Attitude of senior high students towards the study of literature in English the case of some selected Senior High Schools in the Eastern Region

Abstract

Learners’ attitude towards the study of English Language and Literature in English is very important for effective teaching and learning in ESL settings. Numerous researches at various settings on learners’ attitude had come out with various causes or factors that contributes to learners’ attitude formation. This thesis investigated the attitude of Senior High Students towards the study of Literature in English in some selected schools in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The aim of this research was to explore how Senior High students’ perception of literature had affected their attitude towards the subject. The data for the research were collected through qualitative and quantitative means by using questionnaire and interview as the research instruments. The data were analysed through SPSS. It came out from the findings that the attitude of most Senior High students in the Eastern Region of Ghana towards literature was negative. This was as a result of either their home background, textbooks that are selected for the students to read, or the teaching approach adopted by their teachers. Majority of the students had negative attitude towards literature as an aspect of English language because of the above factors. The findings indicated that most of the respondents do not like the way literature is taught in their schools. Additionally, the textbooks or literature materials that were selected for the students had been identified as one of the problems the students had about the subject. Most of the students preferred to have literature materials of African background. In summary, although some senior high students believe literature can help them to be proficient in the English language, majority of them had shown negative attitude towards it and would not like to pursue any literature course at the tertiary level.