Abstract

The study was to find out the influence of both students’ achievement in the West African Examination Council’s Senior School Certificate English Language examination and the faculty of study by the students in the university on their performances in Use of English and in specific courses of study. 964 undergraduate students of Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria, were sampled for the study. The students’ results in the Senior School Certificate English Language examination, scores obtained by them in the Use of English course at the university and their cumulative grade point averages in their specific courses of study at the university were the data collected and used for the study. Four hypotheses were postulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance, using mean, standard deviation and analysis of variance as statistical tools. It was found out that achievement in the Senior School Certificate English Language examination and Use of English course at the university contribute significantly to the variance in students’ academic performance in specific courses of study; significant differences exist in the academic achievement of students in various faculties in the Senior School Certificate English Language examination; faculty of study does not significantly influence students’ academic achievement in Use of English, and faculty of study does not significantly influence academic performances in specific courses of study. The study thus canvassed that admission of students into different faculties in the university should not be determined by their level of achievement in the Senior School Certificate English Language examination.

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