Investigating the Low Performance of Students’ English in the Basic Education Certificate Examination in the Sunyani Municipality

Abstract

The low performance of students in government schools in the area of English Language during the Basic Education Certificate Examination has been a source of worry to all educational stakeholders. The study therefore was aimed at investigating the low performance of students’ English in the Basic Education Certificate Examination in the Sunyani municipality. The study examined the factors that impede the acquisition of English as a second language leading to dismal performance in the B.E.C.E. Subjects for the study included circuit supervisors, head teachers, teachers of English, parents and students. Findings revealed that insufficient teaching and learning materials, large class size, misuse of instructional time, incompletion of the English syllabus, teachers’ limited proficiency in English, students’ negative attitude to the study of English and lack of supervision among others have contributed to the low performance of students in the B.E.C.E. in the Sunyani municipality. Consequently, it has been suggested that schools and communities should establish reading clubs where students who read extensively are rewarded. Government should improve basic school libraries and provide schools with the needed teaching and learning resources to facilitate the teaching and learning process. Special attention should also be given to the teaching of phonetics and phonology in the colleges of education. This is because the exposition of students to the sound systems of the English language sharpens their pronunciation, spelling and reading skills. Students in the various colleges of education should be given the opportunity to either major or minor in the English language as it is done in the universities. This would give them an in-depth knowledge in the teaching of the English language.