ANALYSIS OF ERRORS IN WRITTEN ENGLISH OF IGBO-SPEAKING SENIOR SECONDARYTWO STUDENTS IN OWERRI EDUCATIONAL ZONE

Abstract

The persistent poor performance of Nigerian secondary school students in internal and external English
language examinations which hinders achievement of individual academic goals and national development
motivated the researcher to carry out this study. This study concerned itself with the analysis of errors in the
written English of Igbo-speaking SS II students in Owerri Educational Zone. The study was guided by two
objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses. The study employed mixed research design and the
sample comprised of 300 students drawn from six secondary schools in the Orlu/Oguta, Owerri, and Okigwe
zones in the study area. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and t-test. The findings
indicated that the students had problems in almost all the areas tested such as concord, spelling, pluralisation,
punctuation, tense and others. Based on the findings of the study, students should be exposed to the English
language through extensive reading and involvement in co-curricular activities; and teachers should use the
corpus of students’ error as a teaching device.