Abstract
M.Ed.
The study examines the nature of English competence in both learners and teachers in black schools. It was conducted as a result of the investigator in this study being directly involved in teaching English as a second language in a black high school and being a beneficiary of English language teaching projects. As is shown in the study, these projects do not effectively serve their stated purpose, that is, to improve teacher and learner competency in English. The study was conducted by exploring existing literature on the topic and investigations already undertaken. An empirical component is included comprising an observation of an English lesson in progress. The conclusion reached in the study is that an unfortunate cycle still persists where learners taught by teachers who are incompetent in English go through the existing inadequate and inefficient milieu in education to become incompetent English language teachers themselves. The recommendations in this study are that there needs to be a re-evaluation of present English language teaching methods particularly in the light of the fact that the government is in the process of implementing a new educational system called Outcomes Based Education. Furthermore, this study draws attention to the inadequacies prevalent in teacher training and subsequent teacher practice in the classroom.