ii

METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS ON STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS:

A CASE OF SELECTED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS,

OROLU, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

BY

SANUSI KAMALDEEN KOLA

1161-07086-04274

A THESIS REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE COLLEGE OF HIGHER

DEGREES AND RESEARCH FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A

MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN ENGLISH OF

KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL

UNIVERSITY

MARCH, 2018.

i

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this research report is my original work and has never been submitted

to any university or institution of higher learning for an academic award.

………………………………………

Kamaldeen Kola SANUSI

………………………………………

Date

ii

APPROVAL

This research work compiled by SANUSI KAMALDEEN KOLA has been done

under my supervision and guidance. His work is now ready for submission.

………………………………………

Dr. J. Kalema

……………………………………..

Date

iii

DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to my energetic mother Alhaja Rafatu Ayoka Morenike Sanusi-

Tepamose and my empathetic brother Alhaji Muhibudeen Tepamose, the founder and CEO

MUTEP Global Farms and Allied Products Limited, Ifon, Osun state, Nigeria.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praise and thanks are due to Allah the Almighty for granting me endless grace and

bounties, for blessing me with guidance and wisdom to reach this academic attainment, and

for enabling me to complete this research work. Without His aid and mercy, this work

would never have seen the light of day.

I am deeply grateful to Dr. J. Kalema, my research supervisor, for his support, comments

and invaluable feedback during all the stages of writing my MA Thesis. His advice,

assistance and suggestions were always invaluable and inspiring.

Also, to Mr. Nkonge Kiyinikibi, Wassaja J. (PhD), Ongodia S. (PhD) and Kibuuka

Muhammad (PhD), whose motivational tutelage I passed through during my study period at

Kampala International University, I plead gratitude. I’m in the same breath indebted to Mr.

Kamulegeya Siraje and Dr. Kayindu, the present and former Heads, Department of

Educational Foundation, for discharging their administrative obligations towards the success

of my program. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to my advisors; Prof. (Mrs.)

I. B. Anumaka, Professor Edward Bantu, Dr. Sofia Gaite, Dr. Fabiyi Oluseyi, and Dr. Tindi

Seje, for their professional advice and constructive criticisms in my attempt to make this

work a success. I’m as well appreciative of the management and students of the selected

high schools, for hosting my experiments and investigations.

My sincere and deepest appreciation to Alhaji Muhibudeen Tepamose, a man of highest

integrity, moral rectitude, astonishing humility, high intellect with impeccable credibility,

who is also the Chairman MUTEP Global Farms and Allied Products Limited, Ifon, Osun

state, Nigeria. His funding and generosity respectively enabled me to reach this academic

level. To him I give unalloyed so much thanks.

And to my family – Asake my dear wife, an amazing woman, mothering the rest of us;

Ishola, Opeyemi, and Ajoke. Honestly, their patience is inimitable, and deeply appreciated.

I am truly indebted to my mother for her endless support, advice, encouragements and

prayers. Her words and acts of concerns for me and my family were always helpful. My

ardent thanks finally go to Mrs. Mercy Tepamose, my classmates(Zannah Babagaji and

Elungat Martin), Mr.&Mrs. Adegoke, Mr. Shakur(Abu Arafat), Barrister Ogunsola, Alhaji

Tapa, Alhaji Oladejo, Mr.&Mrs. Adejumobi, Mum Qareeb, and the rest of our people at

Agunbelewo area, Osogbo, Nigeria. For your prayers and concerns, I say a big thank you to

you all.

v

ABSTRACT

The study examined the impact of metalinguistic awareness on students’ writing skills with a view

to improving their writing performance in English language. The objectives were to determine the

level of metalinguistic awareness on the written output of the students in the selected schools., to

determine the level of writing skills of the students in the selected schools, and to examine the

impact of metalinguistic knowledge in the areas of content words, organization and use of linking

devices on the written output of the students in the selected schools. An experimental design was

adopted for the study and the sample size was 166 respondents. All the student respondents were

randomly divided into either control or experimental group of 83 students each. The research

instruments in this study were test papers used as questionnaires. A pre-test was administered to

gain the necessary background knowledge on student participants' subject-matter knowledge in

writing skill which was thereafter followed by a post-test after a two-week explicit instruction on

the established areas to measure the two groups' performances on their written output. The data

obtained was analyzed using Descriptive statistics, Independent Sample T-test and Pearson

Correlation. The obtained findings revealed that Metalinguistic Knowledge really does have an

impact on writing performance of the language learners. That when students master words

commonly used in the content areas of writing, organize and plan their written work very well and

appropriately make use of connectives, they improve in their written output. Based on the finding,

the study concluded that the approach of making the student writers be metalinguistically aware of

certain well-defined aspects proved reliable and rewarding in the development of writing skills. The

study recommended that teachers should be encouraged to consider implementing direct

metalinguistic strategy instruction to improve students’ written skills when describing words.

Writers of English language textbooks should be more current in order to produce textbook

materials that would reflect developments and innovations in teaching essay writing. Governments,

through the Education Ministries and other concerned people with the organization of conferences,

seminars and workshops are encouraged to hold regular programmes to facilitate English essay

writing skill using the approach exposed in this study.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION.......................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL ................................................................................................................ ii

DEDICATION............................................................................................................ iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................... iv

ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................x

CHAPTER ONE ..........................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1

1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................1

1.1 Background to the study ........................................................................................1

1.1.1 Historical perspective .........................................................................................2

1.1.2 Theoretical perspective .......................................................................................5

1.1.3 Conceptual perspective .......................................................................................6

1.1.4 Contextual perspective .......................................................................................8

1.2 Statement of the problem ......................................................................................9

1.3 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................10

1.4 Specific objectives ................................................................................................10

1.5 Research Questions ..............................................................................................10

1.6 Research Hypotheses ...........................................................................................10

1.7 Scope of the study.................................................................................................11

1.7.1 Geographical scope ...........................................................................................11

1.7.2 Content scope ....................................................................................................11

1.8 Significance of the study ......................................................................................11

CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................12

LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................12

2.0 Introduction ..........................................................................................................12

2.1 Theoretical Review...............................................................................................12

2.1.1 Schema theory ...................................................................................................12

2.2 Conceptual Framework .......................................................................................13

2.3.1 Metalinguistic awareness..................................................................................14

2.4 Writing Skills ........................................................................................................22

2.5 Impact of metalinguistic awareness in improving students’ essay

writing ability .............................................................................................................28

2.6 Summary of the gap .............................................................................................29

CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................30

METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................30

vii

3.0 Introduction ..........................................................................................................30

3.1 Research Design ...................................................................................................30

3.2 Research Population ............................................................................................30

3.4 Sampling Technique ............................................................................................31

3.4.1 Sample Size ........................................................................................................31

3.5 Data Collection .....................................................................................................31

3.6 Research Instruments ..........................................................................................31

3.7 Validity and Reliability of Instruments .............................................................32

3.8 Data Collection Procedure ..................................................................................33

3.9 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................33

3.10 Ethical Consideration ........................................................................................34

3.11 Limitations of the study .....................................................................................35

CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................36

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ....................36

4.0 Introduction ..........................................................................................................36

4.1 Demographic profile of the respondents ............................................................36

CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................43

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................43

5.0 Introduction ..........................................................................................................43

5.1. Discussion of findings .........................................................................................43

5.1.1 The level of Metalinguistic Awareness on written output of the

students. ......................................................................................................................43

5.1.2 The level of the writing skills of the students in the selected schools. ..........44

5.1.3 Impact of metalinguistic knowledge on the written output of the

students in the selected High Schools .......................................................................45

5.2 Conclusions ...........................................................................................................45

5.3: Recommendations ...............................................................................................46

5.4 Suggestions for Further Research ......................................................................46

REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................47

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................54

APPENDIX I: TRANSMITTAL LETTER .............................................................54

APPENDIX II: STUDENT ASSENT SCRIPT .......................................................55

APPENDIX III: QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................................56

APPENDIX IV: MARKS SCORED BY THE STUDENT

PARTICIPANTS IN THE TESTS ...........................................................................59

viii

LIST OF ACRONYMS

FCE First Certificate of Education.

L1 Mother Tongue; one’s first (native) language. The language learned

by children and passed from one generation to the next.

L2 Second language, which is the language that you speak in the addition to the

language you learned as a child (English language).

MA Metalinguistic Awareness

MA Masters of Arts

MED Macmillan English Dictionary.

NECO National Examination Council.

SPSS Statistical Package in Social Sciences.

SS 2 Senior Secondary 2

WASSCE West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

ix

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Population distribution for the students………………………………….……………... 30

Table 3.2 Assessment guide. ……………………………………………………………………....34

Table 4.1 Gender and Age of the student Respondents……………………………………. ………36

Table 4.2 Descriptive statistics showing the pretest and posttest scores of the students of the control

group ………………………………………………………………………..................................... 37

Table 4.3 Descriptive statistics showing the pretest and posttest scores of the students in the

experimental group ………………………………………………………………………............... 38

Table 4.4 Descriptive statistics of mean showing the level of writing skills of the students in

Control and experimental groups …………………………………………………………………..39

Table 4.5 Independent Sample t-test for the pretest scores of the students in control and

experimental groups………………………………………………………………………………... 40

Table 4.6 Independent Sample t-test for the posttest scores of the students in control and

experimental groups………………………………………………………………………………... 41

Table 4.7 Correlation between pretest and posttest scores on metalinguistic awareness of students

in experimental group …………………………………………………………………………… 42

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

The current study is to examine the impact of Metalinguistic Awareness in the areas of

content words’ knowledge, organization and use of linking devices on the writing skills of

high school students. The focus will be on mastering of specific academic vocabulary

commonly used in a content area, concentrating on structural and organizational aspects and

using connecting words and phrases to relate each point/idea to earlier and later points. If

students are aware of the language used in the description/characterization of certain

linguistic concepts, make their written text well organized to achieve logicality and strictly

adhere to the features expected of writing skill in terms of cohesion and coherence, this may

go some way in improving their written output.

1.1 Background to the study

The benefit of metalinguistic awareness and what it brings into language learning and how

these benefits relate to performance in language cannot be overemphasized. This culminates

the extent to which teachers of first, second or foreign languages should promote the

development of metalinguistic skills at school or at university for effectiveness in written

texts. This was reiterated in a Bangor Language Awareness seminar by James and Garrett

(1992) with an assertion which says: “The study of language is patently self-justifying”. It is

however unfortunate today that most of our students in the secondary schools and even

products of tertiary institutions have continuously display a very low level of competence in

the use of the language. Johanne, (2002) argues that the ability to write well is not a

naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in

formal instructional settings or other environments. He maintains that writing skills must be

practiced and learned through experience. It involves composing, either to tell or retell

pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information

into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing.

2

1.1.1 Historical perspective

The term “metalinguistics” appeared between 1950 and 1960 to designate the whole field of

research that has to do with ‘metalanguage’ that is to say the language that is used to refer to

language itself, based primarily on linguistic terminology (e.g. Syntax, morpheme, subject

verb agreement). This shift of function of the most basic tool of internal and external

communication requires a consistence level of abstraction. Over past two decades,

metalinguistics has become a burgeoning area of educational enquiry. A number of studies

(e.g. Berry, 2009; Hu, 2011; Henry, & Roseberry, 1999; Jessner, 2005; Robinson, 2005;

Roehr, 2007; and White & Ranta, 2002) have made efforts to investigate the role of the

concept in first (L1) and second language (L2) learning contexts and its impacts on learners’

language performance. As Benveniste (1974) pointed out, metalinguistic ability refers

primarily to “the possibility of raising ourselves above language, of abstracting ourselves

from it, of contemplating it, whilst making use of it in our reasoning and observations” (as

cited in Gombert, 1992, p2).

Nonetheless, Gombert (1992) did recognize some of the specific demands of writing and

that metalinguistic understanding in writing may be different from that related to talk. He

notes that the absence of an immediate reader and immediate feedback makes writing more

challenging, ‘the cognitive consequence of [this…] is the higher level of abstraction and

elaboration required in the processing of written language’ (1992:151) and suggests that, as

a consequence, ‘metalinguistic development thus appears to be of primary importance in the

acquisition of writing’. He also argues that metalinguistic activity is, to an extent, an

inevitable consequence of the demands of writing because ‘most of the components of the

activity of writing are consciously monitored by the subject at some stage during the

learning process, from first acquaintance with activity of writing to expertise in the

production of written text’ (1992:17).

Myhill & Jones, (2015) make a submission that there is very limited understanding of how

older writers in the secondary or high-school phase of schooling develop metalinguistic

understanding about writing. Yet writing, by its very nature, is always an act of decision-

3

making (Kellogg, 1994): decisions about the communicative content, about the medium,

about the audience, about text structure, about word choice and so on. Arguably, writing is

always an act of selecting, shaping, reflecting and revising (Myhill, 2011) and thus draws on

metalinguistic activity. He stresses that researchers such as Tolchinsky (2001) and Fortune

(2005) have argued that metalinguistic activity is an inevitable element of text production –

in other words, it is impossible to write without engaging in metalinguistic activity at some

level. Hence, Venuti, (2015) states that teachers tend to fail to develop their students’

metalinguistic competence or to make them understand language in itself in favour of

proficiency and fluency in the use of language. Cumming (2001) finally reflects on this and

states that children who have a more developed sense of metalinguistic awareness are likely

also to have more developed language in general skills; this appears to be true for written

language skills, as these metalinguistic and written language skills are also shared across

both languages.

With this in mind, Bialystok’s (1987;1999) work on metalinguistic development in bilingual

children is useful: she argues that metalinguistic understanding involves two related

components of language processing, analysis and control, which are responsible for

language learning and use (e.g. fluent reading, writing coherent texts). She refers to analysis

as the ability to represent explicit and conscious knowledge and control as the ability to

selectively attend to and apply knowledge (Bialystok, 1987). Bialystok argues that

developments in linguistic abilities are a result of developments of analysis and control.

This analysis and control framework provides a means with which learners’ development of

metalinguistic understanding can be described. The concepts of analysis and control have

some resonance with Gombert’s division of his definition of metalinguistic understanding

into, firstly, ’activities of reflection on language and use’ (1992:13), similar to Bialystok’s

analysis; and secondly, individuals’ ‘ability to monitor and plan their own methods of

linguistic processing’ (1992:13) which is akin to Bialystok’s control. What is common to

both is the notion that metalinguistic activity involves both recognizing and identifying

patterns of language use, and being able to regulate one’s own language use and language

choices. This appears very prominent in the context of writing, because of its being actively

involved in decision making.

4

Similarly, in today’s society, the act of writing is ingrained in every aspect of our lives and

continue to shape human interaction as we head full force into the 21st century. Writing and

the explicit teaching of writing has played a central role in education in many historical

periods, from the ancient Greeks through much of the twentieth century. The Greeks valued

writing for its rhetorical and persuasive powers; the Romans prized eloquence in writing;

and the British of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw it as a tool for instilling moral

values (Graham, S., and Hebert, M. A. (2010). Fifty years ago, writing was taught via

technical aspects of proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and other conventions. Grammar

instruction, or essentially, “how the English language works,” was thought to be essential to

learning how to write and therefore, a principal focus in teaching (Hillocks, 1987).

As scholars began to study writing systematically, it became clear that the written word is

an indispensable tool for communication and achievement. In today’s electronic world,

writing provides an almost instantaneous means for communicating with family, friends,

and colleagues (Graham, 2006). People use writing to explore who they are, to combat

loneliness, and to chronicle their experiences. Writing is beneficial both psychologically and

physiologically (Smyth, 1998). Writing is also a valuable tool for learning (Bangert-

Drowns, Hurley, and Wilkenson, 2004; Graham and Perin, 2007a), enabling us to gather,

preserve, and transmit information with great detail and accuracy.

The ability to write articulately gives one the power and opportunity to share and influence

thoughts, ideas and opinions with others, not only in day-to-day situations, but across time

and space. As May Heller writes, “The value that is placed on reading and writing arises out

of share need to literate people, this is a function of our society and of our culture” (1996,

p13). As writers, it is important to produce quality works, and as educators, we have to learn

a great deal about what it means to teach others to do the same. According to Graham and

Herbert (2010) Writing plays two distinct roles in school. First, it is a skill that draws on sub

skills and processes such as handwriting and spelling; a rich knowledge of vocabulary;

mastery of the conventions of punctuation, capitalization, word usage, and grammar; and the

use of strategies (such as planning, evaluating, and revising text). All are necessary for the

5

production of coherently organized essays containing well developed and pertinent ideas,

supporting examples, and appropriate detail (Needels & Knapp, 1994)

Furthermore, before the advent of process oriented instruction in ESL literacy instruction,

teacher feedback to second language writing often was excessively concerned with

eradicating errors (Applebee, 1981; Zamel, 1985). Often, that feedback was notably

unsuccessful in helping to reduce error frequency in subsequent student writing (Truscott,

1996). However, as process oriented practices, with their emphasis on student writers’ and

individual writing process achieved widespread acceptance, some swung to the opposite

extreme, giving little or no attention to morpho-syntactic or lexical accuracy of students’

final products (Horowitz, 1986).

It is hence, according to Zamel, (1982) asserts that……if, students learn that writing is a

process through which they can explore and discover their thought and ideas, then, product

is likely to improve as well. Thus, according to Frodesen and Holten (2003) mentioned in

(Ferris and Hedgcock, 2005) research suggests that “it is best interest of L2 writers to attend

to language issue consistently throughout the drafting process” (P 145).

1.1.2 Theoretical perspective

Khaled Barkaoui, (2007) emphasizes that learning and teaching writing in second language

are very challenging tasks, not least because of the myriad affective, linguistic, cognitive,

and sociocultural factor involved. This study therefore, draws on theory of Schema. Schema

beyond being a theory is a phenomenon that is commonly referred to as an outline of a plan.

Schema is closely related to information process, for this reason, it has to do with how the

brain works in terms of association i.e. recollection of old, and matching of newly acquired

information to the previously consciously or unconsciously internalized information.

(Adekoya, 2013).

Schema theory has increasingly aroused interest of English teachers. A new field in English

writing research thus appeared. Schema refers to a collection of knowledge related to a

concept and it contains background knowledge of content, text structure and hierarchical

6

organization of the text. During the writing process, students need to activate their previous

schemata stored in their long-term memory and they also have to obtain new knowledge

which helps them create good essays. Schemata supply the necessary knowledge of phrases,

content and organization forms, which have much influence on writing planning, revising

and editing process. Most of the teachers, however just study the relationship between the

schema theory and writing, and at best they offer some suggestions about how to improve

students’ writing ability. (Fushan Sun, 2014).

1.1.3 Conceptual perspective

Metalinguistic awareness according to Andrew, (1999) is an awareness of the language, its

structure and functions that lead the speaker of the language to think about and use the

language consciously; it consists of the knowledge and awareness of phonemes, syllables,

rhyme and morphology. According to Malakoff, (1999) Metalinguistic Awareness as the

awareness of the features of the language that gives the speakers of the language ability of

not only comprehending or producing utterances, but also checking the linguistic form and

the structure underlying the meaning of the utterances. Metalinguistic knowledge, according

to Donmall, (1985, p.7) is used in at least two senses: in the first sense, it stands for “a

person sensitive to and consciously awareness of the nature of language and its role in

human life”; as well, in the second sense, it refers to state of linguistic and grammatical

rules and mastering of the specific terminology used to describe concept and functions.

Conceptualizing the term metalinguistic, Gombert’s (1992) analysis of metalinguistic

development as cited in (Myhill D & Jones S, 2015) remains a positive contribution. He

conceptualized metalinguistic development as having five sub domains:

i. Metaphonological: developing understanding of the sounds that build words

ii. Metalexical/metasemantic: developing understanding of word structures and word

meanings;

iii. Metasyntactic: developing the ability to reason consciously about syntax and

intentionally control it;

iv. Metapragmatic: developing understanding of how to use language appropriately in

social contexts;

7

v. Metatextual: developing understanding of text structure including cohesion and

coherence

From these five identified subdomains, 2nd and 5th domains (metalexical and metatextual)

remain very pertinent to the development of students’ writing skills which is one of the

major variables of this study. Metalexical is important because writing is built on

developing understanding of how words are structured. Similarly, metatextual also remain a

germane factor in writing because it is said to develop understanding of the text structure

which includes cohesion and coherence. The twosome of cohesion and coherence are the

same two text-oriented standard of textuality which (Beaugrande and Dressler, 1981) said

needed to be considered to have been satisfied, if communicative occurrence is to be

achieved. They maintain that the first two standards, cohesion and coherence are “text

centered notions, designating operations directed at the text material” (p.7).

The above stated Gombert’s analysis has unequivocally made a reflection, that there are

many genres including that of writing which knowledge of metalinguistic can offer in the

development of written texts. However, this study is delimited to three areas which include

knowledge of content word, organization and use of linking devices.

Writing according to Richard, (2002) is undoubtedly a complicated skill to master for L2

learners. The difficulty stems from the fact that generating and organizing ideas and then

translating them into readable text are time–consuming and long-sought skill even for native

speaker. The complex skills which are used in writing require L2 learners to not only focus

on planning and organizing skills in higher level but also on spelling, punctuation, word

choice skills in a lower level.

Operational Definition

Metalinguistic Awareness

Metalinguistic Awareness can be said to be a collection of knowledge that has to do with the

use of linguistic features like knowledge of contents words, hierarchical organization of the

text and appropriate use of linking devices to achieve logicality and coherency in the

development of effective written texts.

8

Academic language

Academic language is the language that is used by the teachers and the students for the

purpose of acquiring new knowledge and skills…. impacting new information, describing

abstract ideas, and developing students’ conceptual understanding. Academic language in

other words also referred to as content words: these are key terms used in essay questions.

Organization

Organization refers to the conditioning of one’s write-up to its expected pattern, in terms of

planning, gathering ideas, outlining ideas, etc.

Linking devices

Linking devices are linking words or phrases which are employed in written work to exhibit

effectiveness and smooth transition from one sentence to another and more importantly,

from one paragraph to another.

Writing skill

This is the ability possessed in carrying out writing activities which involve composing in

written forms. For example, writing of books, essays, letters, stories, etc.

Define: Concise, clear meaning or explanation of a key term or concept, usually goes

beyond the bare dictionary definition.

Analyze: Break up into parts; investigate which requires critical assessment and comments

based on evidence of its merit or correctness.

Critique: Critical appraisal or assessment of an argument or theory; requires a judgement as

to its correctness on merit.

Compare: Look for similar features, characteristics or elements in common.

1.1.4 Contextual perspective

According to Stephen Slima (DailyMonitor, Uganda, 2016) students need to be proficient in

academic language. He explains further, that academic language is the language typically

found in textbooks, used daily in our classrooms, and presented in tests, we regularly give. It

is the language students must master in order to succeed in any content area. It is comprised

of discipline in specific vocabulary, grammar and punctuation and application of rhetorical

9

conventions and devices that share commonly in a content area. A number of studies,

globally, at continental or national levels have looked at writing and concluded that it is a

rich phenomenon which is first seen as a means of communication, and gradually separated

out as system in its own right. Writing being a process that is accelerated at school, its

development starts as soon as a child makes a mark with crayon or any tool on a surface.

However, students’ writing over the years has taken a downward trend which is

continuously reflected in their performance in both internal and external examinations. For

instance, a Chief Examiner reports (2005-2009) of an external examination which is mostly

used for admission into tertiary institutions like the West African Senior School Certificate

Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria, describe a consistent decline in the way students write,

as exemplified in the various errors they commit in their written work or essay. The reports

state that candidates’ expressions are generally poor and their range of vocabulary is limited,

as expressed in the WASSCE Chief Examiners’ reports. Babalola and Akande (2002)

therefore, point to the fact that students’ writing especially those who are second learners of

English language (L2) e.g. Nigeria students should be properly corrected. It is a general

consensus among language experts that making or committing errors is a necessary and

natural process in language learning (Edge, 1989; Hendrickson, 1978). That is why the

findings of this study are tailored towards this direction.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Students’ essay writing skills continually fall below expectation (Zeng, 2005; Graham and

Perin, 2007; Akande, 2003). This may be due among other factors to their inability in

mastering of academic language skills for written discourse. More specifically, there is

always reflection of errors in students written output as a result of failure to master the key

words of an essay question that needed to be known well. Also, in the area of organization

and planning of their work, the use of connectives, articles, word order, verb tense, subject

verb agreement etc. This is shown in external examination chief examiners’ reports (2005-

2009) as cited in (Eyongo & Fawole, 2013). The external examination is called West

African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria. As expressed in the

WASSCE Chief Examiners’ reports (2009), given a paper that conforms to standards, many

10

candidates’ answers to the questions show that quite a number of them are not adequately

exposed to the skills of writing. Students’ poor writing skill has therefore been identified as

a major factor in students’ poor performance in English language examination.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The main objective of the study is to measure the impact of Metalinguistic Awareness on

students’ writing skills.

1.4 Specific objectives

The study aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To determine the level of metalinguistic awareness on the written output of the

students in the selected schools.

2. To determine the level of writing skills of the selected students.

3. To examine the impact of metalinguistic knowledge in the areas of content words,

organization and use of linking devices on the written output of the students in the

selected schools.

1.5 Research Questions

The study aims to find answers to the following questions:

1. What is the level of metalinguistic awareness with respect to areas of content words,

organization and use of linking devices on the on the written output of the students

in the selected school?

2. What is the level of writing skills of the students in the selected school?

3. Does metalinguistic knowledge in the areas of content words, organization and use

of linking devices impact on the written output of the students in the selected

schools?

1.6 Research Hypotheses

1. There is no significant relationship between pretest and posttest scores on

Metalinguistic awareness of the students in the experimental group.

11

1.7 Scope of the study

1.7.1 Geographical scope

This study was conducted from selected high schools in Orolu Local Government Area,

with the headquarters in Ifon, Osun state, in South-western Nigeria.

1.7.2 Content scope

The study examined the impact of metalinguistic awareness in the areas of knowledge of

content words, organization and use of linking devices on the written output of the students

in selected high schools.

1.8 Significance of the study

The findings of the study will benefit stakeholders and agencies in the following different

categories:

i. Curriculum developers, authors of language books and policy makers: They

may use the information generated here to develop an integrated academic language

course and plan for availability of instructional materials for language education and

literacy, more specifically the writing skills.

ii. Teachers and Schools: They might find this work beneficial by making use of it to

look for strategies of improving writing skills and to develop their students to

achieve competence in the said writing skills.

iii. Students: It will also serve as source of information for students who are in the

position to read it, understand it, and apply the information therein, in order to have

better improvement in their essay writings.

iv. Future researchers: The research may also be helpful to other researchers, who

might be interested in carrying out further research on this topic.

12

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter covers the theoretical review and conceptual frame work. It also reviews other

related literature under the sub topics adopted from objectives of the study; as the summary

of identified gap is also analyzed.

2.1 Theoretical Review

2.1.1 Schema theory

Rumelhart (1980) puts forward the concept of schema theory basically as a theory of how

knowledge is mentally represented in the mind and used. He wrote that “all knowledge is

packaged into units. These units are the schemata”. Three years later, Widdowson defined

schema as “cognitive constructs which allow for the organization of information in a long-

term memory”. From the above definitions, we may conclude that schema is the prior

knowledge gained through experiences stored in one’s mind. It is an abstract structure of

knowledge.

This theory is relevant to this study in the sense that, in the analysis of schema theory

typology by the theorists, “Formal schemata” types are identified and described as the

organizational forms and rhetorical structures of written texts. They include knowledge of

different text types and genres, and also include the knowledge that different types of texts

use text organization, language structures, vocabulary, grammar and level of formality

differently. Formal schemata are described as abstract, encoded, internalized, coherent

patterns of meta-linguistic, discourse and textual organization that guide expectation in our

attempts to understand a meaning piece of language. Readers use their schematic

representations of the text such as fictions, poems, essays, newspaper articles, academic

articles in magazines and journals to help comprehend the information in the text. Studies

show that the knowledge of what type and genre the text is can facilitate reading

comprehension for readers because the type of the text will offer detailed evidence of the

content of the text (Carrell, 1984).

13

2.2 Conceptual Framework

Source: primary data 2017.

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the Study

The study is based on the concept that the knowledge of metalinguistic in the areas of content

words, organization and use of linking devices would improve students writing skills, hence,

develop well planned, organized and coordinated written text. Metalinguistic Awareness is the

independent variable, while writing skills is the dependent variable. The researcher also takes note

of the knowledge on mechanical accuracy, appropriate use of vocabulary and appropriate use of

tenses as intervening variables that could bring about a successful written discourse.

Independent variable

Metalinguistic awareness

Knowledge of content

words in writing

Organization

Use of linking devices

Dependent Variable

Writing Skills

Improvement in the writing

skills:

Grammar

Spelling

Cohesion and coherence

Intervening variables

Knowledge of

mechanical accuracy

Knowledge of

appropriate use of

vocabulary

Knowledge of

appropriate use of

tenses.

Vocabulary use

Expression

Mechanical

Accuracy:

Spellings

Punctuations

Use of articles

Spellings

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2.3 Literature Review

2.3.1 Metalinguistic awareness

In a sphere where knowledge is largely consolidated through writing, mastering the written

form of expression is a key to the success and consequently a skill which receives a great

deal of attention from the students. Acquiring academic writing proficiency entails not only

mastering the technical and the formal aspect of genre, such as using source references and

the citation, but also ability to think in more abstract terms, such as reflecting critically on

vocabulary choice and language usage within the academic context. This ability to engage

cognitively in one’s own thought process to think about thinking- is referred to as

metacognition. Acquiring academic writing proficiency involves mastering the often tacit

conventions of academic writing. The tacit nature of such conventions makes them

particularly easy to grasp for students; at the same time, mastering them is the ultimate

emblem of success and a prerequisite for membership in the academic discourse.

Meara (1990:35) argued that “lexical competence is at the heart of communication

competence: without sufficient vocabulary, learners may struggle with their written and

spoken communication”. It is therefore of the utmost priority to start the analysis of the

point at issue by discussing the several meanings with which the term metalinguistic

awareness has been used.

According to Roehr (2007), metalinguistic awareness is defined as one’s ability to

consciously think about language and its nature by means of the skills mentioned below:

i. An awareness that a language is not just the symbol of that language but it can go

beyond the meaning.

ii. An awareness that the words and their referents are built separately (meaning is in

the language user’s mind, not in the word.)

iii. An awareness that language is rule-based and its structure can be manipulated, you

can write things in many different ways.

Metalinguistic knowledge is typically defined as the learners’ ability to correct, describe and

explain second language (L2) errors (Roehr, 2007). The famous linguist, Noam Chomsky

15

(1975), has defined the field of metalinguistics as the subject knowledge of the

characteristics and the structure of langue”. Metalinguistic awareness is said to be the

understanding that language is a system of communication, connected to the rules, and form

the basis for the ability to discuss different ways of using language (Kuile, et al 2010).

Usually, when a student writes a composition, a specific question or topic to write about

must have been given. Therefore, you have to focus on your given topic and design your

assignment carefully. In doing this, student writers need to be aware and possess certain

abilities metalinguistically, in order to impact in their written output and produce well-

structured and effective written texts for academic or professional purposes. It sounds

simple, but too often writers skim over the directions and embark on writing projects that do

not fulfill the expectation of their readers. In order to avoid this trap, certain abilities need to

be developed in order to impact positively on your writing skills.

2.3.2 Understanding Certain Lexical Items Usually Used in Composition Writing

Instructions.

According to Nakanyike & Edgar, (2010.p:13) writing assignments are frequently defined

using action verbs, such as define…., describe…., analyze…., critique…., explain….,

compare…., discuss…., and so on. They maintain that “these words tell you what you are

expected to do in your writing”. For example,

Discuss: If you are to discuss in a composition, this means to consider or examine by

argument, comment, talk over or write about, especially to explore solutions by expressing

pros and cons of a proposal. To present reason for or against a thing, that is, using reasons or

proof to support or refute an assertion, proposition or principle, as this can be most

experienced in argumentative essays. Usually, ‘discuss’ collocates with certain nouns

frequently used as objects like issue, matter, plan, proposal, question, subject, topic.

Linguists maintain that the verb ‘discuss’ is never used with the preposition ‘about’. It is

simply followed by a direct object. (Macmillan English Dictionary, 2007) For example,

i. I would like to discuss about the advantages and disadvantages of students using

credit cards - wrong.

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ii. I would like to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of students using credit

cards - right.

iii. Jury members are not allowed to discuss about the trial - wrong.

iv. Jury members are not allowed to discuss the trial - right.

Describe: This is giving account in words about (someone or something), including all the

relevant characteristics, qualities or events. To describe also means to tell or depict in

written or spoken words. It is used to convey in words the appearance nature, attributes, etc.

of something. It implies vividness of personal observation; to describe a scene, an event.

Understanding of the meaning of this word ‘describe’ by a student writer will definitely

enhance his/her awareness very greatly in any given composition, especially, descriptive

writing. For example, if instruction of an essay says describe, perhaps accident, damage,

death, loss, injury or problem, do not mention the cause alone. State the cause and effect.

Macmillan English Dictionary (2007) suggests that source, origin and root, all refer to the

first or original cause of something, with root often used with reference to something bad:

i. Village clerks could not keep a proper record of deaths, since they were so frequent.

This was the source of the central authorities’ difficulty in making adequate

assessments.

ii. The origins of this popular movement lie in the first wave of pressure for

disarmament.

iii. In all three countries, the root of the problem is highly unequal system of land

distribution.

Just as stated earlier, explaining the cause alone may not justify your description of an

event, therefore, the effect must be stated. In expressing effect, you can refer to the effect

produced by an event, action or state by means of an adverb therefore or the conjunction so

that, or by a noun such as effect or result.

Furthermore, describing a situation means describing similarities and differences. When you

write an essay, report or similar document, you need to link two or more points, ideas, or

17

situation by comparing and contrasting them, which is showing the similarities and the

differences between them. This can be done in following ways:

I. Describing similarities by comparing: Macmillan English Dictionary (2007) Second

Edition states that “you can use several expressions to show that two or more points,

ideas or situation are similar. The common one is using nouns such as resemblance,

similarity, parallel and analogy to show that two points, ideas, or situations are

similar in certain ways”. if there is resemblance between two or more points,

situation, or people, they share some characteristics but not exactly the same:

i. There is a striking resemblance between them.

ii. He would have recognized her from her strong resemblance to her brother.

iii. There is remarkable similarity of techniques, of clothes and of weapons.

The noun similarity also refers to particular characteristic or aspect that is shared by two

or more points, ideas, situation or people:

i. These theories share certain similarities with biological explanation

ii. The orangutan is the primate most closely related to man: its lively facial

expression show striking similarities to those of humans.

II. Describing difference by contrasting: Macmillan English Dictionary (2007) also

argues here that “you can use several expressions to show that two or more points,

ideas, or situations are different. The most common one uses nouns contrast and

difference. You can use the nouns contrast, difference and distinction to express

contrast:

i. However, there was an important contrast between rural and urban settings.

ii. Table 1 shows the significant differences in marital status.

iii. The sharp distinction between domestic politics and international politics.

Explain: this is giving details, defining scope and structure, expressing opinion and making

a concept plain and comprehensible. It is very clear that implication of knowing this term

will definitely lead to having better composition wherever the question asks to explain a

concept. According to vocabulary.com dictionary, to explain something is to define it, show

how it works, or just tell what it is. It argues further that explain means to justify i.e. by

providing justification or proof. There are various ways through which an idea can be

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explained in essay writing. A concept can actually be explained through expressing personal

opinion, exemplification or reformation. (MED. 2007).

1. Expressing personal opinions: you sometime need to give your personal opinion

when you write an essay, report, or similar document. This can be done in two ways:

(a) There are expressions you can use to give your opinion explicitly, with phrase or

structure that contains the words ‘I and my’. You can use several expressions for

giving your opinion explicitly when explaining a point or an idea. The most frequent

ones are in my opinion or in my view:

i. In my opinion, the prison system is not outdated.

ii. In my view, women and men are equal.

Student writers need to be careful here, because learners often use the expressions to

my mind, from my point of view, and as far as I am concerned. However, these

expressions are rare in academic writing and professional reports.

(b) There are expressions you can use to give your opinion implicitly without using

first person reference. As a general rule, implicit expressions are preferred in

academic writing and professional reports.

Academic writing and professional reports favour an impersonal style in which the author’s

presence is not directly revealed. When explaining an idea, you can use impersonal

structures to give your opinion, without using first person reference:

i. It is reasonable to assume that such changes have significant social and

economic effects.

ii. It is essential to have good professional advice, and review the adequacy

of your insurance cover from time to time.

2. Exemplification: when you want to explain something more fully, you often need to

introduce example in most useful ways of exemplifying either by using for example, for

instance, and abbreviation ‘e.g.’ (Exempli gratia in Latin). The most frequent ways of

introducing an example during course of explaining ideas especially in academic writing

is ”for example”

(a) It can be used at beginning of a sentence, followed by a comma:

19

i. These conflicts have had the repercussions throughout the region. For

example, there are large refugee populations in the surrounding states,

while Honduras has seen a greatly increased US presence.

(b) It can be used more frequently, within the sentence, enclosed by commas,

especially after the subject of the sentence:

i. Critics say that the division of responsibilities is unclear social security,

for example, is the responsibility of central government but education is

handled by local authorities.

3. Reformulation: sometimes, in the course of writing, you may want to explain

something expressing it in a different way or by providing more detailed or more

precise information. That is, when you want to explain or define exactly what you

mean by something. The abbreviation i.e. (short for ‘id est.’, Latin equivalent of

“that is”) or the expression ‘that is’ can be used. This is much more frequent in

academic writing or professional reports. ‘That is’ is usually enclosed by commas.

The abbreviation i.e. follows a comma or is used between brackets.

i. The police now have up to ninety-six hours, i.e. four days and nights, to

detain people without charge.

ii. Descartes was obsessed by epistemological questions, that is, question about

what we can know and how we can know it.

iii. Network emergencies (i.e. network failures) should be reported immediately.

2.3.3 Organizing Ideas

Oluikpe (1979) says writing is a skill, which demands that students plan and organize their

imagination clearly and in sequential order to fulfill essence of writing. Organization and

discovery of thought are prerequisites for creative writing and very important part of writing

process. Making lists by the students is also a good way to stretch their imagination while

keeping their ideas organized. If the students are restrained they will not be able to maintain

the originality of their work and the creativity might as well be compromised.

The writing process begins well before pen to paper or fingers to a keyboard. Pre writing, or

planning out what is going to be written is an essential step in writing process and account

for 70 percent of the writing time (Murray, 1982). Research indicates that skilled writers

20

spend significantly more time organizing and planning what they are going to write

(Hillocks, 1986). Most students however, spend on average about 3 minutes to prepare for

their writing (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1996). Students spend little time

thinking and planning how to express their thoughts before writing them down and therefore

are not accessing information and ideas that could possibly enhance their writing.

According to Thornbury (1997: p, 140) “as readers we assume that the organization of a text

is not arbitrary, but that it serves to convey the writers intention, that it makes the writer’s

intention coherent”. Worrall (2000) says, most students writing at First Certificate of

Education (FCE) level tend to lack a clear structure and they often lack a sense of cohesion.

At sentence level, there is often coherence and accuracy problem but overall, the students

manage to convey the main message. We must then consider not only the clear linking of

the information of written work but also clear structure, paragraphs, punctuations and so on.

Moreover, ordering of ideas is an area that always leads to the breakage of the

communication link between the writer and the reader. The writer may fail to present his/her

ideas in a manner that makes sense to the reader. He may start with an idea that would have

come last and vice versa. He/she may fail to be precise or straight to the point where it is

supposed to be made. Furthermore, relating ideas is another weakness that writers should

look out for. The communication link is broken when the writer fails to relate his/her ideas

properly. This in most cases due to inappropriate use of linking words like though, besides,

however and many others that show transition within and between ideas.

It is therefore up to the teacher, to convey to the students that they must consider the target

reader of any written work that they produce and to encourage good writing habits. Students

need to be able to plan, draft and redraft their texts in order to be proficient in writing skills.

Skilled writers will revise their writing skills at all levels of lexis, sentence and discourse.

Writing class should not just be concerned with mechanics of grammar, spelling,

punctuation and vocabulary (Nunan 1991:90).

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2.3.4 Writing Well Coordinated Text with the Use of Linking Words

Kolawole (1998) says the technical nature of writing and the need to use writing to express a

writer’s thought in a logical and coherent manner call for it to be taught well. All other

macro-skills of language are taught without facing serious challenges on how to coordinate

ideas, thoughts and the application of mechanics as is required in writing skills. Therefore,

there should be appropriate use of transitions for an effective written discourse. Transitions

play an important role in the development of an academic essay. They help to create a sense

of coherence and provide signposting for the reader to follow the writer’s thread of thought.

Choosing the appropriate transition that makes the logical connection will ensure that the

reader understands the text in the way the author had intended.

Basing on this, Crew (1990:321) outlines three pedagogical approaches which represent

what he describes as “three stages of awareness that connectives have as textual meaning

and not just surface-level fillers” these approaches may help to explore the ways of

enhancing students’ ability to use linking devices. He refers to these three approaches as

‘Reductionist’, ‘Expansionist’ and ‘Deductionist’.

The Reductionist approach suggests that students should be presented with a small subset of

a long list of linkers, and over time, students should become more aware of their semantic

and discourse value. A shorter list would have the advantage of “allowing the contrasts

between the connectives to be more easily stressed” (Crew 1990; 322); where he describes

the three problematic areas of conceptual categories: ‘Additives’,’ Adversative’, and

‘Causal’.

The Expansionist approach encourages “explicit markers” (Crew 1990; 322) which are

expressions which explicitly state the connection with either the preceding or following

textual matter. Most of expression would contain the reference word ‘this’. Some examples

that Crew list are: ‘because of this’, ‘for this purpose’, ‘as a result of this’.

The criticism of the above two approaches is that they work from backward to discourse.

Rather than concentrating on discourse first, they only consider method of controlling

22

output. As they focus at the level of lexis, the logical development of the argument or

discussion is taken for granted.

To try to remedy this effect, Crew presents a third approach: the ‘deductionist’ approach,

which begins by obliging the students before the writing process (within the essay plan), for

example, to state the connection between the stages in the argument (Crew 1990:323). If we

do this first , we can use lexical selections from a more complex list, rather than having

terms like ‘additive’ and ‘adversative’ as the category titles, the sections could be labeled

with discourse questions. Crew (1990:323) suggests some of the following:

i. Does your next section add another similar point to the argument? If so, is it of same

importance or of greater importance? Same? Use ‘also’, ‘in addition’, or ‘besides’.

Greater? Use ‘moreover’, or ‘furthermore’.

ii. Does your next section add an opposing point to the argument? If so, are points valid or

does the second one cancel out the first? Both valid use ‘but’, ‘however’, ‘nevertheless’

or ‘on the other hand’. The second cancel the first? Use ‘on the contrary’.

Crew says that the schema above will ultimately need to contain a full range of discourse

moves (1990:323), for example, listing, comparing, exemplifying, showing consequence,

rephrasing and concluding.

2.4 Writing Skills

Writing Skill according to Diana H.K., (2012) is a comprehensive writing program for beginners,

reluctant and struggling writers. Also for proficient and advanced writers, it offers strategies,

techniques, and opportunities to apply them. Research shows that explicit instruction benefits both

struggling and proficient writers. Writing Skill is designed as a structured, comprehensive program for

teaching the composition, grammar, and transcription skills necessary for effective writing. Writing

Skill provides step-by-step instruction in the foundational skills needed by students to become good

writers, including grammar, sentence structure, paragraph composition, mechanics and usage, and

transcription.

According to Aliyu (1997:81) when summarizing problems that contribute to hinder effective

writing communication in secondary schools, he says: most students at secondary schools also

lack adequate knowledge of the writing skills such as, grammar, spelling, punctuation,

23

organization, and proper use of tenses and connectives. These affect their writing negatively

because their message is not normally conveyed (Aliyu, 1997:81).

2.4.1 The Role of Grammar in Improving Students’ Writing Skills

Grammar is a key concept in general linguistic theory. Grammars function as aids to learning

instead of being an object for knowledge per se (Corder 1988; Kachru 2010) Grammar is, in

other words, understood to be an explicit metalinguistic description of a languages. “Grammar

includes the rules for correct writing and speaking. An important part of learning, but to learn

how to speak is more important. Grammar guides how language should be written or spoken in a

correct way, grammatical correctness and the correct way of forming sentences. Learners should

therefore display a very high metalinguistic awareness when reflecting on cross-linguistic

influence in written English by maintaining common grammar rules, in the form of:

i. Knowledge and elaboration of grammar rules.

ii. Recognition and identification of part of speech, word order structure, (non)

existence of article and word building rules.

2.4.2 Spelling in the Writing Process

Spelling is one of the tools that facilitates the effective communication of the writer’s

message. It is an integral part of the writing process and should take precedence, in the

publication stage of children’s writing. Beginning writers need to know when spelling matters

in the writing process. They need to know that composition, language use and organization are

more important than accurate spelling in the early stages of the writing process. However, in

the final draft, when the writing is ready for publication, accurate spelling will determine how

the writing will be received by the audience. According to Phenix & Scott-Dunne (1994, p. 28)

Spelling is one of the less interesting and more laborious aspects of writing. It can also be the most

noticeable, one that can create a good or bad impression before the reader thinks about what the writer

has to say. The primary purpose of developing competence in spelling is to facilitate effective

written communication. It must be understood that insistence on correct spelling all the time

may limit the written communication of beginning writers. Children who are encouraged to take

responsibility, use resources, experiment with language, and create further learning opportunities, are

all part of an exciting world for teaching and learning spelling. (Lacey 1994, p. 11). Teachers are

24

expected to make decisions about the content of the spelling program, plan suitable activities

and assess and evaluate children’s knowledge and use of spelling.

Recent research has provided a clearer understanding of the process of learning to spell and

how to facilitate progression through this process. The following points were therefore

suggested in facilitating spelling development.

• Involvement in meaningful language experiences in a print-rich

Environment.

• Understanding of the individual nature of the developmental stages of spelling.

• Understanding of the problem-solving nature of spelling development.

• Distinct lessons that promote an understanding of the process of rule generation and

hypothesis testing.

• The promotion of a spelling consciousness that values and promotes risk-taking.

2.4.3 Cohesion and Coherence

Cohesion is a part of study of the texture which engages the communication between the cohesion

and other aspects of text association (Martin, 2003). It is referred as the existence or nonexistence

of signals in a text (McNamara, et. al, 2010). Cohesion involves the connection between ideas that

readers made in a text which denotes to the existence or nonexistence of explicit signs in a text. On

the other hand, coherence involves the readers’ understanding of a text, which may be less or more

coherent in regards to several factors such as preceding knowledge or reading skills (O’ Reilly &

McNamara, 2007).

Based on the views taken from Halliday (1994), it is believed that cohesion is the set of resources in

building discourse relations which surpasses grammatical construction. It can as well be explained

as the process of a guidance meaning into a consumable existing of discourse. To use writing as a

means of communication, it is necessary to go beyond sentence-level manipulation to the

production of paragraphs and subsequently to multi-paragraph compositions. Once people are

involved in writing two or more interconnected sentences, they have to use cohesive devices and

coherence as a means of linking sentences together. They should also have the ability to organize

ideas into a unified whole.

25

2.4.4 Writing Skills Strategies that Teachers Use to Teach in a Satisfactory Writing Assignment

Investigations show that a variety of strategies, carefully structured lessons and usage

exercises integrated into writing instruction help students to write more efficiently and

effectively. This is why certain pedagogical issues needed to be considered in order to achieve

effectiveness in students’ writing. These include:

• Explanations of how to teach writing through explicit instruction, models, and samples of

student writing at various stages.

• Detailed explanation of the proofreading and revising process and tips on how to help

students revise their writing.

• Writing prompts and activities organized by grade and genre, allowing for differentiated

instruction.

• Discussion of state and national standards and how to help students meet those standards

in the general classroom.

• Instructional guidelines for teaching spelling, spelling generalizations, and how to address

spelling within the larger context of writing instruction.

• Detailed instructions for transcription including proper cursive letter formation with verbal

cues, proper grip and positioning, and keyboarding.

• Reproducible assignment sheets, reference information, and planning tools for enhanced

practice and instruction.

While much studies on L2 learners’ metalinguistic awareness on writing skills have not been

carried out within the south-western context of the nation, a study by Hellekjær (2005) is

relevant here because it sheds light on a competence closely related to writing; namely,

reading. In his study, Hellekjær looked at the English reading proficiency of Norwegian

secondary school students and its implications for the transition from secondary to higher

education. He found that upon graduation, possibly as many as two thirds of the students in his

study did not possess the skills necessary to read textbooks in higher education, and that the

reading problems persisted into university level, although to a slightly lesser extent (Hellekjær,

2005, p. 232). Furthermore, he found that for about a third of the university level students in

the study, the problem was poor English linguistic proficiency in general, rather than poor

26

reading skills in particular (Hellekjær, 2005, p. 239). This indicates that the challenges

students entering higher education face go beyond reading in English and might include other

skills, such as writing in English. This is particularly relevant to this study because it raises the

question whether similar findings might surface when investigating the English academic

writing proficiency of beginner students in higher education.

Similarly, Dreher and Zenge (1990) investigated the relationship between metalinguistic skills

on reading comprehension scores with 65 children in a mid-Atlantic county school system of

varying socioeconomic class. Researchers conducted 20-item interviews with children when

they were in first grade to measure their metalinguistic awareness. They documented

metalinguistic awareness by asking the children questions to determine the following: (a) their

understanding of reading as a meaning gathering process, (b) their ability to identify language

segments (e.g., letters, words, sentences), and (c) their ability to define instructional terms

specific to reading. They measured reading comprehension in third and fifth grades using the

California Achievement Test, and also measured academic aptitude using the Short Form Test

of Academic Aptitudes. Using a regression analysis, they determined that academic aptitude

accounted for 20% of the variance in reading comprehension in third grade and 35% in fifth

grade; both were statistically significant. Metalinguistic awareness accounted for 17% of the

variance in reading comprehension scores in third grade and 26% in fifth grade, which were

not statistically significant. However, combining metalinguistic awareness with academic

aptitude strengthened the predictive quality of both measures, resulting in statistically

significant variances at both grade levels. In combination, metalinguistic awareness skills and

aptitude accounted for 28% of the variance in reading comprehension scores in third grade and

47% of the scores at fifth grade. The researchers concluded that metalinguistic awareness

skills provided useful predictive information regarding future reading comprehension abilities.

Following this line of inquiry, since one of the concerns in this study is towards the language

learners’ knowledge of writing proficiency, a review of some other related literature appears

relevant for better understanding. Johnson, Mercado, and Acevedo (2012) explored a large

group of Spanish-speaking learners̓ written performance in terms of writing fluency,

grammatical complexity, and lexical complexity under pre-task planning conditions. Pre-task

27

planning condition was found to have a small significant effect on writing fluency, whereas its

impact on lexical complexity and grammatical complexity was insignificant. In a study

conducted by Shang (2007), he made an attempt to measure the learners' writing performance

in three aspects of syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy and lexical density through e-

mail application and its impact on 40 EFL Taiwanese students, employing qualitative and

quantitative methods. Improvements on syntactic complexity and grammatical accuracy were

observed in students̓ written output; however, with respect to lexical density, the results did

not demonstrate any improvements.

Ojima (2006), in a similar attempt, examined three Japanese students' writing performance to

explore the effect of concept planning (as a resource-dispersing factor and as a form of pre-

task planning) on their learning. The results indicated that while pre-task planning triggered

greater fluency and complexity, grammatical accuracy did not improve. Following this line of

inquiry, Wigglesworth and Storch (2009) conducted a study in order to determine whether pair

and individual working produced any identifiable differences in the learners' essays. The

essays were analyzed for fluency, complexity, and accuracy. Their findings revealed that

collaboration had a positive effect on accuracy, but did not affect fluency and complexity of

language production.

Furthermore, since effectiveness in writing has to do with linguistic features and pedagogical

issues, Morteza and Yagoub (2014), also conducted a research on impact of teachers’

metalanguage awareness on writing performance of certain number of pre-service teachers.

The obtained findings demonstrated that metalanguage awareness does affect pre-service

teachers’ writing performance. It is then suggested that linguistic awareness be raised and

developed through various awareness raising activities.

In her 1999 study, Bialystok proposed the idea that metalinguistic awareness involves

operation of control as a cognitive process. She defines control as the process of selective

attention, the ability to monitor and to regulate processing information. It concerns the

intentional selection and application of knowledge employed in solving metalinguistic

problems. Similarly, according to Roehr, (2007) metalinguistic knowledge is parallel to

28

explicit knowledge about L2 categories and relation between categories and important process

such as proficient manipulation. Metalinguistic knowledge defined in this way are analysis of

and creative use of language. Therefore, describing and explaining an error and tagging of a

linguistic unit and also the connection of this with a store pedagogical structure that explains

an aspect of its use, in the phrases, sentences, or connected discourse.

Generally speaking, a metalinguistic task is the one that requires the individual to reflect on

the linguistic features of the language and linguistic nature of the message. (Malakoff 1999).

2.5 Impact of metalinguistic awareness in improving students’ essay writing ability

Metalinguistic ability in the L2 is often promoted by classroom attention to the formal system

of the L2. Metalinguistic awareness allows creative and unique language use that is unseen

without such awareness (Malakoff 1999). Past studies have shown that it is better to improve

the metalinguistic awareness of the bilingual children, as the learning of two languages

requires learners to focus on the features of the two languages.

Furthermore, previous studies have shown that metalinguistic awareness has a positive

correlation with upgraded reading and writing ability in young children (Castles and

Colheart, 2004). Metalinguistic awareness has been found to be closely linked to reading

comprehension (Zipke, 2007). It was found that bilinguals have a better ability compared to

monolinguals to understand an unknown language, mostly because of their greater

metalinguistic awareness.

Knowledge and use of metalanguage is likely to make the development of an L2 learner’s

metalinguistic awareness easier, that is, an improved self- awareness and sensitivity to the

form and functions of language (Carter, 2003), which can lead to language development.

Children with deficient or insufficient comprehension and production processes might have

to rely on their metalinguistic abilities in order to learn certain aspects of language. Several

recent studies have discovered that there is a positive correlation between metalinguistic

awareness and L2 proficiency. In a study involving 372 first year undergraduate students in

Hong Kong, Berry (2009) found that the students were to a great extent, different in

29

knowledge of 50 items of metalanguge and that this knowledge was considerably correlated

with top grades in English, indicating a correlation between knowledge of language and

proficiency in English. (Cremin & Myhill, 2012, p.102) maintain that “acquiring such

conscious control necessitates having a language for reflecting upon the various choices

involved in the writing process, and “how they are working in the text”.

Consequently, a metalanguage facilitates metalinguistic reflection on and awareness of the

various aspect of the writing process. In the context of higher education, where the

discourses represent “constellation of beliefs about writing, beliefs about learning to write,

ways of talking about writing” (Ivanic, 2004, p. 224), having a metalanguage for talking

about L2 writing practices becomes particularly important as it contributes to making the

tacit conventions of L2 academic writing explicit to the students.

2.6 Summary of the gap

The amount of research on the role of metalinguistic awareness and metalanguage in L2

academic language is limited. However, a study by Schleppegrel (2013) talking about

language in a meaningful manner in L2 language teaching context contributes to developing

students’L2 academic language proficiency and metalinguistic awareness because it helps

student to develop new understandings about language, enabling them “to abstract from

particular language use and “consider the linguistic choices they have in participating task

and contexts”(p.166).

The above research represents important contributions to different aspects within the field of

metacognition and academic writing proficiency. However, the limited amount of research

on the role of various metacognitive skills in the development of L2 academic writing

proficiency reveals a gap in this particular field of research, and points to an area which

merits further attention. In this context, my study is a contribution to a field of research

where much work remains to be done.

30

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter presented the research design, research population, sampling technique, sample

size, data collection, research instrument, validity and reliability of the instrument, data

collection procedure, data analysis, ethical considerations and limitations of the study.

3.1 Research Design

The researcher made use of an experimental design. Two group-quasi- experimental design

was employed for the study. This allowed the application of treatment on the experimental

group and comparison with the control group. The goal is to determine the level of

awareness of certain linguistic features in writing performance of students in the selected

schools through pretest before treatment which was done with the help of descriptive

statistics. Also to examine the impact of such awareness after treatment in order to make

inference about means of the population which was divided into control and experimental

groups where Independent Sample T-test was used. Amin, (2005) says: “if two samples are

drawn from two independent population (e.g. population of boys and that of girls, control

and experimental groups etc.) the appropriate t-test is called the independent sample t-test.”

3.2 Research Population

The population of the study included all students of the three selected high schools which

comprised, Ifon-Erin High School 1, Ifon-Erin High School 2, and United Christian Middle

and High School, Idi-Ogun, all in Ifon-Osun, Orolu Local Government, Osun state, Nigeria.

Below is the table showing the distribution of the population.

Table 3.1: Population distribution for the students

Name Of School Class Target population

Ifon-Erin High School 1 SS 2 80

Ifon-Erin High School 2 SS 2 44

United Christian Middle and

High School.

SS 2 42

Total 3 166

31

The population for the research study totaled 166 students, both male and female. The

reason for using SS2 students for the study was because they were the most senior students

in the school at the time of carrying out the research study.

3.4 Sampling Technique

The researcher used universal sampling technique where the whole population in the

selected schools were considered as sample size. The reason for this was because as at the

time of carrying out this research, Orolu Local Government had 10 secondary schools out of

which 3 are high schools and the remaining are middle schools which were not up to senior

classes.

3.4.1 Sample Size

The researcher made use of whole target population of 166 students as sample size. The

whole 166 students in selected schools were used as sample size using universal sampling

method where the whole selected students were considered for the study. This is done in

order to have a reasonable number of student participants.

3.5 Data Collection

The researcher commenced by collecting an introductory letter from the Kampala

International University, College of Education, Open and Distance Learning, department of

Higher Degree and Research. Then, proceeded to the selected school for familiarization. The

researcher worked together with administration of the selected schools and selected the

representatives in the sample study.

3.6 Research Instruments

The instrument is a test paper with 3 sections. Section A is an exercise adapted from a

student English book called High Standard English Language for Senior Secondary Schools.

This part has 5 items which needed the students to identify by underlining the word which

guide them on what to do in their writing in each of the given topics. Section (B1) is culled

from June 2006 WASSCE English language. This allows the students to organize a

disorganized paragraph of discourse which talks about ‘malnutrition’ While (B2) asks them

to carefully read a given paragraph and identify the topic sentence in it.. Section C1 asks the

32

students to provide certain linkers which are necessary in achieving a well-coordinated

written discourse. They are to do this by indicating each of the linkers appropriately in the

provided table. While C2 asks them to write an essay not more than three paragraphs to

discuss two major problems facing their country and suggest ways of solving them.

3.7 Validity and Reliability of Instruments

3.7.1 Validity

This means the degree of consistency and level at which the research can be interpreted

accurately and related to other population. This can be attained if the research instruments

measure what they are meant for. To achieve this, the instruments was presented to an

expert to assess the relevance of each item involved to the stated objectives of the study.

This helped in testing whether the instrument would fetch the right information from the

field.

For face, content analysis and editing, the instruments were given to experts in the field of

Measurement and Evaluation, Language Testing Experts as well as the Researcher's

Supervisor for critical appraisal before administration. The main instrument is of

international standard and so its credibility and validity could be sustained and guaranteed.

3.7.2 Reliability of Instruments

The reliability coefficient was established before administration using the test retest method.

In doing this, the instrument was personally administered to 10 students on two occasions in

Ifon-Osun and after two weeks the same test was administered on the same respondents.

The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was also used to determine the coefficient (r) 0.88

3.7.3 Reliability

This is to ascertain the consistency and stability of the instruments in measuring what they

are intended to measure. Reliability coefficient expresses the relationship between error

variance, true variance and observed score. The higher reliability coefficient, the lower error

variance. Thus, the higher the coefficient, the more reliable the tools or higher acceptable. A

33

pre-test was conducted in the high schools selected, as this assisted in determining the

instruments reliability.

3.8 Data Collection Procedure

The researcher made use of a stage by stage approach to achieve the objective of the study

during the research. Stage one, the participants were assigned to two groups of control and

experimental which was followed by administering of a pretest to both groups in order to

test for the level of their metalinguistic awareness with respect to three areas of content

words, organization and use of linking devices in essay writing. The test was also used to

ensure homogeneity in their written performance.

In the second stage, after collecting the first set of data from the participants, their written

works were examined by the researcher to identify the poor area of the students’ written

output. Afterwards, the experimental group was given necessary instruction on certain

content words that are used to define writing assignments together with knowledge of

organization and use of linking devices which lasted for two weeks.

To compare the two groups’ writing performance and the effectiveness of the treatment on

the experimental group, in the third and the last stage, a post-test was administered to the

two groups of the study, ensuring the effect of the metalinguistic awareness and the

influence of given instruction on the students’ written performance. The tests were thereafter

marked and analyzed using Descriptive statistics and Independent Sample t-test, statistical

package in (SPSS).

3.9 Data Analysis

The researcher used tables (frequencies and percentages) to analyze the profile of the

student participants. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and Independent

Sample T-tests were used to analyze the data with respect to each objective of the study as

discussed below:

1. Data analysis of objective one: Descriptive statistics ( Mean and standard deviation) was

used to determine the level of metalinguistic awareness in the areas of content word,

34

organization and use of linking devices on writing skills of the students, using Statistical

package for social science (SPSS).

2. Data analysis of objective two: Descriptive statistics (Mean and standard deviation) was

used to determine the level of the writing skills of the students, based on the use of

grammar, spelling and cohesion and coherence, using Statistical Package for Social Science

(SPSS).

3. Data analysis of objective three: Descriptive statistics and Independent Sample T-tests

were used to examine the impact of metalinguistic knowledge and compare the students’

tests scores with respect to the three mentioned areas of content words, organization and use

of linking devices on the written output of the students in the selected schools, using

Statistical package for social science (SPSS) as the mean difference is significant at the 0.05

level. Pearson correlation was as well used to test for the hypothesis.

In this study, the researcher used range based on the assessment guide (rating guide). To

interpret the average mean that was obtained from individual construct in the study, each

item was marked out of 20 marks. The analysis on each item shows the strength and

weaknesses based on the indicator in terms of means. Therefore, the mean scores can be

explained as:

1. A mean score that is less than 10 is rated low.

2. A mean score that is between 10 and 15 is rated average.

3. A mean score of greater than 15 is rated high.

Table 3.2: Assessment Guide.

INTERPRETATION

High Average Low

Mean range

16-20

10-15

0-9

3.10 Ethical Consideration

The researcher took certain ethical procedures which include; explaining clearly to the

students what he wanted them to do as far as the research study is concern. He sought the

consent of all the students to be used as respondents before embarking on the exercise and

35

assured them that information obtained from them would be used for academic purpose

only. More so, the researcher properly recognized all the authors and academicians of the

books and ideas he used in the research through getting proper citations and referencing.

3.11 Limitations of the study

The study was limited to the three selected high schools because the remaining secondary

schools in the study area were not up senior classes, they were middle schools at the time of

carrying out the research work.

36

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.0 Introduction

Following the data collection, this chapter gives a presentation of findings from the study.

The chapter begins with demographic characteristics of the respondents followed by the data

collected on the variables as they were indicated in the objectives of the study.

4.1 Demographic profile of the respondents

Here, the study aimed at documenting the demographic characteristics of respondents. On

this, information on respondents’ gender and age were compiled.

Table 4.1: Gender and Age of the student respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 77 46.4

Female 89 53.6

Total 166 100

Age Frequency Percentage

14-17 years 82 49.4

18-20 years 84 50.6

Total 166 100%

The above table shows that out of the 166 total number of respondents, 77 representing

46.4% are male, while, 89 representing 53.6% are female. This indicates that female

respondents have the majority even though the difference between male and female used in

the study is little.

The results from the study presented in Table 4.1, revealed that most of the students

respondents (50.6%) were in the age bracket of 18 to 20 years, followed by those who were

between 14 and 17 years at 49.4%. This implied that majority of the pupils who participated

in the study were within the range of 18 and 20 years of age.

37

Having presented the profile of the respondents, their performances on the pre-test and

posttest were also submitted to statistical analysis with the use of Descriptive statistics and

Independent Samples t-tests. The written outputs of the participants were measured with

respect to three areas of Content words, Organization and use of linking devices in a written

discourse. The findings are presented, as the following section explains the findings in

details.

Objective 1: Determining the level of Metalinguistic Awareness on the written output

of the students.

Here, the study sought to determine the level of metalinguistic awareness in the areas of

content word, organization and use of linking devices on writing skills of the students in

control group. A descriptive statistics was conducted for the pretest and posttest scores.

Table 4.2: Descriptive statistics showing the pretest and posttest scores of the students

in control group.

PRETEST

Items

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Interpretation

1

CONTENT WORDS

83

5.157

2.616

Low

2

ORGANIZATION

83

7.554

2.182

Low

3

LINKING DEVICES

83

7.578

2.215

Low

AVERAGE 6.763 2.338 Low

POSTTEST

Items

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Interpretation

1

CONTENT WORDS

83

4.916

1.908

Low

2

ORGANIZATION

83

4.313

1.807

Low

3

LINKING DEVICES

83

7.433

2.237

Low

AVERAGE 5.554 1.984 Low

The results of both pretest and posttests presenting the means of the students in control

group for both pre and posttests were contained in this table because they centered on one

objective which aimed at determining the level of Metalinguistic Awareness on the writing

38

skills of the control group’s students, based on content word, organization and linking

devices usage. Therefore, according to the findings of the research, as shown in Table 4.2,

item 1 in the students’ pretest scores has the mean of 5.157, Std. is 2.616, item 2 mean is

7.554, std. is 2.182, then item 3 mean is 7.578, std. is 2.215 respectively. Then, the total

average mean for the items 1, 2, 3 is 6.763. This shows that level of the level of

Metalinguistic Awareness based on the knowledge of content word, organization and

linking devices usage on the writing skills of the control group’s students in pretest is low

according to the interpretation guide. Also, in the posttest scores, item 1 has the mean of

4.916, Std. is 1.908, item 2 mean is 4.313, std. is 1.807, then item 3 mean is 7.433, std. is

2.237 respectively. Then, the total average mean for the items 1, 2, 3 is 5.554, which is also

low according to the interpretation guide. This indicates that the level of Metalinguistic

Awareness based on the knowledge of content word, organization and linking devices usage

on the writing skills of the control group’s students in both pretest and posttests are low.

Table 4.3: Descriptive statistics showing the pretest and posttest scores of the students

in the experimental group.

In

PRETEST

Items

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Interpretation

1

CONTENT WORDS

83

4.723

2.431

Low

2

ORGANIZATION

83

7.277

2.355

Low

3

LINKING DEVICES

83

7.470

2.132

Low

AVERAGE 6.490 2.306 Low

POSTEST

Items

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Interpretation

1

CONTENT WORDS

83

16.530

2.050

High

2

ORGANIZATION

83

15.651

2.189

High

3

LINKING DEVICES

83

16.072

1.892

High

AVERAGE

16.084

2.044

High

39

Table 4.3 above, the information on the mean and std. deviation on the pretest and posttest

scores of the students in experimental group were indicated. The two results took care of the

same objective which focused on determining the level of the knowledge of content word,

organization and use of linking devices on the writing skills of the students in experimental

group.

It is therefore indicated that item 1 in the students’ pretest scores has the mean of 4.723 Std.

is 2.431, item 2 mean is 7.277, std. is 2.355, then item 3 mean is 7.470, std. is 2.132

respectively. Then, the total average mean for the items 1, 2, 3 is 6.490. This shows that the

level of the knowledge of content word, organization and use of linking devices on the

writing skills of the students in experimental group is low according to the interpretation

guide. However, in the posttest scores, item 1 has the mean of 16.530, Std. is 2.050, item 2

mean is 15.651, std. is 2.189, then item 3 mean is 16.072, std. is 1.892 respectively. Then,

the total average mean for the items 1, 2, 3 is 16.084. This according to the interpretation

guide, shows that in the posttest, the level of the knowledge of content word, organization

and use of linking devices on the writing skills of the students in experimental group is high.

Objective 2: Determining the level of writing skills of the students

Table 4.4: Descriptive Statistics of mean showing the level of writing skills of the students

in control and experimental groups.

Writing skills

N Average

mean

Std.

Deviation Interpretation

Control group 83 6.156 2.0460 Low

Experimental group 83 6.524 1.9001 Low

The results of pretest presenting the mean scores of the students in control and experimental

groups were contained in this table on the level of writing skills of the students.

According to the findings of the research as presented in Table 4.4, the control group has an

average mean of 6.156 which is low based on the interpretation guide. The table also shows

that experimental group has an average mean of 6.524 which is also low according to the

40

interpretation guide. This therefore, indicates that the levels of writing skills of the students

in selected schools both control and experimental groups are low.

Objective 3: Examining the impact of metalinguistic knowledge in the areas of content

words, organization and use of linking devices on the written output of the students in the

selected schools.

Table 4.5 Independent Sample t-test for the pretest scores of the students in control

and experimental groups.

Items Groups N Mean Std. Deviation t-value df Sig (2-tailed)

Content word Control 83 5.060 2.505 0.880 164 0.380

Experimental 83 4.723 2.431 0.880

Organization Control 83 7.494 2.211 0.612 164 0.542

Experimental 83 7.277 2.355 0.612

Linking

devices use

Control 83 7.578 2.215 0.321 164 0.748

Experimental 83 7.470 2.132 0.321

In the above table 4.5, students’ pretest scores on content word indicate that, for control

group the mean is 5.060, std. is 2.505, t(164) is 0.880 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.380 while for

the experimental group, mean is 4.723, std. is 2.431, t(164) is 0.880 and sig (2-tailed) is

0.380. On Organization for control group the mean is 7.494, std. is 2.211, t(164) is 0.612

and sig (2-tailed) is 0.542 while for the experimental group, mean is 7.277, std. is 2.355,

t(164) is 0.612 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.542. On use of linking device for control group, the

mean is 7.578, std. is 2.215, t(164) is 0.321 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.542 while for the

experimental group, mean is 7.470, std. is 2.132, t(164) is 0.321 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.748.

It is therefore suggested that the participants in the two groups of study do not possess any

form of Metalinguistic knowledge in their writing skills. They were homogenous in their

written output with respect to three mentioned dimensions.

41

Table 4.6 Independent Sample t-test for the posttest scores of the students in control

and experimental groups.

Items Groups N Mean Std. Deviation t-value Df Sig (2-tail)

Content word Control 83 4.916 1.908 -37.784 164 0.000

Experimental 83 16.530 2.050 -37.784

Organization Control 83 4.313 1.807 -36.387 164 0.000

Experimental 83 15.651 2.189 -36.387

Linking

devices use

Control 83 7.434 2.237 -26.861 164 0.000

Experimental 83 16.072 1.892 -26.861

Average

Control 83 5.554 1.186 -55.560 164 0.00

Experimental 83 16.084 1.255

In the above table 4.6, students’ scores indicates that in the posttest on Content word for

control group, the mean is 4.916, std. is 1.908, t(164) is -37.784 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.000

while for the experimental group, mean is 16.530, std. is 2.050, t(164) is -37.784 and sig (2-

tailed) is 0.000. On Organization for control group the mean is 4.313, std. is 1.807, t(164) is

-36.387 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.00 while for the experimental group, mean is 15.651, std. is

2.189, t(164) is -36.387 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.000. On use of linking device for control

group, the mean is 7.434, std. is 2.237, t(164) is -26.861 and sig (2-tailed) is 0.000 while for

the experimental group, mean is 16.072, std. is 1.892, t(164) is -26.861 and sig (2-tailed) is

0.00. Then from the average score of the items, for control group, mean is 5.554, std. is

1.1863, t(164) is -55.560 and sig(2tailed) is 0.00. For experimental group, mean is 16.0843,

std. is 1.255 and sig (2tailed) is 0.00.

It shows here that students in experimental group outperformed their counterpart in the

control group. The results therefore suggested that Metalinguistic Knowledge really does

have an impact on writing performance of the language learners. Specifically, it is suggested

that when students master words commonly used in the content areas of writing, organize

and plan their written work very well and appropriately make use of connectives, they

improve in their written output.

42

Hypothesis 1: There is no relationship between pretest and posttest scores on metalinguistic

awareness of students in experimental group.

Table 4.7: Correlation between pretest and posttest scores on metalinguistic awareness of

students in experimental group.

Metalinguistic

awareness(pretest)

Metalinguistic

awareness posttest

Metalinguistic

awareness pretest.

Pearson Correlation 1 .068

Sig. (2-tailed) .544

N 83 83

Metalinguistic

awareness posttest.

Pearson Correlation .068 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .544

N 83 83

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Table 4.7 above shows the results of the hypothesis which was to examine a relationship

between pretest and posttest scores on Metalinguistic awareness of the students in

experimental group. A Pearson’s r data analysis revealed no significant relationship (r =

0.068, N = 83) and (2-tailed) is 0.544. Therefore, the null hypothesis is accepted and

concluded that there was no statistically significant relationship between pretest and posttest

scores on Metalinguistic awareness of the students in the experimental group.

43

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the discussion, conclusion, recommendation and suggestion for further

research.

5.1. Discussion of findings

The present study aimed to examine the impact of Metalinguistic Awareness on the

language learners’ written performance with respect to knowledge of content words,

organization and use of linking devices. The underlying rationale is to explore ways of

improving students’ writing skills by focusing on some linguistic awareness that can enable

them to be more effective in their English essay writing. As this is supported by NECO

(2004/06) which states, “The objective of the essay writing section is to test candidates’

ability to communicate effectively in writing”. The results of the findings are therefore

discussed according to the research objectives as follows:

5.1.1 The level of Metalinguistic Awareness on written output of the students.

The main aim here is to find out the level of metalinguistic awareness in the areas of content

words, organization and use of linking devices on the writing skills of the students in control

group. The study through the average means of the results revealed low level of writing

performance in both pretest and posttests, implying that the participants in control group do

not possess any form of metalinguistic awareness in their writing skills. The findings are in

line with the submission of Okoye, (2002) who pointed out that one problem facing teachers

of English language is to help students overcome writing problems which depict their low

level of metalinguistic awareness in written text. This substantiates the findings of

Akinwamide (2012) whose findings revealed that there was no significant difference

between the pre-test and posttests mean scores of the students in the Control group. He said

that, this was in line with the general out-cry of the nation about the mass failure recorded

yearly in this subject. WASSCE chief examiner’s reports (2009) also supported this.

44

Thus, considering (Read, 2004; Schmitt, 2000), whose findings of this study also lend

support from revealed that the participants’ receptive knowledge, referring to the vocabulary

size, was not as developed as expected. The results of the word association test lead similar

results; the participants’ depth of vocabulary knowledge was again limited. This result could

be explained due to limited deeper processing abilities of the participants. The participants

seemed to have a limited capacity to process the word with its associations and connectivity

with other words in their lexicon. As a results, the learners did not vary their content words

in their essays. However, in the posttest mean scores, the level of their overall performance

is high. This implies that the experimental group is favoured according to posttest mean

scores. The implication here was as a result of the exclusive treatment received by the

experimental group after pretest which really helped the students to realize new information

to develop their writing skills. The findings are in line with those of (Mostafa, 2002;

Mogahed, 2007; Hamdouche, 2010). The results can be explained that the development of

the writing skills involve dealing with writing with an approach that entails different

strategies and not as a product of accurate use of grammar alone. Thus, making students

aware of different processes of writing can help them to overcome the difficulty they faced

when they write to produce well written texts.

5.1.2 The level of the writing skills of the students in the selected schools.

The results of the analysis for objective two show that the level of the writing skills of the

students in the control group in the areas of grammar, spelling and cohesion and coherence

is low according to their pretest average mean scores. Similarly, according to the average

mean scores of the experimental group, the level of their overall performance is also low.

This implies that both control and experimental groups are homogenous in their writing

skills. These findings are in agreement with those of (Awatef, A., Faten, A., & Aly, A.,

2015) whose findings revealed no statistically significant differences between the mean

scores of the students in the Control group and experimental groups on their pretest overall

writing performances.

45

5.1.3 Impact of metalinguistic knowledge on the written output of the students in the

selected High Schools

The findings of objective three here sought to examine the impact of metalinguistic

knowledge on selected high schools students’ written output, with respect to three

dimensions of knowledge of content words, organization and the use linking devices. The

researcher, after using a range of measures to check for the comparability between the

students in control and experimental groups found that the participants in control group do

not possess metalinguistic knowledge based on the three mentioned dimensions, whereas

their experimental counterpart does as a results of the treatment it received. The excellent

performance which experimental group recorded over the control group implies that

Metalinguistic Knowledge really does have an impact on the writing skills of the language

learners. The findings also converged with the findings of stated hypothesis two which

revealed statistically significant differences in the writing performance between the

language learners in control and experimental groups. The findings of this study is in

agreement with those of Morteza and Yagoub (2014), whose results obtained from a

conducted research on impact of teachers’ metalanguage awareness on writing performance

of certain number of pre-service teachers implied that providing teachers with necessary

linguistic knowledge can develop their awareness of the underlying system of the language

and, hence, improve the accuracy of their written output. The results of this findings are also

in line with those of Wigglesworth and Storch (2009) and Shang (2007). However, as found

by this study, metalinguistic awareness in the areas of content words, organization and

linking devices usage alone do not single-handedly impact to learners improved writing

performance.

5.2 Conclusions

This study was conducted with the aim of examining the impact of metalinguistic awareness

on writing performance of some language learners in some high schools in Orolu Local

Government Area of Osun state, Nigeria. This was done by making a comparison between

two groups of control and experimental to which the whole students were divided. The

findings of the study revealed a wide range of different performances as shown across the

learners’ mean scores. The outperformance of the experimental group as a results of the

effect of the treatment given to them stand them out from the control group. The study

46

concludes that this approach of making the student writers be metalinguistically aware of

certain well-defined aspects proved reliable and rewarding in the development of writing

skills. It is reliable because it enables the understanding of content words appropriateness

and usage. Also, organization of ideas in sequential order could be said to be sustained. It is

rewarding because once students’ ability to write with confidence are generated, the student

ability to compose logically and coherently can be guaranteed. It is obvious that the merit of

a piece of writing is judged in terms of the writer’s success in achieving the purpose, be it to

entertain, instruct, inform, admonish or to persuade.

5.3: Recommendations

The study made the following recommendations:

1. Teachers should be encouraged to consider implementing direct metalinguistic strategy

instruction to improve students’ written skills when describing words.

2. Writers of English language textbooks should be more current in order to produce

textbook materials that would reflect developments and innovations in teaching essay

writing.

3. Governments, through the Education Ministries and other concerned people with the

organization of conferences, seminars and workshops are encouraged to hold regular

programmes to facilitate English essay writing skill using the approach exposed in this

study.

5.4 Suggestions for Further Research

The following areas of research should be explored further:

1. Another research can be conducted on the areas of Mechanical Accuracy since

Metalinguistic awareness focusing only on the areas of content words knowledge,

organization and the use of linking devices on students’ essay writing does not

resolve all linguistic and pedagogical issues to achieving effectiveness in writing.

Because “without grammar little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can

be conveyed” (David Wilkins, 1972: 111).

2. This study was done in Osun state in South-western Nigeria, similar studies should

be replicated in other regions since this problem of ineffectiveness in writing at high

school level is countrywide.

47

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX I: TRANSMITTAL LETTER

55

APPENDIX II: STUDENT ASSENT SCRIPT

Hi Class,

My name is Mr. Kamaldeen Kola Sanusi. I know some of you have seen me working your

school.

I am going to school, just like you are, at Kampala International University, Uganda. I am

conducting a research on “Impact of metalinguistic Awareness on students’ Writing: A case

study of selected High School Students, Orolu, Osun state, Nigeria.” And I would like you

to be a part of it. I am asking every SS 2 student in this school to be in my study.

Please answer the test scripts that will be given to you accurately and religiously. The

research results will be used for academic purposes only and information provided will be

treated with confidentiality. Your cooperation is highly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

56

APPENDIX III: QUESTIONNAIRE

TESTING INSTRUMENT FOR ALL GROUPS OF STUDENTS

Name of student…………………………………………………………………….

School………………………………………………………………………………..

Class………………………Age……………Gender………………Date………….

Attempt all sections A – C.

SECTION A

Identify by underlining the word which guides you on what you are supposed to do in your

writing in each of the following essay topics:

i. Describe an outbreak of fire you witnessed last week.

ii. The media or newspapers have done more harm than good to modern society.

Discuss.

iii. Examine the skill needed to impress your future employers during a business

interview.

iv. You have a colleague who is poor at making public speeches. Explain how you

could coach such a person to become an effective speaker.

v. Justify how reading is a receptive skill of communication.

SECTION B

(1a)Organize the following disorganized discourse, by making it a well formed paragraph.

The paragraph talks about “malnutrition”. (Culled from June 2006 WASSCE English

language)

For example, in 1996, the United Nations set the goal of reducing by half the number of the

world’s under nourished some 400 million people by the year 2015. But the report of the

food and agricultural organization of the United Nation for 2001acknowledges that

unfortunately, there has been a slowdown in the projection and that the number of the

undernourished people has actually increased considerably in the majority of developing

countries. Although, world agencies have made numerous efforts to stop malnutrition,

achievements have fallen short of hope. Commendably, some progress has been made.

57

(1c) Carefully read the following paragraph and identify the topic sentence in it:

Khaki is a type of material made of cotton and some other raw materials like wool. It is a

widely useful and recognized by different categories of people. It is an established fact that

wearing khaki has come to be not only as a necessity but also a fashion.

Note: This paragraph is adapted from High Standard English Language (for SSS. P. 133)

(2) The following is also a disorganized plan of work on an essay, titled, “An

Outbreak of Fire I Witnessed”. Now, reorganize the plan of work to facilitate the

development a full logical essay:

a) The scene at the end; houses or property damaged by the fire outbreak; the street

and around the house: the departure of the firefighters and the victims taken to

hospital

b) Your sympathy for the souls and property.

c) Arrival of the fire service people; efforts of the firefighters and onlookers; any brave

acts? Any lives lost or serious injury.

d) How fire was controlled and put down.

e) How it was seen and how people got to know; alarm raised; the smoke and the

flames; the winds; the crowd and their behavior.

f) When, where and how fire broke out; description of the building where it started,

and of the houses nearby.

Note: This exercise is adapted from High Standard English Language (for SSS. P. 43)

58

SECTION C

(1) Indicate the best usage of the linking words by choosing from the provided connectives

to fill the following table appropriately.

Adding similar point

of same importance.

Adding similar point

of greater

importance.

Adding opposing

point of views but

both valid.

Adding opposing

view when second

cancel the first

NOTE: The connectives (Linkers) are: also, on the contrary, moreover, however, in

addition, nevertheless, but, furthermore, besides, on the other hand.

(2) In not more than three paragraphs, discuss two major problems facing your country

and suggest ways of solving them.

59

APPENDIX IV: MARKS SCORED BY THE STUDENT PARTICIPANTS IN THE

TESTS CONTROL GROUP EXPERIMENTAL GROUP

PRETEST POST-TEST PRETEST POST- TEST

S/N CW ORG LD CW ORG LD CW ORG LW CW ORG LD

1 4.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 20.0 16.0 18.0

2 4.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 8.0 16.0 14.0 17.0

3 4.0 5.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 16.0 14.0 18.0

4 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 16.0 16.0 18.0

5 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 20.0 17.0 16.0

6 4.0 5.0 5.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 5.0 20.0 18.0 18.0

7 8.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 7.0 5.0 16.0 12.0 15.0

8 8.0 5.0 5.0 8.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 6.0 5.0 20.0 15.0 13.0

9 4.0 7.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 0.0 5.0 7.0 16.0 15.0 15.0

10 4.0 7.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 0.0 4.0 7.0 16.0 18.0 16.0

11 4.0 8.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 6.0 0.0 6.0 8.0 16.0 17.0 17.0

12 4.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 7.0 0.0 7.0 8.0 16.0 14.0 17.0

13 4.0 9.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 20.0 18.0 19.0

14 4.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 12.0 9.0 9.0 16.0 16.0 18.0

15 8.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 8.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 7.0 12.0 14.0 14.0

16 8.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 12.0 17.0 16.0

17 4.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 6.0 4.0 6.0 7.0 16.0 14.0 17.0

18 4.0 9.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 9.0 16.0 13.0 18.0

19 4.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 10.0 4.0 10.0 9.0 20.0 15.0 17.0

20 12.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 12.0 4.0 12.0 9.0 20.0 16.0 15.0

21 12.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 11.0 4.0 11.0 9.0 16.0 15.0 15.0

22 12.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 5.0 16.0 15.0 17.0

60

23 8.0 5.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 6.0 9.0 16.0 16.0 15.0

24 4.0 9.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 10.0 20.0 14.0 16.0

25 4.0 10.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 10.0 16.0 13.0 13.0

26 4.0 10.0 10.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 4.0 2.0 5.0 16.0 16.0 14.0

27 8.0 11.0 10.0 8.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 5.0 16.0 17.0 15.0

28 8.0 13.0 11.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 7.0 16.0 17.0 17.0

29 4.0 10.0 13.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 7.0 20.0 10.0 15.0

30 4.0 5.0 10.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

31 4.0 8.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 16.0 16.0 17.0

32 4.0 8.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 20.0 15.0 14.0

33 4.0 5.0 7.0 4.0 3.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 9.0 12.0 17.0 16.0

34 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 7.0 16.0 13.0 16.0

35 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 20.0 18.0 20.0

36 4.0 5.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 12.0 5.0 7.0 16.0 20.0 16.0

37 4.0 5.0 9.0 4.0 0.0 5.0 12.0 5.0 9.0 16.0 14.0 16.0

38 4.0 5.0 3.0 4.0 0.0 5.0 8.0 5.0 9.0 16.0 16.0 20.0

39 4.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 8.0 7.0 4.0 7.0 9.0 16.0 17.0 12.0

40 4.0 7.0 5.0 4.0 2.0 7.0 4.0 7.0 9.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

41 4.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 0.0 8.0 4.0 7.0 5.0 16.0 18.0 20.0

42 4.0 8.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 12.0 14.0 16.0

43 8.0 9.0 5.0 4.0 0.0 9.0 8.0 8.0 10.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

44 4.0 9.0 12.0 4.0 2.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 10.0 20.0 16.0 16.0

45 8.0 7.0 6.0 4.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 9.0 11.0 16.0 17.0 16.0

46 4.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 7.0 13.0 16.0 17.0 16.0

47 8.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 10.0 16.0 19.0 16.0

48 8.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 7.0 5.0 12.0 18.0 12.0

61

49 8.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 8.0 12.0 16.0 16.0

50 8.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 8.0 16.0 17.0 20.0

51 8.0 5.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 5.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

52 8.0 9.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

53 4.0 10.0 9.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 20.0 18.0 18.0

54 8.0 10.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 10.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 20.0 14.0 17.0

55 8.0 11.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 10.0 4.0 10.0 8.0 16.0 17.0 15.0

56 8.0 13.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 11.0 4.0 10.0 7.0 16.0 19.0 15.0

57 8.0 10.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 13.0 4.0 11.0 6.0 16.0 16.0 17.0

58 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 10.0 4.0 13.0 5.0 16.0 13.0 15.0

59 0.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 1.0 5.0 8.0 10.0 4.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

60 .0 8.0 5.0 12.0 4.0 3.0 8.0 5.0 6.0 16.0 16.0 13.0

61 0.0 5.0 5.0 12.0 4.0 7.0 8.0 3.0 7.0 16.0 17.0 14.0

62 0.0 4.0 5.0 8.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 7.0 8.0 16.0 17.0 15.0

63 0.0 5.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 9.0 16.0 19.0 17.0

64 0.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 5.0 10.0 16.0 18.0 15.0

65 4.0 8.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 8.0 16.0 14.0 16.0

66 4.0 7.0 8.0 8.0 5.0 3.0 4.0 9.0 6.0 16.0 16.0 17.0

67 4.0 6.0 9.0 8.0 6.0 9.0 4.0 3.0 8.0 16.0 17.0 14.0

68 4.0 5.0 9.0 4.0 7.0 5.0 4.0 9.0 10.0 16.0 18.0 16.0

69 8.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 4.0 5.0 12.0 16.0 17.0 16.0

70 8.0 6.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 8.0 11.0 16.0 15.0 20.0

71 8.0 7.0 7.0 4.0 3.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 9.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

72 8.0 8.0 9.0 4.0 3.0 12.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 16.0 17.0 16.0

73 8.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 7.0 6.0 4.0 12.0 8.0 20.0 15.0 17.0

74 4.0 10.0 9.0 4.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 16.0 16.0 17.0

62

75 4.0 8.0 9.0 4.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 2.0 20.0 13.0 10.0

76 4.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 9.0 20.0 14.0 15.0

77 4.0 8.0 9.0 4.0 7.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 8.0 16.0 15.0 16.0

78 4.0 10.0 10.0 4.0 6.0 9.0 8.0 9.0 8.0 16.0 17.0 15.0

79 4.0 12.0 10.0 4.0 5.0 9.0 0.0 9.0 8.0 16.0 15.0 17.0

80 4.0 11.0 11.0 4.0 9.0 9.0 4.0 9.0 10.0 16.0 16.0 13.0

81 4.0 9.0 13.0 4.0 5.0 8.0 4.0 9.0 6.0 16.0 17.0 18.0

82 4.0 6.0 10.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 8.0 3.0 4.0 16.0 14.0 20.0

83 4.0 8.0 5.0 4.0 10.0 8.0 0.0 2.0 8.0 16.0 4.0 14.0

NOTE:

SN = SERIAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS

CW = CONTENT WORDS

ORG = ORGANIZATION

LD = LINKING DEVICES