WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECTS OF USING CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING METHOD TO TEACH IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLE VERB FORMS TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PANKSHIN.

                                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page 

Declaration

Approval Page

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Table of Content

Abstract

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of the study

1.1 statement of the problem

1.2Purpose and Objectives of the study

1.3 Significance of the study

1.4 Scope of the study

1.5 Research Questions

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

4.0 Introduction

4.1 Mode of Presentation

4.2 Research Questions

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

5.1 Summary of Findings

5.2 Conclusion

5.3 Recommendations

References

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix

                                                    ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of using consciousness Raising Method to teach irregular Past Participle verb forms of English in Secondary School. The study carried out in Memorial Comprehensive Secondary School, Langkuk Pankshin, Panshin LGA of Plateau State, with a specific reference to senior secondary one (SS ONE)students .Three research questions were posed to be answered throughout the study. The experimental design was used for this study. To carry out the study, the researcher created an experimental group and a control group. Those in the experimental group were exposed to some list of the Irregular past participle verb forms of English to study for three weeks, while the control group was taught the Irregular past participle verb forms using Language textbooks for three weeks as well. A forty – item irregular past participle verb forms test was administered on both groups at the same time. The parametric test of significance was used in marking and assessment of the score in percentage. The researcher concluded from the findings of the study that the students who were exposed to the consciousness raising method performed better in the learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English than those who were not given the treatment. The findings also led the researcher to conclude that students who were exposed to consciousness raising method used the irregular past participle verb forms of English well in their spoken and written conversation better than those who were not. The researcher recommends that consciousness raising method should be used during and after classroom interactions as a complement to the traditional method of teaching the irregular past participle verb forms of English, to enhance second language learners’ contact with the target language.

                                                    CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Background to the study

          Irregular past participle verb forms of English are useful to the learners of English, especially as second language learners. This is because it is the basic knowledge in composing simple past sentence and writing narrative or recount text. Its mastery is very important and necessary for one to be a functional speaker and writer in the society; it aids or facilitates meaningful delivery of an idea, most especially spoken or written conversation.

          As a matter of fact, the irregular past participle verb forms of English is quite fundamental owing to the fact that it is a component of the various standardized examinations such as the west African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, and National Business and Technical Examination and many more. This is to say that for one to emerge as successful candidate in the above standardized examinations, one must have some mastery of the irregular past participle verb forms. As such this is seen as agate way to a successful examination.

          More so, the irregular past participle verb forms of English are also considered very essential in spoken conversations, such as in daily discussions, debates, paper presentations, radio broadcast, home videos, like the popular Nollywood industry’s film works, and formal and informal ceremonies

          The irregular past participle verb forms of English are also seen to be very useful in the written communications such as in letter writing, lesson presentation, book publishing, long essays, petition writing, writing of will, note taking, as well as in creative writing. The mastery of the irregular past participles of English is thus, one of the qualifications to good speech and effective writing.

           However, the irregular past participle verb forms of English do not follow the general rules for verb forms because they change into different words altogether, as such they are considered the most confusing; since they consist of the principal part of the irregular past participle verb forms. Past participles are only part of the verb, they cannot be verbs by themselves, and they have to follow a helping verb like “have”, “has”, and “had”.

           Poor mastery of the irregular past participle verb forms of English by secondary school students has been a thing of concern to teachers and examiners. This is because its affects speaking and writing of the students. Many wrong usage of the irregular past participle verb forms of English have been identified and noticed in the written and spoken English of the students. No wonder Boardi, Grieve and Nwankwo (1981) observe that: it is disturbing, therefore, to read in examiners reports on the performance of candidates in public examinations constant reference to such faults as wrong used of the verb forms, poor mastery of the irregular past participle verb forms of English.

           Often times, students are fond of making the mistake of using the irregular past tense verb form of English in written and spoken conversation instead of the irregular past participle verb forms. This may be as a result the confusing nature of irregular past participle verb forms of English in the sense that they do not follow the regular pattern of the verb paradigm.

          In the same vein, the unpredictable nature of the irregular past participle verb forms of English is one of the reasons many students find it difficult to devote their time to the study of the irregular past participle verb forms of English. This continues to pose a great difficulty in their spoken and written conversations, which turns out to be a great concern to the teachers of grammar of English Language.

            Another difficulty common among the secondary school students in their usage of the irregular past participle verb forms of English is limited exposure to the verb forms. There is a need for teachers to help the students with the effective method and techniques that will aid the students to acquire the needed skills for effective use of the irregular past participle forms, because often times teachers, after delivering their lessons in the classroom do not proffer some exercises that will expose these students to the good usage of verb forms in order for them to become conversant with the verb forms.

            Conversely, all suggest that teachers have to find an approach that provides the students with many types of exercises dealing with different verb forms for the students to engage in constant practice in their daily usage of the verb forms even when at home. It is said that learning is not all about coming in contact with new facts or accumulating new facts, but using it productively.

            Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of using consciousness raising to teach irregular past participle verb forms of English Language in secondary schools.

                                                  Statement of the Problem

            There is a noticeable under performance of students of secondary schools in their usage of the irregular past participle verb forms of English. It is so glaring that the irregular past participle verb forms are problematic to the students which in turn affects their spoken and written English performance in most of the standardized examinations such as the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, General Certificate Examination and many more.

            Many students find it difficult when it comes to the learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English, because of their unpredictable nature, that is in the past participle owing to the fact that the entire words change into a different words altogether unlike it is in the regular verb forms .With a cursory observation during speech and even in the course of writing, student, when trying to express an idea in the past participle form, they end up mistakenly using the regular past tense form of verb. For example in the sentence, “I don’t blame you; it is because you have grow bears that is why you are talking to me that way”. It might sound okay, and hearing that, not everyone could detect the error or wrong usage. Even among the learned people, this wrong usage of forms occurs at times; instead of the past participle “grown” one uses “grow”. This is because of the unpredictable and confusing nature of the irregular past participle verb forms of English Language.

            Similarly, limited exposure of the students in their usage of the irregular past participle verb forms to some valuable exercises that will equip them with the necessary skills for effective learning and usage of the irregular past participle verb forms so as to be conversant with the different verb forms in the past participle verb forms of English. The students need to be given guided exercises that will allow them memorize different forms of these irregular past participle verb forms.

           Similar to the above is the laziness on the side of the students, sometimes students are very carefree when it comes to their studies most especially when it has to do with something that is a bit cumbersome like the irregular past participle verb forms of English that require a little keen attention so as to master them. As such teachers should provide some motivating exercises that will encourage the students in learning these forms enthusiastically.

           Based on the above, the present study aims to investigate the effect of using consciousness raising to teach irregular past participle verb forms of English Language in secondary schools.

                                        Purpose and Objectives of the Study

          The purpose of the study is to find out the effects of teaching irregular past participle verb forms of English Language using consciousness raising method in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government.

          The specific objectives of the study are:

i .To test the effect of using consciousness raising method in the teaching and learning of irregular past participle verb forms of English.

1. To compare the performance of students taught using consciousness raising and those that are not.

iii. To find out whether or not students who are exposed to this method will perform better in class than those who are not.

                                    Significance of the study

        The study is crucial because it is aimed at finding out the effect of using consciousness raising to teach English irregular past participle verb forms to secondary school students.

         The finding will help classroom teachers to be better informed about irregular past participle verb forms in order to achieve the desire goal in teaching. It could also provide many opportunities for the teacher to explore many types of exercises.

          The knowledge of these difficult areas encountered by the secondary school students will help teachers to redirect their teachings to those areas for effective teaching and learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English Language.

           As it is said practice makes perfect, students will benefit from the result of this study because it will expose them to different types of self-discovery exercises in the learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English.

            This will study will also be of immense benefit to the government and curriculum planners, since it will provide them with a reliable data for improving the teaching and  learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English, generally in secondary schools in Nigeria.

Scope of the study

            The study is limited to investigating the effect of using consciousness raising method in the teaching and learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English in secondary schools in Plateau State.

            Hence, the regular past participle verb forms do not fall within the scope of this investigation.

Research Questions

1. To what extent can consciousness raising method be effective in the teaching and learning of the irregular past participle verb forms of English?
2. What are the differences in the performance of the students taught using consciousness raising and those that are not?

iii. How can the difference in the performance of the students exposed to the method consciousness raising be determined?