Comparison between students’ academic performance and their abilities in written English language skills: A Tanzanian perspective

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2012

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

This article is based on the study which sought to compare between the students’ academic performance and their abilities in written English Language Skills. The study was conducted at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. The respondents were 358 finalists from six degree programmes selected randomly out of the 20 degree programmes at the university. The findings indicated that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between the students’ abilities in the English Writing Skills Test (EWST) and their University GPAs (r=314, p< 0.01). However, the content analysis of the EWST essays showed that the students had serious problems in spelling, using appropriate forms of adjectives, punctuation marks, simple present tense, recognizing passive voice and using relative pronouns and prepositions.

Description

International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 2012; 1 (2): 305-325

Keywords

Academic performance, Language skills, English language, Tanzanian perspective

Citation