Abstract:
For the Nigerian child, the knowledge and skills he has to master by the end of primary education are given through the medium of English language. English is therefore an important tool and a mastery of its skills should enhance the child's educational and career progress. This study is interested in finding out the level of oral English performance of primary pupils in their final year. Some 120 primary-six pupils from four schools represented four geographical locations within Zaria township and three approaches to the learning of English as a medium of Education in Nigeria. The four schools showed effects of some identified extra-language variables on their performances. The variables are: language facilities, language environment at home and school, the parents' level of education and the ages of the pupils. The tools of the study included three tests, namely: the listening comprehension, the oral reading and the free response tests as well as the school observation reports.
The study's findings are:- (1) That most of the subjects scored passing grades in the listening comprehension tests due to a familiarity with similar exercises in their previous school experiences. (2) That conversely, most of the subjects scored poorly in both the oral reading and the free response tests due to an inadequate and irregular exposure to the learning and use of English language. (3) That of all the variables, the availability of language facilities or otherwise language environment of the school and the age at which the subjects got exposed to the learning and use of English had more significant effects on their performance. (4) That the age variable was positive when subjects got exposed to learning English early, and negative when the exposure was irregular and late. This is a singular and established finding of this study. The study recommends:- (1) That testing oral English at the primary school level, which is at present rather neglected and new, should be encouraged for its beneficial wash-back effects on language teaching at all school levels. (2) That the methods used by those primary schools who got their pupils exposed early to the learning and use of English language with such significantly beneficial results be recommended for all primary schools based on the outcomes of this study.
