THE INFLUENCE OF MOTHER TONGUE ON STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (A STUDY OF SELECTED PUBLIC DAY SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN HAYIN RIGASA DISTRICT, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA)

This study sought to find out the influence of the use of mother tongue on students' performance in English. Relevant literature from across the globe, regionally and locally was reviewed to provide various perspectives regarding the use of mother tongue in schools and its influence on performance in English. The literature reviewed highlights how first language affects second language. It discusses both content in favour of use of mother tongue and content against the use of mother tongue, among other issues. In this study, the target populations were students and English teachers from public secondary schools in Hayin Rigasa. Five schools were sampled using simple random sampling while 191 students were sampled using stratified sampling and systematic random sampling respectively. Eight teachers were sampled using purposive sampling technique. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the students and the teachers, while an interview guide was used to collect data from the teachers. Quantitative data was summarized using descriptive statistics and presented using tables and bar graphs, while qualitative data was put under themes and presented in narratives. At the end of the study, it was discovered that use of mother tongue had a negative influence in students’ performance in English in public and private secondary schools, It also emerged from the study that the use of mother tongue influences the way students write and pronounce English, hence negatively influencing the performance of English. Among other recommendations, the study recommend that teachers should come up with teaching methods that are interactive in the English curriculum so as to ensure that students are given opportunities to interact with each other in English. Finally, the study suggests that this research should be replicated in other districts where students do not perform well in English, to corroborate findings on how mother tongue influences performance of English.