CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY

English Language proficiency refers to the ability of students or learners to be able to possess writing skills, listening skills, reading skills and speaking skills in English Language. According to American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL, 2008), language proficiency or linguistic proficiency is the ability of an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language. It argued that theories vary among pedagogues as to what constitutes proficiency. The multi-lingual and multi-cultural 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 medium of intra-national and inter-national communication (Fakeye 2006) . More importantly English language has become the pivot on which the educational wheel of Nigeria rotates. The language is the medium of instruction for all school subjects from the primary school level to the university, in addition to being a compulsory school subject that must be passed at all levels of education in Nigeria Ajufo (2007). The poor performance of students in English language at public examinations in recent times has been explained as a major cause of the decline in academic achievement and standard of education in Nigeria. As Maleki and Zangani (2007) observe, having difficulties in grasping fully the contents and concepts of the various subjects of the curriculum taught in the target language (English language) seems to be one of the most serious problems that EFL students face in their particular course of study.

This is the same problem with Nigerian ESL students whose performance in the various schools subjects at public examinations is nothing to write home about. This might be due to their weaknesses in English language, the medium of instruction, which may have negative consequences on their overall academic achievement. In the argument of Feast (2002), when students are deficient in the language of instruction, it follows that they would not perform well in the various school subjects taught in the target language. Therefore, the overall performance of Nigerian ESL students depends, to a very large extent, on their English language proficiency. Bachman (1990) defines language proficiency as the language ability or ability in language use. Oller (1983) avers that language proficiency is not a single unitary ability, but that it consists of several distinct but related constructs in addition to a general construct of language proficiency. The relationship between students overall academic achievement in the content areas and their language proficiency has been examined by scholars. Butler and Castellon – Wellington (2000) compared students’ performance in content areas to concurrent performance on a language proficiency test and found a correlation between the two. Ulibarri, Maria, Spencer and Rivas (1981) examined the relationship between Hispanic students’ performance in English language tests and their achievement in Mathematics and discovered that the language test data were not very useful in predicting achievement in Mathematics. Bayliss and Raymond (2004) examined the link between academic success and second language proficiency and concluded that the relationship between academic achievement and language proficiency disappears as students approach native-like proficiency levels. So this study focuses on the effects of English language proficiency in secondary schools, using Iwo local government as a case study.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The level of English language proficiency has been an important requirement for the comprehension of other subjects offered in secondary schools. The poor performance of students has been connected to poor English language proficiency. The poor performance of Nigerian senior, secondary school students in various school subjects at public examinations has oen been blamed on their weakness in English language which is the medium through which knowledge in school subjects is transferred to learners. Deficient English Language use skills could affect academic performance of students in a country like Nigeria where English Language is a second language. This may result in poor academic achievement of students in cataloguing and classification. Students who have low English Language use skills might find it difficult to comprehend cataloguing and classification rules taught and may also be unable to express themselves properly in written tests and examinations. The intent of this study is to investigate the eect of English language proficiency on the academic performance of students in secondary school, using Iwo local government as a case study