Factors that affect grade 10 EFAL learners' grammatical accuracy in their essay writing : a case of a selected high school in Mkhondo East Circuit, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Abstract

The primary function of language is to facilitate interaction and communication. It also serves as a means of expressing ideas, concepts, and emotions. This study set out to investigate factors that affect Grade 10 English First Additional Language learners’ grammatical accuracy in essay writing. This was a qualitative study conducted from an interpretivist viewpoint. Purposive sampling was used to select ten Grade 10 learners and three English First Additional Language educators to participate in the study. Semi structured interviews, classroom observations, and documents were used as data collection tools for the study. The study found that the influence of social media language negatively impacts learners' grammatical precision and accuracy, as they tend to use informal register in writing academic essays. Additionally, learners tend to transfer language structures and patterns from their mother tongue to English, despite glaring structural and semantic discrepancies between the two languages. Furthermore, learners were found to struggle with spelling, often due to limited vocabulary range and inadequate phonetic instruction. Lastly, the study revealed that teachers are not allocated sufficient time to teach creative writing in the English language classroom, which negatively impacts learners’ ability to produce high-quality written texts. The study recommends learners’ intensive exposure to English reading and writing, both inside and outside the classroom. It is further recommended that further research should examine the impact of overcrowded English classrooms on learners' writing skills.