A STUDY ON THE EFFICIENCY OF NATIVE LANGUAGE IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

This study was conducted on language as a medium of teaching science and technology. A case study research design was used in collecting data for the study. The population of the study was selected public primary schools from Yobe State. There are an estimated 1,013 primary school pupils in the selected primary schools. 36 schools were selected at random for the study from the Local Governments. A total of 10 pupils were selected at random from each school under investigation. Questionnaires, oral interviews, and informal interactions were employed to elicit information. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which holds that our thoughts are shaped by our native languages; and that speakers of different languages are thinking differently was used as the theoretical framework of analysis. The study discovered among other things that the science and technology learning has various challenges as pointed out by the participants and need to be learned in simple ways. The work concludes that the people's language is not only part of their socio-cultural heritage; it is the natural medium of thought, expression, and communication within that culture.