Assessing the Performance of Students in Communication Skills: A Case Study of Two Public Universities in Sierra Leone

Received: 08 October 2021 Accepted: 07 November 2021 Published: 18 November 2021 DOI: 10.32996/ijels.2021.3.11.4 The purpose of this study is to assess the performance of students in Communication Skills in two tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone – the Eastern Technical University and the Njala University. The introduction of Communication Skills into the curriculum of teacher training institutions is viewed as a reaction to the poor performance of students in the written and spoken use of the English Language. However, the introduction of Communication Skills at tertiary institutions is yet to remedy the situation. To guide the study properly, some objectives were developed. These include; an investigation of the extent to which English is used by lecturers and students in the institutions, an examination of students' attitude towards the learning of Communication Skills, an investigation to time allocation to the teaching of the subject, and an examination of the pedagogical capabilities of the Language studies departments of both institutions with regards their personnel, teaching methodologies, and the teaching/learning resources. The result of the study revealed the following: that students speak English seldom in class and within the campus and also very seldom in their homes; that Krio and other Sierra Leonean languages are widely spoken in these institutions as does the English Language; that the credit hours allocated to the teaching of the subject is insufficient; that students find some aspects of Communication Skills Challenging; and that although both institutions have general libraries, these libraries are not very well stocked with English textbooks. KEYWORDS


Introduction 1
English is the official language used in all forms of formal communication and business communication in Sierra Leone. This official use of English as a medium of communication cannot be unconnected from the fact that Sierra Leone was colonized by the British, who used English as their first and official language. English is therefore taught as a compulsory subject at all levels in the primary and secondary schools in Sierra Leone.
The official aim of such curriculum design is to capacitate every school-going pupil with some literacy skills in the English Language. The intention of acquiring such skills is to enable the students to communicate effectively in all forms of formal situations at national and international levels.
In this regard, Language Arts and English Language are taught as core subjects at the junior and senior secondary schools respectively. It is emphasized at the end of these levels that, a pass in Language Arts at the Basic Certificate Examination (BECE), is an ultimate requirement for entrance in the senior secondary school and some technical and vocational institutions.
Certainly, these entrance requirements at the end of these various levels of schooling are a pointer to the fact that every Sierra Leonean school-going child is expected to exhibit some amount of proficiency in English before proceeding to any other stratum of the academic ladder.
Furthermore, Communication Skills has been introduced into the curriculum of tertiary institutions in order to establish some continuity in the studies of English. The introduction of this course as a component of the English Language in the universities, polytechnics, and teacher training colleges is intended to strengthen students' communicative skills; especially for those who might not opt to study English as a specialist course. It is also viewed as a reaction to revitalize students' poor performance in English at tertiary institutions. Therefore, Communication Skills is considered as a compulsory course at certain levels in these tertiary institutions irrespective of the student's area of specialization.
The overall aim of teaching Communication Skills at tertiary institutions is to enable students to acquire adequate competence and subsequently perform better in English. This performance does not just limit itself to examination purposes, rather for effective communication in the fields of politics, academia, socio-economic, and research purposes.
The pedagogical approach, therefore, incorporates the teaching and learning of the four language skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and writing as driving forces in the realization of the aims and objectives of teaching Communication Skills at tertiary institutions.
In spite of these varying approaches used in the teaching and learning of the subject, its intended purposes are far from being realized in these institutions. As a result, there are growing concerns over the poor performance of students in Communication Skills over the years. This has been attributed to several factors amidst varying points of view.
This study is therefore intended to investigate the factors that are responsible for the poor performance of students in Communication Skills at tertiary institutions. A case study has been made with selected students of the Higher Teachers Certificate (Primary) and selected lecturers of Communication Skills in two tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone.

Statement of Problem
The drastic fall in students' performance in Communication Skills is not only evident in their unsatisfactory reading, speaking, and writing abilities, but it is also evident in their horrible performance in both internal and external examinations.

Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to assess the performance of students in Communication Skills at tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone.
The objectives include the following:

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Investigate the factors that contribute to students' poor performance in Communication Skills  Examine the attitude of students towards the teaching and learning of Communication Skills  Investigate the pedagogical capabilities of the Language Studies Department of the targeted institutions  Proffer relevant recommendations based on the findings of the study.

Significance of the Study
This study will unravel the factors responsible for the poor performance of students in Communication Skills at tertiary institutions and suggest strategies to remedy the situation.

Review of Literature
Although there is relatively little literature available on students' performance in communication, the researchers however made a careful selection of materials including reports on researches, textbooks, journals, and encyclopedias. They include the following: Chomsky (1965) produces a much more formal explanation of language learning in his famous theory of 'Competence and Performance'.
He thus made a fundamental distinction between competence (the speaker -hearer's knowledge of his or her language) and performance (the actual use of language in concrete situations).
Chomsky's initial concern was with the native language of the speaker but has come to have considerable significance in second language learning. In this respect, competence can therefore be described as the linguistic knowledge of fluent speakers of a language. Since competence is an abstract concept, it can only be meaningfully evaluated through the observation of the speaker's or writer's performance of his or her competence.
Performance in Chomsky's view is of immense significance in the language learning process; in that, it helps the teacher to determine:  The knowledge level of the learner.  The aspect(s) in a language that the learner finds difficult to grasp.  The remedial pedagogical steps to be taken by the teacher to help the learner improve on his or her performance. Bachman (1990) in his studies of second language testing states that one way in which a student teacher can begin to acquire action (system knowledge) is through guided, systematic and focused observation of experienced second language teachers. Such a process according to him, will aid the student-teacher in conceptualizing what goes on in the second language classroom. He further stresses that having a formal program of observation can assist the student-teacher in the following:  Developing a terminology for understanding and discussing the teaching process.  Developing an awareness of the principles and decision making that underlie effective teaching  Distinguishing between effective and ineffective classroom practices.  Identifying techniques and practices student teachers can apply to their own teaching of language. Crystal (1987) asserts that the most obvious way of reducing some of the powers of the language barrier is to promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages in a variety of child and adult educational settings. According to him, this widely practiced approach is undoubtedly proving to be successful as can be judged by the millions who succeed in mastering a foreign language. Crystal also explained that there is also a great deal of educational failure and lack of achievement in the language-learning field. Although many have tried to learn a foreign language, (like English), they have made little progress in it.
"It is therefore important to study the factors that govern success or failure in this field" (Crystal 1987:368) Crystal further highlights some of the factors that govern success or failure in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign or second language. This he said includes.

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The soundness of the teaching method  The attitude and motivation of the learner  The availability of the time and opportunities to learn.  The adequacy of resources  The chance to put the language to active use Crystal further explains the concept of the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language. According to him, the concept of 'Foreign Language Teaching' (FLT) and 'Foreign Language Learning' (FLL) reflects an important development in the modern study of the subject. In his view, foreign language teaching was thought at one time, to be exclusively a matter of teaching techniques; it was felt that, if teaching was above a certain level of efficiency, learning would atomically follow. Teaching, according to him, was the active skill; while learning the passive one. Crystal added that the role of learners today is an established principle.
He emphasizes the existence of glaring individual differences among learners especially in personality and motivation which in his view directly influence the teaching outcome. He concluded that people are seen to be largely responsible for their own progress. As he puts it: "Research is therefore now directed not only at the way teachers teach but also at the way learners learn " (Crystal 1987:368) Bright (1995), in his studies of second language learning, reports that English as a second language cannot take place without exposure to a certain teaching situation. According to him, it may be salutary to consider the kinds of English to which pupils are normally exposed and what therefore they have the opportunity to learn. He further maintains that exposure need not, of course, be limited to classroom situations, and what happens outside may be important. But in most cases, it is what is done in the classroom that will have the greatest effect.
Bright further states that, in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign or second language, we cannot of course get out of the classroom situation or use language in ways unnatural to the teaching situation, but we must provide adequate exposure to other models in other situations. Some of these situations can be provided in the classroom but most of the exposure to language at a higher level must take place through the reading of texts nearly all new learning will take place while the student is reading. The field in which he or she reads will determine the language he or she learns. Textbooks are the single most used instructional tool in the classroom.
The textbook has had the longest and most obvious influence on curriculum, to the extent of, on effect, standardizing teaching and instructional practices (Ornstein 1992:167).
Textbooks according to Ornstein provide a common resource for all students. Most English textbooks he adds include pictures and illustrations that facilitate learning and that, the reading levels and knowledge base of most textbooks match the developmental level of the student.
The implication here is that a greater percentage of students are not exposed to reading materials.
Critics of textbook usage, on the other hand, claim that the quality of the textbooks is not as good as it could or should be.
"Textbooks summarize large quantities of information and often make it too general and superficial this discouraging conceptual thinking, critical analysis, and evaluation" (Woodward and Elliott 1990:183). Tucker (2006) in her studies on the impact of Krio on the learning of English as a second language reveals that the teaching and learning of English are greatly affected by the Krio background of the students. According to her, Krio affects students' use of English in both the spoken and written forms resulting in incorrect and substandard forms of language use.
In her view, students' performance in English is been hindered by four forms of errors as a result of the interference of Krio into written and spoken English. These errors include:  Spelling errors  Vocabulary errors  Grammatical errors (structure, tense, syntax, and sentence pattern)  Speech errors.
Most lecturers assessing students' performance in communication skills have noted in support of Tucker's research that these errors are common occurrences in students' written and spoken English. Most English words are wrongly written and spoken due to the lack of recognition or realization of the differences between Krio and English. The idea is that most students use English words but with substandard pronunciation. Therefore, when they write and pronounce such words they tend to base their spellings and utterances on the Krio pronunciation. The most commonly used speech error is the use of short vowels in place long vowels; which to a large extent affects the correct pronunciation of most English words.
Ozarska (2008) in a research on the academic writing instruction at English Teacher Training Colleges reports that continuous writing (essay, letter, report, minutes, and memorandum writings) forms the crust in determining the extent to which students perform in English at tertiary institutions.
According to her, learning to write in an academic context in English is a tremendous challenge for students because to master the writing style requires an understanding of an academic text's logic, structure, and formal vocabulary. As she puts it: "At the advanced level, it takes a large investment of class time to reach the point where teacher trainees are able to use rhetoric and mechanics to write quality academic texts, including argumentative, persuasive, expository, and technical essays" (Ozarska, 2008:30).

3.1Population
The population of the study included students of the Higher Teachers Certificate (Primary) of the two institutions: Eastern Technical University and Njala University.

Sample and Sampling Technique
One hundred and forty students were selected from both institutions; each institution was represented by seventy students. Ten lecturers were also selected for the study. Five lecturers were selected from each of the target institutions.

Instruments for Data Collection
Two sets of structured questionnaires were designed for the research. One set of questionnaires was prepared for the students and another set for the lecturers of Communication Skills.

Method of Data Collection
The researchers used well-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, informal interviews, personal experience, and institution records to collect the required data.

Method of Data Analysis
In the presentation and analysis of data for the study, tables were used to illustrate the findings. Also, the four-points rating scale was used to analyze the data collected for the study.          Table 7 reveals that English is not spoken in the homes of a greater number of students. According to the table, 02 (3%) students and 03 (4%) students at the Eastern Technical University and Njala University respectively agree that English is spoken in their home.

Result and Discussions
The table further reveals that 10 (14%) students at the Eastern Technical University and 20(29%) Njala University, Bo Campus disagreed that English is spoken in their homes. Furthermore, at the Eastern Technical University 58(83%) students and at Njala University 43 (67%) students strongly disagreed that English is spoken in their homes. The responses to table 8 indicate the statement that lecturers teach throughout using English. The table shows that at the Eastern Technical University 18 (26%) students and 12 (17%) students at the Njala University strongly agreed that lecturers teach throughout using English. Also, 40 (57%) students and 46(66%) students at the Eastern Technical University and Njala University respectively agreed. However, 10 (14%) students at the Eastern Technical University and 10 (14%) at the Njala University disagreed. While 02(3%) students at the Eastern Technical University and 02 (3%) students at the Njala University strongly disagreed.
The result shows that lecturers teach throughout using English although a small percentage reported that lecturers do not teach throughout using English. Such a situation according to the findings has to do with the use of code-switching especially where illustrations or examples are required.   According to table 11, a reasonable number of students responded that their libraries are not really stocked with English textbooks.
The table, therefore, shows that at the Eastern Technical University 08(11%) students reported that their library was very well stocked with English textbooks and at the Njala University 05(7%) reported that their library was very well stocked with English textbooks.
Also, 20 (29%) students and 10 (14%) students at the Eastern Technical University and at the Njala University respectively responded that their libraries were very stocked with English textbooks.
Finally, according to   30  43  30  43  2 Periods  40  57  40  57  3 Periods  ----4 Periods  ----Total  70  100  70  100   Table 12 shows the number of Communication Skills periods per week for the Higher Teachers (Primary) classes in both institutions. According to the table, 30 (43%) students from Eastern Technical University and Njala University responded that they have one period of Communication Skills per week. Also, 40 (57%) students at the Eastern Technical University and another 40 (57%) students at the Njala University reported that they have two periods of Communication Skills per week on their teaching timetable. The result shows that the Eastern Technical University and Njala University have equal numbers of respondents who reported that they have one period of Communication Skills per week on their teaching timetable. The result further revealed that these categories of respondents are year two students.
The table further explains that Eastern Technical University and Njala University have the same number of respondents who reported that they have two periods of Communication Skills per week on their teaching timetable. The result reveals that this number is composed of year one and year three students. There were 30 years three and 10 years respondents.      University respectively strongly disagreed that students perform well in Communication Skills. The performance of the students according to the lecturers is very unsatisfactory. This could be as a result of the lack of interest in the subject and failure to attend lectures regularly  Also, 03 (60%) respondents at the Eastern Technical University and 03 (60%) respondents at Njala University agreed. However, 02 (40%) respondents and 01 (20%) respondents at the Eastern Technical University and the Njala University respectively disagreed. The result shows that a greater percentage of staff respondents have agreed that students have negative attitudes towards the learning of Communication Skills.

Conclusion and Recommendations
The following conclusions were obtained after the presentation and analyses of the data for the study:  That the Higher Teachers Certificate (Primary) students hardly speak English on campus. This has a negative effect on the performance of students in public examinations as well as internal assessments.  The libraries of both institutions are not very well stocked with English Language textbooks that might facilitate the teaching and learning of Communication Skills.  Students are not regular in Communication Skills lessons which confirm their negative attitudes towards the learning of Communication Skills. As a result of this students are not fluent in the use of English as they do not much time learning the language.  That Krio is spoken most often by students in classrooms, around campus, and in their homes. Since students do not speak English frequently, they are not fluent in the language.  Students find three aspects of Communication Skills to be very difficult. The results of the study revealed that they find grammar and usage, reading and comprehension, and continue writing the most difficult areas.  The credit hours allocated for the teaching and learning of Communication Skills in both institutions are insufficient.
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are presented: The institutions should better enforce compulsory English language speaking policies on both campuses. Therefore, Oral English practice should be emphasized in order to enforce speaking skills.
The excessive use of Krio alongside English should be discouraged and the premium placed on the use of the English language in order to maximize quality performance. Otherwise, the attained standard will diminish. As Phillipson (1992) puts it, 'if other languages are used much, the standard of English will drop'.
Since textbooks are the most often used learning materials in these institutions, the libraries should be better stocked with relevant English Language textbooks that might facilitate the teaching and learning of Communication Skills.
The number of teaching periods for Communication Skills should be increased in order to ensure adequate and timely coverage of the syllabus. Therefore, the teaching periods should be increased from 1 to 2 per week to at least 4,5, or 6 periods per week in order to ensure complete coverage.
Lectures of Communication Skills should apply teaching approaches/methodologies that will help facilitate the effective and efficient teaching and learning of Communication Skills at all levels in the college thereby ensuring that students grasp concepts very easily.
The English Departments of both institutions should establish departmental libraries and have them well stocked with relevant textbooks on Communication Skills.