Errors in the use of coordinating conjunctions among students a case study of Kurawura Kura MA Junior High School

Abstract

This research work investigated errors in the use of coordinating conjunctions by students at the Junior High School level in Ghana. The objectives of the study were to; ascertain the actual coordinating conjunction errors in students' writing and also, establish the factors that account for the errors the students commit. The research was a qualitative case study, which explored the errors in the use of coordinating conjunctions by students of Kurawura Kura M/A Junior High School in the Kintampo municipality of the Bono-East Region of Ghana. The study population was made up of 67 students. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select 23 students in the form-two class. The coordinating conjunction errors that were identified by the researcher include; additive errors, adversative errors, and causal errors. Several factors account for coordinating conjunction errors committed by the respondents. These factors include; limitations in the scope of conjunction topics in the Junior High School syllabus and textbooks, students’ developmental attributes, and L1 interference in the second language acquisition. Others include students’ negative attitude toward the study of the English language, inadequate repertoire of knowledge of coordinating conjunctions, and how teachers teach the coordinating conjunction in class. The study concluded that students have a limited repertoire of coordinating conjunctive expressions hence, their inability to express the causal and adversative relations satisfactorily. The researcher recommends a study that will compare the use of coordinating conjunctions by students at the junior high school level against those at the Senior High School level. A study will compare how students use conjunctions in their L1 against the usage in their L2 and also investigate the effect of the use of coordinating conjunctions in the L1 on English language coordinating conjunctions. It is also recommended that a similar study be conducted in schools across the length and breadth of the country and the findings be compared.