An Observational Study of Declining Proficiency in Standard English among Students in Selected Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

There is increasing evidence that students, despite obtaining high grades in English language examinations, demonstrate poor communicative competence in real life contexts. This study investigates the declining proficiency in Standard English among undergraduates in selected tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It aims at examining the extent of this decline and identifying the underlying factors responsible for it. The research adopts a qualitative observational approach anchored on Hymes’ theory of communicative competence. Data were collected through both participant and non-participant observation, direct question-and-answer sessions and naturalistic monitoring of students’ language use across academic and informal settings. The study population comprised students from Imo State Polytechnic, Claretian University of Nigeria, and the University of Port Harcourt. A simple random sampling technique was used to select samples from ND1 to HND2 and 100 to 400 level students. Findings reveal that poor linguistic foundation, environmental influences, peer pressure, and the pervasive use of internet language significantly contribute to the decline in Standard English proficiency. The study also identifies widespread lexical and grammatical deviations, as well as inappropriate contextual usage. The paper concludes that urgent pedagogical and policy interventions are required to improve students’ communicative competence and recommends curriculum restructuring, improved teaching methods, and increased instructional time for English language courses.