Modern African literature, from inception, has suffered immensely from a lack of a definite defining theoretical base and framework, and critical parameters that take into account its historical peculiarities. It has suffered unjustly from being subjected to the canonized critical criteria of the Western literary tradition which are usually tagged “universal”. While one must admit that these criteria are not altogether irrelevant, if only for the generic affinity modern African literature shares with its Western ancestor, the criteria have been found to be inadequate in explaining some of the peculiar genetic mutations of this body of literature.

In recent history, however, that is from the early 1960s to date leading African writers and critics have made significant contributions to formulating an articulate body of criteria pertinent to the understanding and criticism of African literature. This is without prejudice to the fact that literary theory is constantly in a flux and oftentimes is as disparate as the temperaments and convictions of the theorists within the spectrum.

In this study, we investigated the reactions and perceptionsof ‘digital immigrant’ students to the adoption of blendedlearning combining the Moodle VLE and traditional faceto-face instructional delivery method on EAP coursesin a Nigerian university of technology. Data sets fromextractable online logs for activities, discussion boardinteraction and two online surveys are triangulated byfocus group discussion responses. The data revealed thatstudents’ use of the online components of the coursesare high and perceptions of the various values such asrelevance, reflective thinking, interactivity, tutor support,interpretation, learning experience and benefit are verypositive, and are in the range of 60s to 90s in percentagepoints. However, peer to peer interaction while positiveis not as high, indicating the additional work that need bedone in addition to the challenges of infrastructure andcost that students would want addressed. Implicationsof the findings include the potentials of blended learningin difficult academic contexts and subject areas, therelevance of social interaction platforms in languagelearning and other subject areas, and the crucial roletechnology can play in large class contexts.

Despite the explosion in contemporary educational practices, large parts of sub-Sahara Africa lag behind in their adoption. Learning by rote, teacher as oracle and ‘mute’ students are common place. Educators would need to take advantage of the role digital technology can play and leverage new and appropriate pedagogies, if Africa is to be part of sustainable development efforts. The several constraints of space, large classes and grossly inadequate facilities that dogged the delivery of our English as a Second Language courses got the teaching team to look for support in technology.

This paper reports the results of a study that investigated the response of digital immigrant fresh students (3000+/cohort) of the Federal University of Technology Akure, (FUTA) Nigeria to the use of technology in their learning for the first time and our attempt to give voice to the ‘voiceless’. The course, apart from aiming to foster language proficiency in students through various levels of interaction, has the objective to blend national and continental concerns into the curriculum and build a sustainable learning ethos that can drive sustainable development.

The great strides in digital technology and the role of the Internet and World Wide Web are transforming the way education is delivered in and out of the classroom today. English Language teaching, as is the case with other disciplinary areas, is taking advantage of these developments. From early technologies to Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and now the digital learning technologies, teachers are being called upon to integrate the technologies into the curriculum. English language skills of students at all levels have been deteriorating over the past few decades. The new learning technologies, many of which tools are available to young people and of which they are enamoured, offer powerful motivation and excitement to young learners. Integrating these technologies into the language curriculum can assist bored students in the large classes to acquire the necessary competencies as well as enhance their learning experiences. This paper examines the scenario in Nigeria; discusses research findings on how we learn and how e-learning enhances the learning experience; it explores what the English language teacher needs to do. It goes on to look at the case study of integration and use of Moodle VLE at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria as an example of strategic deployment of 21st century learning tools.

This paper examines the developments in language teaching ethos with specific emphasis on teachers’ competences in a knowledge age. It describes in some detail areas of strength of most teachers of English for Academic Purposes in Nigeria and goes on to detail specific aspects of lack and constraints in the practice. The paper draws on the experience of a team of EAP teachers at the Federal University of Technology, Akure and the route map to an ICT-supported programme as good practice. Some evidence of impact of this practice on students’ engagement is provided as an example of the possibilities for teachers and institutions in low-resource environments.

A major factor in Second Language (L2) acquisition is interaction as a driver of proficiency, the target in language learning. Creating the context for interaction to take place becomes a major focus of any language learning experience, especially for adult learners who need a target lan­guage for varying purposes. In English as a Second Language (ESL) context, however, context for interaction is a major challenge on account of learners coming from different linguistic back­grounds, students’ low level competence in English, the rising profile of Nigerian Pidgin English amongst youth, and the large classes situation. At the Federal University of Technology Akure in (FUTA) Nigeria, the Moodle Learning Management System was set up to support students’ learning and offer opportunities for social interaction among registered students on the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme. This paper explores how online discussion forums have aided interaction amongst students who hitherto had very few opportunities toi express themselves in class and out of class in English, in writing or in speech. The FUTA experience, therefore, is an exploration of the role social context plays in fostering 2nd language learning in a higher education context. It is based on a study of modules of English language support pro­gramme for freshmen cohorts in a university of science and technology in Nigeria. It is built on the premise that L2 acquisition depends more on interaction and collaboration among learners.

Although there is growing interest in Nigeria today in adopting technology within Higher Education (HE), this is not backed up by the requisite investment to make it work. Besides, it is less clear to authorities in these institutions what technologies are appropriate and how to implement the project. Presently, there is no known policy, neither is there a framework for technology integration in tertiary education. There is only one reported and known instance of an international organisation offering support in this process. For others, individual academics with a need are left to provide leadership. At the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), the impetus for technology support was the large class situation in English as a Second Language (ESL) programme with attendant lack of facilities and resources. This paper describes the processes of initiating change by a small team of digital-neophyte teachers; it reports the impact of introducing the Web 2.0 Wiki, blended with traditional face-to-face classes, in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing module. Emphasis is on introducing change in a tradition-steeped, very poorly resourced context and how teachers may, through professional development efforts, enhance their skills and student interaction, engagement and learning experience.

The benefits of ICTs in education are now well documented. Several studies have devoted much attention to a plethora of experiences of integration of ICT into college and university programmes with stunning results of student engagement with learning materials and enhanced learning experiences. The impact of technology in teaching and learning is also being reported in Africa in spite of the big digital divide (Aborisade, 2009a; 2009b). But the journey from the chalkboard to websites has been strewn with thorns and shrapnel.This paper reports on what was done and how our English as a Second Language (L2) support programmes transited from the traditional rote learning ethos (Chalkboard) at The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria to the socio-constructivist approach integrating the new learning technologies (Moodle). The transition, though not necessarily well structured, was intentional and informed by constraints faced in using behaviourist approaches for large numbers of students in language classes requiring interaction to promote language proficiency. The constraints are mainly in terms of large numbers of students to few lecturers with inadequate and poorly structured lecture rooms and scanty facilities for language lessons.

In this study, we investigated the reactions and perceptions of ‘digital immigrant’ students to the adoption of blended learning combining the Moodle VLE and traditional face-to-face instructional delivery method on EAP courses in a Nigerian university of technology. Data sets from extractable online logs for activities, discussion board interaction and two online surveys are triangulated by focus group discussion responses. The data revealed that students’ use of the online components of the courses are high and perceptions of the various values such as relevance, reflective thinking, interactivity, tutor support, interpretation, learning experience and benefit are very positive, and are in the range of 60s to 90s in percentage points. However, peer to peer interaction while positive is not as high, indicating the additional work that need be done in addition to the challenges of infrastructure and cost that students would want addressed. Implications of the findings include the potentials of blended learning in difficult academic contexts and subject areas, the relevance of social interaction platforms in language learning and other subject areas, and the crucial role technology can play in large class contexts.