Influence of mother tongue in the learning of English Language among Senior Secondary Students

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

            This chapter critically analyzed the data collected from the field in the study area. A total of 100 questionnaires were administered to the respondents. The questionnaire was designed to gather information concerning the opinions and feelings of the respondents on the influence of mother tongue in the learning of English Language among Senior Secondary Students in Ondo West Local Government of Ondo State. The Questionnaires were responded to by the students and data collected were gathered for use by the researcher. Data were analyzed using simple percentage method.

SA/A=Yes     

SD/D=No

4.1       Research Question Analysis

Research Questions 1: What are the importance of mother tongue on the learning of English Language?

Table 4.1 Importance Of Mother Tongue On The Learning Of English Language

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Table 1 shows that 100% of the respondents agreed that English Language is important in our everyday life, 74% of the total number of respondents are of the opinion that English Language serves as a universal medium of communication while the remaining 26% did not agree to this opinion. 58% of the total respondents opined that students who use mother tongue performed poorly in English Language but this was not accepted by the remaining 42% , 71% of the total number of respondents disagreed to the opinion that one’s mother tongue does not affect learning of English Language while the remaining 29% agreed to the opinion. 83% of the respondents understand better in the classroom when their teacher switches to their mother tongue while the remaining 17% disagreed to this opinion, 89% of the respondents affirmed that the usage of mother tongue during explanation in classes makes understanding easier  but the remaining 11% were of a contrary opinion, 100% of the respondents agreed that the first tongue a child learns has a great impact in the child’s learning and assimilation. 71% of the respondents opined that the English language class gets interesting immediately the teacher switches to mother tongue while 29% were of a different opinion, 88% agreed that mother tongue assists in the learning of English language  while the remaining 12% are of a different opinion. 57% of the total number of respondents agreed that students who speak English language consistently perform better in the classroom while the remaining 43% are of a contrary opinion.

Research Questions 2: What are the challenges of mother tongue on the learning of English language?

Table 4.2

Challenges Of Mother Tongue On The Learning Of English Language

            Table 4.2 above shows that 87% of the total number of respondents are of the opinion that English language in well taught in their schools while 13% disagreed to it, 75% of the respondents affirmed that their English language teacher has a good mastery of the subject but 25% disagreed to that opinion, 68% of the total number of respondents agreed that their teachers express themselves in English language in the school premises while 32% claim their teachers o not express themselves in English language, 38% of the respondents speak their mother tongue always even in the school but the remaining 62% disagreed to that, 49% of the respondents agreed that when they speak English their mother tongue reflect in it while the remaining 51% do not agree to this, 69% of the respondents claim that they have issues in learning of English language because of the way their teacher teaches the subject and the remaining 31% are against that, 51% of the respondents switch languages during conversations in school while the remaining 49% were of a contrary opinion, 71% of the respondents are of the opinion that their school prohibits students from speaking their mother tongue in the school premises but the remaining 29%  are of a contrary opinion, 53% of the respondents agreed that their students are punished for speaking any other language other than English on the school premises but the other 47% claim they are not punished for speaking other languages other than English language, 57% of the respondents agreed that their teachers switch languages during conversations in school and 43% opined that their teachers do not switch languages during conversations in schools.

4.2       Discussion of Findings

            The data presentation in table 4.1 shows the importance of mother tongue on the learning of English language. Mother tongue allows for easier learning and assimilation of the language, as it is the first language a child learns and its easier for the child to pick anything explained in his first language. English language classes get interesting immediately the teacher switches languages this is in accordance with the research of Rutu (2017) which emphasized that children who learn in mother tongue enjoy school more and learn faster due to feeling comfortable environment”.

Table 4.2 discusses the challenges of mother tongue on the learning of English language. The teacher’s mastery of subject matter is a huge determinant of student’s performance in English language, speaking of English language regularly promotes learning of the subject. Students are punished in some schools when they use language other than English language on the school, this is meant to make them accustomed to the use of English. This finding support the research of Ipek (2009) when emphasized that when a learner is confronted with a new language, he usually faces problems arising from the differences between the linguistic system of his Mother’s tongue and the target language.