Linguistic and Environmental Influences on Academic Performance in STEM Courses in Selected Southwestern Nigerian Polytechnics

This research examined the influence of language and environment on the performance of students in STEM courses, with the aim to explain the factors that contributed to or mitigated the upward progress of students in the Engineering and Applied Sciences. Questionnaire and interviews were among the instruments used to elicit information from both students and lecturers in the selected polytechnics to determine the kind of language barrier and environmental influence on the performance of students in STEM courses. The Theoretical Linguistics framework which accounted for grammatical categories was used to account for the grammatical categories that impede good performance in STEM courses and English expressions of polytechnic students. Environmental theories of Bronfenbrenner, supported by that of Vygotsky were adapted as framework for the discussion on environmental factors that are responsible for poor performance in STEM courses. Key findings include the discovery that the grammatical categories of nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives are the categories that are difficult for students. Also, poor environment lowers morale and concentration on language learning. It is recommended that STEM lecturers should concentrate on the identified parts of speech by providing copious illustrations and drills that can facilitate better understanding of the topics.