ASSESSMENT OF THE CHALLENGES OF LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS, RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study assessed the challenges of learning English Language among secondary school students with hearing impairment in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The study was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses. The population of the study comprised sixty-four (64) students with hearing impairment in special and inclusive schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis. The sample size was 52 students with hearing impairment which was adopted through the use of convenience sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire, titled: “Challenges of Learning English Language Questionnaire’’ (CLELQ)”. The reliability of the instrument was determined through test re-test reliability method which yielded a reliability index of r=0.86. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Independent sample t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that to a high extent, lack of individualized instruction, unavailability of sign language interpreters and unavailability of teaching aids constitutes a challenge to learning English Language among secondary school students with hearing impairment in Port Harcourt Metropolis. That there was no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female students on the extent lack of individualized instruction, unavailability of sign language interpreters and unavailability of teaching aids constitutes a challenge to learning English Language among secondary school students with hearing impairment in Port Harcourt Metropolis. It was recommended among others that; training and retraining programs on Individualized Education Program (IEP) should be spear-headed by the school authority to enhance teachers use of individualized instruction for learning of English language.