The Use of Mother Tongue in Communicating Mathematics: Implication for Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (Published)
Mathematics as a school subject is designed to solve the everyday problem created by human activities; these problems are domesticated in the different cultures of man all over the world. However, the performance of students keeps dwindling due to the westernize approach of teaching and learning mathematics. In other to solve this precarious situation this paper advocated the use of mother tongue in the teaching of mathematics. Mother tongue approach here refers to first-language education as a medium of instruction. The use of mother tongue in the teaching and learning of mathematics is meant to address the high functional illiteracy of Nigeria where language plays a significant factor. Using mother tongue to teach the basic concepts of numbers, operations and other concepts of mathematics helps build a strong foundation for the understanding and learning of higher mathematics. This approach is effective not only in getting the interest of students in the lesson but as a springboard in teaching new mathematical concepts, principles and in deepening student understanding on how mathematical operations or processes work. The mother tongue concepts of teaching and learning mathematics in this work shall be based on the following sub-topics: Numeration/Counting System, Basic Arithmetic Operations, Rhymes and Geometric Concepts. The paper completely reduced the Eurocentric mathematics beliefs of students and make them discover how best mathematics can be learning from their mother tongue. The paper recommended amongst others that teachers of mathematics should adopt the use of mother tongue in teaching mathematics in order to improve students understanding of the subject.
Keywords: Learning, Mathematics, Mother tongue, School, Teaching
Development and Evaluation of L1 (Mother Tongue) Hausa Based ICT Enhanced Teacher Development (ICTeTD) Mode of Instruction in Physics (Published)
This study was designed to evaluate the effect of L1 Hausa based ICT instructional mode on the cognitive learning outcomes of Senior Secondary Schools Physics Students in Kontagora Municipal area, Niger State. Four (4) research questions and four (4) hypotheses were answered and tested respectively. A quasi-experimental design using Pre-Post Test intervention, was adopted for the study. A sample of participants, in three groups, totaling ninety-eight (98) was purposively selected from Senior Secondary School II Students studying Physics. Classical Physics Achievement Test (CPAT), which was used as the instrument for data collection was validated and its reliability index was 0.71. The data obtained was analysed using comparison of means and Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. Results of the study revealed that students who were taught Physics using Hausa and those who were taught Physics in Hausa with the aid of ICTeTD instructional mode achieved significantly better than the students taught using English language as the medium of instruction. The result also revealed that students taught Physics using Hausa with the aid of the web-based package achieved better than those taught using Hausa only, with an effect size of 27.2% by partial eta squared estimates. There was no significant difference in the achievement of students based on gender. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that ICTeTD instructional mode should be adopted in the teaching of Physics in students’ mother tongues to aid their understanding of Physics concepts.
Keywords: Evaluation, Hausa, Kontagora, Mother tongue, instructional mode, web-based package.
CULTURAL FACTORS HINDERING MASTERY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A CASE OF KILIFI COUNTY, KENYA (Published)
This study examined the various cultural factors hindering the mastery of English language in Kilifi County. A sample of 236 respondents representing Students, pupils, head teachers, teachers, parents, religious leaders, Pwani University Language specialists, Ministry of Education officers was drawn from Tezo Location. The proposed study was a descriptive survey, and both qualitative and quantitative data was collected by means of self administered questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions, and scheduled interviews. Qualitative data was analysed by thematic analysis while quantitative data was analysed by simple descriptive statistics and ranking by participatory methods. The study identified the cultural practices that hinder good mastery of English as frequent usage of Kiswahili and Mother Tongue when speaking at home, the declaration that English is a foreign language and the belief by the local community that speaking in English at home is a sign of pride and disrespect. Based on the findings, recommendations were made on how to promote good English mastery in Kenyan Schools.
Keywords: : Academic Performance, Kiswahili language, Language of Instruction, Mastery of English, Mother tongue, language of interaction