Chapter 10 curriculum development and implementation. Because of its past and present roles in the administration and social life of the country, some nigerians now think that english is the greatest heritage bequeathed to the people at. He said that increase in the study of french language in nigeria would not only enhance the. Ed sociology of education senior lecturer foundations department, college of education, azare bauchi state, nigeria and. Effects of english language on national development. Her extensive education in both nigeria and abroad likely affected her accent, although it is still quite pronounced. Nigeria is a multilingual nation with over 520 languages being spoken in the country. Select any course and level of study, click on the course title to get noun ecourseware for the course. 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. Causes of problems in learning english as a second language as perceived by higher secondary students introduction language is a very important means of communication. Learners of english as a second language l2 are usually faced with difficulties largely contributed by the features of their first languages l1. Finally, the study identified that the use of mother tongueindigenous language should be chosen to enhance academic performances of. Writing proficiently does not come easy, especially for a second language l2 learner who is beset with too many problems. The result also shows that multilingualism affects teaching and learning and general performance of students and the educational system in nigeria.
The british empire lead to nigeria being exposed to the english language and the need to communicate resulted in it being infused it in their culture today independence was achieved from the u. Of course, it is tempting to, as usual, blame the british for all this, for bringing us their english language and their pen and paper. Nigeria simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Proficiency in writing is an expectation in the academic community. The study of languages is becoming more and more popular every day. 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, mainly to allow the respondents to express themselves. Why is english the most spoken language in the world. 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.
Authorized british edition from the english language edition, entitled a history of the english. Posts tagged status of the english language in nigeria. Contrastive analysis of the segmental phonemes of english. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses problems. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses. List of nigerian languages history, location, people and. English language proficiency as a predictor of academic. It sharpens peoples thoughts and guides and controls their entire activity. Africas colonisation of the english language continues apace afua. English performs the following major roles in nigeria. This paper examines the role of english language in media literacy. It appears, however, that the use of the english language in nigeria must predate both the first known written use of the language by equiano3 published in 1789 and the use of the language by british.
Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in. Nigerian pidgin english is a version of english and ethnic nigerian languages spoken as a kind of lingua franca across nigeria and is referred to simply as pidgin, broken english or broken. Nigerian english usage and the tyranny of faulty analogy iii. Top 10 important uses of english language for nigerians. This demand for the language generally encourages individuals to focus their educational requirements primarily on the learning of english. Prospect for national unity dare williams omotoyinbo1a abstract various studies on the national policy on education npe have concentrated on the cognitive value of pedagogy and learning of the language aspect but few have viewed its importance on the togetherness of the nation. Going by this historical position, it is safe to conclude that english predates colonization in nigeria.
Nigerian pidgin and nigerian english by choosing an approach opposite to deubers. This article examines the role of english in nigeria as a medium of. Language profile of five idp sites in maiduguri, northeast nigeria. Status of the english language in nigeria nnamdi azikiwe. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this page. The christian missionaries who came from great britain introduced formal western education to nigeria, just before the middle of the 19 th century. Department of general studies education college of education, ikereekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract the paper examined teachers education in relation to english language. Hegemony, english, global, dominance, resistance, nigerian languages.
Federal republic of nigeria 20 realizing the positive impact of using the language of the immediate environment as medium of instruction at the early stage of education, states that it should be used as language of instruction, while english language should be taught as a subject. But then, communication was not any less complicated in the days before nigerians learnt to write press releases in english. 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. Our teachers have international experience and competence, and for 16 years we have met the learning needs of numerous foreign learners of english in abuja. A person uses his language to many different purposes for example, to express his feelings, to ask for help and to apologize. Linguistic groups in nigeria and neighbor countries source. English language is termed as nigeria second language, it is being used as a communication tool by everyone in the country. The linguistic features of nigerian english and their implications for 21st century english pedagogy abstract like its users, one important feature of language is its dynamism. We use language and that language is a part of society. There are over 500 native languages spoken in nigeria. Nigerian english became a nativized language that functions uniquely within its own cultural context. Why is english chosen as nigerias official language.
The official language of nigeria is english, the former language of colonial. European journal of english language and literature studies vol. Aug 01, 2019 society what languages are spoken in nigeria. This place named nigeria comprised of different ethnic groups and. The causes of poor performance in english language among. Dictionary of nigerian english circulation draft roger blench 1 introduction these notes are intended to raise some issues on sources, interpretation and the definition of nigerian english. This is the first published dictionary of the bade language, spoken in northern. Students perception on the use of humor in the teaching. A second language is one that comes after ones primary language. The languages in nigerian sociopolitical domains eric. This means that this language has a role to play in maintaining and improving on media literacy in nigeria. Some people learn them for work, others simply because they receive immense pleasure from the learning process, thus turning this activity into their hobby. Speakers of english or other foreign languages arabic, french and indigenous languages tend to switch from one to the other because of the.
There are quite a number of people who find an alibi in the concept of nigeria english for all instances of inadequate mastery. It is being taught in schools from the prenursery down to. The official language of nigeria is english, the former language of colonial british nigeria. 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. Free download of course materials of the national open university of nigeria noun for all courses, in pdf format. The inception of english language in nigeria could be traced back to the arrival of the missionaries, traders, and the colonial masters in the 16th century odumuh, 1987 in abubakar, 2003.
The long existence of these two language varieties in nigeria draws attention to the. The country is also home to more than 520 languages, but there are many more languages which are yet to be classified. It is chosen to be the official language partially because people of some parts speak english because of the colonies ruled by the british which came to an end in the year 1960. They are divided into a complex nexus of interrelated clans. Translations are often requested by authorities outside of the nigeria when you are supplying legalised documentation. In fact, we use language in many different ways, some of these are, the informational, the expressive, the directive, the phatic, the aesthetic. Nigeria was recently in the spotlight when the oxford english dictionary announced that its january 2020 update included 29 nigerian english. The state of the english language in nigeria education.
The functions of english in nigeria from the earliest times to the present day article pdf available in english today 2502. Subject, who was ideas very first dialectaccent sample, was raised in a yorubaspeaking professional family and learned english as her second language at the age of 5 or 6. The english language is perhaps the united kingdoms greatest and. It is estimated that nigerian pidgin english is the native language of approximately 3 to 5 million people and is a second language for at least. If so, we invite you to join our contributor program. History and importance of english language in nigeria. Use of english in the nigerian educational system toscany. The causes of poor performance in english language among senior secondary school students in dutse metropolis of jigawa state, nigeria 1tata umar saad, 2rabiu usman 1nce, b. The instrument was divided into four parts to cater for four variables. Available also through the library of congress web site as a raster image. Effects of english language on national development olofin alabi olusoji principal lecturer, the federal polytechnic, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. Underlying these all is the use of english language as the vehicle for the transmission of ideas, meaning and literacy. Although 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. English, initially imposed on nigeria when it was a british colony, has functioned as the official language of the country.
English language is the official language of nigeria. Students perception on the use of humor in the teaching of english as a second language in nigeria akinkurolere susan olajoke 1, 2 1 department of general studies, rufus giwa polytechnic, owo, ondo state, nigeria 2 department of english, obafemi awolowo university, ileife,osun state, nigeria. It has a population of 188,500,000, more than any other country in africa. The relationship of nigerian pidgin english and standard english in. Youll receive credits toward complimentary access to ethnologue for every contribution that is vetted and accepted by our editors. French education will reduce unemployment in nigeria. Nigeria is the most populous country in africa with over 186 million residents.
Key to leadership todays school administrators face one of the most challenging and exciting times in the educational. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. Nigeria is known for being a large country, and one of the richest in africa. Nigeria is never a place in history before 1914 when the british governors wife mrs flora shaw gave it a name nigerarea and is called nigeria. Media literacy and the role of english language in 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. Thus, language adapts to situational constraints as its users vary across regionalgeographical, social, educational, occupational, etc. Download noun ecourseware course materials in pdf for. The beginnings of the english language in nigeria are not clear. An examination of morphosyntactic trends in nigerian english nige chibuzo nathaniel nwoko department of languages english unit, northwest university, kano, nigeria.
The translation helps the overseas authority or person to understand the english language source documents that have been legalised. Perez stated this during the official launch of first bilingual magazine in nigeria, le clezio in abuja. Quantitative indicators from cameroon, nigeria, rwanda, bangladesh and pakistan. English is such a typical language that, as a result of vast. What is the functions of english language in nigeria. English is the official language in nigeria was made so to unite the country linguistically and culturally. Grammar what is the functions of english language in nigeria. We do not know who the first nigerian speaker of english was.
English is one of the official languages, as it is in india, nigeria, and the. The place of english language in the development of nigeria. It is very difficult to think of a society without language. Nigeria is a multilingual country comprises of different ethnic groups, which occupied geographically, a complicated landscape from its historiccultural, political, economic and educational developments. English language, as one of the recognized ligua franqer in the world over, is nigerias official language, and a means of communication, even while one is outside the country. The multilingual problem in nigeria, the use of english a foreign language as the countrys official language and the resultant conflict over which indigenous language should replace english as the official language stemmed from british colonization of nigeria. 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. Sources1 one of the most difficult issues in lexicography is documenting usages in a semiwritten language. A veritable instrument for fostering teachers education in nigeria obadare, f.
Jan 20, 2015 the 3 dominant indigenous languages hausa, igbo and yoruba had an almost equal number of speakers so english was retained as the official language falola and heaton, 2008 all these events paved the way for the recent and ongoing development of the english language in nigeria 8. The use of two separate questions on the preferred language of communication may have caused confusion, and resulted in inconsistent responses. Five functions of language leech, 1974 1017 words 4 pages essay in english language. A supplement to the september, 1966 report of a special study cosponsored by the national universities commission and the federal ministry of education financed by the ford foundation, december, 1966. The state of the english language in nigeria education 2. The abuja english school provides english classes using an international methodology. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in nigeria. The difference between nigeria and italy is that nigeria claims to be an english speaking country while italy is not. Grammar what is the functions of english language in. A sword is the product of files, the play of swords a battle, the battleseat. As reported in 2003, nigerian english and nigerian pidgin were spoken as a second language by 60 million people in nigeria.
Heinz giegerich, professor of english linguistics university of edinburgh. Problems and prospects of english language in nigeria. English has been one of the major languages in the world. Speaking english language is not easy but learning to speak is easy. Institute of political studies, faculty of political studies, charles university in prague, czech republic. English language proficiency as a predictor of academic achievement among efl students in nigeria 491 introduction the multilingual and multicultural nature of nigerian polity on the one hand and the absence of a national unifying indigenous language on the other have led to the adoption of english language as a. David crystal, world authority on the english language, presents a lively. Prospect for national unity dare williams omotoyinbo1a abstract various studies on the national policy on education npe have concentrated on the cognitive value of pedagogy and learning of the language aspect but few have viewed its importance on the togetherness of the nation nigeria.
Nigerians and their use of the english language bbc. English language, being a borrowed language so to say, is a language worth speaking. English as a global language, second edition institute for cultural. We are also advocating that as well as english language and mathematics being the precondition for admission into the nigerias higher institutions, the local languages should also be made a precondition for admission into the nigerian higher institutions to save our culture from becoming extinct in the near future. Communication in the english language is much more popular in the countrys urban communities than it is in the rural areas, due. The procedure for developing a districtwide english language arts ela program philosophy and rationale statement and examples of the declarations follow. But nigerias relationship to the english language, like that of all english speaking african nations, is a complicated one. Language profile of five idp sites in maiduguri final. This is not an example of the work produced by our essay writing service. These languages can be classified into two main language families. With the centre for the study of nigerian languages then a research branch of. Pdf the functions of english in nigeria from the earliest.
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