By John Moses
A leading Nigerian linguist has raised the alarm over the deteriorating standard of English grammar among educators, revealing that teachers commit grammatical errors—particularly involving verbs—every 16 minutes in classrooms across the country.
Professor Roseline Adejare, an expert in English Grammar and Applied Linguistics at Lagos State University (LASU), delivered the stark warning during the university’s 107th Inaugural Lecture held on the Ojo Campus on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists after her presentation titled “Is, Was, Choose One: Exploration into the World of the English Verb and Other Aspects of English Grammar”, Prof. Adejare said verb-related mistakes such as incorrect tense usage and subject-verb disagreement were alarmingly frequent in the classroom.
“The decline in grammatical competence is due to a failure in both training and curriculum,” she stated. “We no longer emphasise grammar in teacher education, and those who should be teaching it are themselves inadequately prepared.”
She attributed part of the problem to the neglect of grammar in academic research, noting that many scholars now focus on sociolinguistic and discourse analysis, while sidelining core grammatical study due to its perceived difficulty.
“Without a solid grasp of verbs—the heart of a sentence—one cannot claim mastery of a language,” she asserted.
Prof. Adejare called for a complete overhaul of English language programmes in Nigerian tertiary institutions, urging a return to descriptive grammar courses and a renewed focus on training educators to deliver accurate and effective instruction.
She also recommended that departments with strong grammar expertise should play a leading role in training English language teachers and curriculum developers, to prevent further erosion in language standards.
The professor stressed that fundamental language skills are essential for national development, warning that teachers and learners alike are being short-changed by inadequate education policies and a lack of grammatical rigour.
The lecture was attended by LASU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello and other senior officials of the institution.
