1. Object The object of this study is to follow up an educational project which took place in East Africa in the period 1965 - 1969.

Education also generates opinions but these are seldom based on hard facts, or follow-ups of specific cases, but are usually based on unfocussed generalities, often seized upon by politicians who would hesitate to voice similar prejudices about medical matters. This study is an attempt to find out something about the results of a method of teaching which at the time was unusual and could be (and was) described as unorthodox. Nowadays it can be seen in context as, among other things, one of the first attempts to be communicative.

Although this course took place twenty years ago, the lessons learned then can still be relevant to practitioners in similar conditions today.

Aims. What conditions do students need when learning a language? It is useful for teachers to be open-minded about what is necessary and what is not. The fact that a classroom activity or method of organising schools has been practiced for many years should not mean that they are immune from consideration or assessment. One aim of the English Block was to test the limits of what is possible within a conventional African secondary school. Others were to put together a comprehensive programme of the newer techniques of learning and see if they worked (while being confident that they would); and to change the students' attitude to language, to learning and to teachers.

3. Freedom of Content The English Block gave to the students a considerable experience in making choices. What to write about? What to talk about? What to publish? What to do in drama? The content of communication was not prescribed. Teachers could make recommendations, or give advice but usually students could find enough going on round them in the school or in the town and, later, in the library. Some decisions were individual - each person had to do some things on his own. Others had to be made after discussion in the group - especially when writing was for a group purpose such as the newspaper or other group work. Did these decision-making and negotiating experiences help them in later life? We have to ask them to find out what they think now.

4. Self-organising activities were also part of the system. This meant that the rules or instructions required certain types of organising discussions to take place (see appendix 1 - the worksheets). The English Block could be compared to the rules of a sport such as football where the content of any particular game is not determined in advance but the permissible limits of activity are laid down. Students had to take it in turn to organise such things as the group's publications, keep the weekly record of activities, arrange the drama. These are experiences not usually formally provided for in schools in developing countries.

It would be interesting to discover whether these activities developed skills which later proved useful.