Content uploaded by Samuel Fubara Joshua
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Samuel Fubara Joshua on Nov 26, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Error Analyses of the written English of final year students of the Department of Linguistics & Communication Studies, University of Port Harcourt
Figures
Figures - uploaded by Samuel Fubara Joshua
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Samuel Fubara Joshua
Content may be subject to copyright.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
This paper discussed the pedagogical implications of measuring and assessing syntactic errors of second language learners (L2), and Foreign Language learners (FL) of Yoruba language using Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) as the rubric for measurement. FL learners of Yoruba commit syntactic errors, which, if not discovered, may hinder their proficiency and achievement of ultimate attainment in the language. Syntactical errors often time deflate the confidence of Yoruba FL learners due to the reactions of the native speakers in contexts and speech situations that the Foreign Learners commit unintentional errors, thus raising their affective filter in learning the language. The position of this paper is that through the use of the OPI, foreign language teachers of Yoruba will be able to measure the error patterns of the FL learners accurately, and such a precise measurement, has the potential to reveal the linguistic difficulty of the learner, which the teacher could design a methodical approach to correct. The paper made use of selected transcription of OPI from elementary, intermediate, and advanced foreign learners of Yoruba at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, to generate samples of syntactical error usually committed by FL learners. The speech samples were analyzed syntactically. The findings reveal that some of the learners have difficulties distinguishing between 'ni' and 'jẹ' to mean 'is' in different speech contexts, thereby substituting one for another. Also, it is revealed that some of the learners are yet to reset specific syntactic parameters, especially the Pro-Drop Parameter, from English language to Yoruba language while using pronouns in a negative context. The study suggests that foreign teachers of Yoruba language will benefit from OPI training and that apart from all other tests of performance, the incorporation of OPI into the class curriculum will benefit not just the learners, but the teacher; who will be better positioned to appraise the speaking proficiency of the learners beyond classroom dialogs and class-test results.
Nigeria’s National Policy on Education stipulates that the language of immediate environment should be used for the first three years of primary education in all subjects, except during English language periods. Extant literature is replete with proofs that this would enable the child to have a good grasp of language for thought and subsequent proficiency in acquisition of skills and academic studies. This paper is a report of the writer’s observation of selected public as well as private schools’ classroom instruction at the early primary school level. This was in order to assess the teachers’ rates of compliance with the stipulation. It was found that majority of the teachers, especially in the private schools, do not comply with the policy, whereas the public schoolteachers’ compliance goes beyond the prescription as the language of the environment is used to teach even English language as a subject up to the end of the sixth year. Based on the findings, suggestions are made as to ensuring remarkable uniformity of compliance.
The Landmarks Series is a research and publications outfit funded by the Landmarks Research Foundation to publish recent outstanding doctoral dissertations on any aspect of Nigerian linguistics, languages, literatures and cultures. This study examines causatives in Igbo within the minimalist program. It identifies three types of causative: analytical, morphological and lexical. The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 is the general introduction, while Chapter 2 examines in some details the theory of causativity. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 focus on the analytical, morphological and lexical causative respectively.
The current study investigates gender-linked differences in the use of some language features in L1 and L2 written discourse. The features were examined in English and Persian. Forty students (20 male and 20 female) from Islamic Azad University Larestan branch were chosen on the basis of their performance on a language proficiency test. Then, they were asked to write an argument once in English and once in Persian. The pooled data were analyzed through stepwise discriminant analysis, and t-test. The result of the analyses revealed the following conclusions: 1) Most language features were used equally by male and female writers, although gender-linked differences were formed in some cases. 2)Biological sex alone may not create noteworthy differences in the writing of male and female writers.