Abstract
M.Ed.
This study focuses on English as Medium of Instruction in the curriculum of colleges of
education, particularly in the senior primary program. The aim of the research was to
investigate the low proficiency in English of the prospective teachers. This is in line
with the move towards English as Medium of Instruction in the Curriculum of Teacher
Education. The move is in view of the fact that all teachers, whether they teach
History, Geography or Biology, must remember that they are also language teachers.
All teachers must be able to speak and write English proficiently in order to address
and solve the problem of transition of medium of instruction, that is from vernacular to
English in Grade 5 and earlier. This could even be worse if we think in terms of the
communication learning area in OBE where English could start in the lowest grade as
medium of instruction. Qualitative research methodology was applied by the
researcher to look closely at the research sample of 7 course three Primary Teacher's
Diploma students through interviews and the transcripts of the interview as also tape
recorded as raw data
Issues surrounding EMI were identified and explored in the research. In the final
analysis, recommendations based on the findings were presented as guidelines for the
prospective teachers, curriculum designers, language policy makers, language
practitioners and the Department of Education to consider.