ABSTRACT

This project is an attempt to explore the recurring grave concerning the academic performance of students. Though a large percentage of students in Nigeria learn English as a second language and are instructed in it, the Nigerian pidgin seems to interfere with their acquisition of the language and their performance in it much more than their mother tongues. The impact of pidgin contributes in no small measure to the dismal performance of students in their academic career

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is a multilingual country with four hundred indigenous languages, out of which three are regarded as major ones, namely: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, representing the three major geo-political zones – North, East and South respectively. Despite this fact, Nigerian Pidgin is used in diverse degrees in different parts of the country and it has become a lingua franca for many, while it is a Creole in some Southern and Eastern States like Rivers, Lagos, Delta, Edo, and Cross Rivers. Marchese and Schnkal (1980) confirm this after a major evolution in the Delta area of Nigeria, they say; “… in a particular part of Nigeria, the areas around Warri and Sapele, Nigerian pidgin is more of a Creole. Creole is a mixture of an European language with a local language and is spoken as a first language.