EXPLORING ALTERNATIVES TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of the language situation in Nigeria on the learning of Nigerian students in relation to knowledge acquisition. It focuses on the exalted status of English as Nigeria’s official language and the medium of instruction, its effects on the indigenous languages, on one hand, and on the comprehension uptake of the undergraduates, on the other. It queries the continued use of English as a medium of instruction in tertiary education and suggests that the option of indigenous language(s) be explored. The study is a qualitative and quantitative survey of the language behaviour of one hundred undergraduate students of English and ten lecturers at the University of Jos, analysed within the context of the Nigerian language situation. The study adopted the questionnaire and interview methods as instruments for data collection. The theoretical framework on which the study is anchored is Hyme’s theory of language choice. The findings revealed that 73.5% of the population sample are favourably disposed to the use of indigenous languages, leveraging on multilingualism as an advantage, but are constrained by the imposition of English as an official language. 66.3% of the population sample has an average proficiency in English, thus denying them sufficient linguistic resources for expressing their socio-cultural realities. The study argues that the students’ abysmal failure in the use and proficiency in English in the acquisition of knowledge and skill is detrimental to their all-round development. It concludes that since English is deficient in communicating effectively, the concepts and values necessary for social interaction and multicultural development, the functions of indigenous languages and the domains in which they are used should be expanded. It therefore recommends that some measures that would alter the linguistic architecture of the nation be legislated and urgently implemented for the actualization of real development of the Nigerian undergraduates, in order to foster national development.