When the Blind Lead the Blinds - Analysing the written English Productions of Francophone Primary School Teachers’ in Far-North Cameroon and the Need for Pedagogic Reforms

Abstract

This study assesses the English written productions of francophone primary school teachers in the Far-North Region of Cameroon. The sample population was made up of 61 francophone primary school teachers in 19 schools in the Far-North region of Cameroon. They were administered an essay, and some lessons were scanned from their preparation books. The theoretical framework used for this study is Error Analysis theory. The study addresses some graphological, lexical and grammatical features in the written productions of the respondents. The results show that francophone primary school teachers make many errors in their written productions related to the use of some signs of graphology, lexical items, and grammatical constructions. As far as the origin of these errors is concerned, the interference of their official L1 language (French) was to be pointed at in the first place since they use it to fill their gaps in English grammar, lexicology, and graphology. Besides, the respondents display weaknesses as far as the graphological, lexical, and grammatical rules that govern English written productions are concerned. The results show that francophone primary school teachers are not proficient in English and consequently cannot teach that subject efficiently to pupils in primary schools.