Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences on Teaching Essay Writing to Grade 10 Learners in the Eastern Cape

This paper explores pre-service teachers’ experiences in teaching essay writing to Grade 10 English First Additional Language learners. Despite the significance of essay writing for developing learners' writing skills in multilingual classrooms, writing essays remains a challenge for most English First Additional learners. The extant research has examined the challenges that learners face in essay writing. However, there is limited research examining pre-service teachers’ experiences in teaching essay writing during their teaching practice. This paper employed a qualitative research approach, and data were drawn from 30 pre-service teachers’ reflective journals based on their teaching practice experiences. Cognitive Process Theory was utilized as the theoretical framework for this paper. The findings included inadequate writing proficiency among learners, a lack of motivation to write, overcrowded, resource-constrained classrooms, and fear of making mistakes, all of which hinder learners’ progress in writing. The paper recommends pedagogical approaches to facilitate learners’ writing skills, additional time for creative writing, and the establishment of writing clubs in schools. Furthermore, the study seeks to contribute to higher education institutions by preparing pre-service teachers in writing pedagogy in South African High schools.