SOCIO-LINGUISTIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE LEARNING AND TEACHING OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

This study investigated the sociolinguistic factors influencing the teaching and learning of English Language in Nigerian secondary schools. English Language serves as Nigeria’s official language and the medium of instruction in schools, yet students struggle to master it due to sociolinguistic challenges. Factors such as first-language interference, habitual code-switching, cultural ambivalence, and socioeconomic disparities create barriers to proficiency. While urban students benefit from greater exposure to English through media and better schooling, rural learners face limited opportunities to practice beyond the classroom. The inconsistent implementation of the National Policy on Education further widens these gaps, raising concerns about students’ academic performance and future prospects, thereby necessitating an investigation into these influences. The study adopted a descriptive survey design involving 100 participants: 12 English Language teachers and 88 senior secondary students (SS1–SS3) selected through stratified random sampling. A structured questionnaire, validated by experts and tested for reliability using Cronbach’s Alpha, served as the main instrument for data collection. Data were gathered directly from the school and analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and mean scores, as well as inferential tests including chi-square and t-test at the 0.05 significance level to examine relationships between sociolinguistic factors and English proficiency. Results showed that sociolinguistic factors significantly influence English Language learning and teaching. Mother tongue interference produced common phonological, morphological, and syntactic errors across different language groups, while excessive code-switching hindered fluency despite aiding comprehension. Socioeconomic disparities gave urban students an advantage in exposure and performance over rural counterparts, and cultural attitudes shaped students’ motivation, with some embracing English for mobility while others resisted it as a colonial legacy. Furthermore, inconsistent implementation of language policies contributed to uneven proficiency levels across schools. The study concludes that sociolinguistic factors play a critical role in shaping English Language education in Nigerian secondary schools, affecting both student proficiency and teacher effectiveness. It recommends improved teacher training in multilingual classroom strategies, provision of adequate resources especially in rural schools, and moderation in the use of code-switching to balance comprehension with Standard English exposure. It also calls for consistent enforcement of the National Policy on Education and efforts to present English as a tool for empowerment while valuing indigenous languages. Addressing these issues will enhance students’ proficiency, improve learning outcomes, and strengthen Nigeria’s educational system.