Recent research efforts in teacher education in Nigeria have largely focused on innovative instructional delivery with little attention to learner-related variables such as language anxiety and prior knowledge that can influence learning outcomes in English composition in ESL classrooms. Notwithstanding these interventions, the problems of mass failure and poor quality of essays still persist in Nigerian schools. Studies have confirmed that language-related anxiety and prior knowledge in ESL classroom can influence students’ achievement irrespective of the quality of instruction received by learners in a second/foreign language classroom. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between language anxiety and prior knowledge on achievement in expository essay. Three null hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance, and 350 participants were randomly selected from four senior secondary schools. Data were collected using two research instruments and the results showed that there was no significant relationship between the independent variables and students’ achievement in expository essay. Also, there were no composite and relative contributions of language anxiety and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in expository essay. The study was concluded by making recommendations to ESL teachers and students on how to improve achievement in expository writing.
The English language is unarguably the status language in Nigeria because it is assigned important roles such as the language of instruction in school, official language, and a core requirement for admission into higher institutions of learning in the country. The importance of English language in the Nigerian educational system is underlined by the fact that the subject is taught and learned at all levels of education and evaluation of students’ learning in other subject areas is largely conducted in English. It is also not uncommon to assess one’s level of education to the quality of one’s writing or speech in English language. Therefore, composition writing is an integral aspect of English instruction in schools, it is also examined in English Language Paper 1 in West African Examination Council (WAEC), and National Examination Council (NECO) conducted examinations in Nigeria. Paper 1 tests the writing skill in English language, and Olagbaju and Jimoh [
Different writing tasks such as letter writing, speech and article writing, and argumentative/debate, narrative, descriptive, and expository essay types are taught and examined in ESL classrooms in Nigeria. However, expository writing is the most demanding because it requires learners to have a grasp of both the linguistic and technical knowledge of the essay. Reference [
The WAEC Chief Examiners [
Although these studies reported the effectiveness of teacher-related factors in improving students’ achievement in different aspects or skills of the English language, performance in the subject in public examinations has not improved significantly. This is because there are several other learner-related factors such as cognitive style, gender, language exposure, verbal ability, vocabulary knowledge, language anxiety, and prior knowledge that are able to influence or contribute to students’ learning outcomes in ESL classroom. Success in English language examination at WAEC- and NECO-conducted examinations has been strongly tied to students’ ability to succeed in the written aspect of the examination. Expository essay is a regular question type in the essay or composition section of the examination every year. Writing an expository essay presents at least two challenges to the second language learner: he or she must demonstrate a mastery of the rudiments of the target language and the know-how on the technicalities of the topic to be written on.
Demonstrating a mastery of the writing skills or use of the target language can be very challenging for a second language learner. It is often in form of a mild or pronounced apprehension or anxiety in a second language classroom. In actual fact, several language teachers have acknowledged the existence of language-induced anxiety in second/foreign language classrooms and its influence on students’ performance in the target language [
According to [
In line with the aforementioned points, [
It is not all forms of anxiety that are bad because some anxieties can be helpful in motivating or facilitating the desired change while the harmful or negative anxiety hinders learning performance [
One of the factors responsible for anxiety during a second/foreign language instruction is how well learners are able or not able to integrate the new instruction into their schema. That is a situation where learners do not have prior knowledge that aids in recall or transfer of learning, which serves as a platform for the new knowledge. Prior knowledge refers to the sum of relevant body of knowledge or experience possessed by learners relevant to the task they are expected to perform. Reference [
Similarly, prior knowledge deals with the meta-cognitive aspect of learning especially when learners need to compose or brainstorm before or during the process of writing an expository essay. There is no vacuum in the construction of knowledge because the new body of knowledge has to be built on some old understanding or prior knowledge. This is perhaps why [
The National Policy on Education (NPE) in Nigeria recommends the progressive use of English as the language of instruction for ESL learners from the fourth year of the primary/basic school after most of the learners had already acquired the mastery of the basic communication skills in their mother tongue. By implication, most ESL learners in Nigeria are confronted with the realities of language anxiety and prior knowledge in the learning of the target language, and this is largely responsible for the perennial mass failure in English language in public and private examinations. Efforts to improve students’ performance in English language and essay writing in particular have largely focused on pedagogical innovations with little attention to learner-related variables such as language anxiety and prior knowledge that can influence learning outcomes in ESL classrooms. In spite of these interventions, the problems of mass failure and poor quality of essays still persist. Studies have confirmed that language-related anxiety and prior knowledge in ESL classroom can influence students’ performance irrespective of the quality of instruction in a second/foreign language classroom. Most of the previous studies on learner-related factors in second language learning considered variables such as cognitive style, gender, maturation, foreign language anxiety, and vocabulary knowledge, with little emphasis on the relationship between language anxiety and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in essay writing in ESL classroom. Therefore, this study determined the relationship between language anxiety and prior knowledge on achievement in expository essay in Ibadan North LGA, Nigeria.
Based on the stated problems, the following null hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. Ho1: there is no significant relative relationship between the independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) and students’ achievement in expository essay Ho2: there is no significant composite contribution of independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) and students’ achievement in expository essay Ho3: there is no significant relative contribution of independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) and students’ achievement in exposition essay
The theory was developed mostly in the 1970s by American educational psychologist, Richard Anderson. Schema theory describes how knowledge is acquired, processed, and organised. Schema or schemata refer to a mental framework used by humans used to represent and organise information, which aids in easy recall. These schemata are building blocks of cognition derived from learners’ experiences or prior knowledge and they enable us to recall, modify our behaviour, concentrate our attention on key information, or try to predict the most likely outcomes of events. Schema influences the processes involved in students’ interest and ability to pay attention and absorb new knowledge: people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schema. The theory further states that people can quickly organise new perceptions into schemata and act without effort. Schema theorists suggest that knowledge is organised through an elaborate mental activity, which involves prior knowledge, cognitive processing, and memory recall. Similarly, this study involves how psycholinguistic and cognitive factors such as language anxiety and prior knowledge contribute to students’ active participation in the learning process through cognitive processing and memory recall in the process of second language instruction with the aid of the learners’ schema. These factors enable the learners to actively participate and facilitate learning during the process of classroom instruction. ESL students often construct their learning by relying on their schema to actively generate their own learning. The theory is applicable to this study in the sense that schema-related factors such as language anxiety and prior knowledge play every important role in ESL instruction and they can be maximised to improve learning experience and learning outcomes.
English language instruction in Nigeria is largely used as a second language in schools because most of the learners live in indigenous linguistic environment and must have acquired at least one indigenous language as a mother tongue before the official school age. This is why the NPE [
Learners’ anxiety is a common phenomenon during instructional procedural processes, especially if the topic, method, or teaching style is unfamiliar. Prevalence of language anxiety in a second language classroom is capable of affecting the teaching and learning of the four language skills, particularly the writing skill. Language anxiety in the classroom is the worry or apprehension encountered by the second or foreign language learners, which is capable of hindering effective learning of the target language. Teachers play an important role in enriching students’ learning experiences and they could trigger anxiety in the second language classroom without taking note of it. As a factor in second language learning situations, it is important that language anxiety should be detected early and assistance or support should be provided for language learners in and out of the classroom.
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Apart from language anxiety, prior knowledge also plays a prominent role in second language learning. Prior knowledge covers the total of the relevant skills, aptitude, and know-how that a learner possesses before coming into contact with a new body of knowledge or information. Prior knowledge aids in recall or transfer of knowledge and they can be in form of either misconceptions or alternative conceptions [
Prior knowledge can be subjective in a teaching and learning process and it is one of the factors that account for individual differences in classrooms. Prior knowledge exists in all ESL classrooms and it is capable of influencing the course of instruction and students’ learning outcomes in the target language. Teachers should be conscious of students’ prior knowledge so as to plan their instructions to appeal to their students’ schema. Reference [
The study adopted a descriptive research design of survey type. The population consists of all the senior secondary school students in Ibadan North LGA of Oyo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling was used to select four schools from the public schools in the LGA and a total of 350 SS2 students were randomly selected for the purpose of this study.
The independent variables are language anxiety and prior knowledge while the dependent variable is ESL students’ achievement in expository essay.
Two instruments were used in this study. The first instrument, Language Anxiety and Prior Knowledge Questionnaire (LAPKQ), was designed by the researcher. LAPKQ is a 28-item questionnaire that has three parts: the first part requested demographic information from the participants, the second aspect on language anxiety comprises 15 items with a three-point scoring scale of
The process of data collection lasted for a period of three weeks. LAPKQ and ATEW were administered simultaneously and the data collected from participants were processed for analyses. The AREW was marked by seasoned WAEC examiners with at least five years of marking experience and the questionnaire was scored for analysis. The data were analyzed using inferential statistics such as Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), mean and standard deviation.
Relative relationship of independent variables with students’ achievement in expository essay.
Variables | Students’ achievement in expository essay | Language anxiety | Prior language |
---|---|---|---|
Students’ achievement in expository essay | 1 | ||
Language anxiety | −0.029 (0.593) | 1 | |
Prior knowledge | −0.052 (0.330) | 0.312 | 1 |
350 | 350 | 350 | |
Mean | 17.04 | 25.18 | 20.60 |
Standard deviation | 6.77 | 6.65 | 3.01 |
Ho1: there is no significant relative relationship between the independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) and students’ achievement in expository essay. Table Ho2: there is no significant composite contribution of independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) and students’ achievement in expository essay. The result showed that there was no significant composite contribution of language anxiety and prior knowledge to students’ achievement in expository essay ( Ho3: there is no significant relative contribution of independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) and students’ achievement in exposition essay.
The result showed the relative contribution of each of the independent variables (language anxiety and prior knowledge) to students’ achievement in exposition essay. The result indicates that there is no significant relative contribution of language anxiety (
From the foregoing, the findings of this study showed that language anxiety and prior knowledge had a negative insignificant relationship with students’ achievement in expository essay. This result implies that a high level of language anxiety in the ESL classroom led to poor achievement in expository essay. The findings of this study support similar studies such as [
The study also found that prior knowledge had no significant relationship with students’ achievement in expository essay. This result disagrees with [
The findings of this study on language anxiety suggest that ESL teachers must ensure that students’ apprehensions are addressed through the use of quality instruction, which are interactive and communicative so that corrective prompt feedback can be provided to support students’ learning of the target language (see [
Lastly, the findings of this study showed that there is no significant relative contribution of learning anxiety and prior knowledge to students’ achievement in expository essay. The result disagrees with the other previous studies [
In most Nigerian classrooms, instruction in English language begins after learners have acquired the basic skills in their mother tongue or first language. However, the English language is the language of instruction from the fourth year of primary education, a core subject and major requirement for progress to the other levels of education in the country. Success in the subject, especially in public examination, has been found to be largely determined by learner-related factors such as language anxiety and prior knowledge. Studies have reported that the perennial mass failure in English language is because students do not do well in the aspect of the examination on essay writing. Therefore, essay writing in general and expository essay in particular are an integral aspect of instruction in English composition in ESL classrooms within Ibadan North LGA. However, students have been found to avoid writing this type of essay and when they do, students’ achievement in expository essay has been very poor. This is because this essay type requires learners to demonstrate the knowledge of selected concepts which may include the incorporation of relevant facts and figures. Hence, students’ schema or prior knowledge and language anxiety are capable of enhancing or impeding achievement in this type of English composition. Therefore, the study examined the relationship between language anxiety and prior knowledge and students’ achievement in expository essay in ESL classrooms. The findings of this study showed that there are no significant relationships between language anxiety and prior knowledge and achievement in expository essay. Also, there are no composite and relative contributions of the independent variables on students’ achievement in expository essay in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria.
Based on this result, the following recommendations are made: ESL teachers need to consider language anxiety more closely in the classroom and remedy such apprehensions through quality instructional delivery. Teaching English in ESL classroom should be highly interactive and communication-based, and corrective feedback must be detailed and prompt. The primary responsibility of language teachers should be to create a connection between students’ schema and the new body of knowledge. ESL teachers should begin to focus more on prevailing learner-related variables within the classroom such as language anxiety, prior knowledge, verbal ability, and vocabulary knowledge that can influence students’ achievement irrespective of the quality of the instruction that they received in the classroom.
The data used to support this study are included in the manuscript.
The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.