ABSTRACT

This study focused on the Influence of Class-Size on the Teaching and Learning of English Language. Five research questions were raised for the purpose of effectively carrying out the study, after which two different questionnaires were structured to elicit information from both teachers and students. One Hundred and Fifty students and Twenty Four teachers were randomly selected from Twelve different schools in the area of focus and simple percentage method o statistical analysis was used to analyse the data collected.

It was discovered from the study that large class-size is a great challenge to achieving success in the teaching and learning of English Language, as teachers could hardly prove their efficacy in classes thereby resulting to poor output from students. It was thus further recommended by the researcher that government should make adequate provision for language instructional materials and at the same time workshops and seminars should be organized for teachers of English Language to curb the menace of class-size in our secondary school.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

With the abolition of slave trade in Nigeria at the beginning of the 19th

century, British Colonial interest shifted to agricultural production from

exportation to Europe. During this period, precisely in 1842 and 1846 {2009

Britannica enyclopaedia} the first missionary stations were established in

Badagry (near Lagos in the South West) and Calabar (in the South-East)

respectively. The then evangelism grew sporadically to produce the first

generation of students who were made up of mainly children of slaves

whom the village communities thought they would not miss much. As the

British Colonial government felt the needs of African who were literate in

English language, who would serve both trade and colonial interests, the

missionary therefore in 1880s was officially ordered to teach English

language in their schools. So English language became a language of

concentration for reasons such as: it was financially rewarding to study

English language more than any of the indigenous languages; certification

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became conditional upon passing English before any recognition or

consideration is given. However, this development and the need to learn

English as a Second Language {ESL} necessitated the establishment of

the first state school in Nigeria in 1899.

It is undoubtedly obvious that English language in Nigeria has an

enormous importance so much that for over a century now, it has continued

to enjoy the pride of place in all spheres of the nations endeavours –

educational, business, communication to mention a few. English language

today has gained constitutional recognition to have served as an official

language and even gaining the advantage of being the First Language {L1}

over the Mother Tongue {MT}.

Despite all the importance and the position of English language in the

country’s educational system, it still suffers set back in its output. This has

been ascertained and established by various examination bodies,

government, education planners and individuals. It is highly pathetic and

embarrassing that a secondary school graduate could not write an error-

free sentence. Some of these students are eloquent but their reading and

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writing are nothing to talk about. These problems of drastic failure in

English language when investigated into, was attached to issues like

cultural background, incompetent teachers, over-population, non-

availability of materials among others.

It is highly paramount to mention at the juncture that one of the

reasons giving for the mass failure in the subject is Large Class-size. This

reason is identified by both students and teachers of English language. It is

as a result of this that the researcher needs to throw a search light on this

subject matter to ascertain the fact if truly class-size, whether large or small

influences the teaching and learning of English language. Moreso, it shall

be known at the end of this research, the ways by which teachers of

English language can teach their subject effectively in an over-crowded

class.

Statement of Problems

As stated earlier in the introductory part of this research that teachers

and students do associate failures in English language to class-size. It is to

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this insinuation that the researcher tends to investigate into the following

problems:

I. Challenges faced by teachers in managing class with over-populated

students.

II. Lack of sufficient instructional materials and other teaching facilities

that could aid teaching and learning processes in the classroom.

III. Poor teaching strategies and approaches adopted by teachers in

large class-size.

IV. Inability of the gifted and talented students to participate fully in the

class activities and vice versa.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate and proffer solutions to the

negative effect of class-size on the teaching and learning of English

Language in Secondary Schools. Looking critically at the subject matter,

the researcher aims at:

I. assisting teacher of English Language to cope and manage classes

that are either over-populated or normally populated;

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II. ensuring effective use of the few available instructional materials to

enhance teaching and learning processes in English Language;

III. providing English Language teachers with appropriate teaching

methods and techniques in large classes; and

IV. fostering teacher-students interaction for full participation of student in

the classroom.

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study lies in the fact that little has been written

on the Effect of Class-Size on the Teaching and Learning of English

Language in Secondary Schools in Ilorin-West Local Government Area of

kwara State and Nigeria as a whole. The study will therefore:

I. Assist teachers of English Language in adopting suitable teaching

methods in teaching over-populated classes coupled with proper

management.

II. Provide educational planners and curriculum planners with ways of

combating problems of teaching English Language in over-populated

classes.

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III. Serve as a measure for government to know their weaknesses and

thus make provision for infrastructural and human resources

management.

Research Questions

I. Does students’ population have any effect on their learning?

II. How effective is a teacher’s method of teaching in a large class-size?

III. How effective is a teacher’s method of teaching in a small class-size?

IV. Are the lesson objectives achievable in a large class-size?

V. What is the level of students’ participation in a large class-size?

Scope of the Study

This research work examines the Effect of Class-Size on the

Teaching and Leaning of English Language in Selected Secondary Schools

in Ilorin-West Local Government Area of Kwara State. It is worth

mentioning that this study focuses on some selected secondary schools in

Ilorin-West Local Government and not the entire kwara State and the

figures provided therein are based on the responses of the teachers and

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students of the selected schools, which is believed to cover the entire Local

Government Area. This research is limited to this area as a result of some

constraints but could still be valuable in educational planning.

Moreso, this research work is closely related to the Effect of Class-

Size on teachers of English Language and to a certain length the

performance of students of these class-sizes.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are constantly used in the research work and are

briefly explained to avoid ambiguity:

Class-size: An educational tool that can be used to describe the

average number of students per class in a school

Mother Tongue: The native language of a child, particularly the local

language of the father.

L1: This refers to a First Language contact of child. Mostly it is the

native language in most cases.

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L2: This is known as Second language and it is mostly the official

language or the language learnt after the acquisition of the First

Language.

Instructional Material: This may also be called teaching aid

and it is the material used to facilitate teaching and learning process.

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CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

Despite the importance of English Language in our society, it still

suffers a great set-back in all of our institutions of learning. The secondary

education is not left out of this educational / language trauma. It has been

discovered that most complaints by students and teachers of English

Language is the alarming rate at which the class-size increases. The truth

of the matter is that that the first curriculum priority is language. Therefore

English Language as far as Nigeria is concerned provides the connecting

tissue by which all other subjects are pursued.

Combating the issue of class-size especially in English Language

classes remains a problem that needs to be solved. Observations have

revealed that most of our classes in secondary schools have not less than

fifty students this is an indication that for each of the classes, their would be

the challenges of the classroom management, classroom control,

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classroom maintenance, deviance e.t.c. for the teacher. It is no doubt that

most of the time needed to carry out the teaching-learning activities shall

be wasted.

On the other hand educational planners like Okoro (1985) and others

opined that “few pupils per class are uneconomical, as they do not make

full use of space, teachers and teaching materials”. This implies that small

class-size is also not beneficial as optimal use of human and material

resources would not be attained.

Concept of Class-Size

Class-Size is simply an educational tool that can be used to describe

the average number of students per class in a school, in order to impart

and measure their academic performance. The concept of class-size has

been given series of definitions in different context by educationists.

Hoffman (1980) defined class-size as the number of students per teacher in

a class. While Kenedy (1989) sees it as a tool that can be used to measure

education system. In relation to class-size, Stepaniuk (1969) argued that

there are approved norms of class-size, 40 pupils per class for the grade 1

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to 8. This is in line with the National policy on Education under section 5

sub-section 27 which states that the ratio of teacher and students in the

class for secondary school should be 1:40. Meaning that as far as Nigeria

is concerned, the approved number of students in a class should be 40

students per teacher.

Class-size based on students’ population is therefore divided into

two. These categories are small class-size and large class-size.

a. Large Class-Size: What is considered small in one country, (e.g.

Pakistan, China and some other developed nations) may be seen as

large class in another country such as North-America. Even within the

same country, perception and experience of class-size varies

according to different factors such as students’ age and level.

However, generally 41 and above is considered large (43rd IATEFL

Conference 2009). Therefore, a large class-size is one in which “the

possibility of individual relationship between professor (teacher) and

students is precluded, in which not every student who want to speak

in class can be call on, and in which grading essay exams can take

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up every evening and weekend of the course (Weimer, 1987).

International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign

Language (43rd Conference 2009) also opined that a large class is

the one which “teachers face problems in teaching, managing and

evaluating”. It is also defined as a class in “which there are many

challenges and opportunities for the teachers as well as for the

learners in terms of managing resources, time and space”.

The above definitions depict that a large class-size is any class

where there are challenges for teachers and students in having a

problem free teaching and learning processes, which at the end

makes evaluation more time consuming than normal.

b. Small Class-Size: The National Council of Teachers of English of

United States {NCTE, 1990) described a small class-size as a class

where there is increase in teacher-students contact and interaction

among students help them understand one another, and increase

their desire to assist one another. Blatchford P. et al (2002) is of the

opinion that small class-size is a class in which there is less or no

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concentration on class control and management and management of

students delinquencies and deviances. A small class-size is a class

with the population of students ranging from 1 to 40.

Lots of arguments have been generated by teachers, students and

even educational planners within and outside Nigeria as to if there is any

effect of class-size on the teaching and learning of English Language. The

results of researchers on this subject varied from country to country. Glass

and Smith (1987) conducted a research on this subject and concluded that

“the average size when class-sizes were reduced from 25 to 15 was 0.9,

but more importantly, there was a non-linear effect”. He at the end argued

that what matters is the quality of instruction, teacher’s attitude, school

climate and interpersonal regard. (Hattie 2005) after researching on the

subject matter in almost all countries of the world, finalized that “…it has

been difficult to find studies identifying differential effects of achievement

relating to class-size”. Dean (1994) compared class-size in some countries

and found that Turkey, Norway and Netherland had the class-sizes of 20 or

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more; the UK, USA, Japan, Canada and Ireland had sizes between 15 and

20.

However in Nigeria, educational planners like Nwadiani (2000)

argued that the higher the class-size, the lower the cost of education. He

contented however, that most classrooms are overcrowded, spreading

resources thinly and thereby affecting the quality of education. Ajayi (2000)

supported the viewpoints and argued that in order to control rising capital

cost of education, the average class-size could be increased. Toth. L. et al

(2000) reported that the increase in enrolment in many institutions which

has become major concerns of students could definitely lead to an increase

in class-size. In contrary to Ajayi, Nwadiani and others, Commeyras (2003)

is of the opinion that “effective teaching seems impractical for teacher

educators having large class-size of 50, 75, 100 or more”.

To this end, the concept of class-size is generally acceptable as a toll

to achieving educational goal and objectives with the population of 40

students as basic standard. Despite this, there has not been unanimous

agreement on the influence of class-size on the students outcome in the

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teaching of English language; yet teachers and students’ complaints

especially in this area of study is the class-size being too large, which

causes deviance and delinquencies on the part of the students and loose of

concentration and inability to meet the objectives of the lesson on the part

of the teachers.

Effectiveness of English Language Teaching and Learning in Large

and Small Class-Size

Having considered the concept of class-size and views of

educationists on its influence of Teaching and Learning of English

Language in relation to students’ performances, the effectiveness of

teaching in both class-sizes need to be looked into. To determine the

effectiveness of any teaching such as English, the outcome or performance

of the students need to be ascertained. In terms of output, Simkins (1981)

reported that output “represents the immediate results of the systems

activities”. According to him, “the main outputs in education are expressed

in terms of learning, that is changes in the knowledge, skills and attitude of

individuals as a result of their experiences within the educational system”.

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Tsang (1988) remarked that output consists of educational effects such as

cognitive and non-cognitive skills that are learned by students. In

agreement to this, Lord (1984) enumerated four major areas in which the

measurement of output in education could be analysed. This has he listed

include the assessment by the teachers; standard examinations as a

measure of educational output; other standardized tests for national and

local monitoring and market research techniques

Effectiveness of English Language Teaching and Learning in a Large

Class-Size

A large class-size as earlier stated is a class in which teacher

concentrates more on management and control of the students rather that

working towards the achievement of the lesson objectives. A large class-

size therefore base on definitions could also be referred to as over-crowded

classroom. Most of the secondary schools in kwara State, particularly those

of Ilorin-West Local Government hardly meet the standard of the teacher-

students ratio. It has been noticed that the minimum population of students

in various classes are 50 and above. As a result of this, teachers and

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students are tend to face difficulties in teaching-learning processes. Ijaya

(1997) in her research opined that a large class-size offers nothing but

noise making, difficulty of cheating students, restriction of teacher’s

movement to the front of the class and inadequate participation in the

lesson by students sitting at the back. She added that the increase in

examination malpractices cannot be divorced from poor seating

arrangement in classrooms. She finalized that the quantity and quality of

interaction are likely to be adversely affected due to lack of space for

moving round the class and the overwhelming number of students that the

teacher has to deal with within a forty-minute lesson.

Though many researchers have conclude that large class-size poses

lots of problems, but Hess (2001) on the contrary states that large classes

have many advantages. He affirms that the number of the students is so

huge; it means more communication and interaction in the classroom,

moreover a diversity of human assets. In addition, outstanding students will

cooperate with their weak peers. Ur (196) in support of this clarifies that

while the teacher has a big number of students and cannot provide help to

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all students, nevertheless students can expand strategies to be better by

doing peer-teaching and group effort, thus benefiting and nurturing an

environment of cooperation and mutual end.

Juxtaposing the merits and demerits of large class-sizes, it would be

realized that large class-sizes forces teachers to be teacher-centered and

Teaching English as a Second Language {TESL} based on research is not

effective when a teaching is teacher-centered. The National Capital

Language Resources Council of the United State (NCLRC, 2007} identified

the two major draw backs in teacher-centered model of teaching. These

are:

a. It involves only a minority of students in actual language learning.

b. It gives students knowledge about language, but does not necessarily

enable them to use it for purposes that interest them.

Effectiveness of Teaching and Learning of English Language in a

Small Class-Size

Efficiencies and effectiveness of English Language Teaching and

Learning of in a Small Class-Size to some extent is known. Some

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researchers have investigated and concluded that the class-size has

nothing to do in the students achievements, wile lots of them are of the

opinion that effectiveness of teaching is high when there is reduction in

class-size. NCTE (1999) has identified the following encouraging results

from small class-size and improving instructional methods:

I. Smaller classes result in increased teacher-students contact.

II. More leaning activities take place in small class-sizes.

III. Students in smaller classes show more appreciation for one another

and more desire to participle in classroom activities.

IV. Smaller class-sizes allow for potential disciplinary problems to be

identifies and resolved more quickly.

V. Smaller classes result in higher teacher morale and reduced stress.

VI. Less retention, fewer referrals to special education, and fewer

dropouts are the ultimate rewards of class-size reduction.

IATEFL (43rd Conference 2009) argued that in smaller classes

teachers move from group to individual instruction; time spent on

procedural activities is reduced; time on review increases. In support of

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small class-size, Blatchford et. Al (2002) commented that in small classes,

there exist individualization of teaching and less time spent in management

or procedural activities, hence more teaching overall.

To contradict the positive influence of Teaching and Learning English

Language in Small Class-Size, Bakare (1986) affirmed that smaller classes

were correlated with smaller number of teacher-students interactions and

less questions from students. He added that there would be less lecturing

from the teacher and more prying and waiting for responses when teachers

asked questions. Nigeria being a developing nation with limited resources

seems to denounce the reign of small class-size. Adeyemi (1998) portrayed

this by saying that average class-size influences the cost of education while

capital cost could be reduced by increasing the average class-size in

schools.

Support giving to large class-size is majorly warranted especially in

Nigerian schools as a result of economic factors. Researches have

therefore shown that the negativity attached to English Language Teaching

and Learning in Large Class-Size out weigh that of small class-size. While

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small classes focus on more time to identify problems and provide

feedback on more time to identify problems and provide feedback, large

class teachers experiences more stress along with issues of control,

marking e.t.c. In Blatchford (2002) research, he concludes that “…while

small class-size will not make a bad teacher better, they can allow teachers

to be more effective. Earnest Boyer (1987) also concludes that “the central

qualities that make for successful teaching can be simple stated thus:

command of the material to be taught, a contagious enthusiasm for the play

of ideas, optimism about human potential, the involvement of ones

students. When these combinations are present in the classroom, the

impact of a teacher can be powerful and enduring.

Methods of Teaching English Language in a Large Class-Size

It has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that large class-size

unlike small class-size has negative influences on the Teaching and

Learning of English Language in our schools. The issue at hand is

therefore not the discussion of the demerits of large class-size, rather it is a

matter of the challenge on how to find ways of following the principles of

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“good practice” for teaching English in the specific context of a large class

in difficult circumstance. Generally in any teaching and learning, it is of

great importance to select and utilize the right instructional strategies.

Onasanya (1988) said that:

“The effective teacher is one that uses instructional

strategies in communicating with the learners and

guiding him / her to the desired performances of

understanding as specified in the lesson objective(s)”

Onasanya however highlighted some learning facilitating strategies

that characterizes effective teaching. These strategies include:

a. Beginning a lesson by stating its objectives and outlining its structure;

b. Demonstrating effective delivery skills built n clarity, gestures and

direct rye contact with learners;

c. Presenting clear, precise guidelines and routines that make the

classroom run smoothly;

d. Involving the learners actively in the learning tasks;

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e. Scanning the classroom frequently and drawing the learners back to

the lesson when attention wanders;

f. Moving round to supervise and offer help as needed when students

work at their desks;

g. Getting down to students interest level, listening sensitively, and

accepting meaningful learner responses that differ from the teacher’s

view;

h. Commencing and stopping lesson on time;

i. Treating the learners with trust and respects;

j. Creating room for reviews and repetitions especially where difficult

tasks are involved;

The strategies for teaching English Language in large class-size as

stated by the IATEFL (43rd Conference 2009) is tagged problem-

solution approach. These involve:

a. Managing Large Classes: This involves the grouping of students

into different categories. This would ensure the management of

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limited resources and also give room for easy identification and

assessment of those that refuse to be involved.

b. Teaching Writing: it is of the opinion that when this is done, students

are totally involved in the activities of the class.

c. Assessing Speaking / Writing: This approach emphasizes the

learner-centered method of teaching, whereby teacher only

supervises the students and let the main activities to be carried out by

the learners.

d. Dealing with Limited Resources: After the grouping of students,

this ensures the identification of the inadequacy or non-availability of

resources and thereby making provision for such

Teaching and learning a language like English is a scientific process

that has been studied and researched a great deal over 50 years

(http://eslflow.com). There are good and bad ways to teach a language and

part of the responsibility instructor / teacher is to update their skills as often

as possible to reflect current ways of teaching and to have the most

positive impact possible especially on students in large classes. Some of

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the ways / approaches of tackling the large class-size problem is the

understanding the variety of teaching methods and how those methods

have changed through history. This will help teachers tailor their lessons to

the needs of the class. The English as a Second language website

(http://eslflow.com) highlighted some basic effective teaching methods for

languages. These methods are:

1. Grammar Translation Method: This method arose in Germany in

the late 18th century. It originated with the study of classic languages

like Greek and Latin. By using this method, teachers assume that

students will probably need to use a language but that just studying a

language will be good for them. The method puts a high priority on

the ability to read literature in foreign language and translate

accurately into first language. Some features of this method are:

i. Teaching is done in students’ first language thereby causing

total concentration by students

ii. Reading and writing are emphasized and little time is spent on

speaking or listening.

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iii. Class exercises are usually grammatical and focus on control of

form

2. Communicative Language Teaching {CLT}: This method was

developed around 1990. The goal of the method is to make the

language classroom as much like the real world as there is problem

for students to communicate in a large environment. It also

emphasizes appropriate use of language. Some of the features of this

method are:

i. Students and teachers are involved in the teaching and learning

processes using the target language.

ii. Errors in this method are considered natural and thereby result

to the participation of students without fear of condemnation by

peers or teacher.

iii. Variety is emphasized when studying language functions.

3. Total Physical Response {TPR}: This method was developed in the

1960s and 1970s and it is called TPR because one of the principles is

that students learn more and faster when they involve their entire

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body. This method is based on series of commands given by teacher

and emphasizes listening and comprehension and allows students as

much time as they need to begin speaking. Features of this method

are:

i. The attitude is relaxed and comfortable and errors are

acceptable.

ii. In TPR, students are generally active.

iii. The teacher speaks relatively little and only in the target

language

Some other methods of teaching language in large class-sizes are

Notional-Functional Approach, Structural Approach e.t.c

To teach and learn English Language effectively in a large class-size,

it is stated that learners’ needs are to be met using different techniques.

The ESL website (http://eslflow.com) categorizes learners into 4. These are

the imaginative learners, analytic learners, common sense learners and

dynamic learners. It is further emphasizes that when teachers technique of

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teaching are set to meet these learners needs certainly the learning activity

will lead to a positive outcome

Appraisal of Literature Review

To critically analyse the subject matter, it has been generally

accepted that class-size is a vital educational tool that determines the

learning outcome in any educational system. The unanimous agreement of

researchers on the subject matter of discourse is that class-size could be

large or small. Having investigated into the two categories of class-size,

both with demerits and merits, which influence the teaching and learning of

English Language.

Significantly, the large class-size tends to make teachers being over-

worked with added weight of extra students, having strain on resources,

students with disabilities are at disadvantage because they may not get the

individualized attention, and teachers are tend to experience discomfort,

problems of controlling and evaluation; lack of individual attention and as a

whole bad learning outcome. The small class-size on the other hand,

though being condemned for economic purpose, has many advantages

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such as more interaction with teachers, identification of individual

differences, sense of concentration and helping hand being render by

peers and many more.

As a result of the negative influence of the large class-size on

teaching, the need to overcome the problem is then necessitated to

facilitate proper teaching of English Language. It is discovered that for

effective teaching of English, teacher needs to select and utilize

appropriate instructional strategies. Furthermore, the Problem-Solution

Approach needs to be adopted by English teacher for effective teaching

and learning coupled with the adoption of good method and techniques of

teaching and mastery of the language.

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter is set to expose readers to the kind of methods and

approaches used by the researcher in carrying out his research. The

research was carried out and discussed under the following headings:

Research Design, Population, Sample and Sample Techniques,

Instrumentation, Procedure for Data Collection, Procedure for Data

Analysis, Reliability and Validity.

Research Design

This research will make use of survey method of descriptive

research. This is done in an attempt to collect data and valid information for

the manipulation of the variable in order to determine the current status of

the population or sample of the population.

This method will be used to collate information about the Effect of

Class-Size on the Teaching and Learning of English Language. To achieve

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this, three majors ways shall be used for data collection i.e. interview,

questionnaire and documentation

Population

The population of this research is basically teachers and students of

English Language. Due to the fact that the whole English Language

teachers students in Ilorin-West Local Government cannot be assess, the

researcher therefore uses Random Sample Technique in order to achieve

the possible outcome of the whole population.

Sample and Sampling Technique

As stated earlier, the researcher would use Random Sampling

Techniques for this study. It is hoped that ht schools that are randomly

selected can be used to generalized the population.

The accessible population includes secondary school teachers and

students, out of which 24 English teachers and 150 students were

randomly selected from twelve (12) secondary schools. The twelve

secondary schools are:

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1. Ilorin Grammar School

2. Government Day Secondary School, Adeta

3. Model Secondary School

4. Baboko Community Secondary School

5. Sheikh AbdulKadir College

6. Alore Secondary School

7. Mandate Junior Secondary School

8. Mount Camel College, Oloje

9. Government High School

10. Government Girls Day, Pakata

11. Barakat Community Secondary School

12. Banni Community Secondary School

Instrumentation

The instrument used by the researcher was mainly the questionnaire

meant for the secondary school teachers and students. The researcher

assumed that the information derived from their responses will be valuable

33

as they are those who are directly involve in the teaching – learning

processes.

The questionnaire is categorized into 3 sections A, B, and C. Section

A requires the personal information of respondents. This involves question

like name of school, the school being taught, teachers experience e.t.c. In

section B and C, 12 and 13 questions were carefully organized

respectively. These are questions that tackle the general problems of

teachers and students in teaching and learning English language in large

and small class-sizes.

Procedure for Data Collection

The questionnaires were distributed to 36 English teacher and 300

students of selected schools with permission from principal of various

schools. The questionnaires were responded to by teaches and students

after the explanation of the purpose of the study by the researcher.

With cooperation by the head teachers, the teachers and students,

the questionnaire were directly collected by the researcher and some were

collected through the head teacher.

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Reliability and Instrumentation

Test Retest method was used to ascertain the reliability of

questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered to the same group at

an interval of two weeks and 85%of the same responses were still derived

from the respondents.

Validity of the Instrument

In respect of the validity of the instrument, the draft copy of the

questionnaire was shown to the project supervisor, after which necessary

corrections were made to correlate with the study in question.

The questionnaire has both face and content validity as it was

concerted to by the supervisor to match the content of the literature review.

Procedure for Data Analysis

After the collection of data, the researcher sorts the questionnaire into

two. One part of the questionnaire favoured the large class-size and the

other favoured the small class-size. Frequencies were then expressed in

percentage, based on the total number of responses.

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The data obtained were transferred into data sheet using descriptive

statistics for the data analysed. The detailed analysis of the data are shown

in chapter four

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CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

Introduction

This chapter presents and discusses the analysis of the data analysis

of the data gathered from the questionnaires that were administered by the

researcher. The data that will be presented consists of 24 teachers and 150

students responses that are randomly selected from twelve {12} school in

Ilorin-West Local Government.

Research Question 1: Does Students’ population have any effect on their

learning?

Table 1: Simple percentage analysis on students’ responses for Research

Question one

S/N ITEMS YES % NO %

2 Are you able to contribute to the lesson

when you want to?

120 80 30 20

7 When the teacher is in the class, do you

always hear murmur of noise within the

77 51.3 73 48.7

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classroom?

9 Does the English textbook provided go

round the students?

81 54 69 46

It is obvious that the above presentation in table 1 shows that One

Hundred and Twenty (120) students covering 80% of the students ‘

responses affirmed that they do contribute to the lesson when they want to,

while 20% of that response amounting to Thirty (30) students deny their

ability to contribute to the lesson when they want to.

Also, Seventy Seven (77) (71.3%) students opined that they always

hear noise within the class when the lesson is on. On the other hand,

Seventy Three (73) students, equated as 48.7% disagree with hearing

murmur within the class.

However, Sixty Nine (69) students i.e. 46% disagree with the

question of having enough English textbook for the students. While 54%,

which is equal to Eighty One (81) students supported having enough

textbook for ht subject.

38

Research Question 2: How effective is a teacher method of teaching in a

large class-size?

Table 2.1: Simple percentage analysis on students’ responses for

Research Question two

S/N ITEMS YES % NO %

3 Does your teacher’s method of teaching

make you like the subject?

122 81.3 28 18.7

4 Is your English teacher able to carry

everybody along?

120 80 30 20

6 Does you English teacher supervise your

work individually or go round the class?

125 88.3 25 16.7

In the presentation above, it is glaring that One Hundred and Twenty

Two (122) students i.e. 81.3% responded to show their likeness with the

teachers method of teaching, while 28 of them i.e. 18% dislike their

teachers method of teaching, which results to their hatred for the subject.

39

Moreso, One Hundred and Twenty (120) students amounting to 80%

acknowledge their teachers’ ability to carry them along and in contrary,

Thirty (30) students amounting to 20% acknowledge their teachers’ inability

to carry them along.

For question 6, One Hundred and Twenty Five (125) students

(83.3%) testified that their English teacher supervise their work, while 16%

equated at Twenty five (25) students confirmed that their teachers neither

go round to supervise their work nor check individually.

Table 2.2: Simple percentage analysis on teachers’ responses for

Research Question two

S/

N

ITEMS YES % NO %

1 Is your method of teaching effective in an

overpopulated class?

8 33.3

%

16 66.7

2 Is your method of teaching effective in a

class of lower students?

24 100 0 0

3 Do you find coping with students easy in 1 4.2% 23 95.8

40

an overpopulated class?

From the data presented above, it can be deduced that 33.3% which

is Eight (8)of the teachers’ responses attest that teaching is effective in an

overpopulated class. On the other hand, Sixteen (16) teachers covering

66.7% confirmed that teaching is not effective in an overpopulated class.

Consequently in question 2, Twenty Four (24) teachers which is

100% agreed that their method of teaching is effective in classes of lower

students.

Out of Twenty four (24) teachers, only one (4.2%) teacher believed

that coping with students is easy in an overpopulated class; while the

remaining Twenty Three (23) amounting to 95.8% affirmed that coping with

students in overpopulated class is not easy.

41

Research Question 3: How effective is a teacher’s method of teaching in a

small class size.

Table 3: Simple percentage analysis on teachers’ responses for Research

Question three

S/N ITEMS YES % NO %

7 Do you find teaching in a small class-size

more tasking than that of a large class-

size?

8 33.3 16 66.7

8 Is assessment in an overpopulated class

stressful?

22 91.7 2 8.3

9 Are instructional materials adequate in an

overpopulated class?

0 0 24 100

The table above shows that 33.3% which is also Eight (8) teachers

accepted that teaching is more tasking in a small class-size, while 66.7%

which represents Sixteen (16) teachers opined that teaching is not tasking

in small class-size.

42

Furthermore, Twenty (22) teachers which is 91.7% confirmed that

assessment is stressful in an overpopulated class while Two (2) teachers

(8.3%) sees assessment as being easy in an overpopulated class.

Question 9 portrays that 100% which is the total of the Twenty Four

(24) teachers concur with the inadequacy of instructional materials in

overpopulated class.

Research Question 4: Are the lesson objectives achievable in a large

class-size?

Table 4: Simple percentage analysis on teachers’ responses for Research

Question four

S/N ITEMS YES % NO %

11 Do you usually meet the lesson

objectives when teaching in an

overpopulated class?

11 45.8 13 54.2

12 Is performance of students in small class-

size24

24 100 0 0

43

In the data presentation in Table 4 above, we can infer that Eleven

(11) teachers which is 45.7% do meet the lesson objectives in over

populated class, while 54.2% which is equivalent to Thirteen (13) teachers

stated that they do not usually meet the lesson objectives in an

overpopulated class.

100% covering the whole of the teachers confirmed that performance

of students in small class size is better than that of students in

overpopulated class.

Research Question 5: What is the level of students participation in a large

class-size?

Table 5.1: Simple percentage analysis on students’ responses for

Research Question five

S/N ITEMS YES % NO %

2 Are you able to contribute to the lesson

when you want to?

120 80 30 20

80% of the students in the above presentation of table 5 states that

they are able to contribute to the lesson when they want to, while Thirty

(30) students (20%) responded that they are unable to contribute to the

lesson when they want to.

44

Table 5.2: Simple percentage analysis on teachers’ responses for

Research Question five

S/

N

ITEMS YES % NO %

5 Is there cordial relationship between

teacher and students in terms of their

interaction in a small class-size?

24 100 0 0

6 Do students in overpopulated class

participate in the lesson than students in

non-populated class?

2 8.3% 22 91.7%

Considering table 5.2 above, all the teachers opined that there is

increase in teacher-students interaction in small class-size.

Similarly in the next question, Two (2) teachers representing 8.3%

believed that students in overpopulated class participate in the lesson than

students of non-populated class, while 91.9%, which can be equate to

Twenty Two (22) teachers did not believe the assertion.

45

Discussion and Findings

The data presentation in table 1 indicates that students’ population

does not really have much effect on the students’ learning. Question 2 of

the table shows that almost all the students, 80% are able to contribute to

the lesson when they want to. Though 87.3% of the total respondents are

more than 40 in their various classes, yet they still have the opportunity of

contributing to the lesson. This development cannot be divorced from the

experience of the teachers, which helps them to manage largely populated

class. This fact is derived from the researchers finding in section c number

4 of the questionnaire where 79.2% of the teachers strongly pointed out

that their experiences helps them in managing over populated class.

Still on table 1, 51.3% of the students stated that they do not hear

murmur / noise within the classroom when the lesson is going on; while

48.7% confirmed that they do hear murmur / noise while the lesson is

going. Considering the two percentages of the respondents (51.3 and

48.7%), it is a fact that students population in one way still affects their

learning as there is just little difference of 2.6%. Moreso for any classroom

46

that has more than 40 students, there cannot be absolute silence in such

class.

The textbook as collectively shown by the students’ responses go

round the class with 54%. Contrary to this, the teachers responses with

100% states that the instructional material is not adequate. The researcher

therefore go by the responses of the teachers as the have direct contact

with the available material and that the students in the course of answering

the questionnaire exercise the fear of being punished by the teachers if

some responses against their teachers are chosen.

The analysis from research question 1 can therefore be summarized

to affirm that students’ population have effect on their learning.

Similarly table 2.1 and 2.2 helps in determining the efficacy of the

teachers in a large class. Under these tables, the responses of both the

teachers and the students are critically examined. 81% of the students

responses shows that the teachers’ method of teaching make them like the

subject; while 80% of the students also confirmed that their English

47

teachers are able to carry them along; and 83.3% asserted that the English

teachers usually supervises their work individually or go round the class.

The teachers’ responses concerning this research question depict

that 66.7% stated that their teaching methodology is not effective in an

overpopulated class. 100% of the teachers equally supported that method

of teaching is effective in a class of lower students and 95% of this same

teachers did not find coping with students in an overpopulated class easy.

Without mincing words, teachers’ methods of teaching in a large

class-size is not effective but have been professionally managed with the

experiences of the subject teachers.

For research question 3, teachers’ responses are used to determine

the effectiveness of teachers’ teaching method in small class-sizes. Based

on the responses which state that 66.7% unanimously agreed that teaching

in small class-size is not tasking, it can be deduced from that that teachers

will be able to explore varieties of method of teaching when teaching in a

small class-size, which makes it easy for the teacher to evaluate s teaching

methodology. 97.7% of these teachers also find assessment in

48

overpopulated class stressful. This implies that when classes are within the

normal teacher-students ratio, there would be room for teacher to properly

assess his / her student which will in-turn cause him her to know the areas

of strengths and / weaknesses of the students and at the same time will be

able to study the students individual differences.

Instructional materials are also no doubt a tool for effective teaching.

Under table 3 of research question 3, we are made to realize that

instructional materials are not adequate at all with 100% of the teachers

supporting this. It is obvious from this that when students are in classes of

lower size, teachers will be able to widely spread the instructional materials

and will immensely contribute to his / her teaching methodology.

Research question for focuses on how achievable the lesson

objective is in large class-size. With 54.2% of the teachers supporting that

they hardly meet up with the lesson objective(s) and 100% also attesting

that students’ performance in small class-sizes are better than the

performances of students in large class-sizes, we can categorically

summarise that lesson objectives are not usually achievable in large class-

49

sizes, for students performances are great determinant of lesson objectives

realization. Similarly, if students in lower class-sizes can perform better that

the students in large class-sizes, it means that the teacher is able to cover

up with all scheme of work that are entailed in the syllabus, which is also

tantamount achieving the lesson objectives.

Summatively, research question five examines the level of students’

participation in a large class-size. In table 5.1 under this research question,

80% of the students affirmed that they are able to contribute to the lesson

when they want to and 20% disagreed with this. When some of the

students who affirmed this assertion were interviewed, they added that they

mostly contribute to the lesson in response to the teachers inquisitions.

The teachers’ responses on the other hand have 100% of them

agreeing that there is increase in teacher-students interaction in a small

class-size. To sum up with this, 8.3% of the teachers opined that students

in overpopulated class participate in the lesson than students in non-

populated class, while 91.7% justify the high participation of students in

overpopulated class-size than that of overpopulated class.

50

Judging from the above, the students in overpopulated classes do not

participate well in the class compared to the participation of students in

lower class-sizes. For the few ones in highly populated classes that

participate in the lesson are been forcefully influenced by the teachers

persistence and repetitive questioning.

51

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary

This study is aimed at researching and determining the Effects of

Class-Size on the Teaching and Learning of English Language in Selected

Secondary Schools in Ilorin-West Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The study was conducted in twelve (12) selected secondary schools

in Ilorin-West Local Government, after which One Hundred and Fifty (150)

responses and twenty four responses by the teachers were randomly

picked to collate the data. To ensure the validity and reliability of result,

unstructured interview was conducted for some of the students.

At the end of this research, the study revealed that:

1. virtually all the secondary schools in Ilorin-West Local Government

are faced with the large class-size syndrome. The study shows that

the least population of students per class is 50 as against the Policy

52

in the National Policy on Education which states 1:40 as -teachers-

students ratio {Section 5 sub-section 27};

2. the students learning of English Language is being marred by the

teeming population of students as it reduces the efficacy of the

subject teachers, who find coping with students in large class-size

challenging;

3. teaching English Language in classes of small class-sizes are easier

as teachers are able to evaluate the students without being burdened

by the population of the students. Through this, teachers can also

evaluate his / her own teaching methodology to suite the needs of

each student;

4. Teachers who have longer years of experience scan easily manage

and handle large class-sizes effectively but at times do not meet their

lesson objectives;

5. students from large class-sizes perform below standard unlike their

counterparts from non-populated classes;

53

6. there is always increase in teacher-students interaction and high

participation in lesson when handling students of lower class-sizes

than students of populated classes; and

7. instructional materials are meagerly spread amongst students in

larger sizes.

Conclusion

From the result of the research, it is glaring that class-size has great

effects on the teaching and learning of English Language. Students of the

large class-sizes suffer a lot in their acquisition of skills in English

Language. They are subjected to lack of adequate materials and low

dedication to the study of the language. The teachers of the large class-

sizes equally find it difficult to discharge their duties as a result of the

superfluous population of students in the class.

It is highly advantageous for the government, the school, the teachers

and the students should the recommendation that would be highlighted

taken into consideration.

54

Recommendations

Having discovered the aforementioned from the study, the following

recommendations are therefore postulated to solve the challenges in the

teaching and learning of English Language in large class-sizes:

I. Workshops and seminars should be organized for teachers of English

Language periodically to enhance and improve their classroom

efficiencies.

II. Government should make provision for more language instructional

materials such as language lab, conducive and serene learning

environment for the purpose of optimizing the teachers’ and students’

output in English Language.

III. There is need to effect the teacher-students ratio policy stated in the

National Policy on Education so as to reduce the congestion in our

classes.

IV. Each school administrator should also see to it that classes

exceeding forty students should be broken into arms and liase with

55

appropriate authority to make proc=vision for infrastructural and other

necessary facilities.

V. In cases where large classes could not be broken down as a result of

factors beyond the administrators and teachers control, the English

teachers should embark on grouping the students. This will give room

for efficiency, monitoring the students’ participation in the class,

identifying the deviant students, identifying students’ individual

differences and also make the available instructional materials to

circulate.

VI. English teachers should not be keen about one particular teaching

method. Inter-changing the styles of teaching will arouse different

students for if a method is admired b a student, it might be otherwise

to another student.

56

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61

KWARA STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ILORIN

DEPARTMNENT OF ENGLISH / ISLAMIC STUDIES

CLASS-SIZE QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear respondents,

The questionnaire is strictly designed to investigate into the Effect of

Class-size on the Teaching and Learning of English Language in Selected

Schools in Ilorin-West LGA. All information supplied shall be treated with utmost

confidentiality. Kindly respond to the items by ticking {√} in the spaces provided.

Thanks for your cooperation.

SECTION A

For Students

Name of School:……………………………………………………………………

Gender: Male { } Female { }

Class:………………………

SECTION B {Students}

INSTRUCTION: Please tick the column that best suits you opinion by ticking{√}

Yes or No

S/N ITMES YE

S

NO

1 Are you more than 40 in your class?

62

2 Are you able to contribute to the lesson when you want to

3 Does you teacher’s method of teaching make you like the

subject?

4 Is your English Teacher able to carry everybody along?

5 Do those who sit at the back contribute to the lesson at all?

6 Does your English teacher supervise your work individually or

go round the class?

7 When the teacher is in the class, do you normally hear

murmur or noise within the classroom?

8 Is cheating rampant I your class when writing test or

examination?

9 Does the English textbook provided go round the class?

10 When given an assignment, do you engage your co-students

in answering the questions?

11 Is your English teacher able to mark the assignments given to

you?

12 Does your English teacher usually point out your areas of

mistakes after marking?

63

SECTION C {Teacher}

Class Being Taught:…………..

Years of Teaching Experience:…………….

Number of English Teachers in the School:……………

INSTRUCTION: Please provide answers in this section by ticking the column that

corresponds or suits your opinion or idea to the statements.

S/N ITMES YES NO

1

Is your method of teaching effective in an overpopulated

class?

2

Is your method of teaching effective in a class of lower

students?

3

Do you find coping with students easy in an overpopulated

class?

4

Do you think your experience helps in managing an

overpopulated class?

5

Is there cordial relationship between teacher and students in

terms of their interaction in a small class-size?

6

Do students in overpopulated class participate in the lesson

than students in non-populated class?

64

7

Do you find teaching in a small class-size more tasking than

that of a large class-size?

8 Is assessment in overpopulated class stressful?

9

Are instructional materials adequate at all in an

overpopulated class?

10

Do you think that providing more instructional materials and

classrooms can solve the problem of large class-size?

11

Do you usually meet the lesson objective when teaching in an

overpopulated class?

12

Is performance of students in small class-size better than that

of students in overpopulated class?

13 Does students’ population have effects on their output?

65