In South Africa, English is spoken by less than 10% of people, but it is taught as a 2nd language at 80% of schools – so most learners are not competent in the language. But they must learn maths and science in English, and 16 of our 21 universities teach in English. And over half of them drop out. Could teaching all learners English as a 1st language help? We did an experiment on radio: what difference could 1 week’s English tutoring make?

LEGEGO: Hello, it’s Lesego. Please listen to how I read on Monday:

‘Hello, I’m Lesego. This is an experiment with One School at a Time, a registered non-profit organisation to see if my English can get better in one week with extra English classes…

I think I sound much better now. One week of English classes has helped me. And I think all learners should also get help, if English is not their first language either. With your help, we can raise enough money for a full time first language English teacher for our organisation. I hope that this one week has shown you that it is possible. Because if five days can make a big difference, imagine what five years could do.

To find, to find out more, go to one school at a time dot co dot za.