CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
One striking characteristic of human beings is the ability to use language in the most dynamic form – speech. This characteristic is unique in the sense that it distinguishes human beings from other animals. In the light of this, every human society possesses a language which is physiologically expressed in the vocal system and used in exchange of views about the universe. Bello (2005) opined that man is able to communicate and interact with one another through the medium of language and that the ability to speak and be understood by others would not have been possible without the use of language.
English is a language and is one of the most prominent languages in Nigeria. According to Bello (2005) English language is the country’s lingua franca. However, the presence of English language in Nigeria and indeed in most African countries today has a colonial history. English language found its way into Nigeria through the activities of early British merchants, missionaries and colonial masters. Otagburuagu and Anyanwu (2002) stated that the advent of English language into Nigeria dated back to the early days of European trading expeditions, British colonization efforts and the introduction of christian missionaries and that the language became officially well established after the Berlin Conference in 1885, when European leaders met and partitioned Africa.
Following that partitioning in 1885, Nigeria became a colony of the British Empire. Subsequently, the British colonial masters bequeathed to Nigeria their language which was English language. Hence, English which was the language of Britain came to be used in Nigeria for administrative and educational purposes. Even after the attainment of independence from the British, English language had to be retained as a colonial legacy. This situation was easily favoured by the linguistic complexity of Nigerian society.
However, English language does not play a marginal role in Nigeria. It has become a crucial element in the life of Nigerians today particularlly in the field of education. In this regard, Marjah and Offorma (2010) opined that English Language is a major vehicle for education in Nigeria. It is the medium of instruction in schools, the official and national language and the most frequently used language in the judiciary, media and commerce. It is the language used for interaction with the international communities. In Nigeria, before the adoption of English language as the nation’s second as well as official language, many indigenous languages like Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo had been in use for communication and other purposes but none of these indigenous languages was spoken by the majority of the people (Egbe, 2014). Hence, Marjah &Offorma (2010) state that to fully participate in the educational, socio-economic and political aspects of the Nigerian society, one needs to attain some acceptable level of proficiency in the language.
Because of the importance of English language, it has been made a compulsory subject from the upper- primary school to tertiary level of education as stated in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004). It is one of the major subjects that one must pass at credit level before one can gain admission into higher institutions. In addition, Marjah and Offorma (2010) stated that English language had been made a requirement for all persons who aspire for elective posts in the legislative houses at all tiers of government. It has become expedient for anybody that wants to be relevant in the country’s socio-economic and political environments to have an appreciable knowledge of English Language. This further underscores the need for the learning of English language as a second languge.
English language however, has four basic skills. These are: listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Opega (2008) defined these skills as what a learner should be able to hear, say, read and write in the target language as a result of learning experience. Hence, the third language skill (reading) is what this study is concerned with. According to Opega (2008) reading is the third skill in language learning and yet, it appears as an indispensable tool of learning at various levels of education. Further still, Opega (2011) stated that reading is the fundamental skill upon which all formal education depends and it is an interactive activity between the writer and the reader. The writer encodes the message in the text, while the reader decodes the message in the same text in form of reading achievement.
Similarly, Nduka (2003) argued that reading is not just decoding or recognizing the printed words, but it involves the ability to comprehend, assimilate, react, summarize and utilize information when necessary. Feast (2002) observed that how well students progress in their academic pursuit is hinged to a large extent on their level of reading proficiency in English language. Feast further agreed that if students are defficient in the reading aspect of English language, such students may not perform well in the various school subjects because, different subjects requires much reading activities for success to be enhanced. This explains why reading in English language is viewed as an important and an indispensable skill among other language skills (Opega, 2011).
There are different approaches of reading English language at all levels of education. According to Day and Bamford (1998) there are different types of reading approaches a reader could follow to achieve overall reading comprehension. These include: individual reading approah, co-operative reading approach, collaborative reading approach, intensive reading approach, extensive reading approach, and multiple reading approach among others.
Individual reading approach is usually called silent or private reading. This type of reading approach is done by the individual student during school hours or after the school hours in a quiet place (Day & Bamford, 1998). Individual reading approach encourages the student to learn to read without the assistance of the teacher or the mates. This approach improves reading comprehension, speed reading and reading rate.
On the other hand, cooperative reading approach is another reading approach where students form small reading groups for the purpose of reading and exchange of academic ideas. This approach is also called group reading because it involves two or more persons and mostly student-centred in nature (Eskey, 1988). This approach encourages students interactions, discussions, dailoguing before they come to agreement on the same solution to the academic problem.
Furthermore, collaborative reading approach is a reading approach that involves the students at their various reading groups coming together to form a bigger reading group to achieve a common academic goal (Galvin, 1996). Besides, intensive reading is another reading approach that involves careful reading of text materials with the goal of complete and detailed understanding of text materials. Readers choose to read intensively in order to practise reading skills regularly. Intensive reading is a reading approach that enhances the reader distinguishing the main idea of a text from the details (Al-Homoud & Schmitt, 2009).
Extensive reading approach is also another reading approach that encourages large amount of reading materials, prited or written. Extensive reading approach is mostly used by students or an individual student that wishes to sustain silent reading to get global understanding of a particular reading text material. This approach does not need any guide from any teacher but personal reading effort is needed in such premise.
Multiple reading approach is another reading approach that is all encompassing. It is an adaptation of all the afore-mentioned reading approaches such as: cooperative, collaborative, individual and intensive reading approaches. It builds a global reading competence and encourages student to see their teachers as a source of knowledge from which the students draw inspiration (Eskey, 1988).
