A B S T R A C TLiterature-in-English is a prerequisite for admission into certain programmes in the university in Nigeria. Courses like English and Literary Studies, Linguistics, Law, Theatre and Media Studies require at least a Credit pass in Literature -in -English at the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). Unfortunately, students' performance over the years has been consistently poor, especially in poetry. Therefore, many students' career aspirations have been delayed or truncated. This poor performance is often attributed to teachers' poor attitude to the subject and the consequent poor pedagogy. This study, therefore, examined pre-service teachers' attitude to the teaching of poetry. Participants were sixty-seven (67) pre-service teachers of English in a federal university in South-Eastern Nigeria. Data collection was through a semi-structured questionnaire and an in-depth interview. The result revealed that only four participants (6%) expressed a preference for teaching poetry, while 63 (94%) said they would rather not teach poetry. An in-depth interview revealed that participants' developed the phobia for poetry (metrophobia) from their experiences of learning poetry at the secondary school level and beyond. The study suggests pathways to prevent metrophobia in pre-service teachers and students of Literature-in-English.

Students' performance in English Language has continued to be poor despite increased exposure to the language through both print and electronic media. One of the aspects that have been blamed for this worrisome phenomenon is teaching methods. This study investigated the influence of simulation and dramatization methods of teaching on students' academic performance in English Language in Central Senatorial District of Cross River State, Nigeria. The sample for the study consisted of 320 students in senior secondary school II randomly selected from four schools in the study area. The design of the study was quasi-experimental. The instrument for data collection was an English Language Performance Test (ELPT).The data obtained for the study were analyzed using analysis of variance and analysis of covariance (ANOVA & ANCOVA).The result showed that the use of both simulation and dramatization methods of teaching have significant influence on students' academic performance in English Language and that there is higher mean academic performance among students taught through dramatization than among those taught through simulation method. .Based on the findings, it was strongly recommended, among others, that teachers should endeavour to keep students alert and attentive in class through the use of simulation and dramatization teaching methods. This would enable them to benefit maximally from lessons thereby impacting positively on their academic performance.

The level of job performance, international comparability and competitiveness of Nigerian university graduates are burning issues. Consequently, the academic quality of Nigerian universities has come under severe criticism. Since university lecturers are key players in quality assurance in universities, this study explored their perceptions of variables important to quality assurance in Nigerian universities. Five hundred lecturers from public universities in the South-South geopolitical zone responded to a 25-item survey. Five research questions were framed and descriptive statistics were used in analysing and presenting the data. The result showed that lecturers perceived availability of adequate number of qualified staff, students' attitude to study, early publication of students' examination results, availability of well-equipped laboratories and workshops, and funding of tertiary education as the most important variables in academic quality assurance.

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