CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Speaking seems to be the most important skills of all the four language skills

(listening, speaking, reading and writing) because people who know a language are

usually referred to as speakers of that language (Ur, 1996; Tuan and Mai, 2015).

In Nigeria, English remains the undisputed language of school instruction,

governance, administration, legislation, judiciary, international relations,

unification of the country‘s numerous ethnic constituents, social prestige, and so on

(Adio, 2010). Spoken language production is often considered as one of the most

difficult aspects of language learning (Brown and Yule, 1983; Tuan and Mai,

2015).

English language is taught as a subject and at the same time it is a medium

of instruction for other subjects in the Nigeria education curriculum. The aim and

objectives of teaching oral skills of English being taught in the Nigeria education

curriculum is to make the student communicate effectively and intelligently in

English. It also helps the students to develop confidence in his ability to express

himself in English as fluently as possible and provides an opportunity for the

correction of mistakes in spoken English (Babu, 2010).

The major goal of all English language teaching should be to give learners

the ability to use English effectively and accurately in communication. However,

1
not all language learners after many years of studying English can communicate

fluently and accurately because they lack necessary knowledge (Tuan and Mai,

2015).

A good approach to oral language instruction will also develop the reading,

writing and speaking skills of the student thereby making the learning of English

language more effective and the learning experiences of the learners in other

subjects that are being taught in Secondary Schools curriculum more concrete and

more enjoyable (Yichu, 2013).

In reality, many language learners find it difficult to express themselves in

spoken language. Each student has his own problems and what determines the

causal factors is the focus of this study.

The motivation for this study arose from the observations of the researcher

in the student’s difficulties in using English to communicate their feelings and to

interact freely with people around them. Despite the importance of English

language and the efforts that both teachers and parents make to develop the skills,

there is always a gap in communication. Report of WAEC Examiners in recent

years still point to poor performance of students in English language and

specifically, in oral and spoken English. It is in the light of the above that this

study seeks to investigate the factors responsible for the set-back in oral English

development.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

Scholars have advanced several factors that could influence the speaking

aspects of English language in junior secondary schools in Nigeria. Those factors

may be driven by social environmental issues, the difference of cultures, socio-

economic background, teacher training, teaching method etc. These issues have

been suggested to account for poor performance of students in English language

learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that impact on the

speaking skills development of junior secondary school students specifically, in

Ona Ara Local Government, Oyo state. The secondary school teachers in this local

government area of Oyo state have expressed their concern, over the poor speaking

skills of the students.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study was to determine the factors influencing the speaking

aspects of English language of the students of Ona Ara Local Government, Oyo

state.

Specifically, the study sought to:

i. Identify the problems that students of Ona Ara Local Government, Oyo

state encounter when they learn to speak English

3
 ii. Determine if teachers, teaching of the skill influence the speaking

aspects of English language among junior secondary school students in

Ona Ara Local Government, Oyo state.

iii. To establish whether or not the availability of resources influence the

teaching of speaking skills

iv. Determine whether or not the frequent use of English language as

spoken language among junior secondary school students influence

their learning.

v. To find out if the assessment methods used by teachers influence

students’ speaking skills

1.4 Research Questions

For the purpose of this study, the following research questions were raised:

i. What are the problems that the students of Ona Ara Local Government

encounter when they learn to speak English?

ii. Does the teacher’s teaching method influence the speaking aspects of

English language among junior secondary school students in Ona Ara

Local Government?

iii. How does the frequently in the use of English language influence the

speaking aspect of the language among junior secondary school students

in Ona Ara Local Government?

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1.5 Research Hypothesis

There is no significant relationship between the frequent use of English

Language and effective speaking of English among junior secondary school

students in Ona Ara Local Government

1.6 Significance of the Study

The findings of the study would provide information to the following:

curriculum, teachers, students, and school administrators on the factors that

influence the speaking aspects of English language amongst junior secondary

school students in Ona Ara Local Government.

For the teachers of English language in the secondary schools in Ona Ara

Local Government Area of Oyo state, the findings of the study will provide

insights that can guide their decisions in providing solutions to the poor

performance that are responsible for the difficulty in oral English, they can think of

more effective and learner centered strategies to overcome the hindrance of the

identified factors. It will draw the attention of English language teachers to

focusing on the improvement of the oral skills.

As for curriculum planners, the findings will provide evidence based on

informed decisions that can help them in constructing effective oral English items

that can bring about effective classroom practice. The findings can assist them to

5
think of better pedagogical approaches on English learning activities to achieve

better outcomes.

The students can benefit by being cautious of the identified factors that are

hindrances to their effective performance in oral English. The knowledge gained

regarding the factors that are responsible for their set-back in oral English becomes

very useful to them to aspire to improve their performance in this skill. The study

outcome could be a motivating factor for the secondary school students concerned

in this study.

Other stakeholders in education will benefit by cooperating with school

administrations to minimize the influence of the limiting factors and hence

improve oral English performance in the Local Government Area of Oyo state

1.7 Scope of the Study

This research work focuses on the factors that influence the speaking aspects

of English language among junior secondary school students in Ona Ara Local

Government, Oyo state. This research work covers six junior secondary schools

students in Ona Ara Local Government Local Government Area of Oyo state.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Factors: This refers to things or circumstances that contribute to a producing

result.

Affecting: It is that which makes or brings about a change in result.

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English: The language, originally of England, now spoken in many countries and

used as a language of international communication throughout the world.

Language: Use of words in agreed way as means of human communication.

Spoken English: An oral language or vocal language is a language produced with

the vocal tract, as opposed to a sign language, which is produced with the hands

and face.

Students: A school pupil or a person studying at a place of higher education

Junior Secondary School: Level of education that comes after the basic or results

from the primary education.

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 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2. 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is made up of the review of literature that are related to the

problem under investigation. It comprised of conceptual framework, theoretical

framework, the review empirical studies and a summary.

2.2 Concept of Speaking Skill

2.2.1 Speaking Skills

Tarone (2005) argues that speaking English is usually viewed as the most

complex and difficult skill to master. In a recent study, Bygate (2009) agreed with

the aforementioned statement by claiming that learners with reading and writing

proficiency do not always have fine speaking skills.

Chaney & Burk (1998) describe speaking as a crucial part of second

language teaching and learning involving building and sharing meaning through

the use of verbal and nonverbal symbols in a variety of contexts. Despite the

importance attached to speaking, teaching speaking skills for many years has been

undervalued and English language teachers have continued to teach speaking just

as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. However, today's world

requires that students develop and improve on their communicative abilities

because that is the only way students can express themselves and learn how to

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follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative

circumstance. Fluency according to Nunan (2003) refers to the use of language in a

quick and confident manner with few pauses.

Many linguists and second language teachers agree that students learn to

speak in the second language by interacting. Communicative Language Teaching

(CLT) enables students to learn how to speak in English through interaction in

real-life situations. If this method is employed in the classroom context then,

students will have the opportunity to use spoken English by engaging their teachers

and peers through authentic activities and meaningful tasks that promote oral

language development. Activities such as group work, brainstorming, information

gap, storytelling, simulations and brief dialogues foster the development of

speaking skills in English (Chaney & Burk, 1998). This study, therefore, seeks to

establish the teaching methods employed that could foster the development of good

speaking skills in English among students from junior secondary schools in Ona

Ara Local Government.

2.2.2 Importance of Speaking Skills

Communication plays a vital role in getting success in all fields. Language is

used as a tool for communication. Moreover, people cannot achieve their aims,

objectives, and goals without using proper language to communicate. Therefore,

there is a need for a language to communicate with others those who live all

9
around the globe. As English is considered the international language and it is

spoken all over the world, it serves the purpose of communicating with the people

who live in different regions, states, countries, and continents of the world.

Speaking skill is the most important skill to acquire foreign or second language

learning. Among the four key language skills, speaking is deemed to be the most

important skill in learning a foreign or second language. Brown and Yuke (1983)

say, “Speaking is the skill that the students will be judged upon most in real life

situations”. Regardless of its importance, teaching speaking skills have been

undervalued and most of the teachers have been continuing their teaching of

speaking skills just as memorization of dialogues or repetition of drills. The

modern world demands for the requirement of communication skills for the

learners and the English teachers have to teach the English language learners the

needed skills so that they will improve their abilities in speaking depends more on

communication than technology. As very less priority has been given to the

important elements of language such as phonological, morphological, semantic and

syntactic aspects, it has become a major impediment for the English language

learners to acquire the speaking skills among the learners of English. So far, more

concentration has been given to reading and writing skills. After realizing the

importance of oral communication skills, more emphasis is now laid on developing

the speaking skills of the learners to pursue their studies successfully and excel in

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their fields once they finish their education. Moreover, English is the language of

getting opportunities for employment and getting success to achieve the desired

goals in life. Moreover, these speaking skills are also useful for learners when they

have to settle down well in their professions. So, speaking skills play a vital role as

everything depends on the way how people communicate their messages with

others. and perform well in real-life situations. In the present EFL/ESL teaching

environment, oral skills are completely neglected whereas employability.

2.2.3 Teaching the Speaking Skills

Speaking, especially in a foreign language, is a very demanding activity for

all ages of learners. It is because in order to share understanding with other people

using a foreign language, one needs to pay attention to precise details of the

language. He/she needs to find the most appropriate words and also the correct

grammar to convey meaning precisely, fluentlyand accurately. It is also very

important to organize the discourse so that the interlocutor understands what the

speaker says (Cameron, 2001). According to Hughes (1993), the teaching and

learning of speaking is the development of the ability to interact succesfully in that

language and this involves comprehension as well as production. Speaking practice

starts with practicing and drilling set phrases and repeating models. It can also

mean communicating with others in situations where spontaneous contributions are

required. Therefore, fluent speakers have to learnt not only about the language but
11
also what the appropriate things to say in certain situations. There are three stages

in teaching speaking (Harmer, 2001). They are introducing the new language,

practice, and communicative activities.

1) Introducing the new language

English is the new language for students. It should be introduced as to

meaning, forms, and functions. The meaning relates to its denotation,

connotation, and culture. The function relates to the social life and the form

relates to its linguistics.

2) Practice

Practicing a new language is not just once. A teacher should reinforce again

and again so that the students become familiar and automatic in producing

the language. The teacher can create an atmosphere in which the students

feel enough to find the words to express themselves in a real situation.

3) Communicative activities

Communicative activities should be aimed at the communication that

happens daily. The students are prepared to learn speaking within the text

available in the students’ books. These models of dialogues, of course, are

limited because the students have no chance to express their own ideas, and

they have no challenge to create new situation. In this stage teachers also

encourage language negotiating among students, take notes of any aspects

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 that may hinder communication such as pronunciation, vocabulary,

grammar, etc. After this stage, teachers give students feedback on

pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary and ask students to repeat the task

if necessary.

2.2.4 Instructional Materials for Teaching Speaking Skills

In today‟s technologically advanced society, language resources have

become part and parcel for effective classroom interaction to take place.

Instructional resources thus ought to be varied over time to cater for varying

teaching and learning contexts and learners‟ needs. Research has shown, students

who have an exposure to variety of instructional materials like charts, tape

recorder, radio, television programmes and pictures develop their speaking

proficiency easily than those least exposed to teaching and learning resources.

Onyejemezi (1998) learning becomes effective when learners are wholly involved

in the instructional process through the use of variety of resources because they

stimulate and motivate the teaching and learning process and provide learners with

the opportunity to observe touch, manipulate things and interact freely.

Onyejemezi (1998) further adds that when instructional resources are properly

used, in good supply, rich in variety and range, they emphasize the spoken

13
message, capture students‟ attention and enable them to freely interact in the

physical and social environments.

For any instructional process to be accomplished, teaching and learning aids

need to be adequate and properly utilized. According to Ibe-Bassey (1991), an

instructional material serves as a tool of communication. He further adds that

utilization of these resources in teaching is the function of the teacher who should

plan for their presentation in order to make the material meaningful during lesson

presentation. The author, however, regrets that the instructional materials in

teaching are in many cases few in schools and or sometimes totally lacking, thus

rendering teachers‟ efforts unproductive (Ibe-Bassey, 1991).

This brings us to the point of concern of the current study which was

whether instructional materials in teaching are available and well utilized in

schools for acquisition of speaking skills in English to be achieved. This

uncertainty is provoking doubt on the type of learners we have and their future as

English speakers.

a) Availability of instructional materials in teaching English

When teaching English, instructional materials when availed to the

classroom motivates learning and heightens efficacy in the act of imparting

knowledge and skills. In a study done in Nigeria, unavailability of these

materials in teaching was found to hamper the achievement of educational

14
 objectives (Agupusi, 2003). Agupusi in the same vein requested concerned

parties to collectively avail them to ensure learning takes place. In a similar

study done in Kenya, Mutai (2006) in his study observed that learning is

reinforced by having enough reference materials such as exercise books,

textbooks and others. The unavailability of these resources was noted in

studies done by Orina (2001); Wambua (1988); Mueni (1999) largely

attributed to the high poverty levels amongst Kenyans. This situation has

resulted into inadequacy of physical and material resources in the

instructional processes. This was found to be a true case as most parents

could barely support and implementation the cost sharing education policy

in schools. On the other hand, Bright (1970) observes that reading helps

learners improve their speaking skills. As a result, teachers of English ought

to encourage learners to do extensive reading which though due to

insufficiency of reading materials might be impossible. The current study

thus intends to find out if the instructional resources used to teaching

speaking skills in English are available and their contribution to acquisition

of those skills in English.

b) Adequacy, accessibility and utilization of instructional resources

Successful teaching will only be realized if instructional materials are availed

adequately for use in the classroom (Igwe, 2014). Mutai (2006) in his study

15
observed that academic success largely depends on the correct use of the

instructional materials. On the same note, Kitheka (2005) carried out a study on

factors contributing to students‟ poor performance in Secondary schools. Findings

from the study indicated that at times schools with enough instructional resources

may not at all times utilize them efficiently. This scenario eventually leads to

students‟ poor performance in examinations. On the same disposition, in 2005

Junior WASSCE examination results published in the Daily Nation and the Punch

newspapers of March 2 2006 Munyori (2006), noted that some national schools

were a national shame. The remark was attributed to the poor performance of three

national secondary schools that tailed that year in Junior WASSCE exam despite

having variety of instructional resources. In the same disposition Okeke (2005)

affirms that lack of these materials in the instructional process deters the whole

process of teaching and learning. However, Kitheka (2005) contends that some

schools may have few instructional materials but use them efficiently hence

enhancing learning and attainment of educational goals and objectives. Kitheka

(2005) in his study observed that availability of instructional resources in schools

is one factor that affects academic performance of students. The author further

adds that inadequacy of these materials could lead to poor performance in schools.

Okeke (2005) argues further that the teacher who uses these materials ought to

have the knowledge on how to manipulate and operate the available aids and

16
therefore needs to have the knowledge in the instructional resources to ensure they

are effectively used.

Some of these instructional resources include:

a. Resource Centre

This includes instructional resources like: a language lab, a library and a

variety of audiovisual materials. Communication is vital in oral communication

lessons in general. Krashen and Terrell (1988) argue against language teachers

who use teaching methods which hardly engage students in real

communication. This implies that teachers in communicative classrooms ought

to talk less but listen more while students do most of the talking because the

teacher already knows more English than students. Doff (1988) claims that

language teachers should teach using examples and repetition in addition to

explanations to enable students acquire enough meaningful English vocabulary

for use in various situations.

Teaching aids too are very helpful in language teaching in promoting

perception, understanding reinforcing the verbal message, help in memorizing

what has been learnt, act as motivation and stimulates students‟ interest towards

the learning through students‟ use of the five senses to appropriately learn.

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These teaching aids include wall charts, weather charts, and maps of a local

area or picture cards which can be displayed by the teacher on the chalk board

or wall for students‟ viewing (Doff, 1988). Krashen (1985) contends that

teaching aids enable the teacher understand how much the learners have

developed their communicative ability by looking at the use of fillers and

hesitation. In addition, use of audios like radio and cassette recorders can help

students develop their pronunciation and articulation of words through imitation

of the models in the radio and also replaying the recorded sounds. Also learners

can improve on their verbal communicative ability by trying to describe their

personal profiles which will need them to look for the right words to use in

English corners for speaking hence fluency.

Kavulani (1996) carried out a related study in Kenya on teachers‟ resource

centres and their role in the teaching of English in secondary schools. Findings

of the study indicated that the Bukembe Teachers‟ Resource Centre has

improved some teachers‟ teaching skills through in-service courses. The same

study in addition found that the resource centre provided teachers and students

in member schools with reading materials. This implies that the availability of a

resource centre in a school can greatly students access enough reading materials

that they can use to enrich their vocabulary and later use the new words learnt

to build on their speech.

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 b. Language Games

Language is a very important tool for communication as it enables one to

express himself/herself well in order to be understood by other people. These

games are one of the modern invented teaching aids that has been developed in the

teaching of speaking skills in English to boost students‟ confidence and

socialization aspects. It is therefore the duty of the teacher to vary these games to

suit learners‟ needs in an instructional discourse. For instance, a teacher can use

the class register, pick out few student names and ask meaningful English language

questions for the students to respond. If this activity is repeatedly done, it can

improve students’‟ use of the spoken English.

c. Language laboratory

A language laboratory is one of the modern facilities that has been devised

to assist in the teaching of languages and in remedial classes. It constitutes a

variety of audio-visual teaching aids and English speaking models that can help

learners build their self-confidence when speaking English language, through oral

practice and the feedback received from the English speaking models. The lab also

exposes students to native speakers of English who model and teach students how

to speak correct English through correct pronunciation of English words

(Lightbown & Nina, 2013). Due to the immediate feedback native speakers

provide, students who are learning a second language with no wide access to native

19
speakers of English are likely to experience slower acquisition of the spoken

English because they will be slow in oral aspects of acquisition than those

extensively exposed. The current study will involve finding out if there are

language labs in the schools for effective teaching and learning of speaking skills.

d. Newspapers in the teaching of English

Newspapers are one of the instructional resources used in the teaching of

English language skills. Teachers of English can use newspaper materials to

successfully prepare an activity like writing a letter to the editor, selecting a given

material like the column for book reviews and also in task designing like

description of a cartoon on a given page. So, the teacher should use the newspaper

activities, very carefully because when effectively used in the teaching of English,

newspapers motivate learners‟ reading and speaking skills. The present study will

therefore investigate if newspaper resources are available in the English

departments for use in the classroom.

2.2.5 Common Errors in Speaking Skills

Non-native users of English almost always tussle with all aspects of English

(listening, writing, reading and speaking). Many also commit errors in spelling,

grammar and punctuation. This is because there are aspects of English that make it

very confusing and utterly difficult for non-native English learners. For example,

20
in the study of ESL, students have the knowledge of using a number of adjectives

when describing somebody or something. This therefore means that, students

ought to be very keen in using these adjectives in their correct order in the

sentence; Opinion, Size, Shape, Age, Colour, Nationality and finally Material.

These errors are particular to the English language, with no clear rules stating

when to use the prefix or the suffix forms and mostly due to unfamiliarity with

vocabulary. For example; did you buy the Maasai bluish blanket? (Wrong) did you

buy the bluish Maasai blanket? (Right).

Wrong use of English articles also lend many speakers of English to use the

language erroneously. Bautisa (2011) suggests that:

a) Article a, an is used for a non-specific, singular, count noun. Example: a

cow, an egg.

b) The is used for specific, singular or plural nouns. Example: the heroic

Luo legend Lwanda Magere, the award-winning song. Inappropriate use of

prepositions, tenses in English as well as repetition are the other common

aspects that need to be scrutinized for fluency in speech to be realized.

Muriungi and Mbui (2013) conducted a related study to investigate how

mother tongue influenced the acquisition of English language among day

secondary school students. In this particular study it was found that the

environment is key for a L2 to be acquired effectively as it helps minimize on the

21
impediments that could hamper the successful attainment of reasonable

competence in English language. From their findings, it was observed that

pronunciation was the most common error instigated by lack of constant practice in

speaking English. Students were found making pronunciation errors when reading

a loud or when participating in class discussions. The other errors found out

included:

a) Phonological errors where students pronounced words wrongly like

„acadamia‟ instead of „academia‟, „leave‟ Vs „live‟.

b) Morphological errors where students were found adding morpheme„s‟ in

every word without knowing that not all words form plurals by adding „s‟. For

example, „Advices‟, „furnitures‟ instead of „advise‟ and „furniture.‟ That showed

that students suffered faulty overgeneralization and incomplete application of rules

as well as not knowing when to apply the rules.

c) Syntactic errors where students constructed sentences without Agreement

and that was attributed to mother tongue influence. For example, one student

greeted another saying: „

How is you?‟ The use of „is‟ makes the sentence to sound like slang

language instead the sentence was supposed to be; „How are you?

This showed that students did not conform to English syntactic rules of

Subject Verb Agreement. All these errors made the researchers conclude that

22
learners from day secondary schools in Imenti South lacked communicative

competence in English language. 37 Other errors common to other speakers of

English like the Spanish and Malaysians apart from the above discussed ones

include: the omission of the subject, confusing the gender, making literal

translations of statements, incorrect pronunciation of words as a result of accent

and the use of homophones and subject verb disagreements which end up

confusing many speakers (Aditya, 2011).

Some of the common verb problems Malaysian students encountered similar

to Nigerian students and their correct counterparts:

1a) she friended me on facebook (wrong).

b) She added me as a friend on facebook (right).

2a) I asked him to less the price but he said no (wrong).

b) I asked him to lower the price but he said no (right).

3a) My grandfather dead last year (wrong).

b) My grandfather died last year (right).

2.2.6 Factors Influencing Speaking Skills

English language is not the first language to Nigerian students. It is rather

learned as a second language. Through this process of acquisition, students face

a number of challenges that obstruct them from being fluent speakers of

English. Early scholarly works done in a similar field in other countries indicate

23
that acquisition of speaking skills in English is influenced by a number of

factors. These factors include:

a) Family background and environment

The students‟ home environment and background is fundamental in the

acquisition of a second language process. For example, Indian students

whose parents are peasants with a poor educational background

experience difficulties when asked to speak in English. In addition, the

poverty levels in Indians is found to force most parents to involve

students in money-generating activities at the expense of sending these

students to schools resulting into poor speakers of English due to lack of

exposure (Spratt et al, 2005). This scenario shows that students‟ family

background apparently affects the acquisition of speaking skills in

English.

b) Mother-tongue

Findings in a study conducted in India by Kansakar (1998) on the effect

of mother tongue (Indian) on acquisition of a foreign or a second

language, indicated that articulation of words, their speech pattern, pitch,

and the sound system impacted greatly on the acquisition of a FL or L2.

Therefore, the mismatch between Indian mother tongue and English

language in terms of these features earlier mentioned, ends up confusing

24
students. The confusion comes as students are required to first unlearn all

the linguistic features in their MT then start to learn the English features

for acquisition of English to take place (Kansakar, 1998). In relation to

this, students learn to communicate in English while bringing in MT

interference which leads to varieties of „Englishes‟ and

misunderstanding.

In the same context, learners tend to do literal mother tongue translations

when speaking in English. According to (Baker and Westrup, 2000; KIE,

2006; Kisilu & Lelei, 2008), making translations into MT as a way of

conveying the meaning of new items should be avoided at all costs. In a

similar study done in a University in Vietnam, languages used by

students while thinking and speaking English were examined. Findings of

the study revealed that a substantial number of students thought in

Vietnamese language when they were speaking in English. Wenden

(2005) observed that designing the spoken word in the local (native)

language and then translating it to another language is disastrous students

as it affects the acquisition of the target language (English). This is a

similar case with Indian students who are fond of using their mother

tongue when involved in English speaking and writing activities. Mother

tongue influence therefore prevents students from acquiring the correct

25
 English and increases students‟ vulnerability to English spoken errors

which could be managed through practicing to speak good English in

various contexts. This same scenario applies to Kenyan students.

In a similar study done in Malaysia, it was found that the factors that

caused low English language learning and acquisition among students

included: students lacked self-confidence when using English language

as they saw English as a difficult language (Souriyavongsa et al, 2013).

Muriungi and Mbui (2013) also conducted a similar study to investigate

how mother tongue influenced the acquisition of English language and

the findings of the study indicated that mother tongue hindered students

from acquiring the language. The authors in the study pointed out that in

order to acquire an L2 successfully, the students‟ learning environment

should be enabling for reasonable levels of competence in English

language to be achieved. This suggests therefore that, English language

ought to be taught in contexts rich in English input and support

(Belchamber, 2007).

c) Motivation

Motivation is key in second language learning and acquisition process.

Reece & Walker (1997) emphasize that a less able student who is highly

motivated can achieve greater success than the more intelligent student

26
who is not well motivated. Crookes & Schmidt (1991) view motivation

from various perspectives; in terms of choice, engagement and

persistence as determined by interest, relevance, expectancy and

outcome. The authors further argue that motivation depends mainly on

the social interaction between teachers and learners. Cooper & McIntyre

(1998) claim that highly motivated students necessitate strong

interpersonal and social interaction hence creating an effective learning

environment.

Macaro (2010) observes that intrinsic motivation is greatly associated

with educational success. Implying that students who are persistently

encouraged to learn eventually do better than those less encouraged. Thus

students from families that value English language learning are likely to

acquire English faster than those who less value the language. Clearly,

students who enjoy language learning and take pride in their progress

will do better than those who do not. The author further maintains that

students who are given continuing, appropriate encouragement to learn

by their teachers and parents will generally fare better than those who are

not. For instance, students from families that place little importance on

English language learning are likely to progress less quickly.

27
 According to Philpot (2007) lower motivation levels or lack of

motivation hinders learners from actively participating in speaking

activities. This therefore implies that learners need to be given ample

time free from interruption when involved in any 41 conversation with

minimal correction of what they are saying as this motivates them a great

deal. Also teachers should always appreciate any slight improvement

made by students towards using English correctly in the right context.

The consequence of close monitoring and correcting learners‟ spoken

language by the teacher will translate to reluctance by the student in

participating in the speaking activities leading to poor practice or no

practice at all.

d) Poor orientation

Research has shown that many students can hardly communicate in

English correctly without grammatical errors despite completing their

„O‟ level of education or even going up to university. This inefficiency is

well attributed to the fact that students view English as an examination

subject rather than a language to be practiced for use in various contexts.

This perception makes students to give English less emphasis hence

ignoring the language. According to Spratt, Pulverness and Williams

(2005), learners‟ speaking skills can be developed regularly by

28
 emphasizing on fluency and pronunciation aspects of speaking through

the achievement of grammatical competence and accuracy when

speaking English language.

e) Poor listening skills

The central role of listening comprehension in the second/foreign

language acquisition process is now largely accepted. Listening plays an

extremely important role in the development of speaking abilities.

Usually, one person speaks and the other responds by means of the

listening process. In fact, during interaction, every speaker plays a duo

role (as a listener and a speaker). If one cannot understand what is said,

one is certainly unable to respond. So, speaking is closely interwoven

with listening skills.

Bwire (2007) supports the view that there is a direct relationship between

listening and speaking skills in a communication process, that is,

“speaking and listening are reciprocal activities with both playing

different roles” (Bwire, 2007: 59). Research has shown that, there is

reciprocity between reading and oral language. DeGelder and Morais

(1995) argue that as skills in some aspect of oral language increase, they

help development in reading, and as a person improves his reading skills,

that improvement seems to enhance further improvement in the spoken

29
language. Bwire (2007) maintains that spoken language relies greatly on

intonation and paralinguistic features like gestures and facial expressions

for its meaning. This means that meaning precedes speaking in the

language learning process. This statement is in agreement with

Syomwene (2013) who argues that 43 the meaning of new words is

affected by the characteristics associated with spoken Language like

presence of hesitation, use of fillers like “er”,”em”, and continuous

repetition of phrases. Another problem associated with spoken language

is “the contradiction of the standard dialectal or standard written form

which may sometimes be dialectal or results of rhythm and stress in the

flow of speech” (Bwire, 2007:p.60). Also emotions associated with

spoken language like annoyance and excitement as expressed in

intonation can be difficult to represent in writing except when

complemented by phrases like “said excitedly”. This shows that spoken

Language has a great impact on listening as well as writing because the

listener will not print to describe these emotions explicitly.

In addition, the spoken Language limits the freedom of listener in terms

of what to listen to and at what pace. This is so because in spoken

Language, the words are spoken once and the listener may or may not

hear them all. If the listener‟s mind starts to wander looking for the lost

30
 information, the listener may totally lose things said later unless the

speaker decides to repeat it or print speech (Bwire, 2007). The author

moreover, says that sometimes propaganda and inflection in speaking

might render the listener misunderstanding, misinterpreting, being

influenced adversely or being misled in listening than in reading.

Therefore for effective speaking to be said to take place, the listener

should be able to grasp and understand all that is said and the spoken

word should translate to a written form with a lot of ease. Thus speaking

and listening co-exist mutually.

f) Lack of confidence

According to a research done in India, this is the most common problem

encountered by learners in the language acquisition process. Speaking

activities require a learner to have all eyes on him. This exposure to an

audience can often give learners stage fright due to lack of confidence and

shyness. In relation to a study done in Hanoi University, Vietnam, students

did not speak fluently due to lack of confidence. (Baker & Westrup, 2003)

observe that shyness is very likely to occur when students speak English

because most students do not prepare what to say and also underestimate

31
 speaking as a skill. Instead, a majority of the students only picture what to

say in mind but remain silent.

g) Anxiety

Anxiety can be caused by a student speaking a foreign language (FL) or

second language (L2) in public. This can make many students be tongue-

tied or lost for words in an unexpected situation leading to discouragement

and a general sense of failure in the learners. Adults view making errors as

a public display of ignorance which will be an obvious occasion of losing

face (Cao, 2011). These learners may also be worried about making

mistakes, being criticized or losing face in front of the rest of the class.

This results in their performance where they either make a lot of mistakes

in spite of having a very good knowledge in the area or totally keeping

silent.

h) Lack of proper vocabulary

Students of English sometimes face the problem of having to search for an

appropriate word in order to fit into a particular context (Tarone, 2005).

This happens because of lack of exposure to a variety of vocabulary. Baker

and Westrup (2003) argue that 45 learners sometimes may have little idea

about what to say, may not know the words to use, or may not be sure how

to use the grammar. Celce-murcia, Brinton & Goodwin (1996) claim that

32
 the acquisition of good pronunciation is commonly held to be the most

difficult of all tasks in second language learning. This was evident in a

study conducted in Hanoi University, Vietnam where most students

reported to be one of the problems hindering them from being proficient

speakers of English. This will eventually lead to failure in communicating

fluently in English language, which will again lead to losing of confidence

and lack of motivation to speak.

i) Peer influence

To establish influence of peers on acquisition of speaking in a second

language, 2 classroom experiments were organized to examine the effects

of peer tutoring intervention on the second language acquisition of

secondary school students. English acquisition by limited English-speaking

Mexican American students was measured in the st experiment and was

measured Spanish acquisition by limited Spanish –speaking Mexican

American students was measured in experiment 2. The subjects were

matched on an overall language proficiency and on a verbal interaction

score and assigned to treatment and control groups. In experiment 1, it was

found that there was significant group differences in frequency of English

utterances to peers in a structured setting with the difference favouring the

treatment group. The correlation analysis indicated significant relationship

33
 between English proficiency and verbal interaction in English with peers.

From both the experiment group and control group in experiment 2, the

frequency of Spanish utterances to peers in free play decreased, resulting in

the almost total absence of Spanish use by the students. These findings

suggested that peer tutoring may be an effective means of encouraging

interaction between Mexican American students acquiring English and

their fluent English-speaking peers (Diane, 2012).

j) Age and enrolment

Although there is no particular policy regarding the optimum age for

sitting for the national examinations, there should be an appropriate age for

a pupil to enroll in school. Mugo (2016) suggested a child to be in class

one at 7 years. Mr Mugo John, Uwezo Kenya Country Co-ordinator

observed in the Standard Newspaper of 2 nd November, 2016 in the

released KCPE exam results that children should get to standard one at

7years. This should be so because this is the time they are emotionally,

psychologically developed and are ready to do class work (p: 8). Further,

in the same released KCPE results among the Counties that registered

overage candidates for KCPE 2016 was Turkana County. The said County

had registered the highest number of candidates above 19 years of age

2,850 in total. This case was attributed to the harsh living conditions in the

34
 area that could have contributed to delayed enrolment. This apparently

affected their KCPE performance to be poor compared to Counties like

Nairobi with majority of average aged candidates (14years). However, a

number of Counties recorded underage students for standard 8 nationally

including Nairobi and Bungoma.

This scenario was attributed to the fact that most parents are working class

and they have no time to take care of their children and are forced to keep them in

school making them start school early (The Standard, 2016:8).

2.3 Theoretical Framework

Speaking is one of the skills in the language learning and it is essential in

communication. Speaking has a complex process that consists of three parts. In the

communicative activities, teacher feedback is needed by students to revise their

speaking because mistakes must appear in students; speaking for English is a

foreign language for them. It is quite hard for the students to correct their own

mistakes for example their pronunciation in their speaking. That is why, teacher

oral feedback can be used as guidance for the students to correct their mistakes and

make their speaking better.

Many studies show that feedback can effectively reduce students’ errors in

speaking. Students’ perception is a vital part in the learning process. Students’

perception will affect the students’ response and attitude in the learning process.

35
There are some main factors that affect it, such as students’ expectation,

motivation, and previous experience. In this case, students’ experience will be

teacher oral feedback. If the students’ perception is positive, the acceptance

information of the teacher feedback will be affective but if the students’ perception

is negative, the acceptance information of the feedback will be disturbed. It means

that students’ perception will give a big influence to the success of feedback. This

study, therefore, concerns students’ perception towards teacher immediate oral

feedback.

Some experts’ point of views are used as the reference to answer the

research problems. Those points of views play a significant role in exploring,

identifying, and analyzing the teacher oral feedback and students’ perception.

Theories of feedback helps to identify the types and contents of teacher

immediately feedback. The types of teacher immediate feedback consists of recast,

explicit correction, elicitation, clarification request, metalinguistic cue, repetition.

Contents of teacher immediate feedback can be categorized into two, they are form

and meaning. Feedback on form concerns on grammar, vocabulary, and

pronunciation while feedback on meaning concerns idea organization, and logic of

ideas.

Furthermore, theory of feedback and students’ perception suggested helps to

reveal the students’ perception towards teacher oral feedback. Students’ perception

36
may focus on the clarity, the objectivity, the assistance, the encouragement and the

proportion of oral feedback by the teacher.

2.4 Review of Empirical Studies

In a related study done in Malaysia, it was found that the factors that caused

poor acquisition of English proficiency among students included: poor training of

teachers , the language of instruction (Lao language), learners had a poor English

language foundation, the students lacked self-confidence when using the language,

an inappropriate curriculum, saw English as a difficult language, did not practice

speaking the TL and also the learning environment was crowded and noisy not fit

for learning to take place (Souriyavongsa et al, 2013). In another study done in

Australia, the factors that affected acquisition of English language among

Australian students included: the learners changing habits, the cultural

backgrounds, lack of strict rules in the pronunciation of their MT (Cao, 2011). Cao

in addition found that anxiety was another factor where students were found out to

be afraid of making mistakes in the classes. Also students had a poor socio

economic background (Khattak et al, 2011).

Park & Lee (2005) examine the relationships between second language

learners’ anxiety, self-confidence and speaking performance. The participants of

their study were one hundred and thirty two Korean college students who enrolled

the English conversation classes. The results of their study indicated that learners’

37
anxiety level was negatively related to their oral performance. Tanveer (2007)

investigates the factors that cause language anxiety for twenty language learners in

learning speaking skills and the influence of anxiety on communication in the

target language and his result is similar to what Park & Lee (2005) figure out. The

findings suggested that students’ feeling of stress, anxiety or nervousness may

impede their language learning and performance abilities. He cites that “the higher

the anxiety, the lower the performance”.

MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels (1998) studied the effects of self-

confidence on oral performance. The results of their study showed that the

learners’ willingness to communicate was determined partly by their self-

confidence. Park & Lee (2005) also examined the relationships between L2

learners’ anxiety, self-confidence and oral performance. They reached a conclusion

that self-confidence affected significantly on L2 learners’ oral performance. They

stated that if the learners were more confident, they would have better oral

performance.

Feyten (1991) conducted a study to examine whether there is a relationship

between listening ability and foreign language proficiency, between listening

ability and foreign language listening comprehension skills, and between listening

ability and foreign language oral proficiency skills. The results show that there is a

significant relationship between listening ability and foreign language proficiency;

38
between listening ability and foreign language listening comprehension skills; and

between listening ability and foreign language oral proficiency skills. Bozorgian

(2012) carried out a study to examine the relationship of listening skill with other

language skills. The results of his study indicate a close correlation between

listening comprehension and language proficiency. He states that the higher the

listening score, the better the speaking score.

Lukitasari (2008) conducted a study focusing on the students’ strategies in

overcoming speaking problems in speaking class. The population of her study was

the first semester students of Muhammadiyah University of Malang in Indonesia.

The results of her study suggest that in speaking class, the students faced some

speaking problems including inhibition, nothing to say, low or uneven participation

and mother tongue use. The findings of the study also reveal that the students’

speaking performance was not good because they did not master the three elements

of speaking namely vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

In a related study conducted in Arabia on problems encountered by Arab L2

learners showed that learners preferred to use Arabic rather than English when

communication both outside and inside the classroom. The students also lacked

exposure to the TL as spoken by its native speakers, the language teaching context

and lack of their personal motivation (Loae, 2011). Loae presented the various

39
factors that impact the L2 learners to have poor English language learning and

acquisition as follows:

i. They regarded English as difficult (attitude).

ii. Learners depended on the English teachers as authorities.

iii. Not motivated to use English in the home environment and

community.

iv. Learners lacked exposure to the language as they rarely use English

outside and inside the classrooms.

v. Learners had limited vocabulary proficiency and lacked enough

reading materials.

vi. Lack of motivation and negative attitude towards English as the target

language.

2.5 Summary of the Literature

From the reviewed literature, it is clear that speaking aspect in English is a

very important skill in people’s as it the means by which communication

takes place and that acquisition of speaking skills in English in countries like

India and Vietnam is greatly affected by various factors. Therefore, a lot of

emphasis needs to be put to ensure higher levels of proficiency are achieved

40
among the learners in terms of communicative ability. However, no research

has been conducted to show the factors influencing the of speaking aspect of

English language among students in junior secondary schools in Ona Ara

Local Government. This study therefore, will be a response to this need. The

ensuing chapter focuses on the research design employed, variables under

study, the study locale, target population, sampling procedures and sample

size, research instruments, piloting, data collection techniques, data analysis

and lastly ethical and logistical considerations.

41
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the research methodology with the research type, list

of population as well as sample of the population used for the research and the

techniques used for the sampling. Also, the research instrument, the procedure of

data collection and the techniques for analyzing the data

The main aim of this study as mentioned earlier is to identify the factors

influencing the speaking aspects of English language amongs the junior secondary

students of Ona Ara Local Government, Oyo state and to provide practical ways of

eliminating such problems.

3.2 Research Type Design

The design used in this study is the descriptive survey in which information

is collected without changing the environment (i.e., nothing is manipulated). Such

study is often referred to as “correlational” or “observational” studys. It employs

ex-post factor design. It is designed essentially to investigate the factors

influencing the speaking aspects of English Language in junior Secondary Schools

42
in Ona Ara Local Government Area of Oyo state and it involves survey or

interview to collect the necessary information.

The choice of a survey research as opposed to other research designs was

motivated by the following factors, first, survey research provides for a suitable

instrument for collecting a large amount of data. Secondly, it provide a practical

framework for collecting a large sample composing groups and thirdly, survey

studies have strong data reliability.

3.2 Population, Sample and Sampling Technique

Population

A population is any set of persons or objects that possesses at least one

common characteristic (Busha & Harter, 1980). The target population of this study

is the Junior Secondary Schools in Ona Ara Local Government Area, Oyo state.

Sample

A sample is a smaller group or sub-group obtained from the accessible population.

This subgroup is carefully selected to be representative of the whole population

with the relevant characteristics.

43
Six Secondary Schools in Ona Ara Local Government Area have been selected as

sample for this research. They include:

1. Ajia Secondary Grammar School

2. Community Grammar School, Akanran

3. Community Grammar School, Araromi, Aperin

4. Community Grammar School, Badeku

5. Community Grammar School, Gbedun

6. Elekuro High School (Junior)

Sampling Technique

Sampling is a procedure, process or technique of choosing a sub-group from a

population to participate in the study. It is the process of selecting a number of

individuals for a study in such a way that the individuals selected represent the

large group from which they were selected.

3.3 Research Instrument

The researcher in order to collect data for this research made use of a questionnaire

and interview. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (1999) questionnaires give a

detailed answer to complex problems. Additionally, questionnaires are also a

popular method for data collection in deduction because of the relative ease and

44
cost-effectiveness with which they are constructed and administered.

Questionnaires give a relatively objective data and therefore, are most effective. In

this study, Questionnaire will be used as the main instrument of data collection

from the students.

Interview guide will be used in this study since it generally yields highest

cooperation and lowest refusal rates, offers high response quality and takes

advantage of interviewer presence and it is multi-method data collection that is it

combines questioning, cross-examination, probing techniques (Owens, 2002). In

this study interview guides will be used to solicit information from the top

managers.

The questionnaire designed for this study is tagged “A QUESTIONAIRE ON

THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SPEAKING ASPECT OF ENGLISH

LANGUGE IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ONA ARA LOCAL

GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE” It was the instrument used for data

collection for the study. The questionnaire was exposed to a critical review by the

supervisor and other experts in the field of education for validation. The

questionnaire contains forty items designed in order to measure the three research

questions for the study.

45
3.4 Validity of Research Instrument

Validity which can be defined as the degree to which a test measures what

it is supposed to measure, or the degree to which an instrument measures

the construct under investigation. For a data collection instrument to be

considered valid, the content selected and included must be relevant to the

need or gap established. Before the actual study, the instruments will be

discussed with supervisors. The feedback from the supervisors and the

experts will help in modifying the instruments.

Three basic approaches are employed to test the validity of the research instrument,

this is in accordance with Mason and Bramble (1989). These are content validity,

construct validity, and criterion-related validity.

Content Validity: This approach measures the degree to which the test items

represent the domain or universe of the trait or property being measured. In order

to establish the content validity of a measuring instrument, the researcher identify

the overall content to be represented. Items are then randomly chosen from this

content that accurately represent the information in all areas.

Construct Validity: Cronbach and Meehl (1955) indicated that, "Construct

validity must be investigated whenever no criterion or universe of content is

accepted as entirely adequate to define the quality to be measured" as quoted by

46
Carmines and Zeller (1979). The term construct in this instance is defined as a

property that is offered to explain some aspect of human behaviour, such as

mechanical ability, intelligence, or introversion (Van Dalen, 1979). The construct

validity approach concerns the degree to which the test measures the construct it

was designed to measure.

There are two parts to the evaluation of the construct validity of this test. First and

most important, the theory underlying the construct to be measured is considered.

Second the adequacy of the test in measuring the construct is evaluated (Mason

and Bramble, 1989).

Criterion-Related Validity: This approach is concerned with detecting the

presence or absence of one or more criteria considered to represent traits or

constructs of interest. The research instrument is administered to the group that is

known to exhibit the trait to be measured (students in Junior Secondary Schools in

Ona Ara Local Government of Oyo state). This group was identified through the

work done when the researcher was reviewing related literatures.

3.5 Reliability of Research Instrument

Mugenda and Mugenda (1999) defined reliability as a measure of the degree

to which a research instrument yields consistent results or data after repeated trials.

An instrument is reliable when it can measure a variable accurately and obtain the
47
same results over a period of time. However, reliability in research is affected by

random errors, the pre-test helped the researcher identify the most likely source of

errors and hence respond to before the actual study.

The reliability of a research instrument concerns the extent to which the instrument

yields the same results on repeated trials. The tendency toward consistency found

in repeated measurements is referred to as reliability (Carmines & Zeller, 1979).

The Retest Method was used to determine the reliability of the descriptive survey

style used in this research. The same test is given to the same people after a period

of time. The reliability of the research instrument is then estimated by examining

the consistency of the responses between the two tests. Since fairly close result

were obtained after the retest, the reliability coefficient is then adjudged as 0.7

3.6 Data Collection Procedure

This empirical survey to find out the factors that influence the speaking aspects of

English language among junior secondary school students in Ona Ara Local

Government, Oyo state was carried out by administering questionnaire to teachers

of English Language in selected secondary schools in the area. In each of the

schools, the researcher gave out questionnaire to two teacher to respond to. When

they had finish responding, the research collects the questionnaire for analysis.

48
3.7 Data Analysis Techniques

The method of data analysis to be used for this study is the simple percentage and

mean. This would enable the researcher to investigate the factors that influence the

speaking aspects of English language among junior secondary school students in

Ona Ara Local Government, Oyo state.

Ten students were chosen as subject in each of six selected schools. From the ten

school selected, the researcher had sixty students as subjects.

49
 CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the analysis of the data collected from the sampled
population and the discussion of the result deduced from the analysis.

4.1 Data Analysis

This inquiry is carried out to investigate factors that influence the speaking
aspects of English language among junior secondary school students in Ona Ara
Local Government, Oyo state. For the purpose of clarity and logical presentation,
the analysis is organized around the hypothesis and purpose of study.
4.2 Table 1

1. Factors influencing students spoken English

Performance conditions YES % NO %

You have plenty of time to perform a speaking task 23 3 37 62

8
You like speaking English in class 45 7 15 25
5
You practice speaking English outside the classroom 27 4 33 55
5
You think speaking skills is important to your future job 51 8 9 15
5
You prepare for a task before the task is performed 43 7 17 28
2
You have the pressure to perform well from parents 33 5 27 45
5
Your teacher motivate you to speak English in the 46 7 14 23
classroom 7
The listeners are patient, understanding, sympathetic and 34 5 16 43
50
 supportive 7
Table 4.1 showing factors influencing students spoken English

From the table above, it was obvious that the students were not always given time
in performing speaking tasks. It is observed that 62% of the students said “NO” to
the question: that they are given plenty of time to perform speaking task, which
shows that the students lacked time to showcase their speaking skills. For the
question “You like speaking English in class,” 75% of the students answered in the
affirmative which shows that the majority of the students are interested in English
language.

And also, it was shown that just 45% of the students practice English outside the
classroom from the statement “You practice speaking English outside the
classroom?” and 55% of them said NO.

It is important to note that 85% of the students believed that speaking skills is
important to their future job, few percentage of the students do not believe
speaking skills play any role on their future job.

In response to preparation of students to undertake language task 72% of the

students said YES to the question, this means that the majority are prepared before
undertaking the language task

The result show of that 55% of the students are pressured to perform well in
spoken english while the remaining 45% do not have pressure on them. The result
revealed that 77% of the students believed there is motivation from the teachers to
perform well.

51
2. What factors influence your speaking performance?

Performance conditions V.Strongly Strongly Sometime Rarely Never

s
Time for preparation to 14 30 9 2 5
speak
Pressure to perform well in 11 9 32 4 4
speaking
Listeners’ support 15 25 10 7 3
Motivation to speak 5 11 34 3 7
Confidence to speak 2 5 8 43 2
Anxiety in teachers 12 4 32 10 2
correction
Lack of topical knowledge/ 9 13 25 8 5
Experience
Poor listening ability 1 2 12 33 12
Time allowed to perform a - 3 7 30 20
speaking task
Table 4.2 showing results for factors that influence speaking performance

From the Table 4.2, the speaking performance conditions were thoroughly assessed
which brought about the results shown in the table. It is obvious that the students
are not always given enough time for preparation to speak, though most of them
still believe that they are not being pressured to perform well while speaking.

Listener’s support is another condition most of them believe they don’t have while
speaking English Language, and the majority still believe it’s only sometimes they

52
are being motivated to speak although the majority still believe that the confidence
to speak is not a condition that influence their speaking.
Moreover, 32 of the 60 students still feels it’s only sometimes they feel anxiety
over teacher’s correction. Majority of the students do not believe that poor
listening ability and time allowed to perform a speaking task does not influence
their speaking performance

3. Rank the following problems you encounter in learning speaking skill?

Statements Ranks
1 2 3 4 5
You are worried about making mistakes. 43 11 4 - 2
You are fearful of criticism or losing face. 27 13 12 3 5
You cannot think of anything to say. 13 25 5 13 4
You have no motivation to express yourselves. 25 17 6 4 6
You speak very little or not at all. 37 14 4 5 -
You lack vocabulary. 29 21 5 3 2
You are shy 52 36 7 4 8
You do not like interaction with people 22 5 30 3 -
Table 3 showing results for the problems the students encounter in learning
speaking skills
From the table above, most of the students were worried about making mistakes
probably because of peer pressure since the majority are also fearful of criticism or
losing face.

4.3 Findings

53
 Class observations were carried out to see how students really performed
and what problems they had in speaking classes. The following problems are the
most common ones in the classes observed:
1. The students were not given enough time to prepare for a speaking task
before the task was performed and to perform their task.
2. When the students were asked to work in groups, not all of them were eager
to contribute their opinions in English. Some of them participated actively
but the others spoke very little or not at all.
3. They tended to use Yoruba when they discussed in groups.
4. While the students were making performances, the other students in class
did not listen attentively. They even chatted with the people next to them
when their classmates were speaking.
5. The students looked very nervous when they spoke in front of the class.
Sometimes, they did not know what to say and kept silent.
6. They read what they had written on a piece of paper. They did not remember
the structures and vocabulary to speak naturally.
7. Whenever the students made mistakes, the teacher stopped them and
corrected the mistakes.

54
 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

Introduction

The study has investigated the factors influencing the speaking aspect of English
Language among junior secondary schools students in Ona Ara Local Government
Area of Oyo state and the concluding part will be discussed further below;

5.1 Summary of Findings

The aim of this research work was to identify the problems militating against the
speaking aspect of English Language among junior Secondary Schools students in
Ona Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State, and to provide ways of eliminating
such problems.

Students of six different Junior Secondary Schools in Ona Ara Local Government
Area of Oyo State were used as the sampled population. And, to obtain information
for this research, the researcher consulted library materials like textbooks, journals
and the internet; and relied on responses from the questionnaire administered to
students of the selected six Secondary Schools in Ona Ara Local Government
Area.

The data collected from the respondents were put into tables showing the number
of respondents and percentages. From the table, it was discovered that there was:
mostly the students prefer to speak in their mother’s tongue than speaking in
English and importantly whenever tasks were being given, enough time is not
always given for execution.

55
From the data collected, it is obvious that the major factor influencing the
speaking of English Language among students in junior secondary schools in Ona
Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State is the environment because mainly,
people communicate in Yoruba in the street of Ona Ara Local Government and
that’s where the students spend most of their time.

5.2 Conclusion:

The findings reveal that mother tongue influences the speaking of English
Language in Secondary School and that there are other factors influencing the
speaking of English Language among Junior Secondary Schools in Ona Ara Local
Government of Oyo State. Some of this factors are listed below

 Interference of mother tongue.

 Poor teaching methodology
 Lack of constant practice on the part of students,
 Inadequate or total lack of relevant books as well as standard facilities for
practical orientation.
 Street way of communication

The study raises some issues which deserve further consideration for the
government, policy makers and schools. More effort should be placed to improve
the speaking of English Language mainly because English Language is currently
the official language of instruction used in secondary schools. Therefore, practical
measures need to be taken by the government to ensure that the teaching and
learning of English language is enhanced in order to improve students’ academic
achievement.

56
Some of the solutions to be considered should include supplying secondary schools
with adequate teaching and learning material English Language, training programs
that will enhance students’ language skills as well as pedagogy skills, and ensuring
rural secondary schools have adequate and well qualified teachers. Since most
schools do not have physical facilities for Oral English instruction such as
language laboratories and well stocked libraries the government should put these
into consideration.

5.3 Recommendations:

Teachers of English are admonished to appreciate the components of the oral

forms that helps teachers to improve reading, writing and speaking skills for the
learners. The study holds the view that speaking skill approaches towards
developing reading, writing and speaking skills provides basic principles of
instruction which if applied consistently can make the learning of English language
more effective and the learning experiences of the learners in other subjects being
taught in Secondary Schools more concrete and more enjoyable.

Speaking fluently will help improve writing skills if the English language is used
consistently. However, more emphasis should be put on speaking and writing
because they serve as end product of learning experiences.

In the light of the knowledge of the result gathered from the study, the following
recommendations were made:

 The model of Oral English to be taught in Secondary Schools in Ona Ara

Local Government Area of Oyo State and in Nigeria at large should be that
which is spoken by the highly educated Nigerian, and not that of the British.

57
  The Ministry of Education at the State and Federal levels should prevail on
Secondary School proprietors (and the government in the case of
Government Schools) to set up functional language laboratories.
 Only teachers who have the required skills to teach English Language should
be hired to do so.
 Teachers who have personal difficulties and mother tongue interference
must go for training and re-training.

5.4 Suggestion for Further Studies

From the discussion it is realized that in practice, many teachers do not effectively
utilize the appropriate methodology, contents and learning experiences for
effective use of English language approaches. The information obtained can
provide data for those concerned with English Language, teaching, researchers and
educationists. In order to obtain more information on the speaking aspect of
English language in Nigeria Secondary Schools the following are suggestions for
areas of further research:

 The impact of early childhood education on performance in oral and writing

skills in English subject.

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