LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation of Mean and Standard

 Deviation showing the answers of the responses on computer

 influence on students’ academic performance in English                              24

Table 2:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation of mean and Standard

Deviation showing the answers of the responses on internet

influence on students’ academic performance in English                               25

Table 3:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation of mean and Standard

Deviation showing the answers of the responses on television

 influence on students’ academic performance in English                              26

Table 4:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation of mean and Standard

Deviation showing the answers of the responses on radio

influence on students’ academic performance in English                               27

Table 5:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis of the

 relationship between computers and students’ academic

 Performance in English Language                                                                 28

Table 6:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis of the

relationship between internet and students’ academic

performance in English language                                                                    29

Table 7:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis of the

relationship between television and students’ academic

performance in English language                                                                    30

Table 8:           Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis of the

relationship between radio and students’ academic

performance in English language                                                                    31

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to examine the impacts of ICT facilities on students’ academic performance in English language in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The sample size for the study was 242 students out of 1,223, the total population of students randomly selected from five (5) sampled schools of the fourteen (14) public secondary schools in the area, at the time this study was conducted. Identified variables for the study were: television, internet, computer and radio in relation to students’ academic performance in English language. To achieve the objectives of the study, four research questions and four null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A survey design was adopted for the study. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to obtain data/information from the students (respondents). Data obtained were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation in answering research questions while Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis was used in testing the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings revealed that all the four dependents variables (television, internet, computer and radio) have significant relationship with the students’ academic performance in English language. Based on the result of the findings, it was recommended among others that parents/schools should adequately exposed their children/students respectively to ICT facilities such as the ones studied in this research work in order to improve their academic performance in English language.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1              Background to the Study

It is not debatable that the advancement in technology in this 21st century has claimed dominance of every sphere of human endeavour ranging from science, arts, education, law, commerce among others. Frankly speaking, any developed country in the world today is said to be technologically driven. According to Udosen (2012), technology can be defined as the entities both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage therefore, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real world problems. One of such aspects of technology that has solved a preponderant number of real-world problems especially in education sector is Information and Communication Technology commonly abbreviated as ICT.

The term Information and communication technology (ICT) is any form of technology that is used to transmit, store, create, display, share or exchange information by electronic means. Comprehensively speaking, Akinbode (2014) views ICT as:

Materials which are characterized by their power to memorize process or make accessible (on screen) and to transit principle  to any at all, a virtually unlimited and extremely diversified quantity of data (p. 10).

This implies that Information and Communication Technology has increasing frequency in various forms, text, diagram, moving images, sound, etc. in education, ICT facilities such as computers, internet, television, radio among others , serve as instructional materials for teaching/ learning process.

            Talking about the importance of ICT in the teaching and learning of a second language such as English, Murry (2000) observes that effective utilization of ICT facilities by teachers and students has significant impact on student’s academic performance in English as well as other school subjects. It is pertinent at this juncture to explicate such ICT facilities as computer, internet, television and radio as variables under study that can affect students’ academic performance in English either positively or negatively.

            To start with, the term computer can be defined as an electronic device that accepts, processes and stores data. This definition runs parallel with Udosen, Joshua and Inyang (2012) view, that a computer is a programmable electronic device that accepts data; processes data into meaningful form called information and stores the resulting information for future use. Computer has two major components namely: hardware and software. The hardware component is physical (can be touched, seen or held such as keyboard, mouse) while the non-physical part of the computer system is the software such as processor. The importance of this variable to the study is that students can learn from computer-where technology is used essentially as tutors and serves to increase students’ basic skills and knowledge in different fields of study such as English, Mathematics, and Health education among others.

            The internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks, cooperating with each other to exchange data using a common software standard or protocol called the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) (Odejide, 2003). From the foregoing, it therefore means that the internet is an incredible tool for connecting people together into an enormous social networking project. Significantly speaking, the internet plays an important role in the research of educational materials as it is a huge information base and can be harnessed for the retrieval of information on a wide variety of subjects. The information harnessed on the internet coupled with the lectures students receive in the classroom goes a long way to improve their academic performance in school subjects.

            Another Information and Communication Technology facility which the researcher perceived could contribute immensely to students’ academic performance in English Language is the television. According to Parker (2001), television is an ICT facility that transmits information to a wider audience or listeners using sound and picture. This implies that television disseminates information to the listeners’ visual (sight) and aural (hear) organs. In other words, the listeners hear the information and also see the person who conveys the information. It is very significant in the teaching and learning of English Language because the second language learners of English can watch and listen to the way models in English Language articulate words and emulate them thereby improving upon their spoken and written English.

            Furthermore, radio is an electronic device that uses electromagnetic waves to transmit and receive information, as in sound broadcasts or two-way communication, without the need for connecting wires. The use of radio as an ICT gadget helps to educate and inform the listeners on the current trend of things in the society. This variable is very pivotal to students who learn English as a second language in the sense that it will provide an opportunity for them to listen to how various English sounds are articulated in words as well as in a long discourse. Besides, it will also afford the students the opportunity of learning new words and the way they are used in context (Rogers, 2000). This will improve their academic performance in English Language whether spoken or written form.

The phrase students’ academic performance refers to the degree of success or failure which the learner displays after passing through certain levels of instruction (Thompson, 2015). Put differently, academic performance is the outcome of education. It is the extent to which a student achieves the set educational objectives or goals. According to Richard, Merkner, Anne and Weidinge as cited in Bassey (2015), students’ academic performance represents outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in schools, colleges and Universities. In spite of the multifarious important of ICT to students’ academic performance in English Language as explained so far, a preponderant number of students refuse to access and utilize the ICT for academic purposes. The refusal to or wrong use of ICT facilities has resulted to their poor academic performance in English language over the years. This has become a nagging problem and source of worry to parents, stakeholders in education and government.

            Worried by this, scholars have made several attempts at different times and various places by carrying out researchers towards ameliorating this problem. For instance, Asuquo (2000) conducted a study on study habits and academic performance of senior secondary school students in Akwa Ibom State with a sample size of 217 out of the total population of 4237 respondents. The researcher found out among others that there is a significant relationship between study habits and students’ academic performance in English Language.

            Similarly, Adeyemi (2014) conducted a study on teachers’ and students’ variables and the teaching of English in senior secondary schools in Osun State, using a sample size of 907 students and 45 English teachers out of the total population of 143,166 students and 467 English Language teachers respectively. The researcher found out among other things that lack of certificated and adequate numbers of English Language teachers were the major factors that affect students’ competence in English Language.

            In the same vein, Ekong (2010) conducted a study on problems of concord in the grammar of second language learners of English Language in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, using a sample size of 40 ss1 students out of the total population of 2004. The researcher found out among other things that concord errors which is as a result of mother tongue, affect students’ academic performance in English Language.

            From the various studies reviewed so far, it is obvious that none was carried out in Uyto Local Government Area. Besides, the variables used for each of the reviewed studies were different from those used for the present study. This has therefore created a gap. It is this gap that the study “The impact of ICT and students’ academic performance in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State” is poised to fill. The question therefore is, can this study ICT and students’ academic performance in English Language be used to reverse the situation?

1.2              Statement of the Problem

It is believed that ICT plays a pivotal role in the teaching and learning of English Language especially in this technological age. However, in Akwa Ibom State, specifically in Uyo Local Government Area secondary school students seem to neglect the multifaceted functions of ICT facilities such as computer, the internet, television and radio in the teaching and learning of English Language. This negligible to the available ICT facilities as mentioned so far have become a very serious problem and source of students’ failure in English over the years. As a result of this, several researchers have conducted studies at different places and times towards solving the problem in other areas without recourse to ICT hence, the problem still persists. This is why the researcher is motivated to carry out a study on the impact of ICT and students’ academic performance in English Language in Uyo Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The question therefore is, can this study be used to remedy the existing poor academic performance of secondary school students in English Language in the area?

1.3              Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to find out the impact of ICT on students’ academic performance in English Language in public secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1.      Determine the relationship between computer and students’ academic performance in English Language.

2.      Determine the relationship between the internet and students’ academic performance in English Language.

3.      Examine the relationship between television and students’ academic performance in English Language.

4.      Examine the relationship between radio and students’ academic performance in English Language.

1.4              Significance of the Study

Findings from this study would be of great benefits to students, teachers, parents and curriculum planners. To start with, students most especially in secondary schools would benefit from ICT facilities – computer, internet, television and radio-in the sense that by utilizing all these facilities in their course of learning English as a second language will improve their spoken and written competence in English. Again, teachers would benefit from this study because it will make them to know that using ICT facilities  to teach English language can improve students’ academic performance.

Through this study, parents would see the need to provide and motivate their children/ward towards maximum utilization of ICT facilities like computer, internet, television and radio in learning English. Lastly, curriculum planners would also benefit from this study because they will see the importance of ICT in the teaching and learning of English language and make it a compulsory subject to be taught across the three tiers of education, that is, primary, secondary and tertiary institution.

1.5              Research Questions

The following research questions were raised to guide the study:

1.      To what extent does computer influence academic performance of students in English Language?

2.      What is the influence of the internet on academic performance of students in English Language?

3.      What is the influence of television on academic performance of students in English Language?

4.      To what extent does radio influence academic performance of students in English Language?

1.6              Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

1.      There is no significant relationship between computers and academic performance of students in English Language.

2.      There is no significant relationship between internet and academic performance of students in English Language.

3.      There is no significant relationship between television and academic performance of students in English Language.

4.      There is no significant relationship between radio and academic performance of students in English Language.

1.7              Basic Assumption of the Study

The basic assumption that underlies this study is that computer, internet, television and radio have significant impact on students’ academic performance in English Language if the students and teachers utilizes them effectively in the teaching and learning process.

1.8              Scope of the Study

This study covers all public secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. It investigates ICT and academic performance of students in English Language under the following sub-headings (variables): computer, the internet, television and radio.

1.9              Definition of Terms

For the purpose of understanding this research work by its readers, the following terms employed in the study were defined conceptually:

1.      ICT: This is an abbreviation for Information and Communication Technology. It means diverse set of electronic gadgets or tools used to disseminate information.

2.      Academic Performance: This refers to observed level of educational achievement of a learner in a subject or subjects as indicated by his or her scores in test/examination which are well monitored and supervised by approval body (es).

3.      Computer: This is an electronic device that accepts, processes and stores data as information for future use.

4.      The Internet: This is a worldwide collection of computer networks cooperating with each other to exchange data using a common software standard or protocol called the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).

5.      Television: This is an electronic gadget that disseminates information using sound and motion pictures/images to a larger number of viewers who are in different locations at the same time.

6.      Radio: This is an electronic medium that disseminates information to a wider spectrum of audience at a given period of time. It aids immediacy of information.

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