Abstract

This study was set to describe “Listening for EFL Learners” (St. Jerome Catholic University of Douala). This was achieved through a quantitative and qualitative data collection with the aid of a questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations and proficiency test.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In Cameroon as well as in most countries, English is learned as a foreign language. The French speaking population which constitutes 80% of the population as well as those who have knowledge of just a mother tongue, struggle for English language acquisition and mastery. On the other hand, the English speaking population which constitutes just 20% of the masses also makes efforts towards French acquisition. However, this leaves us wondering why both parties (Anglophones and Francophone) populations make deliberate attempts towards the mastery of both languages. This explains why the EFL learners from Saint Jerome University, Douala came to the University of Buea for an immersion program.

 

1.1 The Linguistic Background of the study

The general and educational system is dependent on the colonial legacy. Since the country was under the trusteeship of France and Britain, the educational system was divided into two sub-systems namely the French-speaking and English speaking sub systems. Both systems co-exist up-till date. After the French Cameroon independence of 1960 from their Colonial master, and the British Cameroon independence from their colonial master Britain in 1961, both parties emerged which led to the adoption of French and English as their official languages. These languages have become Cameroon’s language of education, business, interaction and many more. After unity, several decisions couched in the form of ordinances, decrees, circulars, service notes have been taken by the state to ensure the spread of bilingualism in the country. One of the most significant attempt was the 1996 constitution which stated in article 1, paragraph 3 of January 18th 1996 that ‘The official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be French and English both languages having the same statuses’. This unity has also brought changes in the educational system of the country.

To foster bilingualism in the primary and secondary education, decision umber 1141/B1/1464/MINEDUC/IGE/BIL of 28th October 2002 instituted a national day of bilingualism in all public and private schools in Cameroon. Also, article 8, section 2 of decree NO.2002/2004 OF January 2002 organizing the Ministry of Education created a general inspectorate for the promotion of bilingualism in the Ministry of Education. The Minister of secondary education in Circular No.28/08/MINSEC/IGE OF December 2008, in a letter stipulated that in order to guarantee effective bilingualism in both General and Technical secondary schools, the Ministry has instituted a special bilingual program which integrates the teaching of intensive French Language in Anglophone schools and intensive English Language in Francophone schools. This intended to produce perfectly bilingual students who master French and English irrespective of their original background.

 

1.2 Academic Background to the Study

Born in 1992, nicknamed “A place to be”, the University of Buea is one of the two English speaking institutions of its kind in the predominantly French speaking central. The university offers degree programs at the Bachelor’s, Master and PhD levels. It has seven Faculties, the faculties of; Arts, Science, Education, social and management sciences, Health sciences, Veterinary medicine and Agriculture, Engineering and Technology. And three schools; Advanced school of translators and interpreters, Higher teacher training college Kumba, College of Technology. These faculties have a variety of departments. The faculty of Arts in the University of Buea runs different degree programs among which is the Bilingual (French and English) degree program. The English department runs immersion programs for a variety of Universities. An example of a university who recently visited the University of Buea for an immersion program is the St. Jerome Catholic University of Douala. It is a private university which went operational on July 04 2014 with the basic idea of training Engineers and managers. Though it runs other programs, the St. Jerome University offers all academic programs in French. English language is a course offered as part of their school curriculum. As a catholic University found in a French region of Cameroon, the St. Jerome institution sees the need for their students to undergo an immersion program. This program enables them not only to have a better mastery of English language but also to “have water from the source”. The immersion program exposes the students to an English speaking community and a host of well trained staff who help them to develop their language skills for better English language mastery. One method of acquiring a good language potential is through listening.

 

1.3 Listening as a language skill

There are four language skills; listening, reading writing and speaking. While listening and reading are known as “receptive” skills, speaking and writing are known as “productive” skills. Good listening skills are important for effective word recognition which can enhance or hinder spelling. According to Louisa Moats (2000) the main reason for the decline in spelling competency is the lack of pre-service. In order to be able to spell a word, (Orthography) it is important to listen attentively to the pronunciation of the word.

Hearing often occurs most of the time, sub-consciously. In contrast, listening is the interpretative action taken by the listener in order to understand and potentially make meaning out of sound waves. There is a distinction often made between intensive listening in which learners attempt to listen with maximum accuracy to a relative brief sequence of speech and extensive listening in which learners listen to lengthy passages for general comprehension. While intensive listening can be more effective in terms of developing specific aspects of listening ability, extensive listening is more effective in building fluency and maintaining learner motivation.

Listening to and reading content in the language under studies is a great way to develop the Learners’ vocabulary and comprehension. Also, developing speaking skills will involve gaining fluency in spoken interactions with others as well as practicing pronunciation. EFL learners should use new language skills as often as they can to speak to classmates, native speakers and to practice pronunciation by reading aloud etc.

As an EFL learner, writing will be improved by becoming a critical reader. When writing in a foreign language, always think and write directly in that language. Do not translate from a first draft using words in the first language is only necessary when it helps to get draft written more quickly. An EFL learner should not expect to write everything correctly during the first draft but write and re-write as much as necessary and also trying to get constructive feedback from others (teacher, classmates) etc.

Active listening is the act of mindfully hearing and attempting to comprehend the meaning of words spoken by another in a conversation or speech. This kind of listening is very advisable for EFL learners. When engaging in this type of listening, difficult words should be taken down and meaning looked-upon with the aid of a dictionary.

Critical and active listening skill is an important step towards the mastery of other language skills. To be able to communicate effectively, an EFL learner must learn to listen attentively. However, sub-sequent topics will throw more light on how much most EFL learners engage in Active listening. To carry out this finding, a group of learners on an immersion program are engaged.

 

1.4 Statement of problem

Most EFL learners have difficulties listening to native and non-native speakers alike. It has been observed that one has to repeat what has been said or simplify it before they can understand. During the Saint Jerome Immersion Program, we noticed that students showed a fair understanding of spoken English. That is, from their responses, it was clear that within one month, they could display significant improvements in their listening skills. It becomes necessary to find out how it was achieved and why the students made so much progress within a month.

 

1.5 Aims of the Study

The aim of this study is to unravel the processes of effective listening in EFL students, using the Saint Jerome Immersion Program as a case study.

 

1.6 Objective of the study

1. To describe Listening in an EFL learning condition and that of a normal environment.
2. To propose ways in which listening can be ameliorated in an EFL learning condition.
3. To describe the listening comprehension skills of the students of Saint Jerome at the end of the immersion program.
4. To analyze the progress made in the overall proficiency scores.
5. To analyze the implication of the findings for English language teaching.