Abstract
M.Ed.
With the implementation of a new curriculum - Curriculum 2005 - in the South African
school system, teachers have to be re-trained. This is not just to acquaint them with the
new curriculum but also to develop them so that they can justify their calling as
professional teachers. Thus at the end of such a re-training programme, teachers should
be able to adapt their teaching methods to the dictates of the new curriculum.
The language teacher in particular is faced with a mammoth task considering the fact that
South Africa now has 11 official languages. The language teacher needs to undergo an
intensive re-training in second-language teaching techniques. Added to this is the
multilingual nature of the classroom in which the teachers ply their trade.
This study looks at Curriculum 2005 and its origins. Attention is then focussed on
teacher training especially in-service teacher education (INSET) and how teachers gain
(new) knowledge and thus develop professionally. The overall aim of the study is
therefore to see how ready teachers are to adjust to Curriculum 2005 and also to examine
INSET in detail so as to come out with suitable suggestions on how the re-training
programme should be carried out. The study ends with recommendations on steps to be
taken to effectively train teachers without causing any disruption in the school system or
lowering the standard of education.