Computer-based education and the teaching of English for specific purposes: Report on a project in progress

Abstract South Africa is a multilingual country. Apart from two official languages, there are seven major languages. The latter group form part of the so-called Southeastern Bantu languages. When students with a Bantu language background start their university careers, they face a very serious communication problem because the medium of instruction is English. This means that they have to study in an ESL situation. In many cases English may even be a third language because they often speak more than one vernacular language. Students who enroll for courses in a faculty of Science are in the situation where they need English for Science and Technology (EST). In the beginning of 1979 Control Data Corporation (U.S.A.) introduced their PLATO Education System in South Africa. Their main interest was to offer people whose native language was not one of the official languages, viz. English and Afrikaans (the latter originated from Dutch), opportunities for educational upgrading. This area of interest led to a number of problems that called for immediate attention. Among these was the need for ESL course materials. The English materials available on PLATO were not ESL materials. Furthermore, the students’ lack of proficiency in English made it difficult for them to benefit from excellent courses in many other subject areas.