University Admission Requirements for the Study of ESL as Correlates to Students’ Oral Proficiency in the English Language

Abstract

Every university in Nigeria has an entry requirement for admission into every programme of study. These requirements are the prerequisites for admission and in most cases are not subject for negotiation. However, English is one subject that is required for admission into virtually all the courses offered in the universities. Therefore, every prospective student for admission into any tertiary institution is expected to obtain a credit pass in it. Based on this, most students strive to obtain excellent results for entry without commensurate functional knowledge in the use of the language. This study sought to establish the relationship between the entry requirements for ESL and students’ proficiency in oral English. A sample of one hundred and thirty English students was drawn from 200 levels of ESL students of 2013 and 2014 sets. Oral examination in the English language was organized and their performances were correlated with their excellent results in WAEC and SSCE examinations. One research question and three hypotheses guided the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Heterogeneous classes of male and female students were used and data obtained were analyzed with Pearson Moment Correlation coefficient. From the results of finding, it was observed that there is no correlation between the students’ credit passes in WAEC and SSCE results and their oral performance in English language. Most of the prospective students of English as a second language, who had excellent grades in English could hardly speak correct English. Based on the findings, recommendations were made.