Impact of Using Tiv Language for Teaching and Learning Mathematics on Students’ Achievement in Benue State

The study was aimed at finding out the impact of using Tiv language in teaching and learning mathematics on students’ achievement in the subject. The study covered Education zone B of Benue state. One hundred and fifty-one junior secondary one (JS1) students randomly selected from six secondary schools in the zone were involved in the study. One research instrument, junior school mathematics achievement test (JSMAT) was used for data collection after five weeks of treatment. The reliability coefficient of JSMAT was found to be 0.88 computed using KR20. The experimental group was taught using lesson plans in Tiv language while the control group was taught using lesson plans in English language. The data collected was analyzed using student t-test. Findings from the study showed that the students taught using Tiv language only performed better than those taught using English language only. The findings also showed that the students taught mathematics using Tiv language only in the urban schools performed better than those in the rural areas. From the results of the study it was recommended that the use of Tiv language in teaching mathematics should be encourage by the federal government at the basic education level.

Keywords: Tiv, Teaching, Learning, Mathematics and Achievement.