An Exploration into Challenges of Teaching English Phrasal Verbs in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

This paper explored into the challenges of teaching English phrasal verbs in colleges of education in north eastern Nigeria. The paper examined definitions of phrasal verbs, types of phrasal verbs and importance of phrasal verbs. The research design used in the study is survey research design. Stratified random sampling was used to sample fifty lecturers and five hundred students from the study population, and Likert’s five element rating scale questionnaire was used to collect data from the sampled population. The data collected was analyzed by using the statistical tools of pie chart, mean and standard deviation. Based on the data analyzed, it was found thatlecturers of English under this study understand phrasal verb but they don’t teach it because there is no provision for teaching it in the NCCE minimum standard. The study also found that the students do not understand phrasal verbs because they are not taught the concept and they do not learn it personally. It was also discovered that both the lecturers and the students want phrasal verbs to be taught in colleges of education. The study concluded that phrasal verbs are not taught in colleges of education and the students of colleges of education do not understand the concept well. Finally, the study recommended that provision for teaching phrasal verbs in our colleges of education should be made in the NCCE minimum standard, and that lecturers in our colleges of education should be encouraging their students to be learning phrasal verbs personally.