Institute of Languages and Cultural Studies
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://dspace.njala.edu.sl/handle/20.500.144402/144
Browse
12 results
Search Results
Item Teachers’ Perceptions Towards the Usefulness of Lesson Plan Manuals in the Teaching of Language Arts at the Junior Secondary School level(Australian International Academic Centre PTY. LTD., 2021-11-30) Challay, SaiduThis paper examined the perceptions of teachers regarding the use of Lesson Plan Manuals (LPMs) in the teaching of Language Arts at the Junior Secondary School level within Bo using data from an MA dissertation. Since the introduction of the Lesson Plan Manuals in 2016, a study to assess the impact of their use in schools has not been done. It is based on this that an assessment was carried out to seek the opinion of Language Arts teachers with regards the use of the Lesson Plan Manuals. It was also intended to investigate whether pupils’ performance in Language Arts has improved or not since the introduction of the Lesson Plan Manuals. The study adopted a qualitative study design and non-probabilistic sample design paradigms. A total of forty (40) Language Arts teachers at the Junior Secondary School level were purposefully selected to serve as respondents for this study. Twenty-five(25) respondents completed and returned the five-pointLikert scale that was used for data collection. Respondents were also interviewed in focused group discussions on some key issues that were not captured in the questionnaires. The results indicate that Lesson Plan Manuals in Language Arts are available in most schools. However, not all pupils have access to these manuals, which makes it difficulfor most of the learners to follow the steps and actively participate in the lessons. It was also revealed that with the use of the Lesson Plan Manuals, the performance of pupils has gradually improved, although some teachers need training in the use of these Lesson Plan Manuals.Item Practitioners and Uses of Contemporary Mende Folk literature in South-Eastern Sierra Leone(Richtmann Publishing, 2021-11-05) Fofanah, Ibrahim MustaphaThe study examined the practitioners and uses of contemporary Mende folk literature in South-eastern Sierra Leone. A qualitative research design involving 250 participants from 50 communities with 5 participants from each community was used in the study. Interviews were carried out using interview guide questions relating to folk practices, performance, and uses in the selected communities. Focus group discussions followed the interviews in 10 communities selected using simple random techniques. The findings revealed that Mende folk literature was endangered and, apart from occasional singing, household story-telling and riddling sessions done mainly by children and women, the only groups of people recognized as practitioners of Mende folk literature were the tribal and secret society heads and the community's griots, who mostly were elderly people. Mende folk literature should not only be of academic interest but rather a source of cultural rejuvenation. Received: 26 July 2021 / Accepted: 27 September 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021Item Popular public perception of witchcraft practices, witchcraft wealth, recruitment and herbalism in Bo City Southern Sierra Leone(2022-11-03) Thulla, Philip Foday YambaThe study examined popular public perception and witchcraft practices in Bo City in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. Specifically, public perception regarding the principles of witchcraft practices, witchcraft wealth, recruitment/initiation process and inheritance were examined. Exploratory and anthropological research designs were used. Through a structured questionnaire, data were collected from a sample of 150 participants involving 50 individuals each from the three main ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; Mende, Temne and Limba. The researchers first got close to community members from an emic perspective, then held discussions and interviews in the communities based on age, status, gender, and other factors that reflected the differences within the various communities. The findings revealed that the majority (76%) agreed that witchcraft can be acquired through family lineage, with 60% of such recruitment initiated by stepmothers/fathers 62%, and that 66% of respondents agreed that herbalists primarily draw from witchcraft practices to cure sick people. It was concluded that witchcraft recruitment mainly occurs within families and that herbalists primarily draw from witchcraft practices to cure sick people in Bo City.Item Grammatical Errors in the Expository Essays of Public Health Students of Njala University(Macrothink Institute, 2022-01-06) Challay, SaiduThe purpose of this study was to identify and analyse the grammatical errors in the expository essay of second year students pursuing a programme of study leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health at the Njala University, Bo Campus. 100 students were randomly selected from among 190 students of the same class who wrote the test on a subject matter that falls within their domain. Errors were identified and categorized into ten: verb usage, noun usage, punctuation marks, spellings, wrong words, capitalization, pronoun usage, prepositions, abbreviations/coinages and articles. To ascertain the percentage and mean score of each error category, descriptive statistics was used. Using this criterion, five error areas: verb usage, punctuation marks, spellings, wrong words and capitalisation were identified to be significant because of mean scores exceeding 2.0 in each case. The remaining error categories were not significant but show that the students have problem using them correctly in expressing their ideas in written form. Most of the errors made were as a result of overgeneralisation of grammatical rules, L1 interference and ignorance of many rules of English Grammar, and the inability of second language learners to construct the forms of the target language because of inadequate exposure to the target language. These error problems would only be overcome if the learners are adequately exposed to the grammar of English from primary school to university, and if they also adopt favourable attitude towards the learning of English.Item Folk media: Existence, forms, uses and challenges in Mende indigenous communities of Southern Sierra Leone(2022-09-16) Thulla, Philip Foday YambaThe study examined the folk media: existence, forms, uses and challenges in the Mende indigenous communities of Southern Sierra Leone. A mixed methods research design of 120 participants was developed, selected from 3 communities with 40 participants in each community. The mixed approach used both quantitative and qualitative research designs in the study. The interviews were initially conducted using interview questions related to the existence of folk media, its use and the challenges it faced in the study area. Three focus group discussions were held in 3 communities, randomly selected on the outskirts of the Southern part of Sierra Leone. A quantitative research approach helped analyse simple statistical data collected by the researchers. The findings revealed that folk media exist in the Mende communities studied; and that the use of Mende folk media is fraught with major challenges. The findings also revealed that the use of Mende folk media is rare in indigenous Mende communities which is a major challenge in preserving the practices and their uses in the selected communities. The findings also showed that Mende folk media play an important role in disseminating social, religious, and cultural information, including being used in ceremonies such, as litigation, court hearings, singing and storytelling sessions, naming, weddings and political campaigns, and funerals. The findings also revealed that traditional Mende media are mainly used by the nominees of Paramount Chiefs, the community griots, the heads of the tribal and secret societies and volunteers.Item An Analysis of the Grammatical Errors in the Written English Compositions of JSS 1 Pupils in Five Junior Secondary Schools in Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone(Macrothink Institute, 2023-04-16) Libbie, Josephus K. L.This study focuses on the grammatical errors in the essays written by JSS1 pupils in five junior secondary schools in Bo city. It aims at identifying the errors occurring in the use English grammar by pupils, classifying the errors, determining their frequency levels and their sources. The descriptive survey design was used in this study, where out of a population of 853 pupils, 250 pupils were used a sample for this study. Each of the pupils was asked to write an essay, and the scripts were marked to identify all grammatical errors made by the pupils. From this study, it was discovered that out of 250 scripts, 32% of the pupils were not able to communicate their thoughts meaningfully. Out of the comprehensible scripts the following errors were identified and their frequencies: wrong use of tense 29.54%, errors in spelling 24.67%, errors in the choice of words 13.13%, wrong use of prepositions 7.79%, verb addition errors 5.84%, preposition addition errors 4.87%, pronoun addition, subject-verb agreement errors, wrong use of pronouns, plural and verb omission errors all received 1.62% each. The study further revealed that a good number of errors discovered from students’ writings were intralingual errors.Item ESL Oral Proficiency Inapt in Senior Secondary School Learners(Scientific Research Publishing, 2025) Stevens, John PaŋƆniThis study aims at determining sociolinguistic strategies that effectively correct ESL oral proficiency inapt in senior secondary school learners. The objectives are: ascertaining speaker’s L1 background and L2 proficiency level connection and how sociocultural sensitivity affects L2 learning. A random sampling technique was used to ensure that the sample is representative of the overall population of the respondents which is a systematic random sampling in a mixed research method to select respondents with questionnaires and interviews used to collect data from 100 students. The data were analyzed and presented in percentages and tables as against the study variables. Results showed that over 70% students during speaking exercises made conspicuous errors in pronouncing English words. However, the findings validated how the use of traditional teaching methods (grammar translation and rote learning) contributed to the decline in English Language fluency and proficiency among learners. Conclusively, students in cites relatively performed better than the interiors, denoting students do not employ good English sentences (spellings, pronunciations, subject verb agreements and similar ailments) when speaking or writing is alarming. These methods prioritized the teacher over students and largely relied on textbooks to transfer knowledge. Teachers involving ESL learners in classroom participation, interactions, and public speaking activities are recommended.Item A Sociolinguistic Study of Home Language Influence on English Language Proficiency in Mɛnde and Kàthemnɛ Regions(International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 2025-08-04) Sheriff, Abu BakarrSierra Leone is a multilingual nation with English serving as the official language of instruction and administration. Despite this, indigenous languages like Mɛnde (Southern and Eastern provinces) and Kàthemnɛ (Northern Province) exert notable influence on students’ spoken English. This study investigates the comparative influence of phonological interference from Mɛnde and Kàthemnɛ, two major indigenous languages of Sierra Leone on English pronunciation among senior secondary school pupils. Using a qualitative dominant mixed-methods design, it analyzes how vowel shifts, consonant substitution, syllable structure, and intonation patterns impede English proficiency. Data from 640 pupils and 60 teachers in Bo and Mile 91 were gathered through oral reading tasks, recorded speech samples, questionnaires and structured interviews. Findings reveal distinct interference patterns corresponding to each language, with implications for intelligibility, fluency, and academic performance. It concludes that the interaction between L1 and L2, particularly phonological interference, complicates second language acquisition. This research explores the extent, nature, and educational implications of these interferences. Recommendations include phonologically informed pedagogy and contrastive phonetics integration into the curriculum.Item Speaking Paucity Among Learners of English in Sierra Leone(European Scientific Institute, 2026-08-31) Stevens, John E.The study examined sociocultural and linguistic strategies for cultivating English as a second language (ESL) oral proficiency among learners of English in Sierra Leone. It aimed to determine the relationship between learners’ bi/multilingual backgrounds and their English adeptness. It also examines the influence of societal and cultural temperateness on language learning. A systematic random sampling technique was employed within a mixed-methods design, and data were collected from 1000 learners using questionnaires, discussions and interviews, with results analysed using SPSS and presented. Findings showed that over 85% of the learners made noticeable pronunciation errors during speaking activities. The study also revealed that traditional teaching methods, such as grammar translation and rote learning, contributed significantly to the decline in fluency and overall language proficiency. Furthermore, learners in urban areas performed better than those in rural settings. Many learners demonstrated weaknesses in spelling, pronunciation, and subject-verb agreement in both spoken and written communication. These outcomes were linked to teacher-centred, traditional teaching methods and exam-orientated approaches that relied heavily on textbooks. The study recommended increased learner participation through interactive strategies such as open discussions, debates, peer learning and public speaking. From the perspective of authenticity theory, the findings indicated that oral fluency development depended not only on linguistic knowledge but also on meaningful, real-life language use with a focus on society and culture. Learners who engaged in authentic speaking activities showed greater confidence, improved enunciation and enhanced ESL use. In contrast, fluency remained limited where instruction focused mainly on rote memorisation and examination drills, highlighting a gap between academic achievement and communicative competence.Item Pedagogical Approaches, Implementation Factors, and Outcomes of Peace Education in Higher Education Institutions in Post-conflict Sierra Leone(Science Publishing Group, 2026-08-27) Challay, SaiduThis study examined the pedagogical approaches, implementation factors, and perceived outcomes of peace education in higher education institutions (HEIs) in post-conflict Sierra Leone. Situated within the country's enduring peacebuilding project following the 1991–2002 civil war, the study is guided by three complementary theoretical frameworks: Galtung's Positive Peace Theory, Novelli, Lopes Cardozo, and Smith's 4Rs Framework (Reconciliation, Recognition, Redistribution, and Representation), and Lederach's Sustainable Peacebuilding Model. A mixed-methods descriptive survey design was employed, drawing on structured questionnaire data from 43 academic and administrative staff respondents drawn from five HEIs University of Makeni, Eastern Technical University, Njala University, University of Sierra Leone (Fourah Bay College), and Every Nation College supplemented by qualitative data from 30 Focus Group Discussions with 240 students and 16 Key Informant Interviews with university administrators and national peacebuilding practitioners. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Spearman rank-order correlation, while qualitative data were thematically analysed. The findings reveal that peace education is formally embedded in university curricula and that content substantially reflects local conflict dynamics (mean = 4.41; 90.2% agreement). However, pedagogical delivery remains predominantly lecture-based, with limited integration of participatory, experiential, and competency-based approaches. Assessment systems inadequately capture peace-related competencies (mean = 3.52; 61.9% agreement). Regarding implementation, political and social sensitivity arising from the civil war history constitutes the most significant barrier (mean = 3.59; 68.3%), followed by inadequate infrastructure, resource constraints, and instructional material shortages. Spearman correlations indicate that teaching materials, local curriculum relevance, monitoring frameworks, and institutional political will are closely interconnected. Peace education was perceived to produce meaningful outcomes, including fostering tolerance among diverse students (mean = 4.24; 85.7%), promoting peaceful coexistence (mean = 4.25; 85.0%), and influencing institutional policies toward inclusion (mean = 4.19; 85.7%). Correlational analysis confirms that impact dimensions are mutually reinforcing, with the strongest association between tolerance and policy influence (ρ = 0.874, p < 0.001). Qualitative findings substantiate these patterns while highlighting gaps in community engagement, institutional leadership commitment, and the depth of local contextualization in curricula. The study recommends transitioning peace education pedagogy from lecture-based delivery toward participatory and experiential approaches; strengthening institutional monitoring and evaluation systems; deepening curriculum contextualization around Sierra Leonean conflict history and transitional justice processes; and building structured partnerships between HEIs and national peacebuilding institutions.