Abstract:
In recent times, the poor performance of Junior High School pupils in the Basic
Education Certificate Examination (B.E.C.E) English Language paper has evolved a
number of questions as to why this has been recurring. Particularly with essay
writing, which is undeniably an area of challenge, a candidate’s inability to express
himself or herself with clarity and coherence in a way befitting the language, and his
or her input on exposition, narration, argument and mechanical accuracy needs have
been woeful. The first year pupils of Ejisu Presby Junior High School’s inability to
write good essays attest to the problem. The pupils found it difficult to deal with the
rules ever regulating English grammar, and are absorbed in essay writing. This is
what prompted the research work. The researcher made use of test to identify the
problem. The outcome of these tests essentially revealed that difficulties with
mechanical accuracy, concord and tense are major factors that highlight the poor
performance of students in the Junior High Schools. In spite of the challenges,
students were exposed to a range of grammar lessons and teaching methods to
improve their understanding of grammar skills.
Description:
A Dissertation in the department of
Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Languages, submitted to the school of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of
Master of Education
Degree in Teaching English as Second Language
in the University of Education, Winneba
