Perceptions and attitudes of Secretaryship and Management Studies students towards teaching and learning of French in the Ho Technical University

James Kofi Agbo; Jonas Kwabla Fiadzawoo; Joy Afua Agama

doi:10.58256/njhs.v4i4.365

Authors

James Kofi Agbo
jagbo@htu.edu.gh
Department of Applied Modern Languages and Communication, Ho Technical University, Ghana
Jonas Kwabla Fiadzawoo Faculty of Education, Department of Development Education Studies, University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, Ghana
Joy Afua Agama Department of Applied Modern Languages and Communication, Ho Technical University, Ghana

Keywords:

attitude, curriculum planners, French, learning, perception, technical university

Abstract

This study examines the perceptions and the attitudes of students towards the teaching and learning of French in the Ho Technical University. Online questionnaire was used to collect data from 94 students who were purposively selected from the Department of Secretaryship & Management Studies. The participants were asked to respond to the online self-structured modified questionnaire comprising 22 statements on the five-point Likert scale. The descriptive survey research design was employed to elicit information from respondents through an online platform. The data was analyzed quantitatively and was presented using frequency counts and percentages. The study revealed that most of the respondents (90%) perceived learning of French language to be difficult or very difficult and the majority 54(57.5% had difficulty in oral expressions. It was also revealed that more than half of the respondents, 24(25.5%) and 37(39.4%) either agreed or strongly agreed that they have strong desires to learn French and believed that the knowledge of the language is key to job avenues. This demonstrates that the students have positive attitudes towards learning French and are eager to improve on its usage. However, they indicated that they lack learning materials and there are a lot of demands on their time due to other courses they cope with. The study recommends to French lecturers to use innovative methods to motivate their students and as well, institutions and curriculum planners are advised to create opportunities for constant practice of the language and provide learning materials to enhance students’ learning.

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