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ABSTRACT
This study investigated cohesion in the texts of final-year senior high school students. The purpose was to determine the types of cohesive devices that the students use, with emphasis on inter-sentential cohesion, as well as the ones they have problems with. In addition, the study aimed at ascertaining the extent to which students’ problems with the use of cohesive devices can be attributed to the strategies teachers employ in teaching cohesion. Forty-five essays written by final-year students were analyzed based on Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) classification of cohesion which are reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion. The findings showed that students have problems using reference, conjunction and lexical cohesion that they depend on to write cohesive texts. Learners either misuse or overuse these linguistic tools in trying to achieve cohesion. This confirmed the results of previous studies. Also, eight teachers of English were made to answer questionnaires and also identify cohesive devices in a short paragraph, to determine whether the way cohesion is taught contributes to students’ difficulty in using cohesive devices. It was found out that, they were able to identify all the intra-sentential ties, but failed to identify the inter-sentential ones which were the focus of this study. Another revelation was that the teacher-centered methodology employed in teaching cohesion did not offer learners the opportunity to actively participate in the learning process. This study concludes that, students’ problems with writing cohesive texts are attributed to their limited knowledge about the use of cohesive devices, lack of vocabulary and the way teachers teach cohesion. It is recommended that
teachers of English should pay more attention to the teaching of vocabulary particularly, synonyms, collocation and superordinate terms to increase students’ vocabulary stock. Active learner strategies which ensure students’ active participation in the learning process, coupled with adequate practice work will enable learners master the skill of writing cohesive texts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………….. ii
Declaration………………………………………………………………………………………. iv
Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………… v
Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………….. vi
Table of contents………………………………………………………………………………. vii
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………. xi
CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION…………………………….. 1
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………….. 20
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….. 20What is cohesion?………………………………………………………………………. 20What is coherence?…………………………………………………………………….. 23What relationship exists between cohesion and coherence?………………. 25The role of cohesive devices in essays……………………………………………. 28Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….. 35
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY……………………………………….. 38
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 38Research design…………………………………………………………………….. 38Research setting……………………………………………………………………… 39History of Accra Academy…………………………………………………… 39Facilities……………………………………………………………………………. 39Staff………………………………………………………………………………….. 40Population, sampling method and sample size…………………………….. 40Instrumentation……………………………………………………………………… 41Data collection procedure………………………………………………………… 42Data analysis procedure…………………………………………………………… 43Students’ data……………………………………………………………………. 43Teachers’ data…………………………………………………………………… 44
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF
FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………………………… 45
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 45Presentation of students’ data…………………………………………………… 45Discussion……………………………………………………………………………. 49Lexical ties……………………………………………………………………….. 49Conjunction……………………………………………………………………… 54Reference…………………………………………………………………………. 57Cohesion as measure of coherence………………………………………. 64Presentation of teachers’ data………………………………………………….. 67Discussion…………………………………………………………………………….. 70Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………. 72
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………………………….. 74
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 74Summary………………………………………………………………………………… 74Findings………………………………………………………………………………… 74Categories of cohesive devices used by students………………………. 75Problems with lexical ties……………………………………………………. 75Misuse of conjunctions………………………………………………………… 76Challenges with pronoun use………………………………………………… 76Teachers’ challenges…………………………………………………………… 76Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….. 77Recommendation…………………………………………………………………… 78Areas for further studies………………………………………………………….. 79
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………. 80
Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………… 89
Appendix 1: Students’ texts…………………………………………………………….. 89
Appendix 2: Questionnaires for teachers……………………………………….. 119
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Trends of Ghanaian Candidates’ Performance in May/June
2006 to 2010 WASSCE in English Language……………………. 3
Table 2 English Language Results (WASSCE) of Accra Academy
Students………………………………………………………………………. 5
Table 3 Categories of Cohesive Devices in Students’ Essays………… 45
Table 4Percentage of Cohesive Devices in Essays……………………… 47
Table 5 Percentage Range of Cohesive Devices Used by
Participants…………………………………………………………………. 48
Table 6 Cohesive devices and overall quality of essays………………… 66
Table 7 Respondents’ Professional Background and Years of Teaching
Experience………………………………………………………………….. 67
Table 8Strategies used by Teachers of English to Handle Cohesion 68
Table 9Identification of Cohesive Devices by Teachers……………….. 69
Language, as an important tool for communication and socialisation, is a basic necessity in all aspects of human life. As members of a social group, people’s ability to function effectively and efficiently in the various roles that they play depends basically on their language skills. For one to be able to use language effectively, one needs to achieve an appreciable level of competence in the four basic language skills. These are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Thus, a language user’s proficiency level is determined by his/her level of competence in these skills. Hence, one’s level of proficiency in a particular language can be affected negatively if one has a problem with any of the four language skills.
The acquisition of the English Language is no exception. English has been an important medium in the socio-political lives of Ghanaians since the arrival of the British in the colonial era (Sackey, 1997). It is a unifying force in the country, as it plays the role of a common medium of communication among people with varying ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. English is the official language and medium of instruction from primary one through all higher levels of education. It is also used in the media, in legal practice and in fact, in the day-to-day activities of the citizenry.
The ordinary Ghanaian in the streets speaks some kind of English. It is not uncommon to hear even the head porter who has never been to school speak English with the child. This is evidence of the important role English plays in the Ghanaian society.
The Senior High School (SHS) is the secondary level of education in Ghana. The general expectation is that students at this level would have been introduced to the four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Therefore, these skills must be improved considerably not only to raise students’ level of proficiency in the use of English and their ability to communicate with other users of English, but also, to prepare them to function effectively later in life. Similarly, students must be proficient in English to be able to pursue any course in the tertiary institutions (Teaching Syllabus for English, Senior High School, 2007). For instance, a student must have a credit pass, which is between grade A1 and C6, in English before he/she can be admitted into any of the post- secondary institutions like the Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, and the Universities.
But over the years, teachers of English in Ghana have been concerned about students’ writing problems. Consequently, some studies have been conducted into these problems. Some of those at the post-secondary level have identified clause-level challenges such as poor subject-verb agreement (Agor, 2003; 2010) and shallow knowledge of parts of speech (Gyasi et al., 2011). Others have named inter-sentential problems like the lack of cohesion and coherence (Owusu, 2012), and weak thematic progression that leads to flat paragraphs and undeveloped rhemes (Adika, 2003).
Studies at the secondary level have concentrated on general features of a good paragraph, topic/supporting sentences, coherence, paragraph unity and completeness, as well as the use of conjunctions in students’ compositions (Gyimah, 2005; Owusu-Boateng, 2008; Adonu, 2004). Their findings were that the compositions of Ghanaian senior high school students lack the above-mentioned features of a good paragraph. Others found that wrong use of certain conjunctions resulted in a break in semantic links and distortions in information flow in portions of texts (Adika, 1999). Thus, the current literature shows that even though the problem of cohesion has received some attention, how English teachers handle the teaching of cohesion in composition lessons at the senior high school level has not been explored. This is where the current study becomes crucial.
As noted above, English Language is one of the core subjects that Senior High School graduates need to pass so as to gain admission into any of the post-secondary institutions in Ghana. But, records show that even though students’ performance in English continues to improve annually, the percentage pass does not exceed 50%. An appraisal of candidates’ achievement in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) among West African Examination Council member countries by Bello and Oke (2011) indicated that between 2006 and 2009, less than 50% of Ghanaian candidates made credit and above (grade A1-C6), as shown in the table below.
Table 1. Trends in Ghanaian candidates’ performance in May/June 2006-2010 WASSCE in English language
20062007200820092010Total entry122618134033136934158001No entryPercentage passes32.327.849.443.91–
Source: Bello and Oke (2011: 3 and 7)
The implication of the trend in the above table is that, every year, over 50% of Ghanaian SHS graduates are unable to enter the post-secondary institutions since one needs a credit pass in English to be able to access post- secondary education.
The cause of this problem is believed to be the students’ writing challenges. Chief examiners’ reports for Ghana have also highlighted a consistent decline in students’ performance in both the May/June and the November/December WASSCE and SSSCE examinations, in the English Language Paper 1, which tests candidates’ writing skills
(http://www.waecheadquartersgh.org/ 2009).
The story in Accra Academy is not different. An analysis of students’ performance in the WASSCE between 2008 and 2012 revealed low achievements in English Language as compared to the other core subjects (Mathematics, Social Studies and Integrated Science). The table below (obtained from the Academic Record office) presents what the situation was over those years. It is obvious from the table that the majority of candidates scored B3 every year while less than 25% of students scored grades A and B2.
Table 2. English language results (WASSCE) of Accra Academy students
YEARNumber of students who obtainedNo. of absenteesNo. of candidatesA1B2B3C4C5C6D7E8F9201224793097619191–2353420111053330571413––13481200917230114968284–154620082920880988134321517
Students’ performance in English Language is of a great concern because it becomes difficult for candidates who do not score grade A to be offered their first choice programme in the universities because of their limited facilities. In recent times, a student’s chances of getting his/her first choice programme greatly depend on the number of grade A1s that he/she obtains.
Teachers in the Languages Department of Accra Academy meet annually, after marking students’ mock examination scripts, to discuss students’ performance. During such meetings, a key problem that features is students’ inability to write connected sentences. This is confirmed by the Chief Examiner’s Report (2007-2010) which observes that candidates may either write disconnected sentences or misuse cohesive devices. As a result, their essays become very difficult to understand.
Studies done on the essays of students at the secondary level (Gyimah, 2007; Owusu-Boateng, 2008; Gardiner, 2009; Dako, 2009) and at the tertiary
level (Tandoh, 1987; Adika, 1999; 2003; Agor, 2003, 2010; Gyasi et al. 2011; Owusu, 2012) confirm that students have writing problems in relation to achieving cohesion in their writing. However, how English teachers handle
cohesion in composition lessons has not been given much attention, especially at the secondary school level.
The motivation for the present study is the fact that complaining about students’ cohesion deficiencies alone would not solve the problem. There is the need for a scientific approach to identifying the problem, categorising and explaining it, and making recommendations that would help tackle the issue. The focus of this study is therefore on investigating cohesion in the writings of final year senior high school students in Accra Academy, based on the Cohesion concept as comprehensively explained by Halliday and Hassan (1976).
This study investigates how the final year students in Accra Academy use cohesive devices in their essays. Specifically, it attempts to find the weaknesses in the use of cohesive markers. It also looks at how English teachers handle the issue of cohesion in their composition lessons.
The aim of this study is to investigate how final year SHS students use cohesive devices in their essays. Thus, the study aims at finding the students’ weaknesses in the use of these devices so as to suggest possible solutions that will help them to overcome the challenges. Also, the study seeks to explore whether the methodology used by teachers of English contributes to students’ weaknesses in using cohesive devices.
The objectives of the study are as follows:
To determine the categories of cohesive devices and their effective use in students’ essays.To find out how English teachers handle cohesion in their composition lessons.To suggest ways of improving the teaching of cohesion to secondary school students.
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