The Challenges of Effective Teaching and Learning of English in Multilingual Settings

Abstract

The indispensability of effective teaching and learning of English as second language (ESL) in a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-dialectal society like Nigeria is unquestionable. This is because it is the only language that cuts across all ethnic boundaries and the official medium of instruction through which learners learn other subjects in the school curriculum. It is therefore, the only potent means of gaining access into the world of knowledge such as science, ICT, technology, arts, mass media and commerce in Nigeria. In spite of this, the Nigerian learners’ heterogeneous linguistic background continues to be a major obstacle to English proficiency in the country. Consequently, the learners’ spoken and written English are fraught with different forms of interference errors, ranging from phonological, syntactic, morphological, semantic and lexical interference. These situations have led to miscommunication, lack of clarity in conversations, low interaction between the teachers and students, as well as, poor comprehension among learners. This study therefore, adopts a documentary approach to examine how the Nigeria’s multilingual nature affects effective learning of English in her educational developmental strides. It recommends ways which ESL learners can make the teaching and learning of English very easier, effective and better. It therefore, behoves on the management of schools and teachers of English language to do adopt the recommendations in this study so their ESL learners are not excluded from the “Cream of the World’s” scholarship programme.