Teaching English and Igala Languages Effectively in Primary Schools in Igala Land, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Education Planning And Management

Download Teaching English and Igala Languages Effectively in Primary Schools in Igala Land and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Education Planning And Management in PDF only on Docsity! ~ 420 ~ WWJMRD 2017; 3(12): 420-424 www.wwjmrd.com International Journal Peer Reviewed Journal Refereed Journal Indexed Journal UGC Approved Journal Impact Factor MJIF: 4.25 e-ISSN: 2454-6615 Unubi, Sunday Abraham Department of Igala Language and Culture, Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa, Nigeria Akonti, Christopher Department of English, Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa, Nigeria Correspondence: Unubi, Sunday Abraham Department of Igala Language and Culture, Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa, Nigeria Teaching Igala and English Languages Effectively in Primary Schools in Igala Land Unubi, Sunday Abraham, Akonti, Christopher Abstract This article expfalores teaching Igala and English languages effectively in primary schools in Igala land. Actually, the outcome of teaching effectively is that which leads to change in behavioural knowledge. Although the old adage which says “Somebody can lead a horse to the river but cannot force her to drink water” is still relevant here, if the teaching is done effectively, the serious-minded pupils will study hard to ensure a productive and satisfactory learning outcomes. Today, it is not an overstatement to say that some primary school pupils can neither write and spell simple Igala names/words properly nor construct simple sentences in English correctly. Judging from their classroom experiences, the researchers have indeed, observed that teaching these languages effectively in our primary and secondary schools is necessary for maximum learning outcomes. Keywords: Igala, English, teaching effectively Introduction Indeed, teaching is a noble profession; it is not only a profession but also a calling. There are people who are knowledgeable or brilliant in their subject areas but they cannot teach. And even when they do, no matter how they teach, learners find it extremely difficult to understand what they teach, and as such, it does not provoke any tangible and visible change in learning behaviour or behavioural knowledge. This is because they lack the prowess or ability to „transfer‟ or „pass‟ knowledge to others. Therefore, to teach effectively is to induce understanding in the learner, which also goes further to produce change in learning behaviour or outcome that is satisfactory to the learner, the teacher and even the guardians of the learner. This paper occupies a centre stage as far as teaching and learning are concerned because it informs the readership of the fundamental importance of effective teaching, which is a direct consequence of change in learning behaviour in most cases, if not all. Igala and English: A Brief Survey of Historical Origin  Igala: Igala is a dominant language in Kogi State spoken by over two million natives in nine Local Government Areas (namely – Ankpa, Bassa, Ibaji, Idah, Igala-mela/Odolu, Ofu, Dekina, Olamaboro and Omala) of Kogi East Senatorial District, North Central Nigeria. Furthermore, the language is equally spoken in some communities outside ogi State, which include b in Delta State, l h and f k in Edo State, gw r gw , j , g and s b in Enugu State, d kp , j m, n m , l , gb d , n gw , d , gb k ny and l in Anambra State, but certainly not outside Nigeria (Omachonu, 2012:8). Geographically, Igala land is located within the triangle formed by the confluence of the Rivers Niger and Benue. The Igala people are found east of the confluence of these rivers. The land is bounded on the west by River Niger, on the east by Enugu State, the south by Anambra State and on the north by Benue/Nassarawa States. It is 120 kilometres wide and 160 kilometres long. It is located approximately between latitudes 6' 80° and 8' north and longitudes 6' 30° and 7' 40° east and covers an area of about 13, 665 square kilometres as one of the African languages; Igala has been indicated by Negedu (2013:116) to belong to the Kwa subgroup of the Niger Congo language family. World Wide Journal of Multidiscip linary Research and Development ~ 421 ~ World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development The Niger Congo languages constitute one of the world‟s major language families and Africa‟s largest in terms of geographical area and number of speakers. Igala is also a language of the Yoruboid branch of the Defoid. The Defoid languages constitute a branch of the present Benue Congo language family. It comprises the Yoruba, the Igala and the Itsekiri groups of south-western Nigeria. The name (Yoroboid branch of the Defoid) derives from its most widely spoken number, Yoruba. It is therefore note- worthy, at first instance, that the Igala and the Yoruba almost share the same view in their notion of God. There is a very thin line in pronunciation of words that depict divinities with their qualities. Research has shown that the concept of the „Ata‟ may have relational connection with a Yoruba word used to refer to kings both in Ayede Ekiti and Oshogbo respectively. Armstrong, as cited by Negedu (2003:117) is emphatic in saying that “the most definite statement that can be made about the Igala is that they had a common origin with the Yoruba and that separation took place long enough ago to allow for their fairly considerable linguistic differences”. It is more preferable to say that there is a relational connection between cultures than to say that one emanates from the other since humility has not proven to be a virtue where cultures and civilisations contest for relevance. Like any group of people, the Igalas are ruled by a figure called the „Ata‟. The word Ata means „father‟ and the full title of the ruler is „Ata Igala‟, meaning, the Father of Igalas. The popular way of greeting the Ata is „Agaabaidu‟ or „Gaabaidu‟, literally translated to mean „lion, the king of the forest/head of all animals‟. The new Ata Igala is HRM Idakwo Michael Ameh Oboni II. He ascended the throne of his fore fathers in February, 2013, after the demise of Ata Aliyu Ocheje Obaje.  English: Historically, English was spoken first in England about 1,500 years ago. However, it was in existence before then. Geographically, the English language was confined to „the British Isles‟, a group of Islands lying off the north-west coast of the continent of Europe in the northern temperate zone of the world. Furthermore, there are two main islands, namely Britain, the larger of the two, and Ireland, the smaller. Politically too, the British Isles today also comprises two main parts, namely the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, made up of England, Wales, Scotland (i.e. Britain), and Northern Ireland, with its capital at London; and the Republic of Ireland, with its capital at Dublin. Associated with the British were the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes. The Celts were the first inhabitants of the British Isles about 500 and 100 BC. The age in which they existed is called „The Iron Age‟. Having spread through central and Western Europe, they arrived in south-eastern England. They did not speak English, but their languages belonged to the Indo-European family of languages, to which English also belongs. The Romans were a succession of peoples of the Ancient World who invaded Britain from the Middle East around the Mediterranean in the period of 3000 BC – 500 AD (3,500 years). They developed a literate civilisation based on agriculture and slave labour, and through military prowess brought other peoples under their control. The Roman Empire with Latin as its language and its capital at Rome in Italy, was the most extensive of all, and with the conquest of Britain, it reached almost its fullest extent. By the end of the fifth century AD, the Roman Empire in Western Europe had disappeared and had been replaced by „barbarian‟ kingdoms. The Anglo-Saxon invaders arrived in Britain in large numbers with the intention of settling, when with the Roman withdrawal, the native British were left to fend for themselves. The Anglo-Saxons were chiefly interested in the fertile eastern and southern parts of Britain, which were also closest to their homeland in Germany. They set up a number of kingdoms which included: Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia. The whole area occupied by the Anglo-Saxons later came to be referred to as „Angla-land‟ („the land of the Angles‟, the Angles being more in number than the Saxons), and from this word, „England‟ is clearly derived. Finally, the Danes were warlike, heathen and Norwegian beings from Scandinavia, popularly known as Vikings, who attacked the British Isles or England around 800. They descended on the English coast and penetrated far inland, plundering and burning. Later in the ninth century the Danes finally came to England to settle, especially in the eastern parts of the country after the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had virtually disappeared (Jowitt, 2009:1-10). According to Wilton (2001:1), the English language typologically belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. This broad family includes most of the European languages spoken today. The Indo-European family includes several major branches, as follows:  Latin and the modern Romance languages;  The Germanic languages;  The Indo-Iranian languages, including Hindi and Sanskrit;  The Slavic languages;  The Baltic languages of Latvian and Lithuanian;  The Celtic languages; and  Greek The influence of the original Indo-European language, designated proto-Indo-European can be seen today, even though no written record of it exists. The word „father‟, for example, is „vater‟ in German, „pater‟ in Latin, and „pitir‟ in Sanskrit. Obviously, these words are all cognates, similar words in different languages that share the same root. Statement of the Research Problem The researchers‟ decision to embark on this study is not without burden or deep emotional concern. Examination malpractice has become rife or common among students at all higher levels of education in our society today (NCE, ND, HND, Degree, PGD and Masters). And reverse is not the case among pupils at the primary level of education. In fact, it begins from this level of education, and from here it spreads its dangerous and deadly tentacles to all levels of higher education. This is due to the fact that the wrong notion of „you cannot do it alone‟ or „heaven helps those who help themselves‟, which we cannot explain how it came into our society‟s educational system, has been implanted in as well as imprinted on the tender hearts of our young ones in primary schools in Igala land in particular and Nigeria in general. Therefore, it is high time we contained or curtailed this hydra-headed problem, which has become a shame and