University of Nigeria Virtual Library
Serial No
ISBN 978 – 32624 – 9 – 1
Author 1 NZEWI, U. M
Author 2
Author 3
Title
Large Classes in Nigerian Universities: Implications for the Subject Specialist
and the Language Teacher
Keywords
Description Book Chapter
Category
Education
Publisher The National Universities Commission
Publication Date
1998
Signature
E. J. OTAC3i 'KUAGU (Fdiror)
---- ??fir book cc;:tains the Proceedings of the COMSKIW COM,'Y3.?TECH 1nternatiot:al Conference held a1 ziti. L,hir;~rsr ' t~! of Nigeria, hhkka in March 1993 lo mark the end Jnt phase of rhe h'igmian Communication Ski!& P r o j m a d it b published bit the National (Ini.~errilier Commirrim,. Abaija, the co-sponsor and manngeFof this p?jm 4":. e p:-(ject.
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Fist published bv -. . ,. . ' - - -. - : : ' f ,.$,; , ; ' + I \-. . . \ . - . . c : . .&L:! ;-, - - , . ; J . : : . .
Natjoud Universities Commission . . . .
Ptct 430, A &:. :yi Imnsi Street, : . # : - - a . P.B.M. 237, Garki G.P.O.
.' : ; 'Ab~ja . - - .
. . . - .. .
. , for the National Universities ~onllnission Abuja. ~ i ~ e r i h .
@ The Na! ion~l Universities Commission IW8.
h'o part of this publication may he reprtduced.-storcd in a re{rt:\11J sysrenl or rrmmitred in any form or hy any n~e;uls. elecrrcsnic. mechanical. photocopying. recording or otherwise without [he pncw writren permission of the copyright owner a d or the ttclitor.
National Li!)rary of Nigeria Cauloping In Publica!i::!i D m :
i ) O!agburuagu, E.J. Conlrnon Frontiers in Communication Skills: Focus on [he Ni~erian Univrrs~ty Sysrem
a Language h. English for Academx Purpoces Teac!il~:p m.! Research.
iii Title P.E
ISBN 978 - 32624 - 9 -1
Tywsct by: RAC Computers. Nsukka
a
~ b c NL5eria.n C o m r n ~ n Skills Projeas ( C O a K I P aod gratefully acknowledge h e efforts of tht Federal
M i l i t q Government in setting up tbc twin projm by entering inu, a bil*ral agreement with thc British Government. The National ~ G v e r ~ i t i e s &&ion embraced the first phase of *&is pr~ject with
wmmiPment to make it succotd. T?qe British Oversea Development Administration (ODA) and the British Council in Nigeria were faithful in their support for the proj& 'm. They provided men, materials, and expertise for the first phase of the prcject. For all these, we register mu indebtedness t~ these agencies for r-ic success recorded at h s stage
Wc dso acknowledge with g ~ M e the efforts of the fonner Executive Secretary of the National Universities Cornm3smc. Prcqfessor Idris Abdulkadir for the unflincm support he gave to the project. We thank the staff of the British Council in Nigeria who worked with us in the project. Worthy of mention here are Chris J o s h a dedicated English Studies Oficer who moved from University to University to supervise the project, Colin Jacobs, D e p u ~ Director, Briiish Council, Enugu - a diligent administrator who worked tirelessly to ensilre the success of the project. Dr. Andrew Thomas was helpful during the International Conference that marked the end of the fust phase of the project. We thank the dilrzrent ODA consu1ta.t~ who served as resource persons in the project workshops at the different zones in the country. These workshops were inspiring and we thank all the resource persons especially, Alm Tonkj'n, Pzuline Robinson, Maggie-Joe St-John, and others.The Vice Chance!lor, Professor Oleka Udeala was firm in his support for the project. V3'e thank him for all that he did in this rezard. Ws thank all the Vice-Chancellors of the pxtitipating Universi:ies for
5.e scppon they gave to the project. We thank the Unwersity of Nigeria for hosthg the International Conference uhich rna:kd the end of this initiaI phaqe.
Certain eminent Nigerian linguists asisxd the project and s e n d as resource persons in some of the workshops or t!!e w1lfere.w. Pwple l~ke ?r.~f-r A>o 8 q o , Professor Benson Oluikpe, P r c k w r h f ~ i i !ibril, ~rof?ssor Ejo we. Tg these people, we also give our t h a a b .
'A'e regi_n;r st,r ap?recratic;rl for the efforts of the NUC officials who workd a!;=. us in die Erst phase of the project. Yinka Quajri ar;c; Dr.
(Mrs.) R. A n e h e were always around to represent the Commissicn. . :: . - . _ . _ ~ ~ e c i ; than!cs are due to the current Execurivc Secretary of the
Natim-c .'~versitits Commission, Professor Mmzaii J~bril, for approving and provid&'ft.uuis fii fhe p;b&dh o f &=pk&edhgsf . . . .,- @-first
- C O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ & ~ ~ Intc&&b&-~&fereMx. - - . ! . ' : I . . ..
we, C h " rhahk: P& .*& -; i-&&&: or".*; i -&.& COMSKIF'/COMS~CH ~om&tt& . .. - - ProL'(Tk ... - , s:) T.Y.. 0ba.h; Dr.: : K.N. N W O ~ U ~ Prof. B. odejidc; Dr. P.A: . . . ~boriiadtijhhdfeomz o h y e , the members of UNN I d organising cummime' . , ...... for bi'conf;rence; the'] represew& of the&&utive Secretary; the English studies mcer.' British ~ o ~ i , L a g & . Mr. !jh& Nkoro, ~ritish*budsil, EnuG fortheir" . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . devotion and cooperation. . ,
Fdy, we than.k all the poject teams from the different univekities for the keen interest they have shown in the project.
. . , -. . . . . ,- - . . . . . . . . . . . . ,- , - -1. . . . . . . . . r ; .
. - . . . .(_ - , ?; . :, . . . . . 1.- . &
EJ.0 . ' . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . .
, ' " - 1997 -.
iii
List of Contn'bu9.",b9iZ022s'J3*:2~~-j* ~aL+:;:$3?$:;fc'j. 3jll$s3T v i i , Foreword . .' . . . . ,.t,,y- A: A .,a ;zhdi:%k- ~ d a e . ii ' List of Abbreviations in h ~ e x t ..................... xiii
n:crc,&- 2 ?ni qcirixv 03 3vii3qz13q Coping with the chall;ii=f'~s$ mThge+~ upv, . z,.4 ,la Professor B.O. Oluikpe 2
~ o m ~ c a ~ E $ W s ~ ~ $ ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ ~ 8 .&~JZ&$: 9 ‘*'""t' .?I
Experience to Achieve ExcE ent' e s i ~ f i morrow.
Improving Note - Making Skills: Ag Action Research Ifeoma Okcjye A " 0 L A : 3 &r, iz~pikki2 . A X ;,G
Merhcdologies in Communication Sqlls:, Implications &t:c::::~!;:zz2~ . , 15 of class sire. p e r h s e s s r n e M ' a n d f ~ . ~ ~ , ~ * ~ c ~ c I I , ~ .,(.-a .. ~l-. a d * . . .
L. U. Oboh 7 8
Teaching Comprehension in a h g c Class Situation; 7 % ~ Uniten Experience, Dr. A.A. hfonye
Suakgiw for the dew'. -menr of Oral Commu:rication ~ k i ~ in Lage Classes, 'b. M.O. A#ab
A fuxtiocal View of the Teaching and Testing of WriCng Sldlls in h g e CI~ses , Sboh T. Baba'tmde
Tc-.-mk maling Extensive ReadQ a componed of W prcpmmes, Dr. I. A. Olaofe
EAP-ESP w&e design; Issues - md Madels, Dr. A. Abrisade
Needs ~nal$is and Course Design Dr. N.A. SIddiqui
\
Coi~l~~lunicatim skdb N e d Analysis Rev. Fr. Dr. N.A. Akwanpa
App1ica;i-m of the needs U y s i s Results b the Use of English G urse &sign:The N~&ka Experience Mr. J.O. Enuesike 269
N d c Amdysis and Co~unication skills Coum Design for students in Fiofessional disciplines: The Case of law Mrs. P.C. Nwankwo *'. 290
Large Class Management h the Use of En&& Frog=: n~ Ch;tIieae of b e w ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ c a t i o n < M s project hir. E.O. Ohwor
Teaching ccmunjcaiive w i h g i i ~ a Large Class Dr. (Mrs.) L.R.1 PAudolu
Large clwses in Nigerian Uriversities: Implications for the sdtject s-ecialist and the Language teacher nr. E.J. Oragburuagu 61 Dr. O h : ) U. Kzeui
Handling large Classes: An ESL Teacher's Perspective I
Dr. 011%) S.O. Ogmdc
Language Teaching in Large Cilsses in Nigeria: Teaching Summary writing in a class of hundred and above, P.1. hfba
Listening and Voice Modulation in a Large ciass: ,
Implicztions for Learning, B.M. hlbah
Co-operative writing as a strategy for communicative skills Teaching in large classes: The Unilos Examp!: Mrs.,R.P. Gowon; hlrs. P.N. O p i n e 6: Mr. G. Gochal
i ~ r t S:hSateri& producticm for communication Ski;ills
33. Materia! Development for wnmunicabon SUls ME. P.N. Oguine
Fart'6:Comrnuriica:ion Skiik Testing md Evaluation
34. The techique of Peer assessment in ESL University Dr. G.C. Offorma
Part 7:h~eUmeou.:
35. . B m e e n general Proficiency and specific Comunicative Abilities in a second Language Context: A critical View of b e Nigerian eiution Mr. D.U. Opata
" . . . ,-_-.- .. . .-.. . . . ..,. 9' 'Cd. .+. . . . _. .-- . . . . .,.. , , .. -. .- . .-4 , . .:;... . ', . , > .Li',l.'--i. A: .<.X?S .<.=z,;.,; 2.; -,*::?:
- ' 1
DR. E. J. O~AC-BURUAGU . . . . . . . . AND. DR. (MRSJ.. U. M,- .N?&$.::- . . . . . . . . .-
. , . * - - .-:A:- .' : . . . . . .
... :.. > I . . , - , -5 ,?,= - ',-, - .(?y : ? $;.,,?; , . . - -
. * :,'.: :.- .< L-., .... . ' . , htrdL?fl5~n , . . . . . s , . . > .: . .? * 6 - . - Ngzn'ai U iversif es have wimssed an'upsurge in e n r o ! I m ~ ~ ' F ~ ~
upsurge h s comqtfitIy r & i In an increase in Ge ~ I r n of i sfIr$,- . . - -
fo'und in a class, The pcpulztion explosion famd in .the Univers;!&>:, I
Nigeria can be R a c d k:xk to tbe advent of r3e wumy's Unive~d 2 ~ - . ; Primary E3xmtion (WE). R e WE prugmzrne p k d 8 A u d ~ n wit::$
. . ,
t5e rech of a large grcup of Vc':zer;m. 'As a re&[, more ad .GP*. people came to r e a k C x Lqx:mx of zckcation. Tlie e.xp!ssh 2-2 s:arted in t5e prkmy s~hwIs graduEy tiaversed 2U lev& of &if?%
theieb~. I w h to i n s r ~ c ? in c~rribzs eve9 rt tte . university . kI."..??):* W- .ppdz::.ion of a d e ? ~ wfi on &e ~c&se, :'ere was:^ ~ 2 ~ 2
hsrease m the m d x r cf-mches and f;;cZt-;ei ' ( ~ k e b ~ k o l a IQ*). .. .* r' gavc riise ts lfil i m e of !zrge &ses in N i g e b ~nivkrsities: . +-* . of lvge c h s js i-Lk m x @ .I.~E.:;._~W s k m . h >%.-% roday, s c b is n q t i i as a ,n!!as. of oo Biih ?,.
-* 4.m- eh1cmy & ~ ~ - e j or f~ w~rld.. a rb&, ..---" .,. :;.- .i- t&hkg a x l I+;irnhg i; !xi% C ~ X ; C U P ~ ~ . J &k cwr~f.rgr is gt* s . ;>; mg zkL* & k:-O!w Fw. a? ~r , '~q@~ d;=yv2'&~zfj 'i-
r.-p C M 4& 3- : ? i ~ ~ , c p ~ p . ' ~ ~ % w XLX-X tdZq 3.~2-f ~~~~, to .....& . ! . . .? :;,?+
CJ.-"~ of sckcxe is GTTLY-). 2 K-.X ~Y,.P> jf L 4 - , - r d L . . - . .-
. . i P 3"r&g?don~of 7ar-c c*s sire & 2 ~ ~ ~ ! r ~ @ q g s J ~ .-cxcvraca. - -. .. ' % T ! ~ (1939) rm & in we c!a~& &a 'sdon t 3 iFienrhl 1 % q 2 ad 'COZ.:G& that rjne :us m y CCIYS to F d C~F 10 i.ii~?u~rzd ."< - , . - . -, . - . . - - , .. . > hi&aid? .. . - issue of . . . large . . - J z m . COl~i1 .a (1989) r l u cax~~s lh+ - . .. . . .
is a growkg-cd: to .. - - soid1 , .- - . . . . . fte J x g e . ._ rksiph:asrsniln , . as it i f f q ~ .. :r%ng + ~ a m i c g . - , is ,-zivlm;nt . - . _ _ is . S G ~ G . o i tie feet . - *a! --* %fE Fsx5:fly !a dr, z7,-;7; *p~:\~*-. :< ,, '.; " . - - ! -
k - - . -2 h,b c .
teaching and learning. He also posited that in the developed cOUlltti~, ' "the phemmenon of iarge classes is, if anything, looked on as ap abberation md is thus not treated as worthy of being researched." ,r,. '
Coleman (1989) however feels wry strongly about the 'teseafib. wonhiness of language learning &I large classes. He is of the v h the apparent failure to addm a problem which is of extreme i m p o m to many teachers had unfortunate repercussions. He buttrcsscd arguments with remarks and comments made by teachers from Indo- who had returned from diploma or master's level-training courses. teachers are of the view that the beautiful programmes they have exposed to in Britain, Australia and the United States camat k implemented in their country. Their reasoning is not from a conservative point- of view, but s r m s from the realities of the class size t & q experienced overseas and what obtains in their country. The same is applicable to Nigerian teachers who mined overseas.
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What Constitutes a Large Class? 3 ., ->
The answer to thii question cannot be given in absolute terms beda5usc according to Otagburuagu (1992), there ye kitudinaI, cultural, polihcal* as well as pedagogic considerations inter playing to make a parti& c h size ideal, nonnal, abnormal, large or unteachabJe. He advanced tk argument hat while it may be outrageous to teach English in a class of 50 students in some advanced countries of the world, in Indonesia or Nigerk such a class size would be regarded as ideal. The complexity of the k g C class phenomenon has been summarised by Hubbard as cited by C o l d (1989:3): . ,J; . . ' '.I"*'
. . . 90 me not uncommon.
- - I . . c - - . ;-, :
- In Nig&, tfie average c h size varies from one kvei of ixhkdWw and at the t e r ! k q level from one discipline to the other. q
National Policy on c&cation r e a m m c d s a class size of 20 for thCP ph-kuy level, and 30 for thc ptiniary level. Tht poli .y wai d d @ '
k o & education but the prafSce hu been to h 3 c a &d ofYL It &en follows that in excess of the re&nmaed d 3
abnormal and if the excess is more than 10, the class can be regarded a s large.
At the university level, the National Universities Commission (NUC) recomeocied different class sizes for different disciplines. The rrcomendec.~ :lass size for science is 15120, while for the others, it is 25i30. It follows that anything in excess of the recommended number is abnormal or large. - . .
From the foregoing, om can assume and rightly too that the classes in Ni_rerian universities are large. This assumption also hinges on the available resources. For instance, most laboratories in the University of Ni~eria, Nsukka built in the 1960's were provided with bench space for a iuximum of 40 students, but today, over 200 students share the same faci!ity.
2.e English language classes are not left out. In the Use of English coarse, classes range from 80 to 500 students while faci1i:ics &rid c ! x . x a n arrangements ha"e been for classes whose sizes would mc excwd 40 or 60
The immedixe result is that students struggle for seats and facilihes. 'fit mggling bas become so regular that students now refer to those who engage in it with b e siang expression 'russians' . Teachers and students who don't want to witness the initial rush by students for seats u d l y c o a n e late. - ,
We wish to observe at this point that the astronomical rise in the. number of students without corresponding expansion the facilities for, teaching often leads teachers and students to adopt behavioural parterns which tend to be counter-productive in the system. This.paper will now focus on such patterns of behaviour.
8 >?:- b
U'hat Strategies do ~eachirs a id Students Adopt t o copeL with Large CIA? * a .. - .. . .7 . -
Faced with thc problem of large classes, teachers bave a- wmt coping-stiategies to help them get through. r.. ,-
The fmt strategy is that teachers now resort to the use of the leaure method of teaching - This entails the teadm just standing in front of the k~ ad dishing out the facts. He does not bother a b c wvidual d:.lferencep. In a science class, this gives rise to teacher3'and students uKing about science u~stead of doing science. . . , . L 7 :. .- . - . -
If the teacher finds himself in a p i t i o n r c p h g practic;d work
1
because of the large number of studenrs, he will normally resort :;: demonstration or at best group labontory work ilk autornaricaliy -F : that all the students arc excluded fkxi acquiring mznipulatrve sk& p-2
demonstration is used or that some of the stdmfs are e x c l a f . 4 - .. Laboratory work 'is adopted. .: . . * a ? ; %
This straw of going amml red laboratory 'wurk and lkpiirl - experimentatim seems to hb-lc'rrccived otficial sanction. Ih; W& -.. African Examinations Council has been administering a form of test of practical skills known as "Alternative to Practicals" . This is suppod tek students' acquisitiod of mostly the manipulative p r m slrill:but its nature, it ends up as a test of the cognitive skills. . ' ,;
On the part of the students, they have developed some negatbe and positive strategies to help them get along in large classes. For instam, some of the students have fonned the habit of copying down all that h e teachers say. As one of them put it, I will rather write everyking down now and sort them out later than discover that I have missed out on any information. - -
On the other hand, it is the negative strategies formed by these stuckms that have methorphosed info the problems of large classes. For instaoce, impersonation cases often found in seminar and tutorial classes often arise from the large class situation since the teacher is unable to ideniify and recognise every member of his large class. It is also worthy of note th;it
most examination malpractices and other dishonest behaviour stem from the negative strategies developed by students in large classes. students are able to get away with these forms of behaviour because thir number is simply overwhelming.
. I
Problems of Teaching Large Classes Large classes as stated earlier on umstitute pedagogical problems to'&
teachers and challenge the managerial expertise of the teacher. Som the problems teachers report that they have experienced in large elm include: - 7
2 3 B: '" ,- . . 8
(a) Impnonation: Teachers at the university level have 4 exprierxing impersonation in their large classes. ihis is more c a m in the very large classes where the teacher handles as m u d a a students. In such cases, truancy is quite common and when the w w to check &is through aslung studcllto to sign or when ttac tea@
-
takes a roll call. the friends of absent &dents sign such documents for them.
'& - @) Cheating: Thir is anothkr problei'bf large classa which,is related to the problem of impersonation. .Some weak students get their more able
-. . friends to write their examimians, term papers and even present seminars for them. These sometimes go on without the teachers beirig aware of them because of the large number of students.
.
(c) Another problem that occurs in large classes is the inability of the teacher to carry the class along with him. Teachera reported that some students get swallowed up in the large numbers and may tune off, that is, hey feel that since the teacher cannot take notice of them individually, there is no need to bother to go on with the class. Such students just sit out the hou~.
(d) Related to the above problem is that of the class turning into a I learning place for a few highly motivated and extrovert students. These ' few students will take part in the minimal classroom interaction that $ ; going on, and the teachers just go along with them.
I I (e) Large classes make the problem of use of resources more
pronounced. In a situation where resources are inadequate, the problem of large classes will, however, deplete the resources the more p d make learning experience most inadequate. This is particularly so for the science classes where students are supposed to interact with materials to be able to acquire the necessarv science process skills. - I , . .
i , .
I Suggestions for Tackling the Problem of ~ a . & Ciasses ,. - I One suggestion for tackling the problem of large class is t!!e use of t ! e . Wperative learning technique fear ing intra-group C O - O ~ : : ~ G G wkb kr-group competition. Okebukola (1984) found that from his research. Udy , this procedure works. He however indicated that the mixed ability W r a t i v e group is more predisposing to students' achievement than any of :i;e homogenous ability groupings. The superiority of rhe mixed abiw Wup was explained on the basis of the peer-tutoring and participation ~ r b e s e s which are said to be achievement promoting (\.'/ebb, 1984).
Teachers have imided to adopt the strategy of demonsration during
practical classes when they d e a with 3 large class. This procedure dm net allow students acquire the prescribed science process skills. &. operatiDt -gro&ing however has implications for overcoming &i, 'handicap. It codd be suggested that the science teacher. when p u with a large class, should make the few learning materials -available students instructed to work in mixed ability cooperative groups. teacher does not need to reson to demonstrations becauk the w a u l e materials are not enough to go round all the students. The few materiah used by the students will surely promote the development of many p- skills during the period of interacting with such mhterials.
I
Effective qomrnunication is crucial for student-teacher effective- across disciplihes. This effectiveness is sometimes not achieved because of the language barrier. Learning is particularly compliiated in the 'Nigerian situation because the medium of instruction which is English is not native to the learners. Effectiveness could however be induced into our large class situation through team work and dollab'orative effort between the subject specialists (in this case the science teachers) and tk language teacher. Such a collaborative teaching programme would make it possible for the subject specialist to acquaint the language teacher with the language problems and needs of his students. The language tack will in turn build these into the language curriculum for the particular group. In this way, the language dilemma of students in a university system where English is a second language could be ameliorated. ,,i
Effective communication in the ESL University cannot be easily achieved without the language teacherlsubject specialist interaction: Thir collaboration is necessary and advantageous because it creates in botd cbc science teacher and the language reacher an awareness of the language needs of students. The collaborative efforts in handling the problems dm' lead to a relative ease in the presentation of materials on the part of subject teacher because the students now understand the language of concepts prior to presentation by the science teacher. Because students can understand the teacher, they can communicate with him a d this will lead to better studknt-teacher interaction which will d m reduce the syndrome of teachsr-frontedness that has fnque2q'. characterized our large classes. . . L C . -
References AHwright. D. (1989). Is CIafO Size a Problem'! &As: Lanwsler Lewis Lylpuage M i n g
in Large Classes Resurch Pmjm. Coleman. H. (1989). The Study of I x g e Classc. Lerxls: Lancaster Lecds Language
Learniqg is h g e Classes Re& Project. (Project Report No. 2). Colanul. H. (1989). How Large Are Large€ la~~5~? Lmls: hcaster-Lecds Language . LePfnine In Large Classes Research Projsd. (Reject Report No. 4).
Okebukola, P.A.C. !985). 'The Problem of Large Classes in Chemistry: An Experiment in Cooperative h i n g . ' European Journal of Science Education.
Okebukola. P.A. (1984). 'Tackling the Problem of Large Classes in Biology: An lnvestigah $to the Effecu of a Cwprat ive Learning Technique.' Journal of Ihe Scieoa Teachers Association of Nigeria (JSTAN) 22(2): 73-77. Webb. N.M; (1984). 'Sex Differences in Interaction and Achievement in CcGoperative.
Small Groups', Journal of Educational Psychology 76(1). 3 3 4 . OLagburuagu, E.J. (1992). 'Teaching English Language in Large Classcs in Nigeria: Implicarions for National Development'. Paper presented at the h u g u a l Conference
of rhe Nigerian Assochion of h g u a g e ad Business Educators held at the University of Nigeria. Nsukh.
