consisting of sounds, words or grammar. It’s the
system of communication used by the people of a
particular country or profession. Every country in
the world have their local and official languages.
Most of these countries got their official language
from their colonial masters. Countries like
Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Nigeria are
former British colonies.
Nigeria is a country that is blessed with many
languages and dialects. Some of her major
languages are, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Edo, Calabar,
Kogi, just to mention but a few. Each tribe in
Nigeria has a language and some dialects. For
instance, Yoruba tribe speaks Yoruba language
but each town in that region has a dialect. Some
of the dialects are, Egba for Abeokuta, Ijebu for
Ijebu towns, Ikale for Ikale in Ondo state, Ibadan
for Ibadan city, Awori for Lagos.
Every tribe in Nigeria are using their language to
control their government systems until British
colonials took over in 18th century. All the tribes
were later amalgamated to what we known as
Nigeria, today. They introduced western education
and their language which is English became
official language in Nigeria. English language was
also recommended as the official language to
teach in Nigerian schools. All subjects are taught
with English language except subjects in Nigerian
languages. Such as Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo
language.
However, some Nigerian students failed to know
the importance of English language in their
academics. Most of them believe that English
language is compulsory for some particular
students not everybody, i.e. Art students. In fact,
it baffles me sometimes when I hear an
engineering student saying English language is
not important to him. The attitude of “English is
not our language” is another problem for some
Nigerian students which is causing setback for
them. This is why many of them don’t care about
the mechanical accuracy of their written answers
in standard exams.
My observations on some students proved that
some are not lazy in reading but to compose their
answers is what always be a problem for them in
exams. Failure to improve on grammar really has
impact on the mass failure of Nigerian students.
You may have experienced a situation where
someone who is not a book maniac like you earn
better marks than you. Such person may earn the
marks because his answers are well presented
not with bribery or expo. This is because many
examiners don’t joke with the mechanical
accuracy of their students especially in tertiary
institutions.
Every student that want to excel in their
academics need to always work on the
mechanical accuracy of their answers in any
exam. The mechanics in English language include,
spelling, grammar, phonics, punctuation marks,
semantic (contextual and literal), lexis and
structure. Speaking or writing with big grammar
doesn’t make you a good speaker or writer but
your proper usage of lexicons with lesser
semantic error. Most Nigerian students always
write with big grammar in order to impress their
examiners without considering the semantic of
their answers. In fact, improper usage of
puctuation marks can make you lose
unimagineable marks.
Although, background and environmental factors
are causes of lagging behind of some people in
English language but you can apply below
suggestions to improve your spoken and written
English.
* Always read good books that are written with
up-to-date English.
* Avoid addiction to cyber text because it can
affect your proper usage of lexicons.
* Always read good articles and also try to write
something meaningful everyday. This will help
you to improve your writing skill.
* Join educational forums or groups where you
can meet people who know better than you. I
recommend ‘English Language Clinic Forum’ on
facebook.
* Buy standard dictionary because it’s the best
authorized source to guide you. This is because
you’re not a native speaker.
Examples are:
– Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
– Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
– Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
– Concise Oxford English Dictionary
– BBC Dictionary
* Always give yourself regular self-test and give it
to someone who knows better than you to grade
you. This will help you to expand your horizons.
* Don’t stick to your English language teacher
alone. Always do research to update yourself in
order not to be outdated.
* You must know the differences between British
English (BrE) and American English (AmE).
Lastly, always remember that British English (BrE)
is the acceptable English in Nigeria especially for
examinations. Everything that I mentioned in this
article are what I’ve seen and heard. You cannot
dispute the influence of English language on your
academics as a Nigerian student. I’ve also
experienced them and I’m still learning.
Thanks to my English language teachers from, Mr
Rasheed Ajao at Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan
to Dr Abiola Jesulowo and Dr Peter Adejumo at
The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Adeseun Ogundoyin
Campus, Eruwa (now, The Ibarapa Polytechnic,
Eruwa). I also appreciate my role model, Dr
Adenike Akinjobi (Mrs), Department of English,
University of Ibadan.
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