THE EFECT OF MOTHER’S TONGUE INTERFERENCE IN THE STUDY OF PHYSICS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTION: A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ABEOKUTA

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine mother’s tongue interference in the study of physics in Federal College of Education, Abeokuta. Specifically, the study aims to examine whether there will be improvement in students’ attitude towards Physics when mother tongue is used as supplementary medium of instruction, find out whether mother tongue hinder effective communication among students in class, investigate whether the academic achievement of students will improve when mother tongue is used as a supplementary medium of instruction in Physics, assess whether mother tongue hinder students from mastering the codes and grammar in physics. The study employed the survey descriptive research design. A total of 100 responses were validated from the survey through questionnaire. From the responses obtained and analyzed, the findings revealed that mother tongue does not hinder effective communication among students in class. Also, the academic achievement of students will improve when mother tongue is used as a supplementary medium of instruction in Physics. The study thereby recommends that mother tongue should be introduced as a supplementary medium of instruction in Physics. Also, publishers and author of Physics textbooks should venture into writing contents in the mother tongue. Furthermore, seminars and workshops should be organized by the local and state governments to induct the teachers on the positive effect of using mother tongue as a supplementary medium of instruction in Physics.