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ABSTRACT
The study investigates the performance of students in Colleges of Education in the English language.The researcher is an English language tutor at the SDA College of Education and has observed over a period that the students perform poorly in the English language examinations. The study is guided by four research questions. They are (1) Are trainee teachers’ performance in the English language affecting pupils’ performance at the basic school level? (2) What are the causes of trainee teachers’ poor performance in English at S.D.A.College of Education, Asokore-Koforidua? (3)What are the effects of students’ poor performance in English on teaching and learning in the basic school(s) where they practised? (4) How can trainee teachers’ performance in English be improved at S.D.A.College of Education, Asokore- Koforidua? The study is a descriptive survey and the purposive sampling procedure and simple random sampling technique are used to select the sample for the study. The study concludes that the pupils in basic schools where trainees practice could not speak good English, write good essays, and pass their examinations. This is because trainee teachers do not have enough time to prepare for their lessons. The study recommends that the Principals of the Colleges of Education need to ensure that there is improvement in students’ performance by equipping the college library with relevant reference materials and the resource rooms with adequate teaching and learning materials. Furthermore, the Heads of English Departments need to supervise their teaching staff to ensure that they complete their syllabi on schedule. Tutors need to motivate students to attend classes regularly and use the English language as the main medium of communication to ensure that students become fluent in the language.
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DECLARATION iDEDICATION iiAKNOWLEDGEMENTS iiiABSTRACT ivTABLE OF CONTENT vLIST OF TABLES xCHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction … … … … … … … 1 1.1 Background to the Study … … … … … … 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem … … … … … 61.3Purpose of the Study ………………7 1.4 Research Questions … … … … … … 7 1.5 Significance of the Study … … … … … … 8 1.6 Theoretical Framework … … … … … … 101.7Delimitation……………131.8Organization of the Study……………14
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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction … … … … … … … 15
2.1 Teacher Education in Ghana … … … … … 15
2.2 English Language Teaching and Learning in Ghana ……212.3 Assessing the Performance of Teachers in the Classroom…242.4 Causes of Pupils Poor Academic Performance … ……272.5 Reforms and Language Policies in Ghana … ……332.6 The Dzobo Education Reforms of 1974 … ……372.7 The 1987 Educational Reform … … … ……402.8 The 2007 Educational Reform … … … ……42
2.9 Issues that Affect the Quality of Education in Developing Countries 44
2.9.1 Peaceful and Safe Environments…………452.9.2 Effective School Discipline Policies…………462.9.3 Professional Learning for Teachers…………47 2.10 Teacher Competence and School Efficiency … … … .. 48 2.11 Teachers’ Working Conditions … … … … 50
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Administrative Support and Leadership .. … … … 51Using Formative Assessment to Improve Achievement Outcomes 53Outcomes Sought By Parents … … … … … 54Experiential Approaches to Achieving Desired Outcomes … 55English Language Learning and Teaching … … … 56English Language Learners (ELLs) … … … 58Summary of Chapter … … … … … … 59
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction………………613.1 The Research Site………………613.2 Research Design………………633.3 Population………………65 3.4 Sample and Sampling Procedure … … … … 66Research Instrument … … … … … … 68Pre-Testing … … … … … … 73
3.7 Data Source … . … … … … … … 73
Data Collection Procedure … … … … … 74Data Analysis Plan . … … … … … 74
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.0Introduction…………………76 4.1 Background Information of Respondents … … … 764.2 Findings of the Study … … …………814.3 Findings of the Interview … …………1154.4 Discussion of Findings … … …………118
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction … … … … … … … 124
5.1 Summary of the Study … … … … … … 124
5.2 Conclusion … … … … … … … 126
5.3 Recommendations … … … … … … 128
PAGE5.4 Area for Further Study……………129REFERENCES APPENDICES…………….. .131Appendix A …………………140Appendix B …………………147 LIST OF TABLES PAGETable 1.1Analysis of the English language Results from the New Juaben Municipality – Eastern Region ……4Table 3.1Population Distribution … … ……66Table 3.2Sample selected for the Study … ……68 Table 4.1 Sex of Tutors … … … … … … 76 Table 4.2 Sex of Trainee Teachers … … … … 77 Table 4.3 Level of Academic Achievement of Tutors … … 78 Table 4.4 Level of Study of Trainee Teachers … … … 79Table 4.5Teaching Experience of Tutors ………80 Table 4.6 Trainee Teachers’ Performance in English Language and its Effect on Pupils’ Performance at the Basic School81Table 4.7Trainee Teachers’ Performance in English Language and its Effect on Pupils’ Performance at the Basic School84Table 4.8The Causes of Trainee Teachers’ Poor Performance in English at S.D.A. College of Education … …87
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Table 4.9 Causes of Trainee Teachers’ Poor Performance in
English at S.D.A. College of Education … … 92
Table 4.10 Trainee Teachers’ Performance in English Language and Teaching and Learning at the Basic Schools where
Trainees are practicing … … … … 99
Table 4.11 Trainee Teachers’ Performance in English Language and Teaching and Learning at the Basic Schools where
Trainees are Practicing … … … … 101
Table 4.12 Measures to Improve Trainee Teachers’ Poor Performance in English at S.D.A. College of Education,
Asokore-Koforidua … … … … … 103
Table 4.13 Measures to Improve Trainee Teachers’ Poor Performance in English at S.D.A. College of Education,
Asokore-Koforidua … … … … … 108
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
This chapter considers the background to the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, research questions, the significance of the study, the theoretical framework, delimitation and the organization of the study.
The world is very rapidly turning into what many people call a “global village”. As the pressure to communicate increases, the importance given to language which is the very basic tool for communication also increases and language teaching and learning, seen as international channel of communication, becomes even more crucial. Such a demand for learning foreign languages consequently results in a bigger demand for language teachers and training of these teachers (Esra, 2008).
With such a dire need for language teaching, there has been increased demand for language teachers and the consequent need to train these teachers, hence the
numerous training colleges we have in Ghana today. For a country like Ghana to have forty (40) colleges of Education, all aimed at training the “perfect” teacher, shows how important language teaching and learning is to our part of the world.
To form part of the global world and to be able to fit into the Ghanaian society, it is very important that beginners are exposed to the English language at the early stage of their educational set-up. This is because the English language is necessary for every meaningful and effective academic work (Tabi-Arhin, 2004). It is the official language in Ghana, which everybody is expected to formally use in governmental affairs, the media, commerce, the banks and the like. It has become the communication medium across a country faced with different languages. The English language thus serves as a unifying force amongst Ghanaians. It is the language of the press and the professionals. English helps people to travel all round the world without any difficulty of interaction.
However, the English language teaching and learning has been a problem in this country due to its second language nature and the deficiencies of the methodology used by the teachers. French (2004:4) pointed out that “A fairly
large proportion of discussion on educational issues in Ghana is focused on the problem of „falling standards‟ in academic performance and central to the problem of „falling standards‟ is learners inability to read and follow simple instructions due to weak foundations in reading”. The teaching of English as a second language in Ghanaian schools comes with its own challenges. The citizens of this country require training especially in the English language for a successful academic life. In Ghana today, even tailors and hairdressers need to pass an examination in English before they can earn their certificates. Ghana, therefore aims to produce resourceful and employable school leavers who can at least read and write in English. In view of this, quality teachers are being trained in various institutions to see to the intellectual and educational needs of pupils.
The forty (40) Colleges of Education in Ghana aim at training young people and dispatching them throughout the nation to provide quality education to Ghana‟s future leaders in the Basic Schools. Yet, there are always reports of alarming Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in the English language. For example:
Year Total number of candidates who wrote the English language exams. Total number of candidates obtaining grades 1-3 in English Total number of candidates obtaining grades 4 and 5 in English Overall total for grades 1-5 in English 2011 2743 926 1089 2015 2010 2769 768 1206 1974 2009 2758 1090 1292 2382 2008 2766 1079 1286 2365 2007 2765 1013 1210 2229
Table 1.1: Analysis of the English Language Results from the New Juaben Municipality – Eastern Region
Discussion of the Table1.1:
The analysis above clearly explains that for the past five years, the New Juaben Municipality of the Eastern Region cannot boast of any good performance in the English language since the majority of the candidates obtained grades 4 and 5, the average pass for the the BECE (2007-2011). The New Juaben Municipal
Assembly presented about seventy (70) schools with an estimated number of two thousand seven hundred and sixty nine registered candidates each year to write the BECE. For example in 2011 alone, two thousand seven hundred and forty three (2743) candidates were present during the examination, out of this, two thousand and fifteen (2015) passed with aggregate 1-5. The Chief examiners of the English language paper reported that “the general performance of the candidates revealed that many of them have still not grasped the rudiments of the English Language. The performance of the majority was disappointing. A majority of the candidates exhibited poor knowledge of the mechanics of the language. Their work contained many grammatical errors, inaccurate tenses, wrong spellings, wrong use of capital letters, etc. Example, your‟s son” (chief examiner‟s report, 2011: p.14).
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