Neighbourhood Reading Clubs: Rekindling Reading Interest among Nigerian Children

A common comment on the state of reading in Nigeria today is that we have a poor reading culture. Yet up to the early 70s’ school children had a healthy respect for reading because there was supportive environment for such activities through the school system, township/mobile libraries, British Council and United States Information Service (USIS) libraries, etc. To rekindle this interest would require not only the provision of reading materials but also democratising access, quality in time and space, environment considerations and technical expertise by teachers and enthusiasts. Above all, any intervention must be unobtrusive, yet must captivate the children especially given the ICT revolution which revolves round audio-visuals. One avenue for achieving this is the neighbourhood reading club. In this paper we present a report of a volunteer reading club situated within the University of Calabar for children of the neighbourhood. Insights into reading interests, impact of the club on the children’s emotional, educational and psychological development are explored with very surprising results and outcomes. Keywords: Neighbourhood reading clubs, reading culture, mobile libraries, reading materials democratizing access, volunteer reading club, reading interest, educational and psychological development

Optimizing Students’ Performance in English through Quality Teacher Education

Research has established significant connection between quality teacher education and student achievement. This cannot but be a concept in considering the performance of students in English language, a skill-based school subject. This paper examines the course content for language education for trainee teachers in the University of Calabar. This study appraises and validates the adequacy of the curriculum content to meet the language needs of the trainees with regard to transferring their learning to meeting the curriculum demands of secondary school English language learner. Suggestions towards optimizing quality teacher and professional education with the aim of improving performance in English language are proffered. Keywords: Student’s performance, English language, quality teacher education, curriculum content, trainee teachers