ABSTRACT

This study sought to investigate the Effect of Phonics on pupils’ achievement in

word recognition in Oshimli South Local Government Area. Three research
questions and three hypotheses guided the study. A non equivalent control
group quasi-experimental design was used. A multi phase sampling technique was
used to select 144 primary one pupils from four primary schools in Oshimili
South Local Government Area of Delta State as subjects for the study. The
word recognition achievement test (WRAT) was developed, validated and used
for data collection. Means, standard deviations and a 2×2 analysis of covariance
were used to analyze the data. The study found out that:
1. The experimental group achieved better in word recognition using phonics
than the control group using whole language.
2. Phonics reading strategy favored male pupils in word recognition than their
female counterpart.
3. Phonics reading strategy favored pupils in the urban area than those in the
rural area.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Primary Education is the first formal Education level. It is the education given
in institutions for children aged six to eleven plus. This level of education has
among its goals the inculcation of permanent literacy and numeracy and the
ability to communicate effectively (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004:14). At
this level of education, the medium of communication is the language of the
immediate environment. Ogbuchi, (2003) sees language as the expression of
idea by means of speech sounds combined into sentences and the combination
leading to ideas and thoughts. She went on to describe it as a purely human and
non instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means
of a system of voluntary produced symbols. While Trager (2001), describes
language as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social
group cooperates. Language can therefore be defined as a special tool used in
passing information between two or more persons.
Nigeria appreciates the importance of language as a means of promoting social
interaction and national unity as well as preserving cultures (FRN, 2004). This is
why it is placed first in the list of the goals and the curriculum of primary
education respectively. Language is the most vital element for all forms of
learning. It is the medium for giving, receiving, hiding and distorting
information (Ogbuchi 2003). Language is therefore a social tool used by people
to carry out the affairs of the society.
It is in recognition of the above facts that the Federal Government of Nigeria,
in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004) recommends that the mother
tongue or the first language (Li) should be the language of instruction at both
the pre primary
level and junior primary level, while English language (L2) becomes language of
instruction from the senior primary school. The use of English as a medium of
instruction from the senior primary school has adverse effect on the teaching
and learning situation. Children are now required to speak, read and write, study
and think in a language they are not familiar with.
The implication is that for the Nigerian primary school child, vocabulary
knowledge and word recognition is problematic. These are important factors to
reading development because if children cannot recognize written words they
will not be able to extract meaning from them. Since they are second language
readers, Nigerian primary school child learn with a bilingual second language and
go through a complex process involving two languages, one of which is usually
foreign to their natural speech habits, home background and culture (Alyousef,
2006).
Reading is one form of communication that must be developed in children right
from their early years. It is an activity that every child engages in, from the
day the child commences the educational career at the pre primary level then
through the long years at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education.
Alyousef (2006) simply defined reading as a process of obtaining information
from a text. It is a complex process that involves interaction or negotiation
between the reader and the text, leading to fluency or automacity. Vacca and
Vacca (2002) also see reading as a conversation, a give and take exchange
between the reader and the text. In this context, reading is a meaning
searching and meaning getting activity that involves the reader and the text
leading to success both in and out of school. In this context, reading can be
defined as the ability of the reader to get meaning from the author’s message
in the text.
In the present information age children are expected to read text to learn. All
text and examination requires their ability to read examination questions.
Evidently, academic achievement of any kind is therefore closely tied to
children’s reading ability. It is in view of this fact that Oyetunde (1999) in
Ezema (2002, 175) contends as follows: “Can you imagine what life is for school
children who can’t read? I am sure you cannot bear to think of it. I can’t” The
teaching of reading in our primary schools and the performance of pupils in
public examination have been reportedly very poor. Thus, pupils performance in
primary school examination in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta
State for 2006-2010 revealed that the level of achievement pass in English
language is average and this could be attributed to pupils reading at frustration
level. (see appendix iv)
The findings of United Nations International Children’s Education Fund GCA
reading projects in public primary schools in the 10 UNICEF A field states of
Anambra, Enugu, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers state, Bayelsa, Ebonyi,
Imo and Abia state reveal that only few children can read fluently and respond
to their reading and that primary six pupils can neither decode nor comprehend.
In the like manner, research findings have revealed that there is a serious
problem of reading at all levels of education in Nigeria (Idogo, 2005,
Alegbeleye, 2004). These researchers in their respective findings further
revealed that a large number of elementary school pupils lack literacy skills
especially reading which they require in their formal and non formal learning
situations. Some of the pupils find it difficult to read and understand and some
of them also show carefree attitude to reading (Adeniyi, 2010). Scholars like
Idogo, (2005) and Ajayi, (2004) have traced the problem of reading skills to
the weak foundation that pupils have in reading at the primary level.
Researchers such as Kolawole, Adepoju and Adelore (2000) and Adegbite
(1999) identified teacher choice of method as one of the main factors of poor
performance in reading.
Most teachers unfortunately, do not understand the difference between
teaching English and teaching reading. Actually, reading is done not to practice
the reading skill but to practice and learn English language (grammar and
vocabulary) through reading. In Nigerian public schools today, the spelling
method and whole language are widely used in teaching reading. The Universal
Basic Education Commission (2010) describes the spelling method as an
approach by which children are taught to read the words by first spelling them.
First they are taught to recognize individual letters of the alphabet, master
them, and even sing them out so as to recall all the 26 letters individually.
Thereafter they are taught to build up words by spelling them. This method is
still widely used in many Nigerian schools. Some of the weaknesses associated
with this method are that it makes children stick to spelling of all words in
their effort to read, even much later in life. When this is an established
practice children are essentially slowed down.
Secondly, the whole language method introduces connected words and
sentences to learners. Children are not taught to first recognize individual
letters, rather words and short sentences are presented as language units and
the pupils are led to say what they mean. They are encouraged to memorize
words as whole units, for instance the word “CAT” could be presented perhaps
with the picture of that animal, and children are told to pronounce the word.
They are never led to do the spelling. After successfully calling the name, they
are led to practice writing the word by imitating what they see on the
chalkboard or cardboard. Thereafter whole sentences follow. For instance, they
see the picture of a cat running, and are asked what they can see the cat doing.
Gradually they are led to read “THE CAT IS RUNNING” which is the caption
below the picture. This method helps children to learn how to read ‘sight words”
which are words that do not reflect the sounds of what they stand for.
Examples of sight words are “the”, “said”, “find” etc.
The strengths of whole language method are quite obvious. First, it encourages
children to begin to write early. Second, it gets them to be involved in
connected print rather than stick to letters for long before connecting the
letters to form words. An obvious weakness of this method is that children
never acquire a full phonic foundation. That is, they are not quite able to
decode unfamiliar words. It is like not being able to describe individual leaves
that make up a large tree though they are able to describe the tree fully In
spite of all these methods, in the views of Carle (2005), a lot of school children
still have problems becoming good readers at the primary school level of
education. There is therefore need to adopt a phonics reading strategy to see
if there will be an improvement in the reading skills of primary school children.
The phonics method encourages children to begin reading through auditory
training that is training their ears to recognize the sounds of letters, and
associating these sounds and letters with the shapes of the letters in written
form. This is of course carried over to the association of the letters and
sounds with specific words which they learn in the process. The Manual for the
Training of Federal Teachers Scheme (2010) describes the phonic method as a
method of introducing the sounds of the language to children through words
that can be related to such sounds. The phonic method teaches children to
“sound out” new words. In most cases, they first learn what a letter stands for,
and then learn to associate the sound and the letter to specific words.
Literature tends to suggest that phonics method of teaching reading can be
used to get young learners to master the skills of reading Moat (2000),
Tompskin (2003) and Vacca (1998). Many of these literatures are alien.
Nigerians live in a different environment with a different environment with a
different culture. Also, there is lack of literature to show that such a study on
the effect of phonics has been carried out within our cultural context
especially in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Location could also be a factor in children’s acquisition of reading skills. The
location of a school, according to Okoye (2009) has a significant effect on a
child’s ability to study and perform at the level expected of the child. In the
view of Abidogun (2005), the rural areas are seen as having the greater
challenges concerning educational development than urban centres due to the
peculiar socio-economic and institutional structures in the rural areas.
Specifically, according to Okoye (2009), in Nigeria, most rural-based schools
lack enough qualified teachers, are poorly equipped and lack basic amenities, all
serving as inhibiting factors to good academic performance. It is quite obvious
that the degree of interest and motivation a child derives from a learning
environment may affect his performance.
Pupil’s characteristic such as gender has been linked to early measures of
language and learning. Gender has been used to describe the behavior expected
of an individual on the basis of being born a male or female (Mboto and Bassey
2004). Girls tend to have a slight advantage over boys in the early stages of
vocabulary development (Tamis Le Monda and Rodriguez, 2008). Contrarily,
Okeke (1999) posits that some socio-cultural impediments such as role
stereotyping and the belief that reading is a male gender subject pose
obstacles to female pupils participation in reading. On the other hand, Gambell
and Hunter (2000) claim that boys do less well than girls in reading, almost
regardless of the criteria used to assess competency. Boys predominantly held
negative attitudes towards reading stating that reading is boring and feminine
activity (Clark and Akerman, 2006). Research on reading has indicated that
actually there may be sex differences. Two major theoretical explanations have
been given, namely inherent biological differences or maturational differences
between males and females and cultural or environmental sources (Okeke,
1999). While some researchers claim male superiority to reading, others claim
female superiority. But there is no universally accepted view. This study intends
to find out the truism or otherwise of this view.
For the primary school child, word recognition is the foundation of the reading
process; this explains why words are the building blocks of comprehension
(Gough, 1985). It is also true that the overall goal of reading is comprehension,
but without the ability to recognize words in continuous text accurately, this
goal cannot be achieved. (Oyetunde and Muodumogu, 1999) More also, it has
been observed by the Universal Basic Education Commission (2010), that the
area of phonics, which has close affinity to the ability to read efficiently and
speak intelligibly has not been properly addressed. Hence this study is
motivated by the desire to adapt phonics method in the teaching of word
recognition in primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of
Delta State.
Statement of the Problem
Reading is an important tool for children because it forms the gateway to
knowing the wider world and the environment. Reading can only be meaningful if
it is understood. It is therefore important that every reading activity children
are introduced to must make sense in print. Written form of words will only
have meaning for children if they are familiar with these words in speech. The
ability of a reader to recognize words is the key to proficiency in reading for
first language (L1) readers. Since Nigerian primary school children are second
language readers, knowledge of vocabulary and word recognition are
problematic issues. Evidence also abound that many children, especially at the
primary school level read at a frustration level. Observation has also shown that
most pupils, at their primary education, are still deficient in the basic reading
skills. This deficiency has been traced to a number of factors especially poor
teaching methods where the teachers often focus more on what is taught and
not the learners.
Although, literature abounds on the use of phonics as an effective strategy of
getting young learners to master the skills of reading, there are no literature
to show that that such a study has been carried out within our cultural context
especially Oshimili South Local Gove rnment Area of Delta State. This study is
therefore concerned with teaching primary school pupils word recognition using
phonics reading strategy. What then will be the effect of phonics reading
strategy on pupil’s achievement in word recognition?
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to find out the effect of phonics on pupils’
achievement in word recognition. Specifically, the study is aimed at finding out
the following:
1. Whether there is a difference in the post test mean scores in achievement
in word recognition of pupils taught reading using phonics and those taught
using whole language
2. Gender related differences in pupils’ achievement in word recognition using
phonics.
3. Whether the location will affect pupils’ achievement in word recognition
using phonics
Significance of the Study
The primary school has a critical role to play in laying the foundation on which
other levels of education must build. This implies that the foundation of school
subjects must be solidly laid at the primary school level. Nigerian primary
school children are second language readers hence vocabulary knowledge and
word recognition are both important, the findings of this study will benefit to
primary school teachers, pupils, curriculum planners and the government.
Findings of this study would be of immense benefit to primary school teachers
as this would enhance their enthusiasm for the use of phonics towards the
achievement of pupils’ word recognition skills. Profound understanding on
phonics reading strategy on pupil’s academic achievement would spur teachers
on the need to update their knowledge, skills and abilities through seminars and
capacity building workshops. It would also be beneficial to pupils as it would
enhance pupils’ interest in reading and also make them to be phonemically aware
by engaging them in activities that would help in building their vocabulary and
word recognition skills.
Curriculum planners on the other hand would benefit from the findings of this
study as they need to have profound understanding of phonics reading strategy
on pupil’s academic achievement. Such understanding will be utilized in the
planning of the curriculum and budgetary provisions of facilities and staff
development on training and retraining of teachers in order to facilitate
teaching and learning within and outside the classroom. Finally, this study will
be beneficial to government. It will serve as a useful intervention for them. It
will in turn necessitate the organization and training programmes for new
primary school teachers and lecturing of old teachers on the techniques needed
for effective use of phonics reading strategy.
Scope of the Study
The study was limited to Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
It focused on one urban and one rural area and these are Asaba town which is
the Headquarter of Delta state and Okoh which is almost a riverine community
without good road network. There are 29 schools in Oshimili South LGA. Two
schools each were selected from Asaba and Okoh making a total of four
schools. (See appendix iv)
Specifically, the study was limited to primary one pupil in the area of the study.
Primary one was chosen because it is at this lower level of education that pupils
are taught word recognition skill so that by the time they move to the upper
basic school they will be fluent readers. The topics were drawn from the
primary one school curriculum module. Furthermore, this study mainly focused
on the achievement of pupils as a result of the use of phonics in word
recognition.

Research Questions
This study was guided by the following research questions;
1. What is the difference in the post test mean scores in achievement of
pupils taught reading using phonics and whole language?
2. What gender differences are there in the post test mean scores in
achievement using phonics and whole language?
3. What is the difference in the post test mean scores of pupils’ achievement
in word recognition using phonics with regards to location?

Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were
tested at 0.05 level of significance.
1. There will be no significant difference in the post test mean scores in
achievement of pupils taught using phonics and whole language strategy for
word recognition.
1. There will be no significant gender difference in the post test mean
achievement scores of pupils taught using phonics and whole language.
1. There will be no significant location difference in the post test mean
achievement scores of pupils’ taught using phonics and whole language.