Abstract

This study aims at comparing the English Proficiency of level 500 students reading English and French who did the Intensive English Language Course at the University of Buea with those who did not. Data were collected through a questionnaire and a comparative analysis was done. The results show that students who took the Intensive English Language Course perform better in the English Language than those who did not.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Cameroon is divided into ten regions. Eight are French-speaking regions and the two others are English Speaking. English and French are considered official language in Cameroon. Cameroonians inherited those two languages after colonization.

It is also important to note that there is the presence of two distinct educational subsystems where English and French are the languages of instruction. Government, however, wants each citizen to be bilingual. The widespread of English in the world has made many francophones develop an interest in learning the language. That is the reason why many Francophone students going to the Anglophone regions to learn English.

The University of Buea was created on the 19^th of January 1993. It is situated in the South West region. It is an Anglo-Saxon University and lectures are delivered there exclusively in English. For Anglophones to be admitted into the University of Buea, they should have at least a ‘C’ grade in O’Level English. For Francophones who do not have, a six -week Intensive English Language Course is usually organized to prepare them and test their proficiency in English

Statement of the Problem

Considering the fact that many Francophone want to know English, they tend to make every effort to study the language, in order to acquire their second official language. With French as official LI, Francophone students’ target is English.

As a result, some parents have their children take part in the Intensive English Language Course at the University of Buea. This is because English is the language of instruction at all levels of the Anglophone English sub-system of education and also a subject on the curriculum.

Many students at the University of Buea still face difficulties using the English language in spite of the number of years they have spent learning the language. Our concern here is to see whether students who took the Intensive English Language Course are more proficient than those who did not take it.

Definition of keywords

Proficiency

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Proficiency is the quality of state of being proficient; advance in the acquisition of any art, science, or knowledge; improvement; adeptness; as, “to acquire proficiency in music”.

Proficiency could also be referred to as skill, ability, know-how (informal), talent, facility, craft, expertise, competence, accomplishment, mastery, aptitude, dexterity, expertness and skillfulness(Collins Thesaurus, 2002).

Intensive

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Intensive is a stretched; admitting of intension, or increase of degree; that can be intensified.

Intensive could also be defined as involving a lot of work or quality is done in a short time: an intensive language course.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are:

To examine the English proficiency of level 500 Francophone students in terms of grammar, vocabulary, and phonetic.

To find out if those who did the Intensive English Language Course are more proficient than those who did not take it.

To find out the strengths or weaknesses of students in different subject

Hypothesis

If students who took the IELC perform better in English than those who did not, then IELC is important training to do.

If students who did not take the IELC perform better in English than those who did the training, then IELC is not very important.

Research questions

Is there a difference in the proficiency of students who did the Intensive English Course compared to those who did not do that training?

In what aspects are these differences?

What can be the cause of the poor performance of Francophone students?

Which courses disturbed them a lot?

Is it the lack of motivation in the learning process of the English Language?