THE EFFECT OF PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION ON THE SPEECH DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD
ABSTRACT
The study attempted to investigate the effect of pre-primary school education on the speech development of primary school children in Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area. In this study, a descriptive research survey was used to conduct an objective assessment of the opinions of 200 respondents chosen for this study.
Furthermore, the questionnaire was used to collect the data required for this study. In this study, four null hypotheses were generated and tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the t-test of independent variable. The following findings emerged from the analyses:
(1) Hypothesis one demonstrated a significant relationship between pre-primary school education and speech development in school-aged children.
(2) There is a significant relationship between pre-primary school education and children’s school achievement.
(3) Hypothesis three revealed that there is no significant difference in speech development between children taught by parents and those taught by teachers.
(4) There is a significant gender difference in children’s speech development as a result of pre-primary education attendance.
In the end, it would be concluded that children who attended pre-primary schools differed in their mother tongues from those who did not. It is believed that children who attended pre-primary schools developed faster in their speech than those who attended primary schools without first attending pre-primary school. The following recommendations were made based on the findings:
The National Policy on Education should be revised to include, among other things, the education of Nigerian children aged 0 to 2 years.
The government must establish free pre-primary schools to serve all Nigerian children of the appropriate age.
More Teacher education schools for pre-primary school students should be established in order to produce the required number of teachers, and steps should be taken to ensure adequate teacher preparation.
THE FIRST CHAPTER
1.0 Introduction/History of the Study
As soon as conception occurs, a baby is on the way. Normally, it takes 9 months for a fully developed baby in the womb to be born into the world, assuming no accidents or premature birth. Caplan and Caplan state that a baby is a unique individual with unique characteristics from conception (1995). According to them, the nature of children is such that no two children are exactly alike in every way, not even identical twins.
As a result, there are obvious differences that distinguish one child from another. According to Nwagbara (2003), the complexities in children are the result of both nature and nurture. From birth to young adulthood, children go through various stages of development.
The first two years of a child’s life, from the age of two to six, are crucial to his or her development. Children’s physical, mental, and psychological development accelerates during this time because they are in a constant state of flux. They are undergoing significant changes and making significant development strides, particularly in the area of language acquisition and development.
According to Chukwu (2000), a child first communicates with her mother nonverbally, but as she begins to walk, he/she discovers his/her tongue as well. As the child begins to walk, it is critical that he or she understands or learns the language of communication with adults in the environment.
The adult could be the mother, father, family members, or community members. This necessitates the acquisition of words. A toddler, for example, recognizes the importance of communication and gravitates toward those listening and interested adults who are willing to label her actions.
So, for example, if the child chooses a ball, he is told what it is called. More often than not, the child repeats the word over and over, and the child is pleased with herself for being able to pronounce the word; he/she picks up another thing. As a result, the child gradually learns the names of all the objects around her/him. Language, according to Onuoha (1990), does not just happen; it must be learned.
A child, for example, requires a teacher, the first of which is the mother, father, and/or siblings in the home. For example, to a child, the word “hot” can mean a variety of things. It could refer to a fire, hot water, or hot food, among other things.
With time, the child may be able to distinguish between fire, hot water, and hot food by attempting to visualize ‘hot’ in the absence of these representations of ‘hot.’ Of course, this will happen as the child grows older. A child must also be able to listen, discriminate between sounds, mimic sounds, correctly use them, name objects, and arrange words in a meaningful sequence.
According to Uzozie (1984), it is amazing how a child acquires languages in the very early years, especially if he or she does not have brain damage, speech impairment, or even psychic disorders.
According to Nwagbara (2000), vocabulary acquisition during early childhood ranges from 12 months with an average of 3 words to 72 months with an average of 2562 (two thousand, five hundred and sixty two) words. As a result, children can speak without needing to be taught to read or write.
Much of what they say is subject to their own rules, which are frequently different from those of adults and speech. The research in this area supports the theory that children do not learn grammar through practice or imitation in the same way that adults do. They have their own grammar rules. For instance, “it does not run” becomes “it does not run.” This corresponds to their concept of a negative statement or sentence. Even when adults use the past tense of eat as ate, children will add ‘ed’ to it and say ‘eated’ instead.
According to Caplan and Caplan (1999), there are numerous theories about how very young children develop linguistic strategies and learning abilities during their critical period of communication learning. One theory that receives little attention, according to them, is that children acquire language when they discover the ability to play.
They fantasize and practice language combinations and grammar without fear of failure at this stage. They suggested that significant adults take advantage of this time to introduce songs and rhymes to them, as they will carry this special sensitivity into adulthood.
All aspects of language – sounds, grammar, rhythm, and rhymes – are amenable to play. It is only natural for children between the ages of 2 and 6 to discover these play potentials in their emerging language acquisition during this early childhood period.
It is believed that children’s reading material should be linked to their own spoken language as well as their interests and experiences in order for them to grow intellectually. The emphasis on children’s cognitive development is a welcome development (Anyanwu, 1991).
This is because a child’s brain is “tabula rasa,” ready to be occupied. Recognizing this, educators search for appropriate stimuli that will produce the best results for the children. According to Webber (1970), it must be recognized that there is something that can be done about children’s intelligence as a result of the types of experiences that are provided for them.
According to Aiyedun (1984), story books provide such experiences that can contribute to children’s intellectual growth. Stories, he claims, provide and improve reading, writing, and thinking skills, particularly because they stimulate the intellect.
Stories help people understand why they do what they do. Just one story can serve as the foundation for a more in-depth investigation of other actions. Selected experiences, as depicted in story books, provide children with the opportunity to use words that they are familiar with from their family life. As a result, children are encouraged to broaden their vocabulary appropriately.
Not only that, but because their story books are almost always pictorial, they learn the vocabulary of colors, shapes, textures, and so on at a young age. Story books help children develop their intellectual abilities by allowing them to practice the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
They also assist children in learning new words as well as alternative meanings of words in different contexts. This is possible, especially if the stories’ language is not overly simple.
According to Ejiogu (1991), stories enrich language use and provide opportunities for children to acquire risky experiences as they learn to identify with characters and understand how others feel. They also aid in the release of tension and the broadening of children’s world experiences, especially when introduced at the appropriate time.
A child, for example, may compare a bird he/she has seen in the garden to one he/she has seen in a story book, and may ask his/her teacher to clarify the aspect that is unclear to him/her. This allows for shared experiences that lead to a better understanding of birds. As a result, the habit of reading story books is instilled in children, raising their intellectual level as well as their linguistic competence.
1.1Statement of the Issue
Language acquisition is critical in a child’s development. This is because any child in society who speaks one or more languages cannot be expected to be a normal child.
Most parents, especially mothers, who are supposed to be their children’s first teachers, fail to instill in their children the habit of reading story books so that they can learn to use words quickly and accurately.
It’s no surprise that today’s children, instead of learning good spoken words from their parents and significant others, learn bad languages from their peers because they were not taught the proper and appropriate language use and or application.
Many children fail to develop appropriate language skills because their teachers at school and their parents at home have lost focus and have failed to see the importance of assisting the child in developing his/her linguistic prowess or skills, which are very important in human life.
Because children were not taught by those in positions to teach how to develop appropriate language skills, these children grew up losing their grasp on either their mother tongue or English, which is the child’s second official language of instruction.
Children do not know or master speeches because the teachers who teach them in primary school do not have the mastery content or methods to teach and develop these children’s speech. Because children’s speeches are not developed at the grassroots level, it affects them even as adults. This is why many adults struggle to speak fluently in both private and public settings.
Most children were not taught or directed by older people or significant others in society or at school, or by their teachers, on how to develop their language for later life in adolescence and adulthood at the primary stage of development in their lives. Poor language – teaching and speech development among primary school children is thus the issue that prompted this study’s investigation.
1.2The Study’s Purpose
The purpose of this study is to look into the impact of pre-primary school education on the speech development of primary school children.
Other specific goals include:
(1) To investigate whether there is a link between pre-primary school education and speech development in school-aged children.
(2) To determine whether there is a link between pre-primary school education and speech development in school-aged children.
(3) To distinguish between the speech development of children taught by their parents and those taught by teachers.
(4) To determine whether there is a general difference in the speech development of children who received pre-primary education versus those who did not.
1.3 Research Concerns
As a result, the following research questions will be addressed in this study:
(1) Is there a link between pre-primary school education and speech development in school-aged children?
(2) Is there a difference between pre-primary school education and speech development in school-aged children?
(3) How can we tell the difference in speech development between children who were taught by their parents and those who were taught by their teachers?
(4) How can we determine whether there is a general difference in speech development between children who received pre-primary education and those who did not?
1.4 Hypotheses for Research
In this study, the following research hypotheses will be developed and tested:
2. There will be no significant relationship between pre-primary school education and speech development in school-aged children.
3. There will be no statistically significant difference between pre-primary school education and children’s school achievement.
4. There will be no discernible difference in speech development between children who were taught by their parents and those who were taught by teachers.
5. There will be no significant gender differences in children’s speech development as a result of pre-primary education.
1.5 Importance of the Research
The following people will benefit greatly from the research:
(1) Children will benefit from the study’s findings and recommendations because it will put their teachers and parents in a better position to teach or instruct them on the appropriate language to learn in their communities.
(2) As a result of this study’s recommendations, teachers would be exposed to how to best approach teaching or dealing with children at our school system’s lowest level, primary school. Not only that, but they would be exposed to the appropriate methods for teaching language to children in school, particularly in the primary school system.
(3) Parents would have a better understanding of the importance of teaching their child to master the language of his or her environment. Most parents are unaware that they are their children’s first teachers at home.
This study will teach them that they should be the first people to impart knowledge to children, especially when it comes to language development. With the results of this study and its recommendations, parents will be able to determine the best techniques to use when teaching language to their children.
(4) The society will be exposed to proper language acquisition knowledge for the child in the society. With the recommendations, society will be able to determine how best to assist the child in the areas of language acquisition and mastery.
1.6 The Study’s Scope
This study will include all primary schools in Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area. Its primary focus will be on the investigation of the effect of preprimary education on the child’s speech development in primary school.
Do You Have New or Fresh Topic? Send Us Your Topic
THE EFFECT OF PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION ON THE SPEECH DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD
INSTRUCTIONS AFTER PAYMENT
- 1.Your Full name
- 2. Your Active Email Address
- 3. Your Phone Number
- 4. Amount Paid
- 5. Project Topic
- 6. Location you made payment from