ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN FRENCH LANGUAGE COMMITTED BY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
It appears that French is the only world-wide known language spoken by the French people. The original inhabitants of France as passed down to us by history were the 'Gaulois'. David WWW. WWW.Originofriations Origin of France and the Peoples Eventually the western Franks in France lost the use of their own native Frankish tongue and spoke the Celtic Gallic tongue and absorbed many Gallic customs. The Western Reubenite Franks intermingled and
intermarried with the Reubenite Gauls”. Much later in the second century before Christ the Romans invaded France. With successions of invasion in the third century, many kingdoms were built of which the French gradually conquered all other countries around. David WWW.Originofriations Origin of France and the Peoples. The name
France is derived from the Frank.” In the 5th century 'Gaule'
metamorphosed into the present-day 'France' with 'French' as the only language in use. However, practical experiences show that though French is the only language spoken in France by the French, there are different versions of the same French as one goes from one geographical area to another in terms of dialects. For instance, there are such dialects as 'oc' which is the dialect of the south and "oil" which is the northern dialect and of saying 'yes' in the Middle Ages. This implies that there are variations in dialect depending on the area or part of France one may find himself or herself. For instance, in spite of all other dialects in France, the one spoken in Paris is that which is internationally accepted as the standard French. This does not however preclude other dialects from being in use elsewhere. Furthermore, history also has it that what is now known as the 'French language' is a combination of 'Latin' and 'English' which, having undergone considerable changes, has given rise to what is now regarded as 'modern French'. On account of these changes, French has become very highly standardized and consequently attained a high international acceptance such that it is being rated as the second international language the world over. David WWW.Originofriations
“Many Reubenite French would love to see the French language displace English from its world dominance”.
In the dim past, many European countries were inspired by varied reasons to scramble for African countries. Some people attribute this need for such scramble to social, cultural, political and economic reasons while others link it with religion. Whatever be the case, what interests us at this point in time is the fact that France took active part in colonizing African countries hence the introduction of
French as the 'lingua-franca' in her African Colonies.
Consequent upon this incident of colonization of some African countries by France, French is the only official language spoken and used by such countries as Senegal, Upper Volta, Zaire, Ivory Coast, Niger, Togo, Republic of Benin and a part of Cameroon etc.
An international language though French is, its compulsory inclusion in Nigeria's curriculum could be traced to the unavoidable diplomatic, economic as well as socio-cultural constraints its noninclusion or absence might impose on Nigeria. Apparently, Nigeria appears to be the only West African country that is almost completely surrounded by fellow West African countries whose official language of communication as well as that of commerce is French. On this,
Ojoade (1999:8) says:
Nigeria offers a very strong attraction and pull to another language group, the French speaking people of the world. This is particularly so because of the geographical position of our country as well as the friendship that is gradually developing between France and our country.
There is no doubt that apart from Cameroon a part of which adopts English, all others mentioned above use the French language as their Lingua- Franca. Nigeria is almost completely surrounded by such sister-French speaking West African –countries as the republic of Benin, Niger Republic Cameroun Republic etc. Moreover, the world is at its jet age and in order to keep pace with the fast- moving world, she (Nigeria) is but naturally constrained to make the teaching and learning of the French language compulsory at the primary and junior secondary school levels of her education.
On the great need for the teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria, Ikeme and Offorma have this to say:
Une deuxieme langue europeene doit être considerée nonseulement comme un moyen de communication entre des Anglophones d‟Afrique mais aussi comme une langue internationale ayant un but étendu, qui cojointement avec la première langue europeene devrait permettre aux africains de pouvior communiquer avec d‟autres pays du monde (Ikeme and Offorma, 1984).
The above stresses the great necessity there is for Nigerians not only to teach and learn French in schools, but also to be able to use French in communicating effectively with her African sister countries already mentioned earlier on as well as other countries of the world.
For instance, Nigeria engages in commercial relationship with many of those countries mentioned above from which she makes a lot of economic fortunes. She also relates diplomatically, politically as well as socio-culturally with these countries. In order to foster such relationships between her and these neighbouring nations therefore, she has a great need to introduce and make the teaching and learning of the French language compulsory at the primary and junior secondary school levels. This is in consonance with the declaration of the French language the second official language in Nigeria in 1998 by the late military head of state-General. Sani Abacha.
Thus French was introduced in t o the nation‟s curriculum for teaching and learning. This, as contained in the 2004 National policy on Education (NPE), is in addition to the compulsory teaching and learning of the three Nigerian major languages Viz- Housa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In recognition of the relevance of the French language to Nigeria as a nation, the „National Policy on Education‟ (2004:10) says that:
For smooth interaction with our neighbours, it is desirable for every Nigerian to Speak French Accordingly, French shall be the second official language in Nigeria and it shall be compulsory in primary and junior secondary Schools but Non- vocational Elective at the senior secondary school.
From the above discussion and subsequent quotation from the 4th edition of the National Policy on Education, it is glaring that the teaching and learning of the French language is but a necessity in Nigeria. This, it is hoped, if actualized, will enhance close cooperation between Nigeria and such countries as Benin Republic, Cameroun, Ivory Coast etc in general and with French in particular.
Moreover and more importantly too, Nigeria is currently keeping very strong diplomatic relations with France - the mother country of such sister countries as Republic of Benin , Republic of Niger, Cameroun Togo etc from which she makes a lot of economic fortunes. This, therefore, informs the current introduction of French into many polytechnics and colleges of Education such as Institute of
Management and Technology, Enugu, Benue Polytechnics Ogbokolo,
Federal Polytechnics, Ida, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, College of Education, Nsugbe, College of Education, Akwanga Collge of Education, Katsina Ala. e t c For instance, in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, apart from the department of foreign languages and literatures, French is optionally compulsory as an elective course for the department of fine and applied arts etc. The University of Jos also offers French as an elective course in the department of English etc in addition to the department of French. So many vital books in different subject areas such as philosophy, psychology, architecture, medicine, law, languages and language learning theories etc are written by great French authors in the French language. Such authors as Albert Camus, Rousseau, Jean Paul Sartre, Moliere, Victor Hugo, Balzalc,
Baudelaire, Chateaubriant etc wrote in different areas using the French language. The compulsory teaching and learning of the French language, if achieved, will go a long way, no doubt, in bridging the gap posed by lack of knowledge of the French language. This is because Nigerian scholars, who currently have no sound knowledge of this language have no choice and are constrained to look for paid translators who may end up betraying the translation of such texts originally written in French.
In view of the above fact therefore, it becomes very exigent that Nigeria should address this issue of French Language learning with the seriousness and sense of commitment it deserves as a matter of urgency. This is a situation where the Nigerian learner has already learnt his mother-tongue first, English language-second as the nation's official language before beginning to learn French as the third language and second official language. This matter is even aggravated by the fact that the structures of the first two languages already learnt have become deep-rooted in the Nigerian French language learner. Very unfortunately, most early language theorists base their argument on monolingual language learner, losing sight of either bilingual or multilingual learning. On this, Elliot (1981:73) has this to say, "It is a serious shortcoming of current theories of language acquisition that they are generally formulated with the monolingual (normally English speaking) child in mind". This goes to butress the fact that most of the theories formulated on language learning are solely based on one/first language learning which may not go to any meaningful length in helping to comprehend the processes involved in second language acquisition into which group the French language falls as far as Igbo learners of language(s) are concerned.
As a result of the difficulties encountered in the course of the teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria as a whole and the Igbo people in particular, one can hardly ever find students at Senior Secondary levels offering French in the senior secondary school certificate examination. Such grammatical errors as agreement between nouns /subjects and adjectives in gender and number, errors in verb- conjugation including pronominal verbs like se laver, se peigner, se promener, concord errors, spelling errors etc appear to be more frequently committed by students in senior secondary school classes. There is also doubt as to which sex commits more of these grammatical errors than the other. The researcher therefore, tried to find out if these errors are peculiar to a particular sex or not. There is the glaring lack of interest on the part of students which could be blamed on some obvious factors as lack of competent/qualified teachers, poor teaching methods, lack of instructional materials or inadequate teaching materials, the possession or presence of mother tongue and English language and a host of other enabling teaching conditions. Consequently, most of the schools where French is taught are unable to produce students that offer French at external examination levels. This informs why there is only one WAEC French marking center in the whole country and that is Ibadan.
Grammar obviously, appears to be the most important aspect of any living language. It is no doubt, the vehicle by means of which any meaning is conveyed to its destination. If for instance, any grammatical structures are misplaced or distorted, the consequence shall be that the message supposed to be transmitted by means of such structures are either misconstrued or totally misunderstood. A good example in French is the wrong conjugation of 'verbs involving the first person singular 'je'. If it is erroneously used thus: (a) J!ai faim
– “I have hungry” (b) Elle a dix ans – “she has ten years” (c) vous avez soif – “you have thirsty” etc The tendency is that one gets the message in a disjointed form. Learners may wrongly interpret them thus: I have hunger instead of I am hungry or I have thirsty instead of I am thirsty. The ambiguity so created might have been caused by the different usages and meanings of the verbs involved in English and French. The only incontestable fact is the use and meanings of the verb 'avoir'-“to have” and 'faim-hunger and soif‟ thirst. Confusion arises as to the nature and form of verb used in expressing such meanings in French .The confusion so posed here is vividly traceable to the user's inability to identify the appropriate grammatical structures to be used at any given time( appropriate verbs).
Experientially, another example could be taken from that of the plural formation using names (nouns, verbs and, or adjectives). The confusion in this case, more often than not, emanates from interference from either the mother- tongue (Igbo) or the English language which even tends to take upper hand in Igbo children's communicative processes. A glaring example is that when an Igbo child wishes to say that he/she is going to the market, the thought process first begins in Igbo then translated into English before finally being translated to French. These longish thought-processes are normally accomplished consecutively due to the fact that the three languages may have been learnt consecutively.
Reports of some researchers in the past have adduced certain reasons for lack of interest or poor performance of students in French especially in written French grammar. For instance Obanya (1985:15) rightly says that: “the shift in emphasis from literacy to oracy in secondary school syllabus has necessitated the need for the production of books for both teachers and students” As an experienced professional teacher of French for about thirty years at different levels and more importantly too, having been in continuous close contact with Igbo learners of French and their peculiar grammatical problems, the researcher has decided to undertake the analysis of written grammatical errors in French language by secondary school students. This is with a view to identifying, analyzing, suggesting and recommending possible measures to be adopted in order to ensure improved performance in French grammar by Igbo learners of the language. The study aims at analyzing grammatical errors of students in secondary schools the outcome of which shall no doubt, help in redirecting both teachers and students toward improved performance in written French grammar. It is also hoped that the result shall help future researchers in this or other related fields.
Statement of Problem
The teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria has always been impeded by a myriad of inhibiting factors in spite of its long period of implementation in Nigeria. However its acquisition is sort of incumbent on Nigerians in view of Nigeria's geographical location. It is quite unfortunate that the French language has not found any solid base in Nigeria. Even though it was declared the nation's second official language by the late Head of State - General Sani Abacha in 1987, its functionality in practical terms is yet to be anything to write home about. Though the French language is included in the nation's curriculum for teaching and learning, students only show great interest and enthusiasm at the very beginning which wanes no sooner than they have started learning it.
Having taught French for quite some years to Igbo students within Nsukka Education Zone, the researcher has observed that most Igbo learners of French, having learnt Igbo first as their mother tongue before learning English language second as "Nigeria's official language,” tend to transfer the grammatical rules of the first two languages already learnt to their learning and writing of French. Such erroneous and negative transfer of grammatical rules from Igbo or English to the French language without due reference to their background would always culminate in a betrayal of translation and wrong communication of meaning leading to the subsequent misunderstanding of the desired message. There is an evidence of grammatical problems encountered by secondary school students in written French in Nigeria in general and Nsukka Education zone in particular.Eze and Meniru (2002:4) say that:
L‟ observation mantra que l‟ écriture des apprennantes du franÇais au niveau secondaire, meme ceux qui viennent des écoles pilotes, est toujours de de fautes grammaticales
On the basis of the forgoing therefore, this study was designed to analyse grammatical errors in written French exercises in senior secondary Schools in Nsukka Zone, Enugu State.
Purpose of Study
The study set out to analyze grammatical errors committed in written French exercises by Igbo Secondary School Students in
Nsukka Urban in Nsukka Education Zone.
Specifically the study set out to:
1 Identify the types of grammatical errors committed by secondary school students in essay writing in French.
2 Determine the extent of errors committed by male and female students
3 Find out the gender that commits more errors and the types of error they commit most.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this work are of immense value to the learners, teachers, and educationists, and French curriculum planners. It analyzed grammatical errors and their types and also classified them. This analysis of errors in written French grammar would go a long way in redirecting both teachers of the French language in secondary schools, as well as curriculum planners in their curriculum planning in sequencing grammatical items according to levels of difficulties. The analysis is also significant because it took cognizance of the possible interferences of other languages already acquired (mother- tongue interference) by French learners, through second language acquisition and learning theories and practical experience while redirecting
French teachers on the best approaches or methods of teaching French grammar. The curriculum planners would be advised on the appropriate curriculum adaptation that could make for improved methods of teaching French grammar and subsequently improved students‟ performance in written French grammar in particular. In line with the above discussion on the significance of the findings of this work, Okeke, Okoye and Otugo (1994:6) in their error analysis say
“l‟indentification des erreurs montrera les problèmes des élèves dans le franÇais écrit, donc les professcurs seront informés de ces erreurs. Ils vont donc trouver les moyens efficaces pour résoudre les erreurs”. The concern of the study is to identify and analyse students areas of strength and weakness, make recommendations for the improvement of teaching and leaning of the French Language. The study would also direct curriculum planners and French language teachers. Knowledge of the difficult areas of the learners would help to direct teachers‟ attention to these areas, so that they might devote special care and emphasis on his language teaching to overcome and possibly avoid such predicted difficulties. Therefore, if the recommendations of this study shall be adopted, they would be of great help to the improvement of French language teaching and learning.
The researcher therefore, tried to approach the problems that hinder the teaching and learning of French grammar methodologically and analytically so as to arrive at the appropriate strategies that would minimize the impediment on the way of French grammar-acquisition by Nigerian scholars as a whole and Igbo people in particular. As a third language to Nigerians and being learnt consecutively with vernacular and English- the researcher hopes that this work, and its recommendations if adopted, shall go a long way to facilitating the teaching and learning of French grammar and greatly reduce the rate at which errors are committed generally.
Therefore, the researcher, through his work hopes to make an impact on the teaching and learning of French grammar which if adhered to will no doubt, lead to high proficiency and intelligibility in the language.
Scope of Study
This study is limited to the analysis of written grammatical errors in French by senior secondary school students: namely spelling, concord, adjectival, verb-conjugation and article errors. In written French composition in Nsukka zone, of Enugu State. A total sample of eighty eight students of French were used, drawn from eight secondary schools offering French in the zone. This study set out to collate and analyse these grammatical errors with a view to finding out the frequency of their occurrence and to determine which gender commits more of what errors than the other. The sample used comprised SS students only.
Research Questions
1 What types of grammatical errors occur in written French by secondary school students in Nsukka Education zone.
2 What is the extent of difference between errors committed by male and female senior secondary (SS) students in French?
Research Hypothesis
1 There is no significant difference between the proportion of spelling errors committed in French by male and female
students.
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
It appears that French is the only world-wide known language spoken by the French people. The original inhabitants of France as passed down to us by history were the 'Gaulois'. David WWW. WWW.Originofriations Origin of France and the Peoples Eventually the western Franks in France lost the use of their own native Frankish tongue and spoke the Celtic Gallic tongue and absorbed many Gallic customs. The Western Reubenite Franks intermingled and
intermarried with the Reubenite Gauls”. Much later in the second century before Christ the Romans invaded France. With successions of invasion in the third century, many kingdoms were built of which the French gradually conquered all other countries around. David WWW.Originofriations Origin of France and the Peoples. The name
France is derived from the Frank.” In the 5th century 'Gaule'
metamorphosed into the present-day 'France' with 'French' as the only language in use. However, practical experiences show that though French is the only language spoken in France by the French, there are different versions of the same French as one goes from one geographical area to another in terms of dialects. For instance, there are such dialects as 'oc' which is the dialect of the south and "oil" which is the northern dialect and of saying 'yes' in the Middle Ages. This implies that there are variations in dialect depending on the area or part of France one may find himself or herself. For instance, in spite of all other dialects in France, the one spoken in Paris is that which is internationally accepted as the standard French. This does not however preclude other dialects from being in use elsewhere. Furthermore, history also has it that what is now known as the 'French language' is a combination of 'Latin' and 'English' which, having undergone considerable changes, has given rise to what is now regarded as 'modern French'. On account of these changes, French has become very highly standardized and consequently attained a high international acceptance such that it is being rated as the second international language the world over. David WWW.Originofriations
“Many Reubenite French would love to see the French language displace English from its world dominance”.
In the dim past, many European countries were inspired by varied reasons to scramble for African countries. Some people attribute this need for such scramble to social, cultural, political and economic reasons while others link it with religion. Whatever be the case, what interests us at this point in time is the fact that France took active part in colonizing African countries hence the introduction of
French as the 'lingua-franca' in her African Colonies.
Consequent upon this incident of colonization of some African countries by France, French is the only official language spoken and used by such countries as Senegal, Upper Volta, Zaire, Ivory Coast, Niger, Togo, Republic of Benin and a part of Cameroon etc.
An international language though French is, its compulsory inclusion in Nigeria's curriculum could be traced to the unavoidable diplomatic, economic as well as socio-cultural constraints its noninclusion or absence might impose on Nigeria. Apparently, Nigeria appears to be the only West African country that is almost completely surrounded by fellow West African countries whose official language of communication as well as that of commerce is French. On this,
Ojoade (1999:8) says:
Nigeria offers a very strong attraction and pull to another language group, the French speaking people of the world. This is particularly so because of the geographical position of our country as well as the friendship that is gradually developing between France and our country.
There is no doubt that apart from Cameroon a part of which adopts English, all others mentioned above use the French language as their Lingua- Franca. Nigeria is almost completely surrounded by such sister-French speaking West African –countries as the republic of Benin, Niger Republic Cameroun Republic etc. Moreover, the world is at its jet age and in order to keep pace with the fast- moving world, she (Nigeria) is but naturally constrained to make the teaching and learning of the French language compulsory at the primary and junior secondary school levels of her education.
On the great need for the teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria, Ikeme and Offorma have this to say:
Une deuxieme langue europeene doit être considerée nonseulement comme un moyen de communication entre des Anglophones d‟Afrique mais aussi comme une langue internationale ayant un but étendu, qui cojointement avec la première langue europeene devrait permettre aux africains de pouvior communiquer avec d‟autres pays du monde (Ikeme and Offorma, 1984).
The above stresses the great necessity there is for Nigerians not only to teach and learn French in schools, but also to be able to use French in communicating effectively with her African sister countries already mentioned earlier on as well as other countries of the world.
For instance, Nigeria engages in commercial relationship with many of those countries mentioned above from which she makes a lot of economic fortunes. She also relates diplomatically, politically as well as socio-culturally with these countries. In order to foster such relationships between her and these neighbouring nations therefore, she has a great need to introduce and make the teaching and learning of the French language compulsory at the primary and junior secondary school levels. This is in consonance with the declaration of the French language the second official language in Nigeria in 1998 by the late military head of state-General. Sani Abacha.
Thus French was introduced in t o the nation‟s curriculum for teaching and learning. This, as contained in the 2004 National policy on Education (NPE), is in addition to the compulsory teaching and learning of the three Nigerian major languages Viz- Housa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In recognition of the relevance of the French language to Nigeria as a nation, the „National Policy on Education‟ (2004:10) says that:
For smooth interaction with our neighbours, it is desirable for every Nigerian to Speak French Accordingly, French shall be the second official language in Nigeria and it shall be compulsory in primary and junior secondary Schools but Non- vocational Elective at the senior secondary school.
From the above discussion and subsequent quotation from the 4th edition of the National Policy on Education, it is glaring that the teaching and learning of the French language is but a necessity in Nigeria. This, it is hoped, if actualized, will enhance close cooperation between Nigeria and such countries as Benin Republic, Cameroun, Ivory Coast etc in general and with French in particular.
Moreover and more importantly too, Nigeria is currently keeping very strong diplomatic relations with France - the mother country of such sister countries as Republic of Benin , Republic of Niger, Cameroun Togo etc from which she makes a lot of economic fortunes. This, therefore, informs the current introduction of French into many polytechnics and colleges of Education such as Institute of
Management and Technology, Enugu, Benue Polytechnics Ogbokolo,
Federal Polytechnics, Ida, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, College of Education, Nsugbe, College of Education, Akwanga Collge of Education, Katsina Ala. e t c For instance, in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, apart from the department of foreign languages and literatures, French is optionally compulsory as an elective course for the department of fine and applied arts etc. The University of Jos also offers French as an elective course in the department of English etc in addition to the department of French. So many vital books in different subject areas such as philosophy, psychology, architecture, medicine, law, languages and language learning theories etc are written by great French authors in the French language. Such authors as Albert Camus, Rousseau, Jean Paul Sartre, Moliere, Victor Hugo, Balzalc,
Baudelaire, Chateaubriant etc wrote in different areas using the French language. The compulsory teaching and learning of the French language, if achieved, will go a long way, no doubt, in bridging the gap posed by lack of knowledge of the French language. This is because Nigerian scholars, who currently have no sound knowledge of this language have no choice and are constrained to look for paid translators who may end up betraying the translation of such texts originally written in French.
In view of the above fact therefore, it becomes very exigent that Nigeria should address this issue of French Language learning with the seriousness and sense of commitment it deserves as a matter of urgency. This is a situation where the Nigerian learner has already learnt his mother-tongue first, English language-second as the nation's official language before beginning to learn French as the third language and second official language. This matter is even aggravated by the fact that the structures of the first two languages already learnt have become deep-rooted in the Nigerian French language learner. Very unfortunately, most early language theorists base their argument on monolingual language learner, losing sight of either bilingual or multilingual learning. On this, Elliot (1981:73) has this to say, "It is a serious shortcoming of current theories of language acquisition that they are generally formulated with the monolingual (normally English speaking) child in mind". This goes to butress the fact that most of the theories formulated on language learning are solely based on one/first language learning which may not go to any meaningful length in helping to comprehend the processes involved in second language acquisition into which group the French language falls as far as Igbo learners of language(s) are concerned.
As a result of the difficulties encountered in the course of the teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria as a whole and the Igbo people in particular, one can hardly ever find students at Senior Secondary levels offering French in the senior secondary school certificate examination. Such grammatical errors as agreement between nouns /subjects and adjectives in gender and number, errors in verb- conjugation including pronominal verbs like se laver, se peigner, se promener, concord errors, spelling errors etc appear to be more frequently committed by students in senior secondary school classes. There is also doubt as to which sex commits more of these grammatical errors than the other. The researcher therefore, tried to find out if these errors are peculiar to a particular sex or not. There is the glaring lack of interest on the part of students which could be blamed on some obvious factors as lack of competent/qualified teachers, poor teaching methods, lack of instructional materials or inadequate teaching materials, the possession or presence of mother tongue and English language and a host of other enabling teaching conditions. Consequently, most of the schools where French is taught are unable to produce students that offer French at external examination levels. This informs why there is only one WAEC French marking center in the whole country and that is Ibadan.
Grammar obviously, appears to be the most important aspect of any living language. It is no doubt, the vehicle by means of which any meaning is conveyed to its destination. If for instance, any grammatical structures are misplaced or distorted, the consequence shall be that the message supposed to be transmitted by means of such structures are either misconstrued or totally misunderstood. A good example in French is the wrong conjugation of 'verbs involving the first person singular 'je'. If it is erroneously used thus: (a) J!ai faim
– “I have hungry” (b) Elle a dix ans – “she has ten years” (c) vous avez soif – “you have thirsty” etc The tendency is that one gets the message in a disjointed form. Learners may wrongly interpret them thus: I have hunger instead of I am hungry or I have thirsty instead of I am thirsty. The ambiguity so created might have been caused by the different usages and meanings of the verbs involved in English and French. The only incontestable fact is the use and meanings of the verb 'avoir'-“to have” and 'faim-hunger and soif‟ thirst. Confusion arises as to the nature and form of verb used in expressing such meanings in French .The confusion so posed here is vividly traceable to the user's inability to identify the appropriate grammatical structures to be used at any given time( appropriate verbs).
Experientially, another example could be taken from that of the plural formation using names (nouns, verbs and, or adjectives). The confusion in this case, more often than not, emanates from interference from either the mother- tongue (Igbo) or the English language which even tends to take upper hand in Igbo children's communicative processes. A glaring example is that when an Igbo child wishes to say that he/she is going to the market, the thought process first begins in Igbo then translated into English before finally being translated to French. These longish thought-processes are normally accomplished consecutively due to the fact that the three languages may have been learnt consecutively.
Reports of some researchers in the past have adduced certain reasons for lack of interest or poor performance of students in French especially in written French grammar. For instance Obanya (1985:15) rightly says that: “the shift in emphasis from literacy to oracy in secondary school syllabus has necessitated the need for the production of books for both teachers and students” As an experienced professional teacher of French for about thirty years at different levels and more importantly too, having been in continuous close contact with Igbo learners of French and their peculiar grammatical problems, the researcher has decided to undertake the analysis of written grammatical errors in French language by secondary school students. This is with a view to identifying, analyzing, suggesting and recommending possible measures to be adopted in order to ensure improved performance in French grammar by Igbo learners of the language. The study aims at analyzing grammatical errors of students in secondary schools the outcome of which shall no doubt, help in redirecting both teachers and students toward improved performance in written French grammar. It is also hoped that the result shall help future researchers in this or other related fields.
Statement of Problem
The teaching and learning of the French language in Nigeria has always been impeded by a myriad of inhibiting factors in spite of its long period of implementation in Nigeria. However its acquisition is sort of incumbent on Nigerians in view of Nigeria's geographical location. It is quite unfortunate that the French language has not found any solid base in Nigeria. Even though it was declared the nation's second official language by the late Head of State - General Sani Abacha in 1987, its functionality in practical terms is yet to be anything to write home about. Though the French language is included in the nation's curriculum for teaching and learning, students only show great interest and enthusiasm at the very beginning which wanes no sooner than they have started learning it.
Having taught French for quite some years to Igbo students within Nsukka Education Zone, the researcher has observed that most Igbo learners of French, having learnt Igbo first as their mother tongue before learning English language second as "Nigeria's official language,” tend to transfer the grammatical rules of the first two languages already learnt to their learning and writing of French. Such erroneous and negative transfer of grammatical rules from Igbo or English to the French language without due reference to their background would always culminate in a betrayal of translation and wrong communication of meaning leading to the subsequent misunderstanding of the desired message. There is an evidence of grammatical problems encountered by secondary school students in written French in Nigeria in general and Nsukka Education zone in particular.Eze and Meniru (2002:4) say that:
L‟ observation mantra que l‟ écriture des apprennantes du franÇais au niveau secondaire, meme ceux qui viennent des écoles pilotes, est toujours de de fautes grammaticales
On the basis of the forgoing therefore, this study was designed to analyse grammatical errors in written French exercises in senior secondary Schools in Nsukka Zone, Enugu State.
Purpose of Study
The study set out to analyze grammatical errors committed in written French exercises by Igbo Secondary School Students in
Nsukka Urban in Nsukka Education Zone.
Specifically the study set out to:
1 Identify the types of grammatical errors committed by secondary school students in essay writing in French.
2 Determine the extent of errors committed by male and female students
3 Find out the gender that commits more errors and the types of error they commit most.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this work are of immense value to the learners, teachers, and educationists, and French curriculum planners. It analyzed grammatical errors and their types and also classified them. This analysis of errors in written French grammar would go a long way in redirecting both teachers of the French language in secondary schools, as well as curriculum planners in their curriculum planning in sequencing grammatical items according to levels of difficulties. The analysis is also significant because it took cognizance of the possible interferences of other languages already acquired (mother- tongue interference) by French learners, through second language acquisition and learning theories and practical experience while redirecting
French teachers on the best approaches or methods of teaching French grammar. The curriculum planners would be advised on the appropriate curriculum adaptation that could make for improved methods of teaching French grammar and subsequently improved students‟ performance in written French grammar in particular. In line with the above discussion on the significance of the findings of this work, Okeke, Okoye and Otugo (1994:6) in their error analysis say
“l‟indentification des erreurs montrera les problèmes des élèves dans le franÇais écrit, donc les professcurs seront informés de ces erreurs. Ils vont donc trouver les moyens efficaces pour résoudre les erreurs”. The concern of the study is to identify and analyse students areas of strength and weakness, make recommendations for the improvement of teaching and leaning of the French Language. The study would also direct curriculum planners and French language teachers. Knowledge of the difficult areas of the learners would help to direct teachers‟ attention to these areas, so that they might devote special care and emphasis on his language teaching to overcome and possibly avoid such predicted difficulties. Therefore, if the recommendations of this study shall be adopted, they would be of great help to the improvement of French language teaching and learning.
The researcher therefore, tried to approach the problems that hinder the teaching and learning of French grammar methodologically and analytically so as to arrive at the appropriate strategies that would minimize the impediment on the way of French grammar-acquisition by Nigerian scholars as a whole and Igbo people in particular. As a third language to Nigerians and being learnt consecutively with vernacular and English- the researcher hopes that this work, and its recommendations if adopted, shall go a long way to facilitating the teaching and learning of French grammar and greatly reduce the rate at which errors are committed generally.
Therefore, the researcher, through his work hopes to make an impact on the teaching and learning of French grammar which if adhered to will no doubt, lead to high proficiency and intelligibility in the language.
Scope of Study
This study is limited to the analysis of written grammatical errors in French by senior secondary school students: namely spelling, concord, adjectival, verb-conjugation and article errors. In written French composition in Nsukka zone, of Enugu State. A total sample of eighty eight students of French were used, drawn from eight secondary schools offering French in the zone. This study set out to collate and analyse these grammatical errors with a view to finding out the frequency of their occurrence and to determine which gender commits more of what errors than the other. The sample used comprised SS students only.
Research Questions
1 What types of grammatical errors occur in written French by secondary school students in Nsukka Education zone.
2 What is the extent of difference between errors committed by male and female senior secondary (SS) students in French?
Research Hypothesis
1 There is no significant difference between the proportion of spelling errors committed in French by male and female
students.
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