O. D. OMOREGIE

The study investigated the influence of teacher training on English language proficiency among secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State, Nigeria. It also examined the perceived effectiveness of current teacher training programmes for English language teachers; determined the level of English language proficiency among secondary school students; investigated the relationship between teacher training and students' English language proficiency; identified the challenges faced by English language teachers despite their training in promoting students' English language proficiency. To guide this study, four research questions were raised. This research adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study is made up of all English language teachers and all secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. Using simple random sampling, and purposive sampling, ninety-two (92) secondary school students (specifically SS1-SS3) were selected. The instruments for data collection were a questionnaire titled "Teacher Training and Proficiency Questionnaire" and "Student English Language Proficiency Test ". The findings of this study revealed that teacher training programmes enhanced instructional skills and teaching quality, though they suffered from inadequate resourcing and limited follow-up mechanisms. Secondary school students exhibited moderate proficiency levels across vocabulary, grammar, speaking, listening, writing, and comprehension skills. The findings in research question three showed a significant positive correlation between teacher training quality and students' English language proficiency, confirming that better-trained teachers achieve improved student outcomes. It was also found that teachers faced substantial challenges including inadequate instructional material. Based on the findings, this study recommends that school authorities should ensure mandatory employment of qualified English language teachers in secondary schools; the government and educational stakeholders must address the factors affecting students' performance by providing adequate teaching and learning materials, employing more qualified teachers, and creating conducive learning environments; school authorities should adopt the suggested improvement strategies including provision of variety of teaching materials, regular in-service training for teachers, and increased instructional time for English language learning to enhance teacher effectiveness and student outcomes.