think twice, as per as she can communicate, no wahala, u how are we sure ur own english is excellent, pls what do u have at ur olevel in english, if u cheat ur wife cos of that, then u have gone astray, fear God in your dealings

keep teaching her and always pray for her. she is your wife. SHOW HER MORE LOVE WHEN TEACHING HER.

@Poster,

You knew your wife before marriage. You still chose her regardless of her English language. Marriage is for better, for worse.

You now have the responsibility to bring her to your desired standard in English, no matter what it take you. You must be patient, caring and be understanding. Adult brain is not able to take things as fast as a youthful brain, take note.

She does not need to be advanced in English language to communicate. Please be careful you do not stress her.

Encourage her to read novels, watch English movies with her and be careful about allowing her on a one-to-one lesson with other persons because people could take advantage and play on her ignorance.

You should be able to teach her yourself in love.

I have read carefully the various contributions people have made concerning this issue. Honestly, so many people have no biz writing on this Nairaland. There is absolutely nothing wrong for this helpless man to ask advice from matured minds.

Now to the poster, if u are sound in written and spoken English, then your problem is half-solved. When i married my wife, her English was horrible and embarrassing. I made up my mind to always correct her in love when she makes mistakes or errors in her spoken English. Today, my wife's spoken English is near impeccable. U can also encourage her to read newspapers and quality magazines like Newswatch, TheNews, etc which have already been suggested by people.

Get her "Brighter English" by C.E Eckersle. The book is bloody marvellous,

Nigerians!!!!! nods head

is English a nigerian language?? i see alot of Germans, Italians, Chinese people, Korean people that cant speak correct English
and no one makes a big deal about it, they love their accent and appreciate their country and people

love yourselves Nigerians, be yourselves

English is taught in Nigeria right from Kindergarten. It is our lingua franca. There is no excuse for not knowing it.

Reminds me of a movie I watched on you tube recently- ENU EGAN
After seeing the movie, I realised how important education is, especially when u are married to a successful man.

What if this young man becomes a Governor in the future?? How won't the first lady be able to speak English??
The bitter truth is that the woman has to learn and the husband must be willing to help her.