SURVEY OF CAUSES OF STUDENT’S DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

This study is designed to look at causes of student’s difficulties in learning English language among senior secondary school students in Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto State; Implications for language Educators. The study looks at the difficulties student encounter in the learning of English language and which could be the reason for their lack of proficiency in Oral and written English.

Learning is relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of exposure to condition in the environment. Also learning is an inference from some performance of the organism manifesting change of behavior, change in behavior must be permanent and this implies gain to the organism for his/her survival. However, the concept of learning is the relatively permanent change in behavior or capability that results from experience. It is concerned with relatively stable change that occurs in an individual behavior as a result of interaction with his environment. The reasons that cause student difficulty in English language learning are due to learners, lack of efficiency of the school, and the insufficient parents’ promotion of the language. Moreover, Alderman (2004), observes on the students’ poor performance in language learning affected from a lack of effort, lack of effective learning strategies, whereas a good language learner is a highly motivated student and a successful user of a large number of different strategies (Trawinski, 2005). So, teachers have to help them improve the motivational belief and language learning strategies in order to find ways that reach to their academic achievement.

English language teaching involves appropriate selection of graded materials which are within the ability level of the students concerned just like any other school subject. It also involves careful preparation of scheme of work and lesson plans with relevant details. The choice of method, techniques and aids must be suitable for the subject (English language).

Methods and techniques refer to the ways of giving information on how to get something or training a student in particular skills which he can then utilize for him or herself. This study is concerned with finding out the causes of student’s difficulty in learning English language in areas such as grammar, composition and oral English. The study is to find out measures to develop student language skills so that those difficulties will be minimized and to enable the students to communicate in English, write in it and gain mastery of it.

Teachers of English have to vary their teaching methods bearing in mind that there are individual differences with regards to teaching/learning processes. Some students are slow learners while others are fast learners. The teacher as a result of this has to derive a means of reaching the needs of the students in such situation.

By using a comparative approach of individual students’ and to identify the various difficulties that can be important for English language learning, with a view to finding possible solution to the difficulties identified.