benefit from a thorough knowledge of English. It seemed likely at the time that English would continue to be the language of government and business and industry and therefore of paid employment. The students thought so too which made them continue to be keen on learning English. This is a situation which calls for a wide range of English uses to be taught, as in this kind of Second Language situation the competence required of speakers is close to that of a native speaker. It was unclear how far the students would be able to fall back on their mother tongue to supplement English.

However, although the linguistic and educational policy had remained apparently unchanged from the colonial period the circumstances were changing. Classes were much larger (35 was the normal size). Not all of the teachers were now native speakers. The time spent learning English - in formal English classes - was diminishing. Resources in the form of books were lessening. In short the ease with which students could learn English had changed.

My unsystematic observation of people talking in Kenyan offices suggests that English is still the predominant spoken language in office environments but that people from one ethnic group often share offices or working groups (as they appoint their relatives to positions under their control) and therefore use the mother tongue as well for some purposes. Only detailed fly-on-the-wall research could determine the precise rôles of the different languages. In Kenya English continues to be the dominant written language, though Swahili is now commoner than it was 25 years ago. Swahili is now compulsory in Kenyan schools and is intended to become more important in the future.

The English Block was a response to the changing educational situation. The native speakers who had provided much of the students' language input in pre-independence schools were fewer on the ground or diluted by national teachers. The standard classroom course which had been pursued in those days was not as effective now in the absence of the extra language provided outside the classroom. More language input therefore needed to be provided during the English class. The activities of the English Block were designed to provide this.

A Note on Language and Cultural Imperialism
Some African politicians and academics are worried about the effects on their cultures of English. Should the English specialist feel qualms about the promotion of English in these countries?
The decision on the position of English in these societies was really taken a number of years ago, so it is no longer a matter for practical debate. English is now, whatever anyone thinks about it, the de facto world language. The anti-imperialists might consider which group is better able to resist English-speaking imperialists, those who will have to negotiate through interpreters or those able to understand the imperialists' own language.

The days of isolated and separated cultures seem unlikely to return - unless there is a devastating nuclear war. To the contrary there seems to be emerging a planet-wide culture much of which is expressed through English. Even in the past the isolation and separateness of the different cultures has been exaggerated. The evidence of cultural history - for example the presence of certain basic tales in cultures as distant as Patagonia and Central Asia# - is that there has always been a degree of connection, so that the modern connectivity between cultures is not a complete break with the past. In the event the English specialist is nowadays hired by a government and so must assume that his job is to see to it that his students will learn English as efficiently as possible, whatever unofficial local critics may be saying.

It must in any case be doubted how far any political decision can influence people's language use. The Independent Irish government failed to persuade people to use Irish. Quite possibly English will grow or decline independently of the wishes of politicians and academics according to the wishes of ordinary people. No-one can foresee precisely what the long-term position English will have in these cultures.

#Idries Shah World Tales (Allen Lane) 1974