Abstract:
English Language (EL) is a core subject in schools, and success in it is a part of the
requirements for certification and educational advancement. However, evidence has
shown that learning outcomes of many public Senior Secondary School (SSS)
students in EL are not satisfactory in the Ibadan metropolis. Previous studies focused
more on interventions, students and home factors to improve learning outcomes in EL
than on teacher socio-linguistic factors. This study, therefore, was carried out to
investigate teacher socio-linguistic factors (Access to Native Speakers-ANS, Prior
Language Competence-PLC, Epistemic Beliefs-EB, and Intercultural Practice-IP) as
predictors of learning outcomes (achievement and attitude) in EL among public senior
secondary school students in the Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria.
The study was underpinned by the Attribution, Contrastive Analysis and Personal
Epistemology theories, while the sequential mixed methods (QUAN+qual) design was
adopted. The multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. The five metropolitan
Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Ibadan were enumerated. The simple random
sampling technique was used to select 50 public SSSs (10 per LGA). Fifty teachers
(one per SSS) teaching SSII EL were purposively selected. The instruments used were
English Language Achievement (r=0.87), Prior Language Competence (r=0.77) tests;
Attitude to English Language (r= 0.92), Access to Native Speakers (r=0.82),
Epistemic Beliefs (r =0.90) questionnaires; and Intercultural Practice Scale (r =0.86).
In-depth interviews were held with 10 teachers who were heads of departments. The
quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment
correlation and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance, while the qualitative
data were content-analysed.
The age of the respondents were: teachers (30.80 ±2.40) years, and students (16.90 +
2.06) years, while 54.0 % and 51.6%, respectively were females. The majority of the
teachers (90.0%) possessed teaching qualifications. The ANS ,
EB and IC were high, at a threshold of 2.50, but IC
(x=2.40) was low, at a threshold of 2.50. Teacher IP (r = .39), EB (r =.23)
and ANS (r =.01) had positive relationships, while PLC (r= -.16) had a negative
relationship with achievement. Teacher ANS (r =.20), IP (r =.09) and EB (r = .07)
correlated positively, while PLC (r = -.08) correlated negatively with attitude to
EL.The composite contributions of the independent variables to achievement (F(4;45) =
3.347; Adj. R2 = .16) was significant, accounting for 16.0 % of the variance, but it was
not significant on attitude. Teachers’ IP(β= .44;-.19), ANS (β =.14;.03), PLC (β =-.20;
-.04) and EB (β =-.10; -.04) contributed relatively to achievement and attitude,
respectively. Teachers of EL accessed native speakers through native English
newspapers, literature books, movies, radio and television news, conferences and
academic discussions, while listening to music, eating foods and wearing attires from
different cultures were their IPs.
Teacher intercultural practice and access to native speakers influenced achievement in
EL, while access to native speakers influenced attitude to EL among public senior
secondary school students in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. Teachers of EL should
focus on these factors to improve learning outcomes in EL.
