Abstract:
The complexities and technicalities in the usage of the nominal group has been a matter
of concern to English users especially in countries that have adopted English as their
official language. In such countries English is only taught in school but students
generally speak their native language and seldom speak the English language. The
situation is no different in Ghana where students will generally use their native language
as medium of communication and only use the English language at school, thus there is
less practise of the English language. However, the extensive use of English language in
the formal sector and as a means of teaching and learning requires that students have a
firm grip on sentence construction for which the nominal group is an integral part. The
study sought to investigate the use of nominal groups in Ghanaian schools using Don
Bosco Technical and Vocational Institute, Sunyani as a case study, dwelling on the
premise of Systemic Functional Grammar Theory by Halliday (1985). Adopting a
descriptive survey method for the study as described by Ary et al (2002), findings
revealed that the philosophy of the school which is geared towards excelling in technical
pursuits of students’ choice of subjects has influenced their attitude towards the use of
the English language. Factors including insufficient learning materials, class size, poor
library facilities, lack of modern study resources, poor use of instructional time, among
others, have contributed to poor fluency, vocabulary and grammar usage in the use of
nominal groups among students. The study recommended that the existing philosophy in
the school be altered to make students have a renewed interest in enhancing their use of
the English language. Moreover, the School’s management should endeavour to make
available all that is required in the school to provide students with a unique learning
experience.
Description:
A DISSERTATION IN THE DEAPARTMENT OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS,
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EDUCATION AND
COMMUNICATION, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE
SUTDIES, UNVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE
MASTER OF EDUCATION TEACHING ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE
(TESL)
DECEMBER, 2017