Apuega Tendai
Numerous factors have always been adduced for students’ poor performance in the sciences at all levels of education in Nigeria. Frequently mentioned among these factors are those like lack of qualified teachers, non-availability of ecologically valid textbooks, lack of laboratory equipment, linguistic problems, etc. Though the linguistic factor, of recent, has been given some attention, terminology, which is a major feature of the language of science, has hardly been given the deserved attention The main thrust of this study is that terminology has a great deal of influence on the way students understand and perform in the various science subjects. This, study was carried out to validate this claim. To do this, some explanatory/introductory Biology lessons in a Secondary School in Keffi, Nasarawa State in North Central Nigeria were observed. It was found that, among other linguistic challenges, a good number of students were at a loss when they came in contact with some terms: they were not able to engage with the abstract nature of these terms, neither did they possess the formal reasoning required to support understanding. Findings of this research can be replicated within the teaching context in order to support students in developing better ways of understanding specialized fields.
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