ODO, SAMUEL IFEANYICHUKWU PG/M.ED/03/34313 IFEAYI BAGROUND O… · LANGUAGE COMMITTED BY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL ... Conclusion 92 References ... composition committed by Senior Secondary

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ODO, SAMUEL IFEANYICHUKWU PG/M.ED/03/34313

ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN FRENCH LANGUAGE COMMITTED BY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

STUDENTS.

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION, FACULTY OF

EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

Webmaster

Digitally Signed by Webmaster’s Name

DN : CN = Webmaster’s name O= University of Nigeria, Nsukka

OU = Innovation Centre

2009

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ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN FRENCH LANGUAGE COMMITTED BY SENIOR

SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS.

BY


AN M.ED THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION

IN ARTS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION


3


STUDENTS

BY


DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION


2009

4

TITLE PAGE


STUDENTS

BY


AN M.ED THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN ARTS EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,

NSUKKA

5

APPROVAL PAGE

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ART EDUCATION, FACULTY OF EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA

ODO, SAMUEL IFEANYCHUKWU PG/M.ED/03/34313

…………………………….. ……………………………….. DR. MRS. UJU UMO EXTERNAL EXAMINER Date:………………………….. Date:…………………………. ………………………………. ………………………………… HEAD OF DEPARTMENT DEAN,

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Date:………………………….. Date:…………………………..

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CERTIFICATION

Odo, Samuel Ifeanyichukwu a postgraduate student in the

Department of Art Education with Registration Number

PG/M.ED/03/34313 has satisfactorily fulfilled the requirements for the

degree of Master of Language Education (French). The work

embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part

or in full for degree of this or any other University.

…………………………….. …………………………….. Dr. (Mrs.) Uju Umo Head of Department

Supervisor Dept. of Art Education

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DEDICATION This work is especially dedicated to my beloved wife, my

children, my mother and my Late Father.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The researcher wishes to express his sincere and profound

gratitude to the following people who have contributed immensely to

the successful completion of this work.

I am most grateful to my project supervisor, Dr. (Mrs.) Uju Umo

of the Department of Arts Education, University of Nigeria Nsukka,

whose motherly, patience, readiness to help me at all times, through

supervision of the work, constructive criticisms and very useful

suggestions aided in no small measure in the completion of this work.

Mention must be made of my beloved wife, Mrs. Augustina C

Odo whose understanding, moral and financial support led to the

successful completion of this study. I am also grateful to all my

children who morally encouraged me throughout the period of writing

this project.

I am highly grateful to Professor D,N. Eze of the Institute of

Education University of Nigeria Nsukka for his statistical guidance. In

fact I cannot thank him enough.

I am also grateful to the principals, teachers and students of the

sampled schools for this investigation for their co-operation during the

data collection stage.

Odo, S.I (Mr.)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i

Approval Page ii

Certification iii

Dedication iv

Acknowledgements v

Table of Contents vi

Abstract viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 11

Purpose of the study 13

Significance of the Study 13

Scope of the study 16

Research Questions 16

Research Hypotheses 16

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 17

Theories of Language Acquisition and Learning 21

Behaviourism 22

Mentalism 23

Error Analysis 25

Standard or correctness of/ in language 28

Causes of Errors 34

Review of related empirical studies 42

Summary of the literature review 46

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 48

Research Design 48

Area of Study 48

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Population of the study 49

Sample and Sampling Techniques 49

Instrument for Data Collection 50

Validation of the Instrument 50

Trial – Testing of the Instrument 50

Reliability of the Instrument 50

Method of Data Collection 51

Method of Data Analysis 51

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULT 52

Research Question 1 52

Research Question 2 52

Findings 57

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 59

Discussions 59

Educational Implications 82

Recommendations 83

Limitations 87

Suggestion for further Research 87

Summary of the study 88

Conclusion 92

References

Appendixes

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ABSTRACTS

This study set out to analyse grammatical errors in written French composition committed by Senior Secondary School Students in Nsukka Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria. This was with a view to determining the degree of grammatical errors of Senior Secondary School Students and also to find out which sex commits more of these errors than the other. The study adopted the descriptive research design. To carry out the study a review of literature was done in order to determine the extent of work already done in this area and properly situate it. Two research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. A total sample of three hundred thirty (330) Senior Secondary School Students were randomly drawn from eight secondary schools where French is done in Nsukka Zone. An essay type question was developed by the researcher and was validated by research experts in Education. The same essay type question also validated by research experts in education/French was administered on twenty secondary students in Obollo Education Zone to test their performance in French grammar. Mean and percentage scores were used to analyse the data collated. The major findings of the study were. 1 The Senior Secondary School Students committed the five

grammatical error types studied namely spelling, concord, Adjective, Verb–Conjugation and Article errors.

2 These five error–types were committed by the SS Students at varying degrees

3 There is no significant difference between percentage scores of SS male and female students in this zone.

4 The SS female students had the highest percentage of 66% in spelling error

5 The SS male students on the other hand had the highest error percentage of 66% in Verb–conjugation

6 Article error had the least percentage of 7% because students avoided using articles in sentences.

7 Based on the results, the null hypothesis was upheld. Concord errors were also proved to present the greatest difficulty to the students, next were spelling errors, verb-conjugation Adjective errors and lastly Article errors. The educational implications of the findings were discussed;

recommendations as well as suggestions for further research were also made.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

It appears that French is the only world-wide known language

spoken by the French people. The original inhabitants of France as

passed down to us by history were the 'Gaulois'. David WWW.

WWW.Originofriations Origin of France and the Peoples Eventually

the western Franks in France lost the use of their own native Frankish

tongue and spoke the Celtic Gallic tongue and absorbed many Gallic

customs. The Western Reubenite Franks intermingled and

intermarried with the Reubenite Gauls”. Much later in the second

century before Christ the Romans invaded France. With successions

of invasion in the third century, many kingdoms were built of which the

French gradually conquered all other countries around. David

WWW.Originofriations Origin of France and the Peoples. The name

France is derived from the Frank.” In the 5th century 'Gaule'

metamorphosed into the present-day 'France' with 'French' as the only

language in use. However, practical experiences show that though

French is the only language spoken in France by the French, there are

different versions of the same French as one goes from one

geographical area to another in terms of dialects. For instance, there

are such dialects as 'oc' which is the dialect of the south and "oil"

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which is the northern dialect and of saying 'yes' in the Middle Ages.

This implies that there are variations in dialect depending on the area

or part of France one may find himself or herself. For instance, in

spite of all other dialects in France, the one spoken in Paris is that

which is internationally accepted as the standard French. This does

not however preclude other dialects from being in use elsewhere.

Furthermore, history also has it that what is now known as the 'French

language' is a combination of 'Latin' and 'English' which, having

undergone considerable changes, has given rise to what is now

regarded as 'modern French'. On account of these changes, French

has become very highly standardized and consequently attained a

high international acceptance such that it is being rated as the second

international language the world over. David WWW.Originofriations

“Many Reubenite French would love to see the French language

displace English from its world dominance”.

In the dim past, many European countries were inspired by

varied reasons to scramble for African countries. Some people

attribute this need for such scramble to social, cultural, political and

economic reasons while others link it with religion. Whatever be the

case, what interests us at this point in time is the fact that France took

active part in colonizing African countries hence the introduction of

French as the 'lingua-franca' in her African Colonies.

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Consequent upon this incident of colonization of some African

countries by France, French is the only official language spoken and

used by such countries as Senegal, Upper Volta, Zaire, Ivory Coast,

Niger, Togo, Republic of Benin and a part of Cameroon etc.

An international language though French is, its compulsory

inclusion in Nigeria's curriculum could be traced to the unavoidable

diplomatic, economic as well as socio-cultural constraints its non-

inclusion or absence might impose on Nigeria. Apparently, Nigeria

appears to be the only West African country that is almost completely

surrounded by fellow West African countries whose official language

of communication as well as that of commerce is French. On this,

Ojoade (1999:8) says:

Nigeria offers a very strong attraction and pull to another language group, the French speaking people of the world. This is particularly so because of the geographical position of our country as well as the friendship that is gradually developing between France and our country.

There is no doubt that apart from Cameroon a part of which

adopts English, all others mentioned above use the French language

as their Lingua- Franca. Nigeria is almost completely surrounded by

such sister-French speaking West African –countries as the republic

of Benin, Niger Republic Cameroun Republic etc. Moreover, the world

is at its jet age and in order to keep pace with the fast- moving world,

15

she (Nigeria) is but naturally constrained to make the teaching and

learning of the French language compulsory at the primary and junior

secondary school levels of her education.

On the great need for the teaching and learning of the French

language in Nigeria, Ikeme and Offorma have this to say:

Une deuxieme langue europeene doit être considerée nonseulement comme un moyen de communication entre des Anglophones d‟Afrique mais aussi comme une langue internationale ayant un but étendu, qui cojointement avec la première langue europeene devrait permettre aux africains de pouvior communiquer avec d‟autres pays du monde (Ikeme and Offorma, 1984).

The above stresses the great necessity there is for Nigerians not

only to teach and learn French in schools, but also to be able to use

French in communicating effectively with her African sister countries

already mentioned earlier on as well as other countries of the world.

For instance, Nigeria engages in commercial relationship with

many of those countries mentioned above from which she makes a lot

of economic fortunes. She also relates diplomatically, politically as

well as socio-culturally with these countries. In order to foster such

relationships between her and these neighbouring nations therefore,

she has a great need to introduce and make the teaching and learning

of the French language compulsory at the primary and junior

secondary school levels. This is in consonance with the declaration of

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the French language the second official language in Nigeria in 1998

by the late military head of state-General. Sani Abacha.

Thus French was introduced in t o the nation‟s curriculum for

teaching and learning. This, as contained in the 2004 National policy

on Education (NPE), is in addition to the compulsory teaching and

learning of the three Nigerian major languages Viz- Housa, Igbo and

Yoruba.

In recognition of the relevance of the French language to Nigeria

as a nation, the „National Policy on Education‟ (2004:10) says that:

For smooth interaction with our neighbours, it is desirable for every Nigerian to Speak French Accordingly, French shall be the second official language in Nigeria and it shall be compulsory in primary and junior secondary Schools but Non- vocational Elective at the senior secondary school.

From the above discussion and subsequent quotation from the 4th

edition of the National Policy on Education, it is glaring that the

teaching and learning of the French language is but a necessity in

Nigeria. This, it is hoped, if actualized, will enhance close cooperation

between Nigeria and such countries as Benin Republic, Cameroun,

Ivory Coast etc in general and with French in particular.

Moreover and more importantly too, Nigeria is currently keeping

very strong diplomatic relations with France - the mother country of

such sister countries as Republic of Benin , Republic of Niger,

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Cameroun Togo etc from which she makes a lot of economic fortunes.

This, therefore, informs the current introduction of French into many

polytechnics and colleges of Education such as Institute of

Management and Technology, Enugu, Benue Polytechnics Ogbokolo,

Federal Polytechnics, Ida, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu,

Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, College of Education,

Nsugbe, College of Education, Akwanga Collge of Education, Katsina

Ala. e t c For instance, in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, apart from

the department of foreign languages and literatures, French is

optionally compulsory as an elective course for the department of fine

and applied arts etc. The University of Jos also offers French as an

elective course in the department of English etc in addition to the

department of French. So many vital books in different subject areas

such as philosophy, psychology, architecture, medicine, law,

languages and language learning theories etc are written by great

French authors in the French language. Such authors as Albert

Camus, Rousseau, Jean Paul Sartre, Moliere, Victor Hugo, Balzalc,

Baudelaire, Chateaubriant etc wrote in different areas using the

French language. The compulsory teaching and learning of the

French language, if achieved, will go a long way, no doubt, in bridging

the gap posed by lack of knowledge of the French language. This is

because Nigerian scholars, who currently have no sound knowledge

18

of this language have no choice and are constrained to look for paid

translators who may end up betraying the translation of such texts

originally written in French.

In view of the above fact therefore, it becomes very exigent that

Nigeria should address this issue of French Language learning with

the seriousness and sense of commitment it deserves as a matter of

urgency. This is a situation where the Nigerian learner has already

learnt his mother-tongue first, English language-second as the nation's

official language before beginning to learn French as the third

language and second official language. This matter is even

aggravated by the fact that the structures of the first two languages

already learnt have become deep-rooted in the Nigerian French

language learner. Very unfortunately, most early language theorists

base their argument on monolingual language learner, losing sight of

either bilingual or multilingual learning. On this, Elliot (1981:73) has

this to say, "It is a serious shortcoming of current theories of language

acquisition that they are generally formulated with the monolingual

(normally English speaking) child in mind". This goes to butress the

fact that most of the theories formulated on language learning are

solely based on one/first language learning which may not go to any

meaningful length in helping to comprehend the processes involved in

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second language acquisition into which group the French language

falls as far as Igbo learners of language(s) are concerned.

As a result of the difficulties encountered in the course of the

teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria as a whole

and the Igbo people in particular, one can hardly ever find students at

Senior Secondary levels offering French in the senior secondary

school certificate examination. Such grammatical errors as agreement

between nouns /subjects and adjectives in gender and number, errors

in verb- conjugation including pronominal verbs like se laver, se

peigner, se promener, concord errors, spelling errors etc appear to

be more frequently committed by students in senior secondary school

classes. There is also doubt as to which sex commits more of these

grammatical errors than the other. The researcher therefore, tried to

find out if these errors are peculiar to a particular sex or not. There is

the glaring lack of interest on the part of students which could be

blamed on some obvious factors as lack of competent/qualified

teachers, poor teaching methods, lack of instructional materials or

inadequate teaching materials, the possession or presence of mother

tongue and English language and a host of other enabling teaching

conditions. Consequently, most of the schools where French is taught

are unable to produce students that offer French at external

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examination levels. This informs why there is only one WAEC French

marking center in the whole country and that is Ibadan.

Grammar obviously, appears to be the most important aspect of

any living language. It is no doubt, the vehicle by means of which any

meaning is conveyed to its destination. If for instance, any

grammatical structures are misplaced or distorted, the consequence

shall be that the message supposed to be transmitted by means of

such structures are either misconstrued or totally misunderstood. A

good example in French is the wrong conjugation of 'verbs involving

the first person singular 'je'. If it is erroneously used thus: (a) J!ai faim

– “I have hungry” (b) Elle a dix ans – “she has ten years” (c) vous

avez soif – “you have thirsty” etc The tendency is that one gets the

message in a disjointed form. Learners may wrongly interpret them

thus: I have hunger instead of I am hungry or I have thirsty instead of I

am thirsty. The ambiguity so created might have been caused by the

different usages and meanings of the verbs involved in English and

French. The only incontestable fact is the use and meanings of the

verb 'avoir'-“to have” and 'faim-hunger and soif‟ thirst. Confusion

arises as to the nature and form of verb used in expressing such

meanings in French .The confusion so posed here is vividly traceable

to the user's inability to identify the appropriate grammatical structures

to be used at any given time( appropriate verbs).

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Experientially, another example could be taken from that of the

plural formation using names (nouns, verbs and, or adjectives). The

confusion in this case, more often than not, emanates from

interference from either the mother- tongue (Igbo) or the English

language which even tends to take upper hand in Igbo children's

communicative processes. A glaring example is that when an Igbo

child wishes to say that he/she is going to the market, the thought

process first begins in Igbo then translated into English before finally

being translated to French. These longish thought-processes are

normally accomplished consecutively due to the fact that the three

languages may have been learnt consecutively.

Reports of some researchers in the past have adduced certain

reasons for lack of interest or poor performance of students in French

especially in written French grammar. For instance Obanya (1985:15)

rightly says that: “the shift in emphasis from literacy to oracy in

secondary school syllabus has necessitated the need for the

production of books for both teachers and students” As an

experienced professional teacher of French for about thirty years at

different levels and more importantly too, having been in continuous

close contact with Igbo learners of French and their peculiar

grammatical problems, the researcher has decided to undertake the

analysis of written grammatical errors in French language by

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secondary school students. This is with a view to identifying,

analyzing, suggesting and recommending possible measures to be

adopted in order to ensure improved performance in French grammar

by Igbo learners of the language. The study aims at analyzing

grammatical errors of students in secondary schools the outcome of

which shall no doubt, help in redirecting both teachers and students

toward improved performance in written French grammar. It is also

hoped that the result shall help future researchers in this or other

related fields.

Statement of Problem

The teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria has

always been impeded by a myriad of inhibiting factors in spite of its

long period of implementation in Nigeria. However its acquisition is

sort of incumbent on Nigerians in view of Nigeria's geographical

location. It is quite unfortunate that the French language has not found

any solid base in Nigeria. Even though it was declared the nation's

second official language by the late Head of State - General Sani

Abacha in 1987, its functionality in practical terms is yet to be anything

to write home about. Though the French language is included in the

nation's curriculum for teaching and learning, students only show great

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interest and enthusiasm at the very beginning which wanes no sooner

than they have started learning it.

Having taught French for quite some years to Igbo students

within Nsukka Education Zone, the researcher has observed that most

Igbo learners of French, having learnt Igbo first as their mother tongue

before learning English language second as "Nigeria's official

language,” tend to transfer the grammatical rules of the first two

languages already learnt to their learning and writing of French. Such

erroneous and negative transfer of grammatical rules from Igbo or

English to the French language without due reference to their

background would always culminate in a betrayal of translation and

wrong communication of meaning leading to the subsequent

misunderstanding of the desired message. There is an evidence of

grammatical problems encountered by secondary school students in

written French in Nigeria in general and Nsukka Education zone in

particular.Eze and Meniru (2002:4) say that:

L‟ observation mantra que l‟ écriture des apprennantes du franÇais au niveau secondaire, meme ceux qui viennent des écoles pilotes, est toujours de de fautes grammaticales

On the basis of the forgoing therefore, this study was designed

to analyse grammatical errors in written French exercises in senior

secondary Schools in Nsukka Zone, Enugu State.

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Purpose of Study

The study set out to analyze grammatical errors committed in

written French exercises by Igbo Secondary School Students in

Nsukka Urban in Nsukka Education Zone.

Specifically the study set out to:

1 Identify the types of grammatical errors committed by secondary

school students in essay writing in French.

2 Determine the extent of errors committed by male and female

students

3 Find out the gender that commits more errors and the types of

error they commit most.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this work are of immense value to the learners,

teachers, and educationists, and French curriculum planners. It

analyzed grammatical errors and their types and also classified them.

This analysis of errors in written French grammar would go a long way

in redirecting both teachers of the French language in secondary

schools, as well as curriculum planners in their curriculum planning in

sequencing grammatical items according to levels of difficulties. The

analysis is also significant because it took cognizance of the possible

interferences of other languages already acquired (mother- tongue

interference) by French learners, through second language acquisition

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and learning theories and practical experience while redirecting

French teachers on the best approaches or methods of teaching

French grammar. The curriculum planners would be advised on the

appropriate curriculum adaptation that could make for improved

methods of teaching French grammar and subsequently improved

students‟ performance in written French grammar in particular. In line

with the above discussion on the significance of the findings of this

work, Okeke, Okoye and Otugo (1994:6) in their error analysis say

“l‟indentification des erreurs montrera les problèmes des élèves dans

le franÇais écrit, donc les professcurs seront informés de ces erreurs.

Ils vont donc trouver les moyens efficaces pour résoudre les erreurs”.

The concern of the study is to identify and analyse students areas of

strength and weakness, make recommendations for the improvement

of teaching and leaning of the French Language. The study would also

direct curriculum planners and French language teachers. Knowledge

of the difficult areas of the learners would help to direct teachers‟

attention to these areas, so that they might devote special care and

emphasis on his language teaching to overcome and possibly avoid

such predicted difficulties. Therefore, if the recommendations of this

study shall be adopted, they would be of great help to the

improvement of French language teaching and learning.

26

The researcher therefore, tried to approach the problems that

hinder the teaching and learning of French grammar methodologically

and analytically so as to arrive at the appropriate strategies that would

minimize the impediment on the way of French grammar-acquisition

by Nigerian scholars as a whole and Igbo people in particular. As a

third language to Nigerians and being learnt consecutively with

vernacular and English- the researcher hopes that this work, and its

recommendations if adopted, shall go a long way to facilitating the

teaching and learning of French grammar and greatly reduce the rate

at which errors are committed generally.

Therefore, the researcher, through his work hopes to make an

impact on the teaching and learning of French grammar which if

adhered to will no doubt, lead to high proficiency and intelligibility in

the language.

Scope of Study

This study is limited to the analysis of written grammatical errors

in French by senior secondary school students: namely spelling,

concord, adjectival, verb-conjugation and article errors. In written

French composition in Nsukka zone, of Enugu State. A total sample of

eighty eight students of French were used, drawn from eight

secondary schools offering French in the zone. This study set out to

collate and analyse these grammatical errors with a view to finding out

27

the frequency of their occurrence and to determine which gender

commits more of what errors than the other. The sample used

comprised SS students only.

Research Questions

1 What types of grammatical errors occur in written French by

secondary school students in Nsukka Education zone.

2 What is the extent of difference between errors committed by

male and female senior secondary (SS) students in French?

Research Hypothesis

1 There is no significant difference between the proportion of

spelling errors committed in French by male and female

students.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

The discussion in this chapter is presented under the following

headings

(1) Conceptual Framework: Concepts and definitions of language

and grammar.

(2) Theoretical framework:

(a) Theories of language acquisition and learning

(b) Concept of (i) Standard (ii) Error in language

(c) Importance and causes of learner‟s errors.

(3) Empirical studies.

(4) Summary of Literature Review

Conceptual Framework

Ordinarily. Language is taken to mean the system or

means by which people communicate or interact among themselves.

Though animals have their own language(s), this is not our focus here

since we are interested in human language. The above agrees

strongly with Tidyman‟s view (1979:73) which states that

“communication and thinking as well as expression are the primary

functions of language”. On the importance of language, Anasiudu

(2003:136) says that ”Language is of prime importance to man

because it is the basic medium of communication. If there is a

29

breakdown in communication, social stability is disrupted. But if

communication is effective, social harmony and mutual understanding

is ensured” Gadsby et al (2003:789) state that : “language is a

system of communication by written or spoken words, which is used

by the people of a particular country or area”.

From the above definitions therefore, it could be drawn that

language serves two major purposes of „communication‟ and „thought‟

added to which are its other minor functions. The researcher focused

on that functional aspect of human language that makes it serve as an

effective means of communication among human beings.

Before language functions effectively as a means of

communication, it has to possess certain qualities such as lexis,

(vocabulary) structure (grammar) and mechanics (spelling) it is only

when these attributes of language are correctly applied in expressions

that language attains its desired goal which is “effective

communication” of desired sense or message. Moreover, language is

said to be standard only when these aspects of language are correctly

used in sentences or expressions.

From experience, the researcher has observed that secondary

school students in Nsukka Education zone are being seriously

confronted with acute grammatical problems in French language

learning. These problems hardly ever allow them to achieve any

30

proficiency in written French. This informs the researcher‟s decision to

investigate into the aspects of grammar (French) that inhibit their

learning of French. It therefore becomes pertinent to discuss the

concept of grammar.

Grammar:

Generally speaking, grammar tends to be synonymous with

language. This implies that language cannot be discussed

independent of or in isolation from grammar, for it is „grammar‟ that

facilitates the achievement of sense made through language. In line

with this argument, Tidyman and Butterfield (1959:22) put it that

“Grammar” properly refers to the structure and science of language,

classes of words, their inflections, their relationships to each other

singly in phrases and in clauses and the functions of these in

sentence. The above definition or description of „grammar‟ by these

linguists unequivocally buttresses the point that there cannot be

language without „grammar‟. In fact „grammar‟ could be said to be the

only attribute by which normal human language is distinguished from

other languages. According to them, proper and effective functions of

language is attained only if the users are able not only to state the

definitions and rules of „grammar‟ but also to correctly apply them to

words in sentences. This, they say, should even be stressed in

31

identification, classification and treatment of errors instead of viewing

them from a negative perspective.

On the importance of the mastery of functional „grammar‟

Tidyman and Butterfield (1959:227) posit that:

“Functional „grammar in the traditional sense is derived from a study of errors in usage and includes training in those definitions and principles that assist pupils in correction of errors. A broader concept of functional grammar makes a positive rather than a negative approach; the emphasis is on effective expression rather than correction of errors”.

Longman Dictionary of contemporary English (New Edition)

defines „grammar‟ as “the rules by which words change their forms

and are combined into sentences or the study or use of these rules”.

This tends to agree with the earlier definition but for a little extension

i.e. “change their forms”. This „change‟ in „forms‟ takes care of

situations where words are combined in sentences as a result of

which there may be a slight or completely different meanings from

their ordinary dictionary meanings such as the use of „adages,‟

„metaphors‟ etc.

The Encyclopedia of language and linguistics vol. v. defines

„grammar‟ thus:

32

“The term „grammar‟ is polysemous and can be used to refer to

different realities such as (a) the rather narrow concept of good and

correct language use laid down in perspective grammar,

(b) The explicit and descriptive account of rules and rule complexes of

language and (c) the grammar in the head or the internalized and

unconscious command of the grammar rules.

From the above definitions, it is obvious that grammar, simply

means the correct use made of words in sentences according to the

laid down rules and conventions with the sole objective of

communicating a clear and distinct sense. If therefore, in the course of

making use of words in sentences, these laid down rules are flouted or

deviated from, it then means that an „error ‟ is or „errors‟ are

committed. The implication of this is that there will be a distortion that

may result in ambiguity or misunderstanding of the sense or message

communicated. The further implication of this deviation from the rules

is that language lacks correctness or standard‟. Therefore, for easy

mastery of grammar in language and to facilitate accurate

communication of sense, it would be relevant to discuss some

theories of language acquisition in learning.

THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LEARNING

In this literature, it would be pertinent to discuss two relevant

theories of language acquisition and learning. This would make for an

33

understanding of the complexity of language. It would also enable one

appreciate the intricacies associated with the processes of language

acquisition and learning. They are the Behaviourist theories and the

Mentalists‟ theories of language acquisition and learning.

Behaviourism.

These environmentalists‟ are of the view that the child‟s brain at

birth is a tabla- rasa‟. This implies that the child‟s brain at birth is a

clean slate with no preconceived idea of the world view of language in

the least. According to them, whatever the child learns is based on

imitation and formation of habits (Brooks, 1960:46-47). This school of

thought holds the view that the child principally acquires language by

imitating people‟s speech in its immediate environment. According to

them also another method through which children grow in language is

memorization thereby committing structures of language to memory.

They are strongly of the notion that environment being gradually

conditioned through reinforcement is responsible for the gradual

shaping of the child mentally and otherwise. The implication is that the

child through environmental conditioning learns to produce correct

sentences when positively reinforced and drops the wrong ones when

otherwise reinforced. They also contend that the people, with whom it

interacts, the physical and non-physical objects inclusive, constitute a

stimulus to which the child responds (ie Stimulus response criterion).

34

The behavourists also believe that the child learns more

through repetition of utterances a number of times for this provides

enough practice that leads to perfection in language acquisition.

The proponents of this theory also lay more emphasis on

speech rather than writing since writing is not vital in the

developmental process, more so when writing is still absent from the

behaviour of many grown up adults.

Mentalism

This is the second theory of language acquisition which is

opposed to the behaviourist theory. It was propounded by Noah-

Chomsky, Jean Piaget and their adherents in the 1960s. The

proponents of this theory are in doubt of that of the behaviourists who

see language acquisition and learning as mere imitation and

formulation of habits. The mentalists see language acquisition and

learning as a complex phenomenon rather than mere formulation of

habits, imitation, memorization and contextual generalization. In line

with their thinking, Crystal (1997:234), says. “When children are

exposed to speech, certain general principles for discovering or

structuring language automatically begin to operate. These principles

constitute what is called the child‟s language acquisition device” (LAD)

. According to them, it is this language acquisition device that the child

uses in decoding meanings of utterances it hears around it, deriving

35

from this “primary linguistic data” hypothesis about the grammar of

the language – what the sentences are and how they are constructed.

In order to strengthen this argument, Anozie (2007:172) says:

In line with the child‟s innate capacity for language, Chomsky and others have discovered that children begin to show signs of language when they coo, babble and cry ever before any utterances which one can call language can be made”

The above statement therefore, strengthens the mentalists‟

belief that all languages are rule -governed and that for any one to

acquire or learn language, such a person should learn the rules of

language. Thus, the learners in their bid to learn language, construct

rules, try them out and alter them if they prove inadequate. From the

above argument by psychologists, it implies that language learning

proceeds in a series of transitional stages as learners acquire more

knowledge of the L2.

There is yet no consensus as to which one of these two theories

is adopted by children as a better alternative in language acquisition

and learning due principally to the fact that there is paucity of empirical

datae by past researchers. However, there is no doubt as to whether

children learn language through imitation, habit formation, stimulus/

response device coupled with application of an internal language

36

learning mechanism referred to as “Language ACQUISITION Device

(LAD). On this Anozie (2007:173) ,maintains that:” there is also no

doubt that children learn language through imitation, habit- formation,

stimulus and response coupled with utilization of an internal language

learning mechanism such as LAD”

In view of the fact that there is no empirical evidence as to the

extent to which these variables depend on one another, the

researcher is of the opinion that future researchers should concern

themselves with the task of finding out which one plays what role in

language acquisition and learning and vice versa.

Error Analysis

Error analysis is of immeasurable value in language teaching

and learning especially in the learning of the French language with its

peculiar problematic situation in such a country like Nigeria. In the

recent times, linguists and. Educationists are having a change in

perspective as to the value or importance of‟ „errors‟ in language

teaching and learning. Some are of the opinion that identification and

classification of errors are of great importance to both the teachers

and the learners. They help the teacher to know whether the students

cope with the lesson or his teaching as he goes on. They also inform

the teacher on the appropriate strategies to adopt in order to achieve

his goal. By means of 'errors' and their analysis, researchers are

37

equipped with the knowledge of the procedures adopted by learners in

language learning.

On the part of the learners, they posit that, errors are inevitable

for they are the means devised by learners to acquire or learn

language. To buttress this fact of the importance of 'errors' to

language learning, Corder (1974:6 -11) says that:

errors in the learners‟ performance are not just mistakes in transferring structural elements from source to the target language as predicted by contrastive linguistics, errors are rather hypothesis made by the learner about the target language. It is by testing out each hypothesis that the leaner comes to discover the rules of the foreign language and builds up his ever progressing or transitional competence in the target language.

From what Corder opines above, the leaner by means of 'errors' in his

sentences or expressions gets to study and understand the principles

guiding the grammar of the particular language being learnt and so

improves upon such errors. It is this improvement or advancement in

the knowledge of the rules and conventions of a given language by

the learner that makes for his eventual competence in the target

language.

From the foregoing discussions it is evident that so many

authors strongly hold the view that „Error Analysis‟ is of immeasurable

value to second language teaching and learning. This is because

38

„Errors‟ Analysis‟ generally examines „Errors‟ attributable to all

possible sources and not just those which result from negative

interference of a native language. Therefore, a positive view of „Errors‟

will go a long way to improve the teaching and learning of any

language a typical example of which is the French language. On the

very vital role of „Error Analysis‟ in language teaching/learning, Esther

ton (1976:69) says:

The errors may show a teacher areas where his teaching has not been effective. A systematic study of errors may lead to improved teaching methods through a greater awareness of the nature and causes of the mistakes which pupils make.

Still on the indispensability of 'errors' in language teaching and

learning, Tidyman and Butterfield (1959:227) have this to say:

Functional grammar in the traditional sence is derived from a study of errors in usage and includes training in those definitions and principles that assist pupils in the correction of errors. A broader concept of functional grammar makes a positive rather than a negative approach; the emphasis is on effective expression rather than correction of errors".

These authors are of the view that errors should be viewed from a

positive perspective instead of adopting a negative approach to them.

According to them, emphasis should be on how to get the learners to

39

achieve effective expressions instead of stressing on correction of

'errors'.

Corder (1987:164) says:

A learner‟s errors are significant in three different ways. First to the teacher in that they tell him if he undertakes a systematic analysis, how far towards the goal the learner has progressed and consequently what remains for him to learn. Secondly they provide for researcher‟s evidence of how language is learned or acquired, what strategies or procedure the learner is employing in his discovery of the language. Thirdly (and in a sense, this is their most important aspect) they are indis-pensable to the leaner himself because we can regard the making of errors as a device the learner uses in order to learn.

Corder in his „error analysis‟ simply identified three very

important pieces of in formation on the role played by error analysis

both to the teachers of grammar as well as the learners and how

these pieces of information can go a long way to enhance or improve

children‟s performance in the mastery of grammar in language

generally. For purposes of mastery of grammar in language it will also

be pertinent to briefly discuss standard or correctness of / in language.

STANDARD OR CORRECTNESS OF / IN LANGUAGE

Every language has its rule system any deviation from which

results in an error or errors. For purposes of communication according

40

to. Estey (1968: 95) Symbols are “arranged in a certain order and

expressed either orally, physically or graphically according to certain

conventions. In order for a standard to be achieved, such conventions

must be strictly adhered to such that the desired sense or message is

successfully communicated. In order words according to him, if there

is any alteration or shift from such widely accepted rules or

conventions there is bound to be an error.

Emphasizing on the importance of standard or correctness,

Quirk (1973:30) states that the normal English is:

that kind of English which draws least attention to itself over the widest range of usage … this norm is a complex function of vocabulary, grammar and transmission, most clearly established in one of the means of transmission, (spelling), and clearly established in other means of transmission (pronunciation). The above quotation is also in line with standard or correctness

discussed by Estey. It equally stresses conformity in grammar,

vocabulary and spelling. These three aspects are possible areas of

students‟ problems and they have established rules or conventions

guiding their usage any deviation from which results in „error‟

Still on correctness, close (1963:54) defines it as “complete

effectiveness of communication, which is dependent on conformity

with widely-accepted habits, not with rules and regulations”.

41

Bamisaye (1997:24) says that:” standard language is that

language adopted as a common medium of communication by a given

society for the expression of its world views and day to day

endeavours”. According to him before language is accepted as

standard, It must be in line with certain rules and conventions. It must

also comply to the common grammatical orders. It is this compliance

to such conventions that makes language become commonly

accepted as standard as well as a medium of communication

Close in his definition tends to shift a little from others‟ definitions

where he says „widely-accepted habits or conventions but not rules‟.

However, he makes room for flexibility and development provided

such developments or habits are widely accepted as conventions.

In the same manner, the French language has its own

conventions which could be regarded as standard or „correctness. For

purposes of this research therefore, suffice it to say that any written

French which is a deviation from the established habits or conventions

that are widely accepted as a standard French is an „error‟. These

„errors‟ in written French are attributable to so many inhibiting factors

as shall be briefly discussed later.

Error Analysis by implication should interest language teachers

and language-teaching researchers for it will help in identification and

42

classification of grammatical errors as well as direct teachers on the

best strategies to adopt in teaching „language grammar.

Headsloom, another proponent of error analysis views „error

analysis in a very positive perspective. To him, „error analysis is all

about discovering or identifying facts that would enable the teacher of

the second language teach well what he is supposed to teach thereby

making t he learner learn easily the grammar of the target language.

The focus of his „error analysis‟ is on identification of „error‟ in trying to

learn or produce the second language. The „errors‟ so identified are

analysed and classified thereby making room for discovering

commonalities among them. In order to buttress his argument on the

relevance of „error analysis‟ to learning of a second language‟

Headsloom (1979:27) posits that:

Error analysis is after the fact analysis. The focus of error analysis lies wit h the second language learning errors in trying to produce the target language. The errors made are analysed and classified to see if there is any commonality among them.

Based on the above argument and in view of the paucity of

theories of published works on the standard of language with

particular reference to the French language, one would make do with

the available ones on English language. This is because of the

43

interrelatedness of languages especially that of English and French –

the two widely acclaimed international languages of the world.

Moreover, our learning of the French language is constrained to

be anchored on the English language being the first official language

of Nigeria as well as her language of instruction. Researches so far

show that one‟s success in English language is a pre-requisite for

French language studies and at times a re-assurance for equal

success in the French language- the two having almost the same

background. Very unfortunately, Igbo and French languages are of

completely two different backgrounds.

On the relevance of similarity of background to the learning of

language(s) Offorma (1983:80) posits that.

Puisque les mots ont la même signification dans les deux langues, C‟est facile a les comprendre. C‟est toujours plus facile a comprendre les langues de la même culture que celles des cultures differentes telle que la langue francaise et la langue Igbo. Certains signes diacritiques se trouvent en francais mais qui n‟existent pas en Igbo.

Offorma‟s postulation above implies that the knowledge of

English language prior to the learning of French is an asset though

with some difficulties since the two tend to share some similarities in

background as against the Igbo language. The inference drawn from

the above assertion is that the Igbo learner of French is more likely to

44

experience a lot of problems given the fact of the entirely different

background and culture of French and Igbo Languages. To further

strengthen the argument on the very negative effect of the difference

in background on the teaching and learning of a second language

(French) Debyster (1971:15) opines:

Il peut y avoir entre le francais et la langue de l‟eleve des structures comparables mais il n‟y a jamais de structures identiques. L‟ apprentissage d‟ une langue etrangere est donc celui d‟ un niveau, syteme d‟ analyse et d‟ organization de l‟experience humaine au moyen du langage.

On the Other hand, a failure in English is a primary indication of

a subsequent poor performance or lack of proficiency in French.

Therefore, theories on the „standard‟, „correctness‟ or „error‟ in English

language could be safely generalized to the French language. For

instance, it is evident that no Nigerian French language graduate

teacher passes through the University without taking some basic

courses in English. Consequent upon this fact, all French language

graduates are ready personnel for English language marking at the

SSSC/GCE O‟ level examination. But for the divergence in the

pronunciations of French words, the structures of the two languages

are fairly similar grammatically except for few glaring deviations such

as in the agreement between adjective end nouns they quality both in

gender and number etc.

45

CAUSES OF ERRORS Mother-Tongue Interference The most acute inhibitor of French language teaching and

learning according to great linguistics and psychologists is

bilingualism. Olu (1996): defines bilingualism as “a linguistic situation

whereby individuals, at the age of five or six, have acquired the

aptitude to speak two different languages” (Translated). This therefore

implies the presence/existence of vernacular in addition to the English

language on which the learner of the French language bases his

analysis and study of he target language -French- a foreign language

for that matter. Bemisaye (1997:23) defines mother tongue thus:

The first language or mother tongue (L1/MT) is the first language a child picks up. It is not learnt but acquired. It is a language that encodes early concept of the child. Mother tongue speakers are regarded as “A” speakers of the language There appears to be a consensus on this issue of negative effect

of mother-tongue on the learning of a second language. For instance,

such authors as Hodgson (1955:1-2), Lado (1959:1-2) Politzer

(1960:18) and Taylor (1976:27) attributed the problems that language

learners encounter to the interference of their native language with the

new one(s). This interference is likely due to the differences between

46

structures of the learner‟s language(s) and those of the new one(s) i.e.

target language(s). The matter is even more aggravated with Nigerian

learners of French, in this case the Igbo children having learnt Igbo

first, English second thereby learning French as the third language.

Bamphose (1971:56) says “They tend to compare and transfer the

grammatical structures from their native language first of all into

English and subsequently into French without any due reference to

the distinction between them” .Such transfer is experienced not only in

spoken language but also in written process since when we want to

write say-French exercise, we tend to refer to the grammatical or

general structures of our native language(s) before thinking in second

or third languages as the case my be. The error of distortion actually

starts with the thought-process before being transferred either to the

spoken or written forms of the new language(s). On this, Politzer

(1960:18) says: “The learner invariably seeks the meaning of the

foreign language by relating it to his”. The above assertion by Politzer

simply exposes the method adopted by Igbo-learners of French who

normally tend to translate the meaning of what is written or is to be

written thinking first in Igbo, next in English, before finally in French- a

second foreign language. In the process of this linguistically unreliable

translation, a lot of important items, ingredients as well as meanings

are lost thereby rendering the whole exercise almost meaningless.

47

The implication of what the researcher is saying here in support of

what these authors have asserted above, is that the Igbo learners of

French would have committed less grammatical errors but for their

prior knowledge of their mother-tongue and English language and if

French was more directly and practically learnt than is the case now.

This assertion presupposes that most of the errors committed by Igbo-

speaking children in written French exercises are as a consequence of

their possession or knowledge of Igbo and English languages before

engaging in the French language learning as a third language. This

implies that the knowledge of the first two languages impairs the

learning of French be it in oral or written form. The assertion above is

butressed by what Politzer (1960:18) went on to opine further that

“Mother tongue interference is perhaps the most important

psychological as well as linguistic consideration affecting our

examination of methodologies”

Politzer‟s postulation above shows how the

acquisition/possession of mother-tongue, to a very large extent,

affects French. This, because the presence of familiar items and

structures in the mother-tongue reduces the efficiency of the learning

and writing exercises in French by the Igbo-speaking children. A good

case in point is the „False-friends‟ (Faux-amis) (ie words written in the

same way and almost pronounced in the same way in both English

48

and French but have completely different meanings in the two

languages.)

On the very negative effect of mother-tongue on the learning of

a second language, Lado (1959:1-2) says

Linguistic distortions among bilinguals correspond to describable differences in the languages involved because individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings of their native language to the foreign language productively when trying to speak and receptively when trying to grasp and understand the language….

Lado‟s argument simply upholds the view that children, when

they come across familiar/similar words/ structures erroneously tend

to compare and transfer their meaning from their mother tongue to the

target language(s) about being learnt. This approach more often than

not betrays for „look-likes‟ or words in different languages with the

same orthography do not always have the same meanings and

pronunciations the French language not being an exception.

Unfortunately, very many of such words exist in both English and

French. Since English is the only means by which French is learnt, its

possession by Nigerian learners of French-Igbo children inclusive, at

times acts as an impediment to French teaching and learning.

Still on the seriousness of the negative impact of mother-tongue

on the learning of French by school children, Offorma (1993.80) posits

that:

49

Quelque fois il peut y avoir les voyelles et les consonnes qui n‟exisstent ni dans la langue maternelle ni en Anglais mais qui existent en francais. Par exemple (ή) existe en Igbo (une des langues indegenes nigerienes) mais qui ne se trouvent pas en Francais. De meme facon (ǽ) et (γ) n‟ existent ni" en Igbo ni en Anglais mais existent en Francais. Dans ce cas là, c‟est difficie à bien prononcer certains mots francais. A cause de cela, c‟est necessaire a donner des cours en phoneétique en utiilissant les sons difficiles.

The above assertion by Offorma goes to buttress the inhibiting

effect the mother-tongue poses on the learning of French. It is glaring

from the above examples that Igbo, English and the French

languages are completely of different backgrounds and attempts by

learners to compare and transfer their knowledge of one to the other

do in most cases culminate in a kind of betrayal or frustration. The

above postulation by Offorma also points out that apart from the

difficulties engendered by the existence of „Faux-amis‟ in the source

and target languages, there are also some sounds, items or structures

that may exist in one and may not be found in the other language(s).

Under this kind of situation, the acquisition of mother-tongue by

children learning French inhibits instead of facilitating the teaching

and learning of the French language.

50

Brooks (1964:24) Commenting on the effect of mother-tongue

on the learning of a second language points out that:

The individual who already possesses a mother-tongue, unlike the infant, brings to the learning of a second language, a very different set of physical and mental capabilities. Partial if not complete command of one linguistic code, has been attained and it can be both a help and a hindrance in the learning of the second.

Just as Brooks postulates in the above quotation from his text,

Igbo children have, prior to their learning of French, perfected the

acquisition of their mother-tongue. They have also attained some

measure of perfection in their knowledge of the linguistic codes of

English language as the official language of instruction. Later they are

faced with the up-hill task of the French language teaching and

learning at an age when their brains are already stiff and incapable of

acquiring new linguistic codes. Given the artificial classroom

condition of this language learning, the tendency is for them to

transfer the already existing codes in their brains. This transfer is

done without taking cognizance of the fact that the languages under

discussion are completely of different origin and backgrounds. The

consequence is usually poor performance due to mother-tongue

interference. They would probably have done better if they had not

acquired their mother tongue and English language prior to the advent

of the teaching and learning of the French language.

51

Still on the influence of the mother tongue on the learning of the

second or third language (s) as the case may be, there is also that

basic assumption by such authors as Lado and Brooks that the

second language learner is naturally constrained to apply the first

language patterns and „rules‟ to the second language learning

situations. This is inevitable because the second language learner‟s

own native environment is lacking under which case such transfer of

„rule‟ can neither be suppressed nor completely done without. Such

transfers are evident not only at the written level but also at the

phonological level. Second language learners tend to apply the rules

of pronunciations inherent in their mother tongue or first language to

the new language(s) they are learning. As already observed, this kind

of transfers often noticed in the learning of French results in a very

wrong phonological articulation. However, this is peculiar to the

learning of modern language to a ridiculous level. On this Anizoba

(1996:22) says:

…Phonological difficulties resulting from linguistic interference of L1 L2 would often affect written English and a students speech errors appear in his writing. Furthermore, grammatical errors can be traced to the wrong operation on phonology.

Robert (1960:98) commenting on the phonological difficulties

encountered by learners of French as a second language says:

52

In the case of a language like French in which the oral form is quite different from its orthographic representation, linguistic analysis leads to a description of the language that is quite different from the one found in most of the conversational grammars based primarily on the written form of French.

The argument by Robert simply points out that French unlike other

languages has its written form quite different from the oral aspect.

This therefore, contributes to the difficulty in pronouncing what is

written and writing what is pronounced, a language of quite a different

cultural background. This informs why most of Igbo learners of French

find it quite difficult to pronounce French words correctly more so

when the learning begins at an adult age when the brain is no longer

elastic to accommodate new grammatical structures of a new and

foreign language for that matter.

David (1975:57) commenting on the difficulty in pronouncing

French orthograph states that:

Learning to write French needs equal patience…choosing words containing a sound with a particular (for example “O” spelt “eau”) which appears in problem free context. The word or words are written on the black board read and copied down. Other words containing the same sound spelt identically are then dictated and the work immediately corrected on the black board.

The above statement simply implies that the way words are

orthographically articulated orally greatly affects their representations

53

in languages generally of which French is one. This case is even

more acute with the French language whose orthographical

representations tend to be deceptively quite different from its

phonological articulation. This therefore, demands a competent hand

that would competently handle the phonological aspect by means of

phonetic pedagogy prior to the teaching of written French grammar.

This will no doubt enhance the comprehension of some basic

grammatical rules and applications.

REVIEW OF RELATED EMPIRICAL STUDIES

Of all the works consulted on „error analysis‟ non was

specifically on „error analysis‟ in French grammar but rather in English

and Igbo languages. However, safe generalizations could be made

since they are all foreign languages especially since English and

French share some similarities in their backgrounds. Comparatively,

the two languages tend to have similar grammatical structures and the

knowledge of English language prior to the learning of the French

language is more of a help than a hindrance to the learning of French

except for some slight grammatical deviations or dissimilarities. On

this basis therefore, the result/ findings on „error analysis of English

language could be generalized to the French language.

54

Anizoba (1996:60-69) carried her research on errors of

secondary school students in written composition in English in Awka

Education zone of Anambra state. The purpose was to find out ways

of improving students performance in written English composition

through Error Analysis. Eight senior secondary schools were randomly

selected from all the local government areas that make up Awka

Education zone. The instruments for data collection were (a) an essay

topic of “A Journey made Recently” on which the student wrote (b)

well structured questionnaire were administered on 50 qualified

English teachers from the sample schools. 100 SS 1 students and 100

SS 3 students randomly drawn from the eight schools were used. In

the research also, 100 female SS students and 100 SS male students

were used. Specifically, the aspects of error she focused on were

structure, lexis and mechanics. The study revealed that mechanics

was the most difficult area for senior secondary school students in

Awka, Education zone among others while concord ranked last. It also

revealed that such factors as mother-tongue interference, intralingual

difficulties and developmental factors contributed to the occurrence of

the difficulties encountered by the students in their written English

composition. However, the researcher did not centre her work on the

five aspects of grammar the current study is interested in which are:

concord, spelling, verb-conjugation,. Adjectives and article errors.

55

Onwuka et al (1990:4) carried out a research on “the status of

Igbo language study in junior and senior secondary schools in Isiala

Mbano Local Government in Imo state. The purpose was to find out

whether the study was low or high and the major factors that bear on

the situation. Three sets of structured questionnaire were used by him

on the principals, teachers and students of Igbo language in JS3, SS1

and SS2. The data was analysed using mean and standard deviation.

The study exposed the following facts: (a) shortage of qualified

teachers of Igbo language (b) insufficient supply of appropriate

textbooks in Igbo language for both teachers and students (c) Igbo

language teaching was not accorded adequate time/periods on the

school timetable.

Nzeocha (1988:12) conducted a research on some of the

problems the learners are confronted with in the course of their study

of Igbo language in our secondary schools. He investigated among

others the use of English language in the teaching of Igbo, placement

of diacritic marks, tone-marking, spellings, variations in dialects etc.

The instrument used was structured questionnaire and SS1 and

SS3 students formed the subjects. The data was also analysed using

mean and standard deviation. Among Nzeocha‟s findings were that.

(a) The acquisition of English language is a help rather than a

hindrance to the study of Igbo language. (b) Enough instructional

56

materials are not provided for the teaching learning of Igbo language

in schools (c) coined or borrowed words pose some difficulties to

learners of Igbo language (d) dialectical variations adversely affect the

learners tone marking, spellings and placement of diacritic marks/

signs inherent in Igbo language.

In the light of the above findings, he was able to highlight some

important educational implications.

Dike (1987:7) narrowed his own investigation down to the

problems facing the teaching of Igbo grammar in secondary schools in

Orlu area. He made use of JSS 3 students and above using ten (10)

secondary schools. Three sets of questionnaire were used on

principals of the sampled schools, teachers of Igbo language and Igbo

language students respectively. He adopted random sampling method

in selecting the students. In addition, he also interviewed the students,

subject masters as well as principals of the sampled schools: Based

on his findings, he arrived at the conclusion that Igbo language

specialists should be employed to handle the teaching of he subject.

He also found out that there was inadequate provision of instructional

materials in addition to the lack of ideal language teaching

environment. On the basis of the findings, some recommendation

were made.

57

Osuji (2002:121-122) carried out his research on the general

error analysis of secondary schools in Igbo-composition writing in

Owerri Zone in Imo State. His instrument was an essay writing in Igbo

and he used a total sample population of 400 students of Igbo drawn

from ten secondary schools in the zone. The study revealed that

students in this zone committed mechanical and expressional errors

and that their area of greatest difficulty is mechanics. The findings also

showed that SS1 students committed more of the mechanical errors

than the SS 3 students but that the difference is not significant. Urban

students committed more of expression errors than the rural students

though the difference is not significant. Based on the findings,

recommendations are made.

SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review discussed the concepts of language,

grammar, error and standard in language. It also touched on the

theoretical studies that centered on the value and causes of „errors‟ in

languages in general with particular reference to the „French‟

language. However, of the already research works consulted, non

clearly hinted on the effect of gender on the performance of the

students in French language nor the class-level and grammatical

errors of students learning French.

58

However, it is noteworthy that the findings of various studies

consulted revealed that „error analysis‟ is of great value to language

teaching and learning. For instance, proponents of „error analysis‟ like

Kulay, Burt and krashen say that studying learners‟ errors serve two

major purposes. Firstly, it provides data from which inferences could

be drawn as to the processes of language learning generally. By this

is meant that the strategies adopted by language learners would be

understand. Secondly, „error analysis‟ affords both the teachers and

curriculum developers the knowledge of that part of the target

language the learners find most difficult and which error types are

generally most impending to the language learners.

The researcher present therefore, as already hinted by the topic,

actually focused attention on grammatical errors committed by SS

students learning French. This was with a view to identifying the

major causes of these errors and classifying them based on which

appropriate strategies were suggested for improved teaching and

learning of the French language.

59

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter is discussed under the following sub-headings:

Research design, Area of Study, Population of Study, Sample and

Sampling Technique, instrument for data collection, method of data

collection and data analysis.

Research Design

The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. This

method is deemed apt because the study focuses on the analysis of

individual student‟s performance with a view to improving the

strategies and methods of teaching and learning the French Language

so as to ensure maximum performance. The sample chosen from the

entire population would be enough basis for a sound generalization.

According to Olaitan and Sowande (2000:83); “The descriptive survey

research design employs the study of large and small population by

selecting and studying sample chosen from the population to discover

the relative incidence distribution and interrelations of social and

psychological variables”.

Area of Study

The study was carried out in Nsukka Educational Zone. There

are 57 secondary schools in these zones. Out of these 57 secondary

schools, 44 of them are co-educational, 7 are boys schools, while 6

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are purely girls secondary schools. It was mostly conducted in

secondary schools within Nsukka zone. The study covered only some

senior secondary schools in Nsukka education zone.

Population of the Study

The population of the study was all the 180 and 150 French

students in SSII and SSIII respectively in eight secondary schools in

Nsukka Education zone. Some of these schools are St. Theresa‟s

College Nsukka, Nsukka High School, Nsukka and Queen of the

Rosesary Secondary School, Nsukka etc. The choice of the schools

was mainly due to the fact that these are the only schools where the

teaching and learning of the French is effectively carried out. The

reason for the choice of the grades/levels is that French teaching and

learning is taken more seriously at those levels.

Sample and Sampling Techniques

The sample for this study comprised eight senior secondary

schools in Nsukka in Nsukka Zone. Out of eight secondary school

seven were co-educational schools while one was a purely Girls

schools. These would be representative enough of the rest of the

schools since the two genders were adequately represented having

randomly drawn the sample from both rural and Urban areas. The

sample so drawn formed enough basis for sound generalization. The

actual number of students used was determined at the end of the

61

administration and collection of the written test as eighty eight (88)

students .

Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument that was used for Data Collection is known as

„Mon Ecole‟ which is an essay written in French. This was

administered on the students in the class. The instrument comprised

aspect of grammar such as agreement between subjects, verbs,

adjectives both in gender and number, spelling, and articles in

sentences. This was a view to analyzing them and their frequency

levels.

Validation of the Instrument

The instrument was duly validated by competent lecturers who

are experts in research methodology and language teaching who went

through the essay type question made necessary corrections and

moderations before the final acceptance as an instrument.

Trial-Testing of the Instrument

A trial-testing of the instrument was carried out using twenty (20)

SSII and SSIII students with ten (10) students from each of the

classes. The students were drawn from one co-educational school in

Obolo Afor in Obollo Education Zone

Reliability of the Instrument

62

The scores obtained from the trial testing of instrument were

used in establishing the scorer reliability of „Mon Ecole‟ using Pearson

Product Movement Correlation Method. The computer software known

as special Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used in the

analysis. The reliability coefficient obtained is 0.72 (see appendix III)

Method of Data Collection

The researcher administered the essay topic personally on the

SS French students of the sample schools. This, he did with the

assistance of some French teachers in those schools. The students

were allowed enough time to write the essay at their own pace at the

end of which the researcher and his assistants collected their scripts

for subsequent analysis.

Method of Data Analysis

The researcher used percentage in analyzing the data for

Research questions while X2 square was used in analyzing data for

the hypothesis at 0.05 level.

63

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT

The result of this study is presented hereunder in table

according to the guiding research questions and hypotheses.

Research Question

What types of grammatical Errors occur in written French by

secondary school students in Nsukka zone?

Table 1.

Percentage (%) of Errors in written French

S/N TYPES OF ERROR PERCENTAGE

1 Spelling 20%

2 Concord 35%

3 Adjectival 18%

4 Verb-Conjugation 20%

5 Article 07%

As can be seen in table 1 above all the five grammatical errors

occur most in written French by secondary school students in Nsukka

zone. The Errors are:- Spelling, Concord, Adjective, Verb-Conjugation

and Article. Specifically, spelling Error constitutes 20% of the Errors,

Concord 35%, Adjectival 18%, Verb-conjugation 20% and Article

Errors constitute the least committed comprising 7% of the total errors

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Research Question 2

What is the extent of difference between errors committed by

secondary school (ss) male and female students in French?

Table 2:

Percentage of error in written French by sex

Percentage

Type of Error M F

Spelling 34 66

Concord 28 72

Adjectival 53 47

Verb-Conjugation 66 34

Article 56 44

The above table 2 shows that SS male and female students commit

spelling, Concord, Adjectival, Verb-Conjugation, Article errors in

French in varying degrees.

In spelling errors, the male SS students commit 34% of the

overall errors while the females commit 66%. This shows that SS male

students commit less of the spelling errors than the females.

The above table 2 shows that in concord errors, SS male

students commit 28% whereas the female (SS) commit 72%. In other

words, the SS females students also commit more of the concord

errors in French than the males.

65

As shown in table 2 above SS male students commit 47% of the

Adjectival errors in written French while the males commit 53%. The

SS female students commit more of spelling and concord errors while

SS male students commit more of the Adjectival errors in written

French

As can be seen in table 2 above, 34% of the verb-conjugation

errors is committed by SS female students whereas the SS male

students commit 66%. In respect of the verb-errors therefore, SS male

students commit more of the error than the SS female students. This

therefore, shows that the SS male and female students commit these

grammatical errors in written French in varying degrees.

Finally in respect of the article errors SS male students commit

56% of the total errors whereas SS females commit 44%. Based on

the percentages in the above table 2 therefore, SS male students

commit more of the Article errors than the SS female students.

In summary therefore, one can safely conclude from the above

discussions that SS female students commit more of the spelling and

concord errors than the SS male students with 66% and 72%

respectively. On the other hand, the SS male students commit more of

the Adjectival, Verb-Conjugation and Article Errors in written French

than the SS female students.

66

Table 3

Chi Square (X2) of proportion of types of errors committed by SS by

gender

Male Female

Type of Error No No X2 df Sig of X2 Decision at 0.05

Spelling 52 48 0.16 1 0.69 NS

Concord 46 54 0.64 1 0.42 NS

Adjectival 43 57 0.96 1 0.16 NS

Verb-

Conjugation

59 41 3.24 1 0.72 NS

Article 47 53 0.36 1 0.55 NS

Note: NS = Not Significant

Ho1 There is no significant difference between the proportion of

spelling Errors committed in written French by male and female

students SS (P<0.05)

As shown in the table above, the X2 value in respect of spelling

Error is 0.16 at 1df, which is shown to be significant at 0.69. Since the

Hypothesis is being tested at 0.05 level, it means that the X2 is not

significant at this level. This means that in respect of the spelling

Error, null hypothesis is not rejected.

The table above shows that in respect of concord Errors, the X2

value is 0.64 at 1df which is shown to be significant at 0.42. Since the

Hypothesis is being tested at 0.05 which is much less than 0.42, it

67

then means that the X2 significant at 0.05 level. This means that the

above Hypothesis in respect of concord errors is not rejected. That is

that there is no significant difference between the proportion of

concord errors committed in written French by male and female SS

students (P<0.05).

As the table above shows, the value of X2 in respect of Adjectival

Errors is 0.96 at 1df which is shown to be significant at 0.16 level

which is much less than 0.16. This means that the above Hypothesis

in respect of Adjectival Errors is not rejected. That is there is no

significant difference between the proportion of Adjectival Errors

committed in written French by female and male SS students

(P<0.05).

As can also be seen in the table 3 above the value of X2 in

respect of Verb-conjugation Errors is 3.24 at 1df which is shown to be

significant at 0.72 level. Since the Hypothesis is being tested at 0.05

level which is much less than 0.72, it then means that the X2 is not

significant at 0.05 level. This therefore means that the above

Hypothesis in respect of Verb- conjugation Errors is not rejected. That

is there is no significant difference between the proportion of verb-

conjugation Errors committed in written French by female and male

students (P<0.05)

68

As shown in the above table, the X2 value in respect of Article

Errors is 0.34 at 1df which is shown to be significant at 0.55. Since the

Hypothesis is being tested at 0.05 which is much less than o.55, it

means that X2 is not significant at 0.05 level. That means that the

above Hypothesis in respect of verb-conjugation errors is not rejected

that is there is no significant difference between the proportion of verb-

conjugation errors committed in written French by male and female SS

students.

FINDINGS

Results of error and data analysis presented in tables 1, 2 and 3

reveal that:

1. Senior secondary school students commit grammatical errors in

written composition in French especially in spelling, concord,

Adjectives, verb-conjugation and Articles use among others.

2. Male and female senior secondary students commit these errors

in varying degrees.

3. The difference between the frequency of errors committed by SS

male and female students is not significant therefore the null

hypothesis is not rejected

69

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

This chapter deals with interpretation and discussion of the

results of the research as well as its educational implications.

Recommendations are made in the light of the findings and finally

suggestions for further studies are also made.

Discussions

Based on the findings, concord errors ranked highest. The

percentage of the students‟ concord errors was 35% as shown in table

1. This means that the SS students tend to commit more of the

concord errors than the rest four of the errors noted to be frequently

committed .generally. This finding is quite in line with what Anizoba

(1996:25) observed that “most linguistic errors were caused by

inappropriate lexical choice, misuse and omission of prepositions,

misspelt words, lack of agreement of subject and verb and faulty word

order”. Below are some glaring examples of concord errors committed

by the SS students: ”Mon école es belle” instead of “Mon ecole est

belle”.,” Le directeur de mon école parles l‟anglais bien “ instead of ”.

Le directeur de mon ecole parle langlais bien “mon ecole est grand”

instead of “Mon ecole est grande” etc.

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It was also observed that SS female students committed 72% of

the total concord errors while the SS male students committed 28% as

shown in Table 2 above.

The occurrence of these errors are attributable to a number of

factors. Some of them are intralingual while some are interlingual.

Krashen (1982:174) defines intralingual errors thus” Intraingual errors

are those which reflect the general characteristics of rule learning,

such as faulty overgeneralization, incomplete application of rule and

failure to learn conditions under which rules apply. This implies that

the learners are incompetent to correctly apply the rules wrongly

overgeneralise as well as lack the knowledge of when to apply the

rules. Consequently, they end up committing a lot of lot these errors.

On the other hand interlingual errors occur when L1 does not

have a rule which L2 has, the learner then applies L2 rule producing an

error. Lococo (1976:73). This is often the case with African learners of

French. Even the existing rules or convention in their vernacular

languages may not agree with those of the French language. This is

because African languages do not share the same background

(Culture) with the French language in particular. This is why any

attempt to extend or generalize the rules in Igbo language in most

cases and in English language in some cases produces an error(s)

Harrison (1997:320) corroborates the above statement when he says

71

that the fact that the systems of the mother tongue in sound and

structure, are learned so well in early childhood, used so frequently

and continuously afterwards cause special problems to the foreign

language teachers and learners. The above assertion by Harrison is

actually the case and true of students learning French as L2. They

have learnt the systems and structures in Igbo and English languages

fairly well and to begin to learn French at a later age poses a big

problem due to interferences by or from the first two languages,

having got very used to them. This situation usually leads to a kind of

learning inhibition. Stageberg (1981:78) in his corroborative statement

on the effect of interference says that the phonetic patterns of a

language have a compulsive effect upon its speakers in that these

speakers find it hard to break the patterns of their native tongue and

habituate them to the use of the new ones. In line with Anizoba‟s view

above, w.w.w Babylon.Com (2008) says “Agreement is arguably one

of the most difficult aspects of the French language”. The above

observation downloaded from the website butresses the problematic

nature and the enormity of difficulty posed by this aspect of French

grammar to the learners of the French language either as a second or

third language. The obvious cause of some of these grammatical

errors such as the concord errors by French learners could be

arbitrary transfer and erroneous comparison of structures in their first

72

language(s) with those in French with totally different backgrounds.

This linguistically wrong approach usually adopted by French learners

culminates in a betrayal of the intended message or sense aimed at

being transmitted. Palmer (in Wayment 1972:32) commenting on the

acuteness and betraying effect of the comparison of African and

European languages opines: “I am not myself in favour as many

people are, of making comparison of English with some African or

Asian languages, because it seems that the two are not comparable.

…” Palmer tends to share the same point of view with lococo on the

issue of comparing European languages with African languages. This

is because the former have clear rules, restrictions and conventions

while the latter do not have distinct rules and conventions. The

learners of French in our African context either try to adapt

grammatical rules in English language which may be wrong or may

make a guess at the right structure to choose thereby committing

errors in grammar in their written French.

The percentage of errors for spelling and verb-conjugation by

SS students ranked second as can be seen in table 1 above. This

means that verb-conjugation and spelling errors bracketed in

percentage, each scoring 20% of the total 100% of the five errors

under discussion. With respect to the percentage of errors by sex, the

male SS students committed 34% in spelling errors while the SS

73

female students committed 66%. On the other hand, whereas the SS

male students committed 66% of the total verb-conjugation errors, the

SS female students committed 34%. As can be seen above, the SS

female students committed more of the spelling errors than the SS

male students while the SS male students committed more of the

verb-conjugation errors than their female counterparts.

These difficulties encountered by learners of French especially

with regard to verb-conjugation and spelling could be blamed on a

number of factors. These factors are either intralingual or interlingual

as already mentioned earlier. Some of them are as a result of the fact

that the verb forms and verb-conjugations of the learners‟ mother-

tongue are completely different from those of either the English

language learnt first as the first foreign and official language of Nigeria

or the French official language for Nigerians though yet in principle.

Some of such difficulties could be traced to the problematic nature of

the French language phonetics. More often than not French words are

divergently very orthographically different from the way they are

pronounced phonetically. In the same way, the verb-forms even

appear more problematic than the spelling of words. On this, Ayodeji,

(1995:85) corroborates the above statement when he says

74

La grande difference qui existe entre le verbe du francais et ceux des langues deja apprises par des etudiants Nigerians represente une tres grande difficulte pour ces etudiants. Par rapport a des langues anterieurement apprises par ces etudiants, le verbe du francais presente une morphologie tres complexe..

What Ayodeji tries to show or say above is that there exists a wide

difference between French verbs and those of the languages the

students have already learnt earlier (ie Igbo and English). He tries to

explain further that French verbs are morphologically very complex as

against the background that Igbo and English verbs are simple as well

as deep-rooted in the brains of these learners of French. In addition;

these learners of French may not have acquired enough knowledge of

the rule application and rule restriction in French. In consequence, any

attempt to generalize the rule in Igbo and English to the French

language leads to errors in verb-usage especially verb-conjugation in

French .

It has always been pointed out that the verbal system, is the

most difficult problem area in language teaching and learning. In line

with this, Palmer (1965:5) totally agrees with this statement by

succinctly saying that.

The most difficult part of any language is usually the part that deals with the verb. Learning a language is to a very large degree learning how to operate the verbal forms of that language, and except in the case of those that are related historically, the patterns and structure of the verb in each language

75

seem to differ very considerably from those in every other language”.

Palmer in his statement above appreciates the difficulty encountered

by language learners among whom are French language learners

with respect to verbal and verb forms especially that of the French

language with its peculiarities – being learnt as a third language in a

multilingual African context. Furthermore, in support of what Palmer

says above, www. Babylon. Com. (2008) puts it that: “when you

understand subject pronouns, tenses, moods and how to conjugate

French verbs, you are in great shape. There are however some

grammatical subjects which make conjugation a bit more difficult”:

The above statement downloaded from the website simply tries to

throw more light on the glaring difficulties associated with learning

how to conjugate French verbs in particular. This is because –

French-verbs are divided into groups with each group having a

specific style of conjugation. Such grouping is absent in the learners‟

mother-tongue and any attempt to compare the two certainly leads

to an error either in verb conjugation or usage. For purposes of easy

comprehension, Bouix, D.L et al (1980:3) categorized French verbs

into four major groups where they say: “les verbes sont classes

selon leur orthographe et leur pronunciation (indiquee dans l‟

alphabet phonetique international ). The above design is in

76

appreciation of the difficulties associated with the teaching and

learning of verb-conjugation. This type of distinctive categorization of

French verbs does not exist in the learners‟ mother-tongue nor does it

feature in the same manner in English language by means of which

and in comparison with which the learners approach the learning of

French-verb conjugation. To stress on the need for the learners to be

properly taught this difficult aspect of the French, Alo (1995) observes

that “toutes ces difficultés sont majeures et doivent être correctement

traitées par l„enseignant à fin de faciliter la tache de l‟ apprentissage

de cette langue romane qu‟ est le français”. It‟s in recognition of the

essence and complexity of the French. Verb conjugation and verb-

forms that the authors above carefully did their categorization into

groupes viz:

1 Group 1 - er verbs eg chanter, pleurer etc.

2 Group 2 - ir verbs eg finir, hair etc

3 Group 3(a) - ir verbs eg. Ouvrir, dormer etc. etc.

(b) - oir verbs eg. Recevoir, devoir etc.

Bouix DL et al (1980:3-4) elucidated this French verb- categorization

very well while Alo, P.O (199576-77) treated another confusing

aspect of French verb-conjugation referred to as prenominal verbs:

eg.

77

a. Des verbes pronominaux transitifs directs. Eg se blesser

b. Des verbes pronominaux transitifs indirects eg se moquer de

c. Des verbes pronominaux intransitifs eg se mourir etc.

The above are some basic aspects of the French language with

respect to French verb-conjugation that pose as a great obstacle to

the learners of the language especially at the initial stage consequent

upon which the learners always feel scared from the French language

learning.

Spelling errors had bracket position with verb conjugation as

per the percentage of errors committed by ss students out of the five

error -types studied having 20% of the total of 100% shared by all the

five error-types as shown in table 1 above. Spelling errors are some

of the major errors committed by SS students learning French which

could be attributed to such reasons as mother- tongue (s)

interference, the knowledge /acquisition of English- language among

other factors. Larsen- Freeman and Long (1991;103) are of the

opinion that when two languages were similar, positive transfer

would occur, and where they were different negative transfer or

interference would result. This assertion gives credence to the above

statement and belief that there appears to be a negative transfer by

these SS students of the knowledge of both Igbo and English

languages to their learning of French. Unfortunately, these languages

78

especially the Igbo and French languages are of divergently different

cultural origin and therefore, do not have any thing in common. Any

such attempt to transfer from Igbo to French or vice versa leads to

error (s). In line with the above argument, Lado (1957:2) says that

“we assume that the student who comes in contact with a foreign

language will find some features of it quite easy and others extremely

difficult………..” . Afangideh (2004:45) also supports the above by

saying

Generally speaking, juxtaposing one language with another will reveal that while certain communicative acts are socio-culturally apt to the speakers of one language, those same acts may appear bewildering to the non- native speakers of the same language. This is because their culture, vary. When such languages come into contact as English has done with Nigerian languages, some degree of mutual influence may be noticed.

This is actually the case with French and Igbo. The two are culturally

unrelated . consequently, any attempt to transfer the knowledge of

Igbo arbitrarily to their learning of the French language results in

error(s). Igbo words are spelt and written as pronounced unlike the

French words the written aspect of which is in most cases quite

different from the oral aspect. Phonetically the two languages are

unrelated and that informs the occurrence of errors committed by

students learning French. Anizoba (1996:61) to butress this point

79

says: „It was discovered that most of the spelling errors were phonetic

in nature. The students wrote many English words the way they

pronounce them”. Furthermore, Robert (1965:98) on this says: “in the

case of a language like French in which the oral form is quite different

form the orthographic representation …………..”Below are some of

the spelling errors in French by the SS students.

„etudient‟ instead of „etudiant‟

„proffessor‟ instead of professeur‟

director‟ instead of „directeur‟

„beacoup‟ instead of „beaucoup‟

„class instead of classe‟ „

establir‟ for etablir, grossi‟ for „grosse‟ aim‟ for „aime‟ etc.

These learners of French tend to transfer the knowledge of their

mother tongue negatively thereby transplanting the structures and

spelling of words in their mother-tongue to their learning of French.

Here lies the problem for they end up committing errors in spelling by

spelling French words the way they do in Igbo and or English

language. Igbo words are simply spelt the way they are pronounced

unlike most French words whose orthographic representations are

quite different from their phonology. Igbo and French languages are

not of the same background or culture and this informs the many

80

spelling-errors committed by these SS students in their bid to put

French words down orthographically. Below is a table that shows.

Table 4.

Table 4 shows French words / orthography, their phonetic

representations, Igbo pronunciation and English meanings.

French words Phonetic Representation

Igbo pronunciation

Meaning in English

Eau [o] O Water

Dans [d ã] Do in

Oiseau [wazo] wazo Bird.

Manger [mãze] Monje To eat.

Table 4 above contains some examples of French words whose

orthographic and phonetic representations and meanings do not in

any way resemble their pronunciations nor do they relate in the least

to either English or Igbo in their meaning or phonology. In this

situation, the Nigerian learners of the French language among whom

are Igbo students in Nsukka zone who begin their study of the French

language at he secondary school level, would normally find it difficult

to comfortably imbibe an entirely new linguistic system. This is so

because the English language and a thousand and one other

Nigerian languages are already deep-rooted in the brains of these

learners. This because the systems and grammatical structures of

these other languages were already in place before the advent of the

81

French language teaching in Nigeria and to add this French language

teaching and learning at this fairly inelastic age would mean to disrupt

the linguistic arrangement and structures that are already set in the

brains of these learners. Due specifically to the above reason, these

Nigerian (Igbo) learners of French tend to frequently make a recourse

to either their mother-tongue or the English language in their bid to

learn French. Politzer (1960:18) in support of the above view says:

“the learner invariably seeks the meaning of the foreign language by

relating it to his own”. Lado. (1959:1) equally shares the same view

with politzer when he says that: “linguistic distortions among

bilinguals correspond to describable differences in the languages

involved ……” Thus, these learners erroneously adopt their mother-

tongue style or pattern of spelling thereby committing errors in

spelling. These errors committed expose the fact that there are

actually some differences between the mother-tongues of these

learners and the French language they are learning. The

consequence of these differences is the occurrence of spelling errors

due to negative transfer from mother-tongue to the French language

by the learners. The possession of mother-tongue to a very large

extent, inhibits the learning and spelling of French words for the

learners tend to spell what they hear or pronounce as against the

background that French words are not spelt and written exactly as

82

they are pronounced. This is one of the cases in which mother-

tongue acquisition and the subsequent transfer of its patterns bring

about negative transfer to the French about being learnt. The final

consequence is therefore spelling error (s) in French.

Adjectival errors ranked fourth (4th ) as can be seen in Table 1

above of the five error- types studied. Errors in this area claimed 18%

of the 100% shared by all in the five error- types discussed in this

work. In fact, the understanding and use of adjectives in French

appear to be simple on the surface but are really quite complex.

Unlike Igbo language in which most adjectives are used arbitrarily to

modify or qualify nouns no matter the gender of the nouns, adjectives

must agree with the nouns they qualify in French both in gender and

number. In Igbo language for instance, there is no such agreement

either in gender or number between adjectives and the nouns they

qualify nor is there any distinction between masculine and feminine

adjectives. Dondo (1966:52) in order to stress on the difference

between the use of adjectives in Igbo and the French languages

Says: “in French, the possessive adjective agrees with the noun that

comes immediately after it, that is, with what is possessed. In English,

on the contrary, the possessive agrees with the possessor” Here

exists already a clear contradiction in the use of adjectives in the two

languages. Worse still, there are no such distinctions or agreement

83

between the adjectives and the nouns they quality in Igbo . This is

exactly one of the factors militating against these Igbo learners in

trying to learn how to use adjectives to qualify nouns in French. They

also try to compare the patterns in their mother-tongue with those in

French thereby committing adjectival errors. Adeniyi (1995;25) in

buttressing the difficulties encountered by Nigerian learners in using

adjectives in French puts it that : “….. L‟ utilization de l‟ adjectife pose

generalement un probleme majeure pour l‟apprenant”. On the

intricacy in the use of adjectives in French, www experience

language. Summer (2008) downloaded from the website says:

Agreement of adjectives and „être‟ verbs may

seem pointless and aggravating, but it‟s a part of the French language and needs to be learnt. There are several kinds of agreement: the ones intermediate students really need to watch out for are agreement of adjectives with the nouns they modify….”

The last statement above draws the attention of learners to the

grammatical importance of the agreement in the French language

between adjectives and the nouns they qualify /modify. This implies

that if such rules of agreement between adjectives and nouns are not

maintained in the French language, there is bound to be error which

may lead to ambiguity in sense that may culminate in

malcomprehension of the entire message. These learners of French

even tend to borrow some adjectives either from English or Igbo to

84

qualify nouns in French if their equivalents are not readily available in

their vocabulary. This, they do, as something of the last resort when

all efforts to lay hands on the appropriate French adjectives have

failed. In line with he above argument, Wilkins (1972:87) says “ …. in

time to come too, we should probably be able to identify the mother-

tongue of the pupils even if not a word in it is spoken in the classroom

…. There is little reason to doubt that we will find many mistakes

which can be traced back to the mother –tongue”. This is so because

the situation in which these Nigerian learners undertake this learning

of the French language is unnatural and does not therefore, augur

well for smooth language learning, thus the serious negative mother-

tongue interference..

The inadequacy of grammar texts is general to all foreign

languages but very peculiar to the French language due to its

optional position in the current national curriculum for teaching and

learning almost at all levels. Oluikpe (1974:30) in this regard

condemns the disjointed treatment of grammatical forms observed in

some school text books. He advocates sequential organization of

grammatical forms and their treatment-one after the other, from

simple to complex. Contrarily, some French texts treat grammatical

items such as “adjectives” disjointedly without any hierarchical

organization nor are such grammatical items treated in a detailed

85

manner to unfold their similarities, differences and intricacies. As a

result of this shabby treatment, the learners of French end up not

grasping the basic rules with regard to the proper use of adjectives in

French. For instance, they are not able to distinguish between the

use and meaning of adjectives placed before the nouns and after the

nouns they qualify as exemplified by Adeniyi (1995:27) . He

distinguishes between adjectives that come before the nouns they

qualify and those that come after them in the French language. Below

are some of the adjectival errors committed by these SS students in

the composition they wrote.

„grand ecole‟ for „grande ecole‟

„belle filles‟ for „belles filles‟

„grand maisons‟ for „grandes maisons‟

„beau ecole‟ for „belle ecole‟

„intelligent‟ for „intelligents‟

The above are some of the adjectival errors committed by these

SS students probably due to erroneous comparisons they made

between adjectives in their mother tongue/ English language(s) and

the French language they are begging to learn. In Igbo language for

instance, adjectives are not pluralized along with the nouns they

qualify nor is there any gender distinction between masculine and

feminine adjectives. On the contrary, in the French language, those

86

two areas are stressed and adjectives must agree with the nouns

they qualify both in gender and in number. Here therefore lies the

learners‟ problem. They are, at this mature age, constrained to start

learning how to adopt new grammatical rules and forms. They really

find it difficult to take in new grammatical structures and ingredients at

this age when their brain seems to be saturated and fairly inelastic to

accommodate new grammatical forms and meanings. A corroborative

statement by politzer (1960:22) says: ”we begin the language

learning at an age when our brain is still plastic enough to acquire

new responses without much interference from others”. That is to say

that languages are better and easier learnt at an infant age when the

brain is very elastic to take in new forms and meanings embedded in

those new languages to be learnt. There is an extension of this

argument of early childhood language- learning by Amoniyi (1974:56)

who observes that utilization rather than neglect of the mother-

tongue is an essential principle of language methodology because

complete mastery of he mother-tongue is essential to the effective

teaching and learning of English. This is equally true of the French

language learning for there has to be a base from which the language

learner begins and the Igbo language is unarguably the base from

which the Igbo- learner of French has to begin. Therefore, proper

mastery of the Igbo language grammatical patterns will no doubt be

87

an asset and a tool by means of which the learners of French shall

achieve their goal. (ie competence in French language grammar).

This proper mastery of mother-tongue (Li) will then take care of the

problem stressed by Richards (1971:204-216) when he posits that

intralanguage difficulties contributed to improper language learning.

Article errors ranked last as can be seen in table 1 above.

While concord errors had the highest percentage of 35% of the

100%, for of the five error-types, article errors had only 07%.

However, some reasons could be adduced for its low percentage.

One of the reasons is that because of confusion associated with he

use of articles in French, the learners/ SS students tended to avoid

using articles in most of the cases if avoidable. With regard to the

percentage of article errors by sex in written composition in French,

the SS male students has 56% while the SS female students had

44% . This means that the SS female students committed less of the

article errors in written French than their male counterparts. Some of

the article errors n committed by SS students are:

„la nom‟ for „le nom‟

„ de la eclole‟ for „de l‟ecole‟

„ une mille‟ for „mille‟

„ la autre‟ for „ l‟ autre‟

„ un ecole‟ for „une ecole‟

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„ la classe‟ for „les classes‟

The occurrence of these errors can be accounted for by some factors

among which is the following intralingual factor. For instance, the

learners‟ mother tongue may lack some of the basic rules, rule

restrictions and grammatical patterns inherent in the French language

they are learning. Consequently any attempt to over generalize the

rules in their mother tonue/ Li results in an error. This is exactly the

case with the learners of French. Dulay, burt and krashen

(1982:174) define intralanguage thus: “intralanguage errors are those

which reflect the general characteristics of rule learning such as faulty

overgeneralization, incomplete application of rules and failure to learn

conditions under which rules apply‟. These learners of French who

are predominantly Igbos by tribe tend to transfer grammatical rules in

Igbo language to the French language without due reference to the

peculiarities of the background of the French language. For instance,

in the French language, all beings human, non-human as well as

non-living beings are arbitrarily categorized into two genders -

masculine and feminine without any neuter nouns. Contrarily, and to

the disadvantage of the learners, in Igbo and English languages,

there are masculine and feminine genders with the third group as

neuter nouns. Dondo (1966:22) says “In French, the names of things

as well as the names of persons are either masculine or feminine.

89

There are no neuter nouns in French”. In this kind of situation, the

learners find themselves in a great confusion. Since the application or

extension of grammatical rules in either Igbo or English language to

the French language leads them to committing errors especially in the

use of articles in sentences, they always resort to avoiding them

where there is the possibility. This however brings about ambiguity in

meaning. On the learners‟ attitude to the use of articles, Anizoba

(1996;63-64) comments that “It was observed that most of the

students did not care much about articles. Errors of omission and

wrong use of articles abound in the students‟ written English

composition”. This applies to the French language whose articles are

divided into so many groups or types viz: masculine indefinite „un‟

,feminine indefinite „une‟, plural masculine and feminine indefinite

„des‟ masculine definite-„le‟, feminine definite- „la‟, plural Masculine

and feminine definite- „les‟, partitits: de la‟, „du, „des‟ etc. Faced with

these details in the French language being learnt probably as the

second foreign language without the enabling environment

(language milieu) , the children are bound to commit these errors. On

the problems of articles their nature and classification, Atoyebi

(1995:2) comments: “Nous avons remarque qu‟ au niveau des

enseignants, il ya un probleme de classification des articles du

francais, dũ peut-etre au fait que l‟ensemble des etudes à leur

90

disposition ne concorde pas…”Atoyebi‟s comment above tends to

illuminate the fact that the teachers‟ of French are not even

knowledgeable enough to be able to draw lines between these

articles and their appropriate usages due to the complexities

associated with them not to talk of the students they teach. The

teachers of the French language therefore, constitute another major

factor that makes the students commit article errors. The teachers are

not competent enough to adequately handle the teaching of the use

of articles in French. The consequence of this incompetence on the

part of the teachers is the occurrence of article errors or even

purposeful omission of articles in written composition. On the poor

performance of students in English Anasiudu (2003:138) observes

that:

“Teachers‟ incompetence has been pointed out as another cause of the problem. It started in the colonial period too. The persistent need for literate staff compelled the colonialists to recruit many school leavers as teachers. These school leavers taught English as well as other subjects….”

The above statement by Annasiudu is quite true of the French

language. Even at our own time, the need for French teachers

constrained the then state (Enugu) government to recruit many school

certificate leavers to teach French in her secondary schools. These

half-baked or rather unqualified secondary school leavers taught

91

French at all levels in school .Consequently, they wrongly imparted the

much knowledge of French they had to the students the little way they

could. They taught the French language the same way they did in

English language. Ubahakwe (1974:45) comments: “The English

language teaching in this country all these years is largely handled by

teachers who are untrained for the job.” Sonaiya (1995:18) on the

teachers incompetence, says;

Les difficultés en général, ré sultant d‟une présentation

trés souvent inadequate, de la part de l‟enseiguent, des

éléments grammaticaux de la langue. Nous savons même

que la formation des enseignants laisse beauccup à

désirer du point de vue de la grammaire

The above arguments point to the fact that some of the grammatical

errors such as the use of articles are blamed on the teachers‟

incompetence to adequately handle French grammar given their poor

qualification and training in the teaching of the French language. The

above added to those factors mentioned earlier such as mother-tongue

interference, inadequate supply of appropriate textbooks in French,

lack of qualified/trained teachers, stimulating language teaching

environment, etc are some of the major factors hampering the proper

teaching of French grammar in particular and other aspects of the

French language in general.

92

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study has no doubt, some educational implications for the

teachers of the French language in particular and secondary school

students, textbook writers in French, educational administrators as well

as formal learners of French in general at all levels. The findings of the

study show that secondary school students commit various types of

grammatical errors in written French among which are the five types

examined namely: spelling, concord, Adjectival, verb-conjugation and

Article Errors. Consequent upon the occurrence of these glaring

grammatical errors committed, they (secondary school students) can

hardly ever perform well in written French nor can they do generally

well in other aspects of the language. From these errors established to

be frequently committed by secondary school students, one can infer

that the appropriate strategies or methods are not normally adopted by

the teachers of French right from the onset. Consequently, the

students do not learn well how to write correct French grammar.

Moreover, the various grammatical errors committed by students

should form part of the content of what the French textbook writers

would incorporate in their texts. If this is done, the teachers of French,

guided by such texts would teach to the point of need of learners/

students and the students on their own part, would learn well and write

better grammar in French.

93

Finally, in recognition of the effect of these grammatical errors in

written French, educational administrators would be better positioned

to recommend appropriate textbooks to be used in the teaching and

learning of the French language for the enhancement of its proper

teaching and learning

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of the study, the following

recommendations are made:

1 Concord errors ranked highest as seen in table 1 above of all the

five error-types committed by secondary school students. The

difficulties so experienced by the students in this aspect of

grammar could be attributable to so many factors among which is

that in French, both gender and number play great roles in

agreement between nouns, subjects and adjectives. In Igbo and

French languages. For instance, gender is not as stressed as is

the case in the French language. Therefore, the teachers of

French should teach the students concord „rules in meaningful

situations and at the appropriate stages or levels too. These

concord „rules‟ should be taught at the early stage of their

learning of French for avoidance of wrong transfer of knowledge

ie Li or L2 interference either from Igbo or English language. This

impairing effect of interference is always associated with later-

94

age language learning. More so, these „rules‟ are not very

pronounced in the earlier languages, and beginning later to learn

them may lead to confusion if not properly handled.

2 Spelling and verb-conjugation were proved to rank second in

order of difficulty experienced by SS students learning French

(a) Spelling of French words should be taught well right from the

beginning more so when they are not spelt the way they are

pronounced. Emphasis should be placed on French phonetics

which basically determines how French words are spelt. Unlike in

Igbo where words are spelt as they are pronounced, certain

combinations of letters in French give specific sounds which

determine their spelling. Proper mastery of such combinations

and their sound will go a long way in aiding the learners of

French while trying to pronounce French words. For instance,

such combinations of letters as ‟au‟, ou‟, ui‟, „en‟, on‟ etc have

their specific pronunciations‟ any deviation form which shall

culminate in wrong pronunciation: Therefore, teachers of French

should properly drill the students on the basic pronunciations of

French words containing such letters in good time enough.

Appropriate situations should be created by French teachers in

which the students are carefully taught spelling.

95

(b) In the same way, verb-conjugation in French was equally

observed to pose some serious problems to students. This,

because the style of conjugation in French does not follow the

same process as either in Igbo or English languages. Moreover,

French verbs are categorized into groups and are conjugated in

specific forms. This requires careful handling in order to avoid

confusing the students. The teachers of French should therefore,

endeavour to give the students proper drilling on the conjugation

of each of the groups of French verbs in meaningful contexts

beginning with simple and easy ones first. Each of the groups

should be taught at a time. Adequate attention should be given

to verb-conjugation in French teaching for it is only correct and

appropriate verb-conjugation and use that can lead to clarity of

expression or meaning in written as well as spoken French.

3 Adjectival Errors came third in order of the students‟ difficulty as

shown in table 1 above. From the findings, it was observed that

in order to avoid the difficulty posed by gender- distinction in the

use of adjectives in written French, the students either avoided

using adjectives or used them sparingly in the composition given

them to write. This is consequent upon the fact that in the first

two languages they have already mastered to an extent, the

distinction between masculine and feminine adjectives is almost

96

non-existent. On the other hand French is very gender-

conscious with few exceptions. French teachers should start the

teaching of adjectives in French early enough stressing on the

role played by gender in the choice of adjectives to be made in

qualifying which nouns in French. Teachers should also let the

students know that adjectives in French normally agree with the

subjects they qualify in „gender‟ and in „number‟ as against the

background in Igbo and English languages.

4 Article Errors though ranked last should equally be given

adequate treatment by the French teachers. Gender of article

both masculine and feminine as well as singular and plural

should be very well taught. Proper use of these articles should be

treated progressively to enable the learners or students know

where and when to use them correctly with subjects and or

nouns in French.

5 Teachers of the French language should master factors that

contribute to the problems encountered by the students while

learning French such as: mother tongue interference, intralingual

as well as developmental problems. Such problems should be

put into consideration while planning what to teach the students

6 Every teacher of French should adopt the best corrective

techniques that best suit the individual student(s) in particular

97

and the class as a whole which he thinks most effective in the

teaching and learning of French.

7 Based on a detailed analysis of students errors, teachers should

plan out effective remedial instruction‟s or corrective strategies

for the students.

8 The federal ministry of education: the state ministries of

education, the National Universities commission, National

council on Colleges of Education, the French representatives in

Nigeria should create a forum where research findings would be

discussed by the researchers and French teachers to make for

currency and subsequent application of the findings in the class

room situation.

Limitations:

For purposes of thoroughness the research was limited to just

five aspects of grammatical errors in written French composition. It was

also limited to selected sample senior secondary schools in Nsukka

Education Zone for the same reasons.

Lack of relevant textbooks on the teaching of French as a second

official (foreign) language in Nigeria somehow affected the literature

review for not many books/authors were cited in French.

Suggestions for Further Research

I suggest further research in the following areas

98

1 A similar study could be carried out in all the schools doing

French in another geographical area.

2 A study could be carried out in general difficulties facing the

French language teaching in the Zone.

3 The causes of grammatical errors in written French composition.

4 The techniques of teaching French language as a second

foreign – language in Nigeria

5 the influence of intralingual ed interlingual factors in the study of

French.

6 A contrastive study of grammatical items in English, Igbo and

French languages

Summary of the study

The present study set out to analyse grammatical errors

committed in written composition in French by senior secondary

school students in Nsukka Zone, Enugu state. Specifically the aspects

of errors analysed were concord, spelling, article use. The intention

was to analyse these errors committed by ss students in the zone,

find out the frequency of their occurrence and determine which sex

committed more of what errors. It also highlighted the possible

variables that engendered these errors and measures to be taken to

reduce or eliminate the occurrence of these errors and enhance the

99

performance of these students in written French to make for

proficiency in French.

To guide the study, the following research questions were

posed:

1 What types of grammatical errors occur in written French

composition by senor secondary school students in Nsukka

Zone?

2 What is the extent of difference between errors committed by

male and female senior secondary (ss) students in French?

To further help in answering the research questions, the

following hypothesis was tested.

1 There is no significant difference between the frequency of

different types of grammatical errors in written French

composition of boys and girls in secondary schools.

Review of related literature indicates that the teaching of second

and third languages is beset by lack of competent and qualified

teachers as well as the difference in background of the first language

(Li) and that of second (third) languages(s) (L2) Thus the glaring

100

occurrence of errors committed by the students resulting from

unnecessarily baseless comparison.

The study employed descriptive survey research design. Eighty

eight (88) senior secondary male and females students drawn from

eight secondary schools in Nsukka Zone were used. The population

was sourced from seven co-educational schools and one Girls‟ school

in the zone. Stratified random sampling technique was used. In each

school, regular French teachers helped the researcher to administer

the instrument on the respondents (students). The instrument used

was a composition on “Mon École” written on a page in French.

The data collected from the study were analysed through the

use of percentages (%)

The results of the study show that:

1 Senior secondary school students commit grammatical errors in

written composition in French especially in spelling, concord,

Adjectives, verb-conjugation and Articles use among others.

2 Male and female senior secondary students commit these errors

in varying degrees.

3 The difference between the frequency of errors committed by SS

male and female students is not significant therefore the null

hypothesis is not rejected

101

4 The errors committed by these SS students are as a result of the

difference between French grammatical structures and the

vernacular language (s) of the learners

5 There is hardly any similarity or resemblance between the

backgrounds of the French language and that of the Igbo

language – the first language of these learners.

6 The French language stresses gender to the extent that

adjectives that qualify masculine nouns differ from those that

qualify feminine nouns. This is conspicuously absent in Igbo

language which learners tend to compare with French about

being learnt.

7 In French, verbs are inflected according to person and number

while in Igbo language there is no such inflection of verbs

8 The words „ne‟ and „pas‟ which mean „not‟ in French are

normally separated by the main verb in French language

sentence construction but this is not existent in Igbo.

9 In French, there is an arbitrary grouping of humans, living and

non-living things into two genders masculine and feminine

without any neuter gender as is the case in English.

102

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study the following conclusions are

drawn

1 In view of the fact that the students glaringly commit these five

errors analysed among other things, teachers of French should

right from the onset, focus and stress on their correct use by the

students in good time enough.

2 Since the difference in background of the L1 L2 (L3) poses great

difficulties to the learners of French who start this learning from

secondary school, efforts should be made by the governments

so that the French language teaching and learning would begin

right from infancy to make for resistance to mother tongue

interference.

3 French words do not share in structures with the learners‟ L1,

therefore, the differences between them should be exposed by

the teachers of French early enough to make for improved

performance.

4 Most French verbs are irregular in the way they are conjugated

unlike in English and Igbo languages with which the learners are

103

already familiar. There is the need, therefore, for these French

verbs to be handled well by experts in French language teaching

5 Since there is no significant difference between the performance

of male and female students, co-educational schooling should

therefore be encouraged.

6 In French, there is what is called “Faux Amis” or „False Friends‟.

These are words written and spelt in the same way in English

and French languages but have completely different meanings

in the two languages. Such words should be exposed in good

time enough to avoid confusing the learners of French especially

as a second official language in Nigeria

7 Enough qualified teachers should be recruited and posted to

schools to handle this teaching of French. Such teachers should

be given adequate incentives regularly to sustain their interest in

teaching French instead of looking for other jobs outside

teaching.

104

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110

Appendixes 1

Instrument “Mon Ecole”

Mon école s appelle queen of the Rosary Secondary school

Nsukka. il se troure lle Enugu Road dans la local lite de Nsukka.

Il est d‟ trés loa de la ville. Ilest pres d‟ ede. Mon ecloe est grand

c‟ est art ecole de villes. Il ya deax ecole dirrerentes dans mo école.

Parexample, on a cjunior secondary School et la deuxime s‟ appelle

senior Secondary School.

Les deux out des difectrices diferentes „la directrice de junior

Secondary s‟ appelle Mrs Eu‟zabath ozor ou la directrice de senior

Secondary s‟ appell lolo Vero obi.

Dans mon école, Junior Secondary se trouve ă gauche, ou

senior secondary se trouve ā droit.

111

Composition about Mon E‟cole.

Deue nom deem on e‟cole a queen of the Rosary Secondary

school Nsukka. Queen of the Rosary Secondary school éta,s creer en

le année 19 61. insérer mon e‟cole, là est foule maitresse

enseignement different sounettre, Nous avoir apeu 200 de les. Le e‟

cole avoir foule foyer insērer IL semblabe maison 1- 6 et aussi foule

classé de Jss 1 à ancient secondary e‟ cole.

Deux e‟cole ētais dividend dans double, Nous avoir le ancient et

cadet secondarire. The nom est deux double principal ce règlement

deux e‟coleare Mrs UEROBI et MRS Ozor tus de les contribuer chose

ensemble, si ce deux e cole volonte être aller amednde.

Je semblable mon e‟cole parce est le art chretien e‟[cole ce

avoir foule maîtresse.

112

III

- - Correlation Coefficients - -

SCORER1 SCORER2

SCORER1 1.0000 .7187

( 10) ( 10)

P= . P= .019

SCORER2 .7187 1.0000

( 10) ( 10)

P= .019 P= .

(Coefficient / (Cases) / 2-tailed significance)

“ . “ is printed if a coefficient cannot be computed.

Documents

ODO, SAMUEL IFEANYICHUKWU PG/M.ED/03/34313 IFEAYI BAGROUND O… · LANGUAGE COMMITTED BY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL ... Conclusion 92 References ... composition committed by Senior Secondary