AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF TEACHING OF ENGLISH GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES IN SOME SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF TEACHING OF ENGLISH GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES IN SOME SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS
 
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The teaching and learning of English Language is very important in our society today. This is because of the various roles it plays in the geo-political structure of the country. In Nigeria, English Language is used for communication, education, economic and social purposes. In the school system, English Language is not only taught as a subject but it is also the core subject by which over school subject is being taught.
Despite the above, less attention is given to the grammatical aspect of English in the primary school. Today, the nature of teaching and learning of English grammatical structure in the primary school has become area of great interest to teachers, researchers, and policy makers because through it the acquisition of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) is greatly enhanced.
In view of the above, grammatical structure which entails English tenses, parts of speech, punctuation, concord, clauses and phrases, is of immense importance to the teaching, learning and mastery of English language among primary school pupils. Therefore it must not only be taught to the pupils, but it should be taken seriously at the primary school level since primary education is a better foundation on which the future depends.
Looking however at what is applicable in some selected primary schools in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the general practice by both teachers and pupils towards the teaching and learning of English grammatical structure is not encouraging. Emphasis has shifted from learning the grammar of the language to teaching of writing and reading comprehension, the use of past common entrance examination question papers, teaching of spellings, dictation etc instead of adequate instruction/explanation on the aspects of English grammatical structures which is much needed by the pupils.
Lack of trained/qualified teachers, inadequate materials (textbooks and teaching aids), poor classroom facilities, ambiguity of some English syllabi, inadequate evaluation of teachers work by the supervisory authority, the teachers inability to properly evaluate pupils work on grammar, are all contributory factors to pupils poor performance in not only grammatical structure but other aspects of English language at large.
Therefore the teaching and learning of English language in the primary school should be to ensure that pupils have good knowledge and mastery of the grammatical structures and the ability to use these effectively for a better improvement in English language. This is what has actually prompted the need for this research.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The problem to be investigated in “An evaluative study of the teaching and learning of English grammatical structures in some primary schools.
The research work is aimed at identifying the causes of pupils poor performance in using English structural items correctly. As a result of this, and other problems, this research will specifically investigate the following:
1.3Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this research are: