A Cross-Sectional Survey on the Availability and Use of Instructional Aids in the Teaching of Ghanaian Language in Senior High Schools

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue X, October 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

A Cross-Sectional Survey on the Availability and Use of Instructional Aids in the Teaching of Ghanaian Language in Senior High Schools

Ernest Adom¹, Kafui Love Mensah², Getrude Kuttin³, Agbodza Derrick⁴, Ernest Nyamekye^5
1,2,3,4,5 Department of Arts Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract: This cross-sectional study assessed the availability and use of instructional aids in the teaching and learning of Ghanaian languages in Senior High Schools in the Mfantsiman Municipality of Central Region, Ghana. Through a proportionate stratified sampling method, 210 respondents were selected from four public Senior High Schools located in the Mfantsiman Municipality of the Central Region. The respondents included 201 students and 9 instructors. The primary data collection tool used for data gathering was a self-developed questionnaire. Following a descriptive analysis of the quantitative data, it was discovered that visual aids are the most readily available and frequently used instructional aids for the teaching of Ghanaian languages in the selected Senior High Schools within the Mfantsipim Municipality. It was also revealed that instructors of Ghanaian languages seldom utilized audio and audio-visual aids to support their classroom instruction and the reason for this mishap was the insufficiency of such forms of instructional aids. In light of these findings, the study recommended that Ghanaian language instructors, with the assistance of the Ghana Education Service, be equipped with the necessary instructional tools in order to make the teaching and learning of Ghanaian languages an enjoyable experience for students.

Keywords: Ghanaian languages, Instructional aids, Language Teaching, Audio Aids, Visual Aids, Audio-Visual Aids

I. INTRODUCTION

Instructional aids contribute immensely to the efficacy of language instruction. Their primary goal is to make teaching and learning more effective, engaging, and successful. Instructional aids could therefore be considered instructional stimulants because scholars from different academic fields agree that these aids inspire students by making the lesson more engaging (Bradshaw, 2013; Mamman, 2015; Milosevic, 2017). According to Ibrahim (2015), instructional aids assist language teachers in easily achieving their instructional objectives because, with the use of appropriate aids, students are exposed to real-life experiences in the classroom setting; thus, teachers explain new concepts clearly, resulting in a better understanding of the concepts being taught (Tuimur & Chemwei, 2015). In other words, the utilization of suitable instructional aids in every teaching and learning situation aids in the removal of abstractness from teaching (Milosevic, 2017), making teaching a more relevant experience for students (Schomburg, 2003; Ode, 2014; Shabiralyani, et al., 2015).

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