Project Abstract

<p> </p><p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>The purpose of the study was to investigate the status of oral English instruction in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone. It was conducted in Nsukka Education Zone in Enugu State. The population of the study was all the senior secondary school English language teachers in the Education zone. There was no sampling as all the English language teaches (300) consisting of 200 and 100 from rural and urban schools were used in the study. The oral English teaching status (OETSI) was the instrument fro data collection. The instrument was a 4-point likert type scale whose value ranged from 4 to 1 point for strongly agree and strongly disagree options respectively. Both the validation and reliability of the instrument were done and reliability coefficient of 0.68 was established. After administering and obtaining data from the respondents, mean, standard deviation and t-test were used in analysis of data. Some of the major findings were that the use of game activities, poems and songs, pronunciation exercises, taped cassettes are employed by oral English teachers; that oral English is mostly taught when WAEC/NECO examinations were at hand; and that mother tongue interference and lack of oral English teaching materials was a problem encountered by teachers in oral English instruction. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that a unified in-service training for oral English teachers in secondary schools in area of methods for oral English instruction be provided for serving teachers and that teacher education institutions should intensity training for students-teachers in oral English instruction.</p> <br><p></p>

Project Overview

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b></p><p> In Nigeria, English language is a second language. This is because Nigeria is a country with multiplicity of languages which are indigenous to the different ethnic groups in the country. Azikiwe (1998) observed that the English language was introduced in Nigeria by Christian missionaries in 1842. This was meant to foster communication between the missionaries and indigenous people, which resulted in a shift from the informal form of education to the formal form. As a result of the role of English language as a second language of intentional communication and the multilingual nature of the Nigerian society, English was voluntarily adopted for official and interethnic communication in the country. Since then, English language since then has come to serve various vital functions in the life of the nation. Of all these functions however, its role as the language of education is paramount since education gives life and essence to all other spheres of human endeavour (Obanya, 2002). This function is also emphasized to it by the National Policy on Education, which makes English language mandatory in secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria. It is also the language of evaluation in school as it is used for assessing students in the first school leaving certificates examination, junior secondary school certificate examinations and senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other professional examination. Given the importance of English language as subject, common sense demands that students should perform well in it but instead, it has been a downward trend. It is expected that after learning English language for so many years, students would have reached a certain level of proficiency but it is not so. A look at the summary of English language result in secondary school level, the results of senior school certificate examination (SSCE) in Afikpo North Educational Zone of Ebonyi State between 2012-2013 reveals that the performance has not been encouraging as the rate of failures has been high. The English language examination for the senior secondary school certificate (SSCE) is divided into three distinct papers, referred to as paper, I, II, and III. Paper I &amp; II consist of objective test and essay respectively while paper III is oral English. The oral section requires that the candidates must acquired the ability to differentiate between language correctly, such a candidate must learn the sounds of the language and how each sound is pronounced, how it may be combined with one or more of the other sounds to form the words we use when speaking the language. Oral English refers to the spoken form of the English language. It is that uttered through the medium of speech or characterized speech. This is in contrast to the written aspect of the language. It comprises the English speech sound, and the study of the speech sounds which would also be referred to as English phonetic (Osisanwo, 2007). In a more vivid explanation, Onuigbo (1996) state that oral English studies the sound system of English which is made up of two features. These two features according to him include segmental features and the supra- segmental features. The segmental features deal with the vowels and the consonants, while the supra- segmental features deal with the stress, intonation and rhythm. The vowels and consonants are different sound segment but the features of stress, intonation and rhythm affect the quality of sounds and extend over longer sequences of utterance like words, phrases and sentences.&nbsp; leaving certificates examination, junior secondary school certificate examinations and senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other professional examination. Given the importance of English language as subject, common sense demands that students should perform well in it but instead, it has been a downward trend. It is expected that after learning English language for so many years, students would have reached a certain level of proficiency but it is not so. A look at the summary of English language result in secondary school level, the results of senior school certificate examination (SSCE) in Afikpo North Educational Zone of Ebonyi State between 2012-2013 reveals that the performance has not been encouraging as the rate of failures has been high. The English language examination for the senior secondary school certificate (SSCE) is divided into three distinct papers, referred to as paper, I, II, and III. Paper I &amp; II consist of objective test and essay respectively while paper III is oral English. The oral section requires that the candidates must acquired the ability to differentiate between language correctly, such a candidate must learn the sounds of the language and how each sound is pronounced, how it may be combined with one or more of the other sounds to form the words we use when speaking the language. Oral English refers to the spoken form of the English language. It is that uttered through the medium of speech or characterized speech. This is in contrast to the written aspect of the language. It comprises the English speech sound, and the study of the speech sounds which would also be referred to as English phonetic (Osisanwo, 2007). In a more vivid explanation, Onuigbo (1996) state that oral English studies the sound system of English which is made up of two features. These two features according to him include segmental features and the supra- segmental features. The segmental features deal with the vowels and the consonants, while the supra- segmental features deal with the stress, intonation and rhythm. The vowels and consonants are different sound segment but the features of stress, intonation and rhythm affect the quality of sounds and extend over longer sequences of utterance like words, phrases and sentences.&nbsp; communication facilities and features that variously support teaching, learning and a range of activities in education. In other words, ICT is computer and telecommunication based facilities, which provide the capability for the transfer of data from one work station to another for the purpose of teaching and learning. Akintunde (2004) maintains that ICT concerns the use of computer, telephone and other technologies to process, transport and transfer voice and other signals singularly or mixed with least interference or distortion of content. From the foregoing, this researcher sees ICT as those technologies such as computer and telecommunication equipment which is used to transmit voice, text sounds and image which support teaching, learning, as well as the management of information. ICT consists of all technical facilities used in formation handing and communication, including computer and network hardware as well as telephony, broadcast media and all types of audio and video processing and transmission. These equipment may enhance the teaching of oral English if they are well used by teachers. The use of ICT faculties reduces the burden of the teacher. With the ICT facilities, the teachers’ role in the classroom will be shifted from being the sole provider of information to a facilitator of learning and manager of instructional resources. These modern facilities such as radio, television, telephone, language lab, microphone etc. have replaced the traditional “chalk and talk” method of teaching. In this regard, the use of ICT facilities challenges students to learn independently. Ajayi and Ekundayo (2009) submitted that learners are more highly motivated when their learning is supported by ICT facilities. The authors maintained that students seem to be more engaged in activity process, show increased interest and demonstrate a longer attention span. knowing full well that students are at the centre of all teaching and learning process, their perspective play an important part in framing the activity that takes place in school setting. Indeed, it has been argued that young people should be seen as active participants in shaping social and educational process rather than viewed as passive recipient of them (Pollard &amp; Tann 1993). Emphasizing on the perception of students in the use of ICT facilities in teaching, Ruddock &amp; Flutter (2000), noted that young people are capable of insightful and constructing analysis of their experiences of learning in school and are able to comment on teaching approaches and context that are helpful in their learning. Therefore, the use of ICT facilities helps students to keep pace with the new trend in teaching of the English language as a second language. Observation has shown that traditional method of teaching is no longer adequate due to emergence of new ideas, information and even the demand of present educational system requiring modern facilities. Osakinle and Ekundayo (2010) citing Johnson, alluding to this noted that ‘the traditional method of managing education and transmitting knowledge and skills are fast becoming inadequate to deal with the accelerated change in the educational system. Therefore, the effective use of wide range of modern facilities opens up unprecedented opportunities for invigorating teaching in the schools and improving students’ achievement in course work. The above observation is a clarion call to the need for the use of ICT facilities such as radio, television, computers, telephone, internet, language laboratory, microphone etc for effective teaching of English language especially the oral skills which depend solely on sound. In spite of the obvious advantages inherent in the use of information and communication facilities in teaching English language, it is not known through research wither information and communication technology facilities are available in Afikpo North Local Government and whether teachers use them in teaching oral English in their various schools. Perhaps, this is why Tahir (1995) had observed that there is a wide gap between Nigeria and some other countries in the area of the use of information and communication technology. He viewed that while poorer countries than Nigeria have taken advantages of integrated system, CD-ROM and others to reach out to large clientele, Nigeria is still batting with paper- based instructional materials. This points to the need to investigate the availability of ICT facilities and their extent of use of ICT in the teaching of oral English in Afikpo North Local government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Based on the previous studies, the availability and extent of use of information and communication technology facilities in teaching oral English, gender in language learning and school location on students’ performance seem to be inconstant and contradictory. This calls for continuous and further research from time to time and place to place. Consequently, the aim of this study is to find out the availability and extent of use of information and communication technology facilities in teaching oral English in senior secondary schools in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Research Questions The following research questions guided the study: 1. What are the available ICT facilities for teaching Oral English? 2. To what extent do teachers posses the required ICT skills for teaching Oral English? 3. What is the extent to which ICT facilities are used for teaching Oral English in Secondary schools? 4. What extent does gender influence the use of ICT facilities in teaching Oral English? 5. To what extent does location influences the use of ICT facilities for teaching Oral English? Research Hypotheses Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female teachers in the use of ICT facilities in teaching oral English. Ho2: There is no significant different in the mean scores of teachers based on location in the use of ICT facilities for teaching oral English.&nbsp;</p><p>RESEARCH METHOD This study was a descriptive survey research design. Descriptive research designs are those studies which aim at collecting data on, and describing in a systematic manner, the characteristics, feature or facts about the give population (Nworgu, 2006). Since this study was a descriptive survey research design in which the researcher used structured questionnaire to collect data from the respondents, this study, therefore, sought to observe, describe and analyze the extent of use information and communication technology (ICT) facilities in teaching oral English. This choice was made by the researchers because the study involved studying and describing certain variables in relation to a given population. There are twenty-two (22) secondary schools in Afikpo North Local Government Area. From the available record in the statistics Department of the Secondary Education Board, Afikop Zone, there are four hundred and forty seven (447) secondary school teachers in the local government area. Out of this number, sixty one (61) are English language teachers. The population of the study therefore consisted of the sixty one (61) English language teachers in the local government area. In view of the fact that the population of English language teachers in the secondary schools in the local government area was small, all the English language teachers in the school were sampled. The sixty one (61) English language teachers in the twenty two (22) secondary schools in the local government area were therefore used for the study. The instruments for data collection were an observation checklist and a structured questionnaire entitled Use of information and communication technology (ICT) facilities for teaching and learning oral English Questionnaire (UICTFTLOEQ). The observation check list contains seventeen (17) items grouped into three categories A-C. Category A is on computers and internet facilities. Category B is on multimedia facilities while category C is on telecommunication and micro –A callable and Not available. The instrument for this study was personally administered by the researcher on the respondents. The researcher distributed 61 copies of questionnaire and collected 58 copies which were returned in usable condition were rate of 95%. These 58 copies which were returned in usable condition were used for the study. The data collected for the study was analyzed using Mean ( x ) and Standard Deviation (SD) for the research questions while the hypotheses formulated for the study were tested using a t-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance.&nbsp;</p><p> RESULTS&nbsp;</p><p>Research Question One What are the available ICT facilities for teaching oral m English? Table 1: Available ICT Facilities for Teacher Oral English S/N Facility Frequency % Available Frequency Not available Decision 1. Desktop computers 44 75.9 14 24.1 AGE 2. Laptop computers 39 67.2 19 32.4 AHE 3. Internet services 20 34.5 38 65.5 ALE 4. E-email 18 31.0 40 69.0 ALE 5. Power Point 18 31.0 40 69.0 ALE 6. Digital camera 21 36.2 37 63.8 ALE 7. Multimedia projector 18 31.0 40 69.0 ALE 8. Scanner 15 25.9 43 74.1 NAA 9. Audio-tape Recorder 20 34.5 38 65.5 ALE 10. DVD Recorder 43 74.1 15 25.9 AGE 11. Television 45 77.6 13 22.4 AGE 12. Handset 43 74.1 15 25.9 AGE 13. MP3 40 69.0 18 31.0 AHE 14. Overhead projector 19 32.8 39 67.2 ALE 15. Language Lab 15 25.9 43 74.1 NAA 16. Fax Machine 0 0.00 58 100.00 NAA 17. INTERACTIVE WHITE Board 0 0.00 58 100.00 NAA 18 CCTV Camera 0 0.00 58 100.00 NAA Key: AGE= Available to a Great Extent; AHE =Available to a High Extent; ALE= Amiable to a Less Extent; ANN= Not Available at all Table 1 shows that desktop computers, audio –tape recorder, DVD recorder and television have 75.9, 74.1. 77.6 and 74.1 percentage respectively. It means that they are available for the teaching to oral English to a great extent. Laptop computers and handset have 67.2 and 67.2 and 69.0 percentages respectively. These indicate that these facilities are available to a high extent. Internet services, e-mail, PowerPoint, digital camera scanner and MSP3 have 34.5, 31.0 36.2, 31.0, 34.5 and 32.8 percentage respectively. Multimedia projection, overhead projector, language laboratory, fax machine, interactive whiteboard and close circuit camera are not available at all. These facilities have percentages ranging from 0-29%.</p><p>&nbsp; Research Question Two&nbsp;</p><p>To what extent do teachers posses the required ICT skills for teaching oral English? Table II: Extent Teachers Possess Required ICT skills for Teaching Oral English S/N ICT Skill x SD Decision 13. Keyboarding skills 3.66 .48 VHS 14. Ability to save and retrieve documents 3.52 .63 VHS 15. Ability to communicate with others via e-mail/internet 3.10 .92 HS 16. Programming skill 1.53 .80 LS 17. Ability to format document 3.03 1.03 HS 18. Ability to use projector 2.97 .84 Hs 19. Know how to record sounds audio-tape recorder 3.60 .62 VHS 20. Know to operate a digital camera 1.81 .89 LS 21. Ability to use MP3 to teach pronunciation 3.81 .89 VHS 22. Know how to boot a system 3.88 .33 VHS 23. Know how to send text messages using handset 3.79 .33 VHS 24. Know how to prepare slide and present PowerPoint 2.45 .88 LS 25 Ability to import images and graphics into folders and documents 2.14 .95 LS Cluster Mean 3.02 .42 HS Key: VHS = Very high skill; HS = High skill; LS- Less Skill Results in Table II shows that teachers possessed skills of keyboarding, ability to save and retrieve documents, recording sounds with audio- tape recorder, use of MP3 to teach pronunciation, booting of a system booting of a system and sending text messages with handset to a very high extent skill. These items have means (x) of 3.52, 3.60, 3.81, 3.88 and 3.79 respectively with corresponding standard deviations, 48, 63, .62, 89, and .33 respectively. The respondents possessed skills of communicating with others via e-mail /internet (3.10) and use of projector (2.97) to a high extent. The respondents possessed to a less extent skills of programming, operating digital camera and importing images and graphics into folders and documents. These items have means ( x ) of 1.53, 1.81 and 2.14 with standard deviation of .80, 89 and .95 respectively. The cluster mean of 3.02 and standard deviation of .42 indicate that teachers possessed ICT skill to high extent generally. Research Question Three What is the extent to which ICT facilities are used for teaching oral English in Secondary schools? Table III: Extent to which ICT facilities are used for teaching oral English in Secondary schools S/N ICT Skill x SD Decision 1. Desktop computers 3.47 .57 HE 2. Laptop computers 3.64 .64 VHE 3. Internet services 2.94 .83 HE 4. E-mail 2.88 .82 HE 5. PowerPoint 2.45 .73 LS 6. Digital Camera 1.79 .72 LS 7. Scanner 1.64 .95 Ls 8. Audio-tape Recorder 3.67 .60 VHE 9. DVD recorder 3.60 .70 VHE 10. Television 1.97 1.20 LS 11. Handset 3.57 .77 VHE 12. MP3 3.53 .80 VHE Cluster Mean 2.93 .30 HS Key: VHE = Very high extent; HE = High extent; LS= Less extent&nbsp; Result in Table III shows that teachers use laptop computers, audio-tape recorders, DVD recorders, handset and MPS to a very high extent in teaching oral English. These items have mean scores of 3.64, 3.67, 3.60, 3.57, 3.53 and corresponding standard deviations of .64, .60, .70 and .80 respectively. Desktop computers, internet services and e-mail, have mean scores of 3.47, 2.94, 2.88 and standard deviations of .57, .83 and .82 respectively indicating that they were used to high extent in teaching of oral English. PowerPoint, digital camera, scammer and television were used to a less extent. These items have 2.45, 1. 77, 1.64 and 1.97 mean scores and .73, .72, 95, and 1.20 corresponding standard deviations respectively. The cluster mean is 2.93 indicating that teachers use the available ICT facilities in teaching oral English to a high extent. Research Question Four What extent does gender influence the use of ICT facilities in teaching oral English? Table IV: Extent Gender Influences the use of ICT Facilities in Teaching Oral English S/N Facility Male x N=27 D Female N- 31 1. Desktop computers 3.48 HE 3.45 HE 2. Laptop computers 3.63 VHE 3.45 VHE 3. Internet services 2.78 HE 3.10 HE 4. E-email 2.89 HE 2.87 HE 5. Power Point 2.52 HE 2.39 LE 6. Digital camera 2.00 LE 1.61 LE 7. Scanner 1.85 LE 1.45 NA 8. Audio –tape Recorder 3.56 VHE 3.77 VHE 9 DVD Recorder 3.48 HE 3.71 VHE 10. Television 1.98 LE 2.00 LE 11. Handset 3.59 VHE 3.54 VHE 12 MP3 2.93 HE 2.92 HE Cluster Mean 2.93 HE 2.92 HE Key: X = Mean of male teachers; D = Decision of male teacher; X 1 = Mean of female teachers D1=Decision of female teachers Result in Table V indicates that a cluster means of 2.93 and 2.92 for male facilities to a high extent in teaching oral English. They however differed on their uses of PowerPoint, Scanner, and DVD. Research Question Five To what extent does location influences the use of ICT facilities for teaching oral English? Table V: Extent location inferences the use of ICT facilities for teaching Oral English S/N Facility Male x N=27 D Female N- 31 1. Desktop computers 3.68 VHF 3.22 HE 2. Laptop computers 3.81 VHE 3.44 HE 3. Internet services 3.3.2 HE 2.52 HE 4. E-email 3.19 HE 2.52 HE 5. Power Point 2.74 HE 2.11 LE 6. Digital camera 1.97 LE 1.59 LE 7. Scanner 1.68 LE 1.59 LE 8. Audio –tape Recorder 3.68 VHE 3.48 HE 9 DVD Recorder 3.48 HE 3.71 VHE 10. Television 1.98 LE 2.00 LE 11. Handset 3.59 VHE 3.54 VHE 12 MP3 3.58 VHE 3.48 HE Cluster Mean 3.06 HE 2.177 HE Key: X = Mean of urban teachers; D= Decision of urban teachers; X 1 = Mean of rural teachers D1=Decision of rural teachers Result is Table V shows that the cluster means for both urban and rural teachers were 3.06 and 2.77 respectively. These indicate that they use ICT facilities in teaching oral English to a high extent. However, the urban teachers use these facilities more than their rural counterparts as shown in items 1, 2, 8 and 12. Hypotheses HO1: There is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female teachers in the use of ICT facilities in teaching oral English. Table VI: Summary of t-test influence of gender on the teachers’ use of ICT facilities Gender N X df T Sig. Decision Urban 27 2.93 56 .21 .84 NS Rural 31 2.92 The summary of t-test on table VI shows that t (.21) is significant at. 84. It means that 0.05 level of probability the hypothesis was postulated, the hypothesis was not significant. Therefore, the hypothesis is accepted. H02: There is no significant different in the mean scores of teachers based on location in the use of ICT facilities for teaching oral English. Table VI: Summary of t-test influence of influence of location the teachers’ use of ICT facilities Gender N X df T Sig. Decision Urban 31 3.06 56 .56 .00 S Rural 27 2.77 The summary of t-test on Table VII indicates that t (.56) is significant at .00 which is less than .05 probability level the hypothesis was formulated. This means that the null hypothesis as stated is rejected. DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS Available ICT facilities for teaching of Oral English The results of the findings as shown in table 1 reveal that ICT facilities are available in secondary schools in Afikpo North L.G.A to a high extent. Desktop computers, DVD recorder, television, audio- tape recorder, laptop computers and handset are the ICT faculties that are available for teaching of oral English. These findings contradict an earlier study by Ukoha (2010) which revealed that the extent of availability of computers for English language teaching was not encouraging. Two reasons mainly may account for the above findings. First, Ukoha study was conducted in 2010 while the presents study is coming six years after. This length of limit may be responsible for the consciousness, on the parts of government for the provision of ICT in schools. Secondly since secondary schools are under the state governments and the resources available to the states are not equal, it is likely to affect the fund made available by different states for the provision of ICT facilities in various schools for use by teachers of various subjects. It is also important to note that the present study was conducted in Afikpo North Ebonyi State education zone in Enugu State. ICT skills for teaching of oral English From the findings of the study as depicted in table 2 it is very clear that teachers possessed skills on the use of ICT facilities for teachers oral English in secondary schools in Afrikop L.G.A. to a high extent. This findings show that teachers possessed the required skills in the following areas, keyboarding, ability to save and retrieve documents, recording of sounds with audio-tape recorder, use of MP3 to teach pronunciation, booting of a system and sending text messages using handsets. They also possessed the skills of communicating with others via e-mail and internet and use of projector. The above findings contradict an earlier research by Okoye (2012) on the relevance of English language teachers’ knowledge senior secondary school students’ performance in reading skills. Okoye study showed that English language teachers studied neither had neither ICT skills nor the pedagogical knowledge for the case ICT in teaching secondary schools. However, the present study supports an early study by Slaouti and Barton (2007) on opportunity for practice and development of newly qualified teachers and the use of ICT in teaching foreign language in English secondary schools contexts. The result of the present study is very important because of the role ICT plays in all fields of human endeavours. The need for teachers to possess the necessary skills in the use ICT facilities for teaching of oral English is supported by Alazam et al (2012) who had earlier observed that ICT enhances the teaching and learning process by sharpening teaching skills and by increasing students’ motivations. ICT facilities use in teaching of Oral English The findings in table 3 reveal that teachers utilize the available ICT facilities for teaching oral English to a high extent. Desktop computers, Laptop computers, internet services, E-mail, Audio-tape recorder, DVD recorder Handset and MP3 are the ICT facilities which teachers utilize to a high extent for teaching oral English in secondary schools in Afikpo North L.G.A. The facilities of the present study contradict the study carried by Slaouti and Barton (2007). Against the findings of the present research Slaouti and Barton revealed that the ICT facilities most commonly used by teachers for teaching were words processing, PowerPoint and worldwide web. The reason for this contradiction may be as a result of the location where the studies were carried out. Slaouti and Barton (2007) carried out their research in the United States of America whereas the present study was conducted in Afikpo North Local Government in Ebonyi State of Nigeria. Influence of Gender on the use of ICT facilities for teaching of Oral English As shown on table IV, both male and female teachers use ICT, facilities to a high extent in teaching oral English in secondary schools in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. However, they differed on their uses of such ICT facilities as PowerPoint, Scanner, DVD and handset. All the same, a hypothesis testing on the influence of gender on the teachers’ use ICT facilities at 00.5 probability levels in table 6 shows no significant difference. This means that gender do not influence teachers ICT facility use in teaching oral English in secondary schools. This findings support previous studies as reviewed in this study. For instance, the present findings are in line with the study conducted by Bazos (2014) in Turkey on the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction on students’ vocabulary achievement, in which gender was one of the variables in the study that revolved that gender had no significant effect on students’ academic achievement. The present study also agrees with the study conducted by Lindner (2013) which aimed at finding out teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT as a teaching tool in Sweden which also found no significant difference in the attitude of the respondents on the use of ICT as a teaching tool based on gender. The above findings are not surprising because in the present time, method of imparting knowledge and teaching has changed. The teacher now helps the students to discover things rather than telling them everything in the classroom. ICT facilities play key role in this participatory learning environment and make the work of the teacher easier. As a result, both male and female teachers should know how to make use of ICT and at the same time use them for teaching especially oral English. Influence of location on the use ICT Facilities for teaching oral English The findings of the study as indicated in table 5 shows that teachers in urban areas and those in rural locations are ICT facilities in teaching oral English to a high extent. However, urban teachers use desktop computers, laptop computers audiotape and MO3 more than their rural counterparts. However, a testing of hypothesis on the influence of location on the teachers’ use of ICT facilities at 0.05 probability levels in table 7 shows significant factor in the teachers’ use of ICT facilities in teaching oral English. The findings of this study on the influence of location on the use of ICT facilities for teaching oral English contradict the earlier study by Yusuf and Adigun (2010) which concluded that location has no influence on students’ academic performance. The findings of Yusuf and Adigun are surprising because observation and other studies strongly show that location is a significant factor in students’ academic performance. Conversely, the findings of the present study support earlier studies by Lackney (1994) and Umu (2001) which concluded that location significant influence on teaching outcome and students’ performance. The findings of the present study is not surprising because it is a common knowledge that in developing countries. Nigeria inclusive, urban schools are better equipped than rural schools. In other words, ICT facilities are likely to be more available in the urban schools than in the rural schools. Furthermore most ICT need electricity for supply to function which more often are unavailable in rural locations hence the use of ICT facilities for rural schools would be limited. The above finings have implications for the government, school authority and the teachers themselves. Government should map out a sustainable strategy for short- course training programme for teachers in the state on various ICT applications to make the teachers more useful in the present dispensation. The various school authorities should organize regular hands- on training on the use of ICT for their teachers to enhance their skills. The teachers on their parts should not wait for the authorities. Personal efforts are very important if they must remain relevant in today’s world of ICT. The teachers can use their weekends and holiday periods to attend private lessons on the use different ICT facilities as well as ICT packages. This study does not claim to have examined comprehensively all that need to be known about availability and extent of use of ICT facilities for teaching oral English. As a result, there is room for further studies in the area. The researchers therefore suggests for further studies to investigate the effect of ICT facility utilization of teachers on students performance in oral English. Practitioners in the field of ICT and English should explore the effectiveness of academic qualifications on teachers’ use of ICT in teaching oral English and impediments of ICT use by teachers in oral English teaching in secondary schools. CONCLUSIONS Oral English is an essential aspect of English language. This is because it enables the English speakers to communicate their feelings, emotions and thoughts thereby contributing to the growth of the human society. It therefore becomes necessary that oral English should be taught in secondary schools. The utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) has proven to be a veritable tool for the effective teaching of oral English. In view of this it is important that the nation’s schools especially secondary schools where the reaching of oral English begins, should be adequately equipped with the necessary ICT facilities. In order to utilize ICT facilities to a very great extent, English language teachers need to posses ICT skills to a great extent. To achieve this requires the attention of governments at all levels that should ensure adequate funding of the education sector. English language teachers also need to be regularly sent on trainings in order to acquire the necessary skills that will enable them to utilize the available ICT facilities to a very great extent for reaching oral English in the nation’s secondary schools. A disturbing revelation of the study was the ICT skills possessed by the teachers, which was not to a very great extent. Effective utilization of ICT facilities requires very great skills. It therefore means that some of the teachers cannot effectively utilize the available ICT facilities for teaching oral English. One wonders how such teachers cope in era in which ICT has permeated all aspects of human endeavour including language teaching,&nbsp; Recommendations Based on the findings and implications of the study, the following recommendations are made: 1. Increased funding of education by the government to ensure that enough money is available for the procurement of ICT facilities required in schools for teaching oral English. 2. Local government authority should also partner with private individuals and organizations in order to make these ICT facilities available in schools. 3. Government should come up with programmes that will enable the teachers to embark on short- term courses of ICT skills acquisition. 4. The various school authorities in the L.G.A should organize regular hands- on training to enhance teachers ICT skills and knowledge in ICT packages. 5. The teachers should take it upon themselves to acquire the necessary ICT skills by attending computer lessons in private computer outfits on weekends and during holidays. Limitations of the Study The major limitation this study suffered was in the distribution of the questionnaire. The schools in the rural areas were inaccessible due to bad roads and also far apart from each other. This made the researcher to spend a very long time in the field in order to distribute and collect the questionnaires from the respondents. REFERENCES Ajayi, E. &amp; Ekundayo, A. (2009). The Application of ICT in Nigerian secondary schools. International NGO Journal, 4 (5), 281-285. Akintunde, S. A. (2004). 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Journal of science Education, 2 (2) 81 -95. &nbsp;&nbsp; <br></p>