LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN OBUDU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF CROSS RIVER STATE

This dissertatjon is entitled Language of Instruction and Learning
Outcomes of Primary School Pu pi Is in Obudu Local Government of Cross Ri vcr
State. The population of the study comprised all the pupils of primary schools in
Obudu Local Government of Cross River State and the sample was drawn from three
(3) primary schools. The intact stratified sampling technique was used to select
schools to represent urban, rural and semi-urban areas while the simple random
sampling technique without replacement was used to select a school each from each
area for the study. Content and face validity of test instrument was ensured and test
retest measure of reliability was also conducted. The main objective of the study was
to ascertain the impact of languages of instruction (English language, mother tongue
and mixed language approach) on the academic achievement of pupils in primary
school. Based on the objective, four research questions and four research hypotheses
were formulated to guide this study. The research was experimental as pretests were
conducted and post tests were also conducted in the language of instruction after 35
minutes of teaching on four topics (family, marriage, word problem and listening
comprehension). Data collected were analysed using average, mean and t-test
statistics for independent samples. findings or the tested hypotheses at 0.05 level or
significance revealed that: there was a signi l~cant difference in the performance of
pupils taught in mother tongue and those taught in English language; there was a
significant difference in learning outcomes between pupils taught in English language
only and those taught using both English language and mother tongue; there was no
significant difference in performance between pupi Is taught in the mother tongue and
those taught in mother tongue and English language (mixed language approach); and
there was no significant difference in learning outcomes between pupils taught and
tested in mother tongue and those taught in mother tongue but tested in English
language. Based on the findings, it was recommended that pupils should be taught for
a considerable length of time in the languages they bring to school.