IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES (IJELCS )

E-ISSN 2545-5702
P-ISSN 2695-2157
VOL. 10 NO. 1 2025
DOI: 10.56201/ijelcs.vol.10.no1.2025.pg84.91

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Challenges in the Teaching of use of English Language in Nigerian Institutions: The Polytechnic Experience

Jirgba, Godwin Aondohemba and Abon, I.

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Abstract

The teacher of English Language is faced with a lot of challenges in the process of doing his or her job. The study looked at the place of English Language in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions, the place of English Language in the 21st Century. The study is narrowed to challenges in the Polytechnic Education where the challenges faced by both the teacher and learner are looked at. Useful recommendations are made and the researcher concludes that the teacher as a major factor in the process should make extra efforts in overcoming the challenges. Introduction Communicative skill and technical competence of the polytechnic products are critical to their success in both aptitude test and oral interview in recruitment process. Communicative competence is one's capacity to use language effectively and appropriately. According to Jen and Adakonye (76:2016) Communicative competence linguistically refers to user's grammatical knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and semantics as well as social knowledge about how and when to use utterances appropriately in the language. This is also the speaker's knowledge both of grammatical rules for appropriate use in social contexts. With the English language as a major medium for communication across borders globally, the lack of its skills may be a barrier in personal and professional development of polytechnic products. It has been observed that polytechnic products face many problems at times of recruitment as a result of their deficiency in written and oral communication skills to express the knowledge gained. Despite graduating with Distinction and upper credit in their respective fields of study the same student encounter problems during job selection procedures as a result of lack of communication skills and technical communication skills and technical competence. The fact remains that the polytechnic student of twenty first century requires far more than subject knowle

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