TEACHERS’ UTILIZATION OF OUTDOOR EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE VOCABULARY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU EDUCATION ZONE, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the extent of teachers’ utilization of outdoor educational activities in the teaching of English language vocabulary in primary schools in Enugu Education Zone, Enugu State. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of this study consisted of two thousand ninety two (2092) teachers from two hundred public primary schools in the zone.  The sample size of this study consisted of six hundred (600) teachers from 107 schools in the rural area and 103 schools in the urban area drawn using non-proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire drafted from primary 4-6 English language curriculum. The data collected were analyzed with mean and standard deviation while the null hypotheses developed for the study were tested using t-test of independent sample at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that teachers’ utilization of outdoor educational activities in teaching of English language vocabulary enhances the vocabulary development of pupils in learning in primary schools but teachers used them to a low extent. Qualification of teachers did not influence the utilization of outdoor educational activities in teaching of English language vocabulary in primary schools; Female teachers utilized outdoor educational activities in teaching of English language vocabulary more than male teachers in primary schools. The study also revealed that teachers’ experience did not affect the utilization of outdoor educational activities in teaching of English language vocabulary in primary schools, and that location of schools influences the utilization of outdoor educational activities in teaching of English language vocabulary in primary schools as urban teachers tend to use the activities more than the rural teachers. The null hypotheses tested revealed that qualification and experiences of teachers did not significantly influence the utilization of outdoor educational activities in the teaching of English language vocabulary in primary schools. However, gender and location of schools were proved to have significant influence on the utilization of outdoor educational activities in teaching of English language vocabulary in primary schools. Based on these findings, the study recommended among other things that primary school teachers should endeavour to use diverse activities that appeal to all the pupils’ senses in teaching English language vocabulary.