Ghanaian English and its implications for academic writing A Case Study of English on the Navrongo Campus of University for Development Studies, Ghana

Abstract

The paper first presents the language situation and the place of English in a multilingual setting as in Ghana. It then looks briefly at Ghanaian English  and finally focuses on the use of English among first year students of Navrongo campus of the University for Development Studies, Ghana. The main methods of data collection were a review of literature, analyses of sentence construction in students’ communication skills and African studies class exercises and examinations, observations and personal interaction in English with students. The main findings of the study indicate that English in Ghana has developed to have its own phonetic, phonological, semantic and discourse features which are shared by the students. Ghanaian students have no problem in comprehension when interacting with each other or with other Ghanaians in English or during lectures but do have  problems in writing standard English.  Recommendations include the teaching of basic grammar, particularly, sentence construction, agreements and homonyms. It is also recommended that the syllabi of English and communication skills in the University should include reading, comprehension and more engagement of students in written exercises.

Keywords: Ghana, English, language, students, communication