CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Language is the most remarkable tool that man has invented, which has been used to ensure survival, express ideas and emotions, tell stories, remember the past and negotiate with one another. It is a feature of every human society and culture. Azikiwe, (1998) opines that language is a human characteristic that distinguishes man from the lower animals. According to Azikiwe, lower animals make varieties of communicative sounds and gestures but none of them has evolved a communicative system, as powerful and flexible as human language.
Consequently, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), 2004) states that Government appreciates the importance of language as a means of promoting social interaction and national cohesion; and preserving cultures. Thus, “French is now Nigerian’s second official language and it shall be compulsory in primary and Junior Secondary Schools”, (FRN, 2004: 10). Ministerial Committee on the Review of French language Syllabus and Curriculum (MCRFLSC) held in June, 2006 to develop the curriculum for use at the Junior Secondary School level. Some of the objectives of this curriculum are as follows:
- To encourage the innovative capacity of the teacher who should be able to improve on materials in order to enhance effective delivery;
To carry out continuous writing in French language employing correct usage of grammar, idiomatic expression, orthography, punctuation and other mechanics of the language;
- To manifest creativity in French language through composition of short stories, plays, news-sheets, word-games, songs and other innovative techniques; (Federal Ministry of Education (FME, 2006).
However, Language is not only spoken but survives in written form, such as in essay writing. The National Curriculum in French language was structured by MCRFLSC in 2006, in line with the above objectives. The second and third objectives which deal with the written dimension of the curriculum are of particular interest in this study. This is because according to Umo, (2001) the utility values of any language lie in the ability to communicate ideas effectively in oral and written forms. Writing is one of the four basic language skills (spneaking, listening, reading and writing). Essay writing has been defined in a variety of ways. Otagburuagu, Oba, and Ogenyi, (2010) opine that essay writing is a process of communicating idea in continuous prose format. To Ayo, (2006), essay writing is a literary device for saying almost everything about anything. It is also a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject.
Essay writing can be grouped into: narrative, expository, argumentative, and descriptive essays. At Junior Secondary School (JSS) stage, essay writing in French according to FME, (2006) are in six forms: simple description, narration, reports, letters, invitation and correspondences. At this stage, school expects basic essay writing skills where the students have to describe things around them such as: pets, school, or parents. This is simple and provides a starting point for the learner to think of things that surround them. Moreover, it teaches the learners to notice various elements and think of them in such a way that it helps them describe those elements for the class (FME).
However, an essay is written to convince the reader that the argument it contains is intellectually justifiable. Thus, the reader is the most important person in the essay writing process and this is reflected in the introduction which must provide the reader with an incentive to read the essay. The main point-(the main idea) of the paragraph is elaborated and its meaning explained and illustrated or supported by example, data or quote. The end of a good essay has a conclusion which restates the argument, reminds the reader of the two or three points which provide the most important support for the argument and then draws the essay to a close.
Essay writing is very significant in students’ academic career as it is one of the first things the students are demanded to write by their schools (Ike, 2005). In other words, one can say that essay is the outset footmark to enroll into the arena of writing. Throughout the timeline of schools, students are asked to write essays on different topics concerning their knowledge abilities. The process of essay writing is considered as a significant tool in determining students’ writing and reading attainments, presentation, analytical and climacteric approach skills and the power to write within a dictated time and word frame (Ayo, 2006). Writing process energizes basic of understandings and contributes to intellectual maturation. It is a good exercise for further written examinations. When one is involved in academic essay writing, one’s language improves (Ike, 2005).
In learning French essay writing in Nigeria, students are faced with many problems ranging from those that relate to the grammatical to those that stem from socio-cultural differences. The Nigerian learner of French essay writing usually has a mother tongue (L1) on which he/she imposes English (L2) as a second language. Thus, he/she is from time to time faced with the task of transposing his/her thought from these two languages to the French language which he/she is made to learn in school as a L2. Moreover, the act of writing is deprived of an immediate context of communication. Thus, for effective writing, one has to use a large number of formal features in order to help his/her readers infer the intended meaning. Essay writing involves: capitalization, punctuation problems, inexplicitness, poor organization/illogical sequence, spelling and grammar problems. For instance, these are some problems the learners encounter in learning essay writing in French: Example: garcon, pere, et marche for garçon, père et marché. There are some categories which involve incomplete sentences or wrong spelling of words. For examples are: Ma miere est dons…; Il y a quatre enfnfants (Ma mere est dans la maison et Il y a quatre enfants) and inappropriate techniques used by teachers of French.
According to Ayo, (2006), the above problems can be corrected by the use of activity-based techniques. French essay teaching has often been regarded as an activity-based, formal activity at JSS level. In teaching French essay writing at this level (JSS), activity-based techniques are often required to modify an essay text and if well developed, they can be used effectively for all topics of different essay lessons. According to FME, (2006), in order to make an essay writing lesson effective, beneficial, and interesting a teacher should use some well developed and fascinating innovative techniques in the classroom. An example of such techniques is the use of the technique of song (TS).
TS is an act of using song/music to present the material for instruction. According to the researcher’s experience as a L2 teacher, when students make a major breakthrough in learning, it is a song/music to the teacher’s ears. Uga, (2006) states that there is nothing more rewarding to a teacher than seeing his/her learners smile and laugh while they learn. This means that students who are taught in a fun and creative way, love coming to class. Songs have been part of the human experience for as long as one can remember. According to Wadswork, (2009), a song is a piece of music; an art of organizing tones to produce a coherent sequence of sounds, intended to elicit an aesthetic response in listener’s vocal or instrumental sounds, having some degree of rhythm, melody and harmony. Bob, (2009) opines that song is a communicative activity which conveys to the listener moods, emotions, thoughts, impressions, or philosophical, sexual, or political concepts or positions. From the above, a song and music are inseparable and interchangeable. A song is also a short lyric narrative text set to music. This music often reproduces the mood of and lends heightened emotional expression to the song text (Bob, 2009). Songs generally manifest in tune, melody rhyme, and lyrics. Songs can be a very interesting and motivating source of real life instructional technique for one’s students and one that particularly reaches into the learners’ world. A teaching technique according to Ike, (2006) is a specific action taken by the teacher to make his/her lesson easier, faster and more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective and more transferable to new situations. Such activity-based techniques are expected to help learners overcome any linguistic deficit.
