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Problems facing students of ZimbabweZimbabwe, a colony of Britain until Independence in 1980, has three official languages – Shona, Ndebele and english. The country can be roughly split in half, with the Shona speaking people in the east, and the Ndebele speakers in the west. english is a hangover from Zimbabwe’s colonial era, and today is mainly spoken by the older-generation urban black Zimbabweans and the dramatically reduced pool of white Zimbabweans. During the pre-Independence era, education and health in rural areas was largely supported by the large number of white-owned farms, who provided millions of black Zimbabweans and their families with economic and social security. But with the implementation of the land settlement policy from 2000, the number of viable farm holdings has dwindled from over 6,500 to less than 500. A consequential loss has been dramatic disintegration of vital community-level services and support. With a president who openly and vehemently expresses his hatred for the British and their colonial influence, and a questionable human rights record, international donors are reluctant to provide much-needed assistance to support government that came to power over three decades ago. The country’s economic situation has dramatically deteriorated in this time, and what was once the “bread basket of southern Africa”, today struggles with a severe disintegration of social services, notably in the health and education sectors. Zimbabwe’s adult literacy rate of 90 per cent was held as amongst the highest in Africa (CIA World Factbook). But since 1995, it has steadily decreased as the cost of education has become increasingly prohibitive. Education was free from the time of independence but since 1988, the Government has steadily increased charges, making access to education prohibitive particularly amongst the rural poor. The increasing reliance on the informal sector for household income, combined with a reduced presence of native english speakers, has led to the native languages of Shona and Ndebele becoming a far more common language of first choice. A 2008 report prepared by the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) described the education system, once the best in Africa, as a sector in state of crisis. UNICEF, in a 2008 press release, stated that “The depletion of teachers in schools, transport and food problems faced by the remaining teachers and lack of resources have left the sector tottering on the brink of collapse”. Today, the education sector still faces immense challenges. Public financing of the sector continues to dwindle in real terms, school fees are soaring beyond the reach of many, depletion of educators and low morale owing to salaries for the remaining teachers, have unraveled past successes in the sector (UNESCO, 2010). School-aged children are pressured by competing household demands for their labour and school retention rates (particularly amongst females) are low. If they do make it to the classroom, students face numerous challenges. Generally, the government schools are pitifully under-resourced, with the ratio of text books to student standing at 10:1 (Zimsit, Ministry of Education, 2011). Political violence and displacement has resulted in a lack of trained teachers in rural areas (UNESCO, 2009), and unqualified village chiefs are often relied on to take on the role. The collapse of the energy sector has left an erratic power supply, which causes continual disruption to the classroom, particularly in the rural areas in the west of the country. Access to television and radio services and print media is minimal, with the government-owned media providing only limited services, always in one of the native languages. An entire cohort of older Zimbabweans, who were educated by a British-based system and employed by a former colonial power, have been lost to diseases such as HIV-AIDs. english is, however, still seen as a desirable language, particularly as Zimbabwe is surrounded by english speaking trading partners. With a staggering number of Zimbabweans attempting to flee the political instability of the country, the demand for english continues, and is especially seen as necessary to secure employment elsewhere, notably in Britain. But as is evident from above, for students wanting to learn english, their problems are almost overwhelming. • The number of qualified english teachers has diminished dramatically, and the political environment, while not overtly targeting english, makes the teaching of english a much-reduced priority. • Exposure to english through the media, especially radio, is limited, and the number of older people speaking english is minimal. Students have little opportunity to practice their english outside the classroom, which affects motivation levels. • Access to english based texts is beyond the financial capacity of many students. Access to the internet is restricted to urban areas. With erratic power supplies, should a photocopier be available, its use cannot be depended upon. • While the economic incentive to learn english may be extremely high, english students face over-crowded and under-resourced classrooms, again eroding motivation. • english students are bombarded with problems and distractions beyond the classroom, whose families are inevitably living in poverty and facing nutritional and other health threats. • Increasingly, Zimbabweans speak Shona or Ndebele, with the third national language becoming less and less common. Classrooms are multilingual. Students in Zimbabwe wanting to learn english are driven by the perceived benefits of acquiring a skill that could lead to successful resettlement and employment in a foreign country. The violent history and unpredictable environment of rural Zimbabwean students has created a drive and motivation for self-improvement that is hard to surpass. Despite massive hurdles, Zimbabwean english students are keen and dedicated to learning the language to the best of their ability.