English is the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) in most schools in our country. The question is, does this benefit learners at all? If no, how should this benefit learners?

The only way in which English as LOLT can benefit learners is when all English and content subject teachers can plan their curriculum implementation for the year together. This goes beyond the three phases of planning as advocated by the NCS. Follow the scenario below:

The English team sits at the centre. The content subject teachers identify the specific content aspects which most learners find difficult to grasp. The English team could then use the content as a comprehension passage, addressing the vocabulary, word formation and content grasp without delving deep into the science of the subject. When the content subject teacher meets learners later, this will be a continuation of the English lesson, which goes further into addressing the science of the subject.

for an example, before the Geography teacher can conduct a lesson on Volcano, the English teacher could use the volcano text as a comprehension passage, address issues of language structures like adjectives, e.g. volcanic eruption; prepositions, e.g. the boiling mud (lava) flows through the tunnel, burst out and flows down the mountain, creating a path of destruction.

While the examople above is superficial, the intention is to demonstrate that when learners meet the Geography teacher later, they shall have gone through the vocabulaty barrier, thus ripe for imbibing the scientic notions of the subject.

Do I have a witness?