IT should come as no surprise that Oral English or Spoken English continues to be an integral part of the English Language syllabus at all levels of education in Nigeria. Languages may be written, but they are primarily spoken.  Like every other language, the sounds of English are distinctive and operate according to consensus among speakers, whether in a mother-tongue, second-language, or foreign-language environment. In Nigeria, English operates in a second-language context. As Chinua Achebe aptly put it in his epochal essay, “The African Writer and the English Language,” it is a new English still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings. The implication is that at the lexical, semantic, syntactic, phonological, or pragmatic levels, Nigerian English has distinctive features that set it apart from other Englishes around the world.

There was a time when British English was the unquestioned standard in Nigeria. But from the 1970s, scholars recognised Nigerian English as a legitimate variety for teaching and scholarship in Nigerian schools, while still referencing native-speaker varieties, particularly British English, for standardisation. As Ayo Banjo notes in “On Codifying Nigerian English: Research So Far” (See Bamgbose, Banjo, & Thomas Eds., New Englishes: A West African Perspective, 1997): “Nigerian English has to be described with reference to Standard British English, since British English is the historical source of the variety and remains the model used in education and public examination.” Given this background, Samuel Temitope Ojo’s Master Key series follows this established pedagogical tradition of using British English Received Pronunciation as the reference model.

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The Master Key series by Samuel Ojo is published by Efeckts Multiflex Business Ventures Limited, Lagos, as 13 workbooks covering Nursery 1 to SS3. To the present writer’s knowledge, it is one of the first attempts in Nigeria to dedicate a separate volume at each level specifically to the sounds of English — phonics, diction, and transcription. The series reflects considerable experience in teaching English phonetics and phonology. Given that “intelligible pronunciation” is a stated goal of English pedagogy in Nigeria, Ojo’s ambitious, systematic work deserves serious attention.

Master Key to Phonics & Diction 1 introduces the sounds represented by the English alphabet and how they are realised in speech. The Nursery 2 text covers phonics, diction, and spelling, and explains the connection between letters and sounds. A striking feature of both is their visual appeal. The graphics and layout are clearly designed to engage young learners. The early introduction to transcription, though challenging, prepares pupils for later stages. Like the others, the books are presented as workbooks, with the author stressing that pupils should work through examples with their teachers.

In later books, Ojo moves to the usage of sounds. The Primary 3 text, for example, gives practice with the long /ɜː/ sound: furl, murk, hurt, surf, turn, turf. From Primary 4, transcription is highlighted more directly, alongside vocabulary development and idioms. The JSS 1 text begins with the organs of speech — lips, pharynx, glottis, soft palate, trachea, teeth, and oesophagus — and the sounds associated with them, with exercises to reinforce learning. Ojo states the objective very clearly: “One major objective of writing this book series is to make it possible for students to be able to pronounce words correctly, hence the need to be able to transcribe words, right from JSS1, with ease and fun… Their hands-on experience will give them self-confidence and understanding of the subject.” [p. 4].

He describes the 24 consonants and 20 vowel sounds of English, namely 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs. This is consistent with the model used in public examinations such as WAEC and NECO. There is a focus on general pronunciation rules. The underlying message is that Oral English need not be a trap in public examinations. The JSS 2 text discusses diphthongs and classifies consonants by place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing. Learners are shown that the same consonant sound occurs in jet, gel, and educate, helping them become more sensitive to articulation. The texts demonstrate the kind of clarity found in the work of scholars like Ben Elugbe. Useful tips are offered: “When ‘tz’ ends a one-syllable word, the ‘z’ sounds /s/: quarts, hertz, glitz, fritz” [p. 13]. Exceptions are also provided.

The JSS 3 text continues consonant work with class activities on silent letters. The author treats minimal pairs and contrast, e.g man/ran, pot/port, cod/chord; consonant clusters like asked /ɑːskt/, transcription of past tenses and plurals, and comprehensive vowel drills. On its part, the SS1 text continues offering accessible rules. For example: “When ‘ea’ begins a word, it often sounds /iː/”: east, eagle, eager, lethe, beta, people. The use of “often” is important, as English spelling has exceptions such as ear, earth.

The SS2 text treats diphthongs and their conditions. For instance: “When a one-syllable word ends with ‘ey’, it sounds /eɪ/: grey /ɡreɪ/, prey /preɪ/”; with further examples like convey, survey, obey. Of course, exceptions such as key, honey exist and should be addressed in class. The SS3 text covers consonant realisation and suprasegmentals such as stress in one-syllable words and rhyme. The sections on odd stress and emphatic stress are adequate for the level.

It is a strength of Ojo’s vision that the series covers the entire Nigerian school system, providing a continuous, age-appropriate pathway. Master Key fills an important gap in phonics and diction, areas often underemphasised. The series supports teachers with structured materials and encourages consistency in pronunciation teaching across schools. This aligns with the development of literacy, reading fluency, spelling, listening, and speaking. Importantly, the work has the potential to reduce common pronunciation challenges arising from first-language influence and reflects a long-term vision for improving oral communication competence. Ojo’s thirteen-volume series is a significant contribution to pronunciation education in Nigeria given its coverage, systematic progression, and practical relevance.

Technology is now transforming pronunciation learning through speech-recognition software, AI-assisted feedback, and mobile apps. In future editions, then, the author could incorporate digital audio and online resources as companions to the print texts. In this regard, it is exciting to learn that an app that projected to “further enhance the teaching and learning of phonics, diction, pronunciation and Test of Oral English for nursery, primary and secondary school learners” is in the offing.

 Suprasegmental features such as stress, rhythm, intonation, and prominence significantly affect communication and intelligibility. In this regard, the SS3 text could treat intonation — pitch patterns that signal meaning and attitude– more broadly. For example, many Nigerians answer a question such as “Do you know the way to Dr Afejuku’s office?”with a falling “Yes” instead of a rising “Yes?” that invites the speaker to keep speaking, and to seek the listener’s further help. As David Jowitt notes in Nigerian English: An Introduction (1991): “A public official may unintentionally sound rude only because he has failed to use a rising tone that would make him sound friendly.”

Throughout this series, Ojo emphasizes the teacher’s central role in helping students to have a firm grasp of the sounds of English. The books are already popular as texts used in top schools, but they deserve more engagement. They are, in my view, a must-have.