The study investigated the English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' perceptions on the relationship between code-switching and emerging varieties of English called New Englishes, as well as the teachers' perceptions on the teaching of such local varieties of English. The inquiry adopted a qualitative research paradigm and focused on two purposively sampled secondary schools comprising one rural day, and one urban boarding school. Four ESL teachers were interviewed (two teachers per school). The inquiry revealed that there was unanimous agreement among the four teachers that there is a relationship between code-switching and New Englishes. In addition, two of the teachers expressed the view that there is nothing wrong with teaching the local variety of English in the schools, while the other two said they preferred the teaching of Standard English.The study recommends that language policy planners in Zimbabwe consider adopting a balance of the endonormative and the exo-normative models of English for the education system. Such a model, while acknowledging the importance of Standard English, would not undermine the importance of the local variety of English. In addition, the inquiry recommends that the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) be sensitive to aspects of the local variety of English rather than set exo-normative models. Finally, the study recommends that further research be done on the perceptions of ESL teachers on the teaching of Standard English and New Englishes in school types which were not included in the sample for the present study.

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Several studies have shown that authentic learning facilitates learners' acquisition of knowledge, understanding of concepts and application of skills to solve real life problems. This study explores how authentic learning can be used to help English as a Second Language (ESL) learners to acquire academic literacy skills. The objective of the study was to observe students' reaction to authentic learning, to find out their learning styles and to find out their views about the authentic learning tasks and activities. The study adopted observation and a qualitative free text comments approach to collect data about students' reaction to the authentic learning activities and students' learning styles. In addition, focus group discussions and interviews were conducted to let students express their views about the authentic learning tasks and activities that were implemented. The paper presents the views of students about the authentic learning tasks and activities that were implemented. The students reacted positively to the authentic learning tasks and activities and expressed satisfaction. The findings of the study demonstrate that authentic learning can be used to enhance the academic literacy skills of ESL learners.

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