DIFFICULT TOPICS AND ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE: THE PERCEPTION OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN MAKURDI TOWNSHIP, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study determined which topics in the English language curriculum for senior secondary school are perceived by students and teachers as difficult. It also examined difficult topics vis-à-vis English language achievement. Seven research questions were answered using descriptive statistics and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistics. The study involving twelve English language teachers and one hundred and eighty seven students was carried out in Makurdi Township, Benue State, Nigeria during the second term of 2015/16 academic session. A self-developed questionnaire with closed-ended items was used to elicit data. Since the researcher relied on the opinion of the respondents for data collection, survey design was chosen as method of research. The results of the analysis showed that out of the 35 topics selected from the SSCE syllabus and prescribed textbooks for English at that level, teachers perceived 14 as difficult topics, while students perceived 22 as difficult topics. The reasons why they were experiencing difficulty with the topics were poor reading and study skills, absence of motivation, hatred for English language, poor experience with the subject, and poor teaching methods. The study recommended remedial teaching of difficult topics, the use of ICT; retraining of teachers, peer teaching, and professionalization of teachers as steps to improve English language teaching and learning.

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