Critical Appraisal of the ‘Use of English’Language Curricula as Used in Tertiary Educational Institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

This papercritically appraised the ‘Use of English’ language curricula, as used in tertiary educational institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria. The motivation for the research is the general report that the majority of Nigerian undergraduates and graduates exhibit poor proficiency in English language, a situation which a number of writers attribute to the curricula being used in the teaching and learning of the subject at the different levels of education in Nigeria. As teachers of English language at the tertiary level of education in Nigeria, the researchers were, thus, interested in carrying out this research, at their own level/ area of practice, to determine the adequacy or otherwise of the curricula, as used, in attending to the students’ needs. The research objectives, specifically, were to determine: the core contents, the appropriateness of the teaching methods, the teachers’, and the learners’ perceptions of the implementation of the ‘Use of English’ language curricula in the institutions studied. Descriptive survey method was used for the study. The findings revealed the adequacy of the curricula in most of the tested items. The only areasof inadequacyin the curricula, and which is quite significant, include insufficiency ofpractical communication activities/ skills, lack of the use of ICTand language laboratoriesin the teaching of the courses, extra-large classes and excessive workloads of lecturers in some institutions. Recommendations are therefore made along these lines.