Citation: Abubakar ABBA, Aminu BASHIR & Asmau Muhammad BELLO (2025). Investigation into Teaching of Literature in English in Selected Secondary Schools in Azare Metropolis Bauchi State, Nigeria. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. 13, Number 1. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660
INVESTIGATION
INTO TEACHING OF LITERATURE IN ENGLISH IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AZARE
METROPOLIS BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA
BY
ABUBAKAR ABBA
AMINU BASHIR
ASMAU MUHAMMAD BELLO
Abstract
Keywords: teacher attitude, literature
teaching, secondary schools
Introduction
Attitudes are very essential in the
achievement, retardation or stagnation of goals in life. In teaching and
learning environment, attitudes of both teachers and students towards teaching
and learning affect the outcome of a particular subject. Soyale (2014) observes
that attitudes are likes and dislikes; dispositions toward objects or
situations, which provide tendency for favourable or unfavourable responses.
They are evaluations of objects, issues or people based on affective,
behavioural and cognitive information (Shelly et al. 2006).
Gardner (2005) states that attitude is an evaluative reaction to some referents
or objects, inferred on the basis of the individual’s beliefs or opinions about
the referents. Attitudes can be positive or negative, progressive or
retrogressive; acceptable or unacceptable (Shelly et al. 2006).
A display of a positive attitude normally results in good and recommendable
outputs while a show of negative attitude always brings about bad and
regrettable outputs. Maduekwe (2007) observes that attitude is crucial to
language growth and decay, restoration and destruction, without good language
command, learning of Literature-in-English becomes very difficult and, in most
cases, abortive.
Teachers’ attitudes to teaching determine
either success or failure of such teaching. Spolsky (2009), Gardner (2005) and
their contemporaries maintain that attitude help both teachers and students in
teaching and learning processes. It should be noted here that, it is only the
positive attitude that helps the teachers and the students. Where teachers
display negative attitudes, little or nothing can be achieved in the classroom.
Morzano (2016) stresses that without positive attitude students have little chance
of learning proficiently if at all they learn.
Many teachers develop negative attitude
towards teaching of Literature-in-English in secondary schools for several
reasons, such as lack of deep knowledge of the subject matter, lack of teaching
materials, excessive demand of reading many texts before going into the
classroom, lack of good command of the English language to understand and teach
literature prescribed texts, laziness, lack of technical know-how of methods of
teaching suitable for Literature-in-English classes, I-don’t care attitude and
many other factors (Morzano, 2016). Maduekwe (2011) adds that teachers’
competence, teacher training, lack teacher training, lack of materials are the
challenges faced in teaching.
This study, therefore, shifts from focus from
the angle of the students to that of the teachers with a view to identifying
the factors responsible for their negative attitude and recommending possible
ways of tackling them. The researchers believe that this paper will be a good
resource material for teachers of Literature-in-English. It will help policy
makers to know where to focus when making policies and the materials to be
provided.
Objectives of the Study
This research is aimed at investigating the
attitudes of teachers towards teaching of Literature in English. The research
has the following specific objectives; to:
a. Examine the challenges faced by
teachers in teaching Literature in English in secondary schools,
b. Investigate the teaching methods used
by the teachers to teach Literature in English in secondary schools, and
c. Assess the correlation between
teachers’ attitudes and how it affects students performance
Research Questions
This research intends to answer the following
research questions:
i. What
challenges do teachers face in teaching Literature in English in secondary
schools?
ii. How
do teachers’ attitudes towards teaching Literature in English in secondary
schools influence their teaching practice?
Iii. Is
there a correlation between teachers’ attitudes and students’ performance?
Research Methodology
A descriptive survey research design was
adopted in this research because the variables cannot be manipulated. The
research population was all teachers teaching Literature-in-English and all
students having offering Literature-in-English as a subject in private schools
within Azare metropolis. The sample of the study is 4 teachers and 40 students.
A purposive sampling technique with only private secondary school, offering
Literature-in-English as a subject of study was selected. The instrument used
for data collection is questionnaire which is classified into two teachers
questionnaire and students questionnaire. The students questionnaire is meant
to supplement the information provided by the teachers. The questionnaire were
administered by the researchers with the help of research assistants from the
school.
Data Presentation, Analysis and Discussion of Findings
The summary of the self-structured questionnaires distributed to
the respondents and the analysis of the data are presented below:
Table 1: Qualification of teachers
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|||
|
QUALIFICATION |
NCE |
B.A. Ed. |
B.A. |
OTHERS |
|
No. of responses |
00 |
04 |
00 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
0% |
100% |
0% |
0% |
Table 1 shows that all the teachers teaching
Literature in English are graduates of Education with teaching subject as
English. Having all the teachers with teachers with B.A Ed has surpassed the
minimum qualification needed for one to teach.
Table 2: Area of specialization of teachers
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|||
|
Area of specialization |
Lit. in English |
English language |
Hausa |
OTHERS |
|
No. of responses |
00 |
04 |
00 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
0% |
100% |
0% |
0% |
Table 2 shows that all the teachers are language specialists
teaching literature. This may a result of lack of subject specialist in the
area which forced those that study English Language to teach.
Table 3: Questionnaire item 1
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|||
|
Those that studied BA (Ed) English can
perfectly teach Literature in English |
SA |
A |
D |
SD |
|
No. of responses |
01 |
03 |
00 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
25% |
75% |
0% |
0% |
Table 3 shows that 1 respondent representing
25% strongly agrees that those that studied B.A. (Ed.) English can effectively
teach Literature in English and 3 respondents representing 75 percent Agreed.
This may be because those that studied B.A. (Ed.) English have literature
courses as part of their compulsory courses and the courses on teaching
methodology cover both language and literature.
Table 4: Questionnaire item 2
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Do you find time to read the
prescribed texts before going to the class to teach |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
04 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
Table 4 shows that all the teachers teaching literature find time
to read the prescribed texts before going to the class to teach, which gives
them chance to prepare well for the lesson.
Table 5: Questionnaire item 3
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Do you find time to read the
prescribed texts before going to the class to teach |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
04 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
Table 5 shows that all the teachers create time to read the
prescribed texts before going into the class. This shows that the teachers
prepare for the lessons beforehand.
Table 6: Questionnaire item 4
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Do you allow your students say their
opinion and perspective of the text under study |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
04 |
0 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
The respondents give their students a chance to express their
opinions on the texts under study, which opens room for discussion, thereby
making the class more of an interactive session than a teacher-dominated .
Table 7: Questionnaire item 5
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|||||||
|
Choose the method(s) you employ while
teaching Literature-in-English |
Lecture method |
Explanation method |
Assignment method |
Drama method |
Group method |
Movie method |
Socratic method |
Eclectic method |
|
No. of responses |
01 |
03 |
03 |
02 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
11.11% |
33.33% |
33.33% |
22.22% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Table 7 indicates that the respondents use different methods in
teaching Literature in English. This helps a lot, as the topic determines the
method employed.
Table 8: Questionnaire item 5
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Do you give extra coaching on
difficult areas |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
02 |
02 |
|
Percentage |
50% |
50% |
Table 8 shows that 2 respondents, representing 50%, give extra
coaching to the students on difficult areas, while the remaining 50% do not
care.
Table 9: Questionnaire item 6
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
||
|
How do you read Drama texts |
Sharing characters among students |
Reading during classes by the teacher |
Asking the students to read at home |
|
No. of responses |
02 |
02 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
50% |
50% |
0% |
Table 9 shows that 50% of the respondents share the characters
with the students when reading drama for them to be reading, assuming the role
of the characters, while 50% of the respondents read the texts during classes.
None of the respondents asks the students to read at home on their own. This
attitude is not encouraging the students to develop good reading culture as the
classes are either dominated by the teachers reading or portion of the students
taking the roles of the characters.
Table 10: Questionnaire item 7
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Does the school provide reading
materials promptly? |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
04 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
00% |
Table 10 shows that all the schools under study provide reading
texts promptly for the teachers.
Table 11: Questionnaire item 8
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|||
|
How do you compose your lesson note? |
Browsing from the internet |
Using one textbook |
Using various textbooks |
Using past notes |
|
No. of responses |
03 |
02 |
02 |
01 |
|
Percentage |
37.5% |
25% |
25% |
12.5% |
Table 11 shows that 3 respondents representing 37.5 per cent
browse the internet to make their lesson, while 2 respondents representing 25
per cent use one textbook. 2 respondents representing 25 per cent use various
textbooks and only one respondent, representing 12.5 percent use past notes.
Table 12: Questionnaire item 9
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
||||
|
How many hours do you preserve for
lesson preparation per day? |
0 hour |
1 hour |
2 hours |
3 hours |
4 hours |
|
No. of responses |
01 |
01 |
02 |
00 |
00 |
|
Percentage |
25% |
25% |
50% |
00% |
0% |
Table 12 shows that the highest time the respondents dedicate to
lesson preparation is 2 hours, which is done by 2 respondents representing 50
per cent of the respondents, while 1 respondent dedicates 1 hour, representing
25 percent and 0 hour representing 25 percent respectively.
Table 13: Questionnaire item 10
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Do you write lesson plan? |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
04 |
0 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
Table 13 shows that all the respondents write lesson plan which
helps greatly in lesson delivery.
The students’ questionnaire was designed to confirm the attitude
of the teachers towards teaching Literature-in-English to avoid the teachers
hiding some of their attitudes which they feel should not be made known.
Table 14: Questionnaire item 1
|
ITEM |
|
RESPONSE |
||
|
How interesting do you find literature
in English lessons? |
Very interesting |
Somewhat interesting |
Not at all interesting |
|
|
No. of responses |
20 |
15 |
05 |
|
|
Percentage |
50% |
37.5% |
12.5% |
|
Table 14 shows that 20 respondents representing 50% find lessons
of Literature in English very interesting, 15 respondents representing 37.5%
find it somewhat interesting while 5 respondents representing 12.5% find it not
interesting at all.
Table 15: Questionnaire item 2
|
ITEM |
|
RESPONSE |
||
|
What motivates you to participate in
literature classes? |
Teacher’s enthusiasm |
Interesting texts |
Easy to get grades |
|
|
No. of responses |
28 |
08 |
04 |
|
|
Percentage |
70% |
20% |
10% |
|
Table 15 shows that 28 respondents representing 70% are motivated
by teacher’s enthusiasm, 8 respondents representing 20% are motivated by the
interesting texts under study while 4 respondents representing 10% are
motivated by anticipated good grades to get easily.
Table 16: Questionnaire item 3
|
ITEM |
|
RESPONSE |
||
|
How would you describe your teacher’s
attitude towards teaching Literature? |
Enthusiastic |
Neutral |
Boring |
|
|
No. of responses |
28 |
14 |
00 |
|
|
Percentage |
70% |
30% |
0% |
|
Table 16 shows that 28 respondents representing 70% describe the
teacher’s attitude as enthusiastic, 14 respondents representing 30% describe
the teacher’s attitude as neutral while none of the respondents describe the
teacher’s attitude as boring.
Table 17: Questionnaire item 4
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Has Literature in English influenced
your interest in reading? |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
40 |
0 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
Table 17 shows that all the respondents are influenced by
Literature in English as far as reading culture is concerned.
Table 18: Questionnaire item 5
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Does your Literature in English
teacher organize extra-moral classes? |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
06 |
34 |
|
Percentage |
15% |
85% |
Table 18 shows that 6 respondents representing 15% agree that the
literature teacher organize extra-moral classes while 34 respondents
representing 85% say that the teacher does not organize extra-moral classes.
Table 19: Questionnaire item 6
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Does your literature teacher assign
characters to you while reading drama texts? |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
40 |
0 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
Table 19 shows that all the respondents believe that the teacher
assigns characters to the students while reading drama texts.
Table 20: Questionnaire item 7
|
ITEM |
RESPONSE |
|
|
Does your literature teacher give you
room to say your opinion while reading texts? |
Yes |
No |
|
No. of responses |
40 |
0 |
|
Percentage |
100% |
0% |
Table 20 shows that all the respondents agree that the literature
teachers allow them say their opinion while reading texts.
Discussion of Findings
From the analyses carried out, the study
revealed that all the Literature-in-English teachers are not subject
specialists but have undergone training on principles and practice of teaching
both English language and Literature-in-English. This might affect their
mastery of the subject matter as they might have missed some of the requisite
skills to teach Literature-in-English even though with keen interest from them
they can adapt and do well. Lack of mastery makes one to have negative attitude
as the teacher may be dodging students’ questions.
Also, the study revealed that the schools
provided needed materials for teaching of Literature-in-English which greatly
can enhance the teaching and learning of the subject. Where the materials are
readily available, the teachers always find it easy to prepare and deliver an
effective lesson. Have the schools proved hesitant in providing the materials,
it would have affected the attitude of the teachers towards teaching the
subject, as Talip (2021) reveals in his findings that the provision of
instructional materials helps teachers develop positive attitudes.
The study further revealed that the teachers
conduct student-centred lessons because the students were allowed to say their
opinion on the texts under study. This made the classes interactive in nature.
The study finally revealed that the teachers use divergent methods of teaching
only that they do not create extra time to coach the students on the grey areas
which would have made the students more versatile. This is in line with
Gelisli’s findings that revealed through his study that teachers employ divergent
methods based on the demands of the topics.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The study investigated the teachers’ attitude
towards the teaching of Literature-in-English. The study adopted a purposive
sampling technique for data collection from four schools-where four teachers
and forty students were sampled. Only schools offering Literature-in-English as
an independent subject were sampled. All the respondents sampled filled in the
questionnaires and returned as the administration of the questionnaires was
done instantly as the researcher visited the schools. Data were collected,
collated and analysed using frequency count and simple percentage. One of the
findings of this research is that the teachers’ passion of teaching
Literature-in-English was responsible for the students’ love of the subject.
the teachers demonstrated positive attitude.
The study, therefore, recommends that:
i.
Schools should employ Literature-in-English specialists to teach the subject.
ii.
Teachers should always study their students to know the methods of teaching
that suit them.
iii.
Teachers should create extra time to further guide the students on difficult
areas especially in topics related to poetry and reading large texts.
iv.
Each school should have more than one Literature-in-English teacher.
v.
There is need for training of Literature in English teachers on the current
trends of teaching that will make them developed and sustained positive
attitudes towards the subject.
References
Anana, M. E.
(2017) “Attitude and Loyalty of Bilingual Educationists to Yoruba and English”.
In (Eds.) Grammar, Applied Linguistics and Society: A Feistchrift for
Wale Osisanwo. Awolowo University Press.
Anthony, F. O. (2021) Fundamental
Concepts and Language and Literature Teaching. Oxford: University Press.
Brumfit, C. J. (1985) Literature and
Language Teaching. Oxford: University Press.
Gardner, R. C. (2005) Social
Psychology and Second Language Learning: the Role of Attitude and Motivation.
London: Edward Arnold.
Gelisli, Y.(2007)“Teaching Literature in
English”. In International Journal of Education Reform, 16 (1) 96-106.
Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/attitude.Thesaurus.com
Maduekwe, A. (2007) Rudiments of
Pronunciation and Spoken English. Pugmark Nigeria Limited.
Morzano, R. J. (2016) “Different Kinds of
Classroom”. Retrieved from http://www.ased.org/publications/books.
Richards, R. and Lockhart, O. (2020) “The
Teachers, Environment and the Role of Literature in Harnessing Diverse
Cultures”. International Journal of Researchin Arts and Social sciences
(IJRSS), 10 (1&2).
Shelly, T. E., Peplau, L. A., & David, O.
S. (Eds.) (2006) Social Psychology. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Soyele, R. A. (2014) Diagnostic
Testing Revisited: language Assessment and Feedback: Testing and Other
Strategies. Kandall Publishing co.
Spolsky, B. (2009) Diagnostic Testing
Revisited: Language Assessment and Feedback: Testing and Other Strategies. Kandall/Hill
publishing Co.
Stern, H. (2003) Fundamental Concepts
of Language Teaching. Oxford: University Press.
Talip, A. (2021) “Different kind of
Classroom”. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books.
Weiten, W. (Ed.) (2008). Psychology: Themes
and Variations. Wadsworth.
Teacher’s questionnaire
Appendix A
Basic Information
School ------------------------------------------
Gender----------------------------------------------
Qualification-----------------------------------------
Area of specialization-----------------------------------
Please tick the option that reflects your opinion in each of the
following questions:
a. Those that studied BA (Ed) English can perfectly
teach Literature-in-English.
Strongly
Agreed [ ] Agreed [ ] Disagreed [ ] Strongly Disagreed [ ]
b. Do you find time to read the prescribed texts before
going to the class to teach?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
c. Do you allow your students say their opinion and
perspective of the text under study?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
d. Tick the method of teaching you employ while teaching
Literature-in-English. You can tick as many as you employ.
Lecture
method [ ]
Explanatio
method [ ]
Assignment
method [ ]
Drama
method [ ]
Gorup
method [ ]
Movie
method [ ]
Socratic
method [ ]
Eclectic
method [ ]
e. Do you find extra-time for extra-coaching on
difficult areas?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
f. How do you read drama text?
Sharing
the characters among students [ ]
Reading
during classes by the teacher [ ]
Asking
students to read at home [ ]
g. Does the school provide reading materials promptly?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
h. How do you compose your lesson note? You can tick as
many as you use.
Browsing
from the internet [ ]
Using
one textbook [ ]
Using
various textbooks [ ]
Using
past notes [ ]
i. How many hours do you preserve for lesson preparation
per day?
0
hour [ ]
1
hour [ ]
2
hours [ ]
3
hours [ ]
4
hours [ ]
j. Do you write lesson plan?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
Appendix B
Student’s questionnaire
Basic Information
School ------------------------------------------
Gender----------------------------------------------
Class-----------------------------------------
Age-----------------------------------
Please tick the option that reflects your opinion in each of the
following questions:
1.
How interesting do you find literature in English cases?
Very
interesting [ ] somewhat interesting [ ] Not at all interesting [ ]
2.
What motivates you to participate in literature classes? You can select more
than one option.
Teacher’s
enthusiasm [ ] interesting texts [ ] easy to get grades [ ]
3.
How would you describe your teacher’s attitude towards teaching literature?
Enthusiastic
[ ] neutral [ ] boring [ ]
4.
Has literature influenced your interest in reading?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
5.
Does your literature teacher organize extra-moral classes?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
6.
Does your literature teacher assign characters to you while reading drama?
Yes
[ ] No [ ]
7.
Does your literature teacher give you room to say your opinion while reading
texts?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
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