Abstract:
Language is characterized by set of vocal sounds which can
be decoded. These are produced by human organs of speech
-
lips,
tongue, and larynx etc. The vocal sounds produced by the vocal organs
are used in various systematic and rule govern
ed combinations.
Language is thus a human phenomenon that has form which can be
described in terms of the units of sound (phonemes), words, morphemes,
phrases, and paragraph or discourse. Human language is unique in the
sense that it has its own structure,
its own system of organizing its
component units into meaningful patterns.
English, Nigeria’s official language, occupies a unique place in
Nigerian education today; not only has English been adopted as the
principal medium of instruction in Nigeri
a’s educational institutions but
it has also been institutionalized as the language of educational
evaluation in Nigeria school system. However, Kujore notes that it is
alarming how in spite of the tremendous functions that English performs
as the languag
e of instruction and evaluation in Nigeria and the bold effort made over the years to encourage its effective usage, the vast
majority of speakers record in recent years is an appalling low level
perfo
rmance in the language.
