This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the experiences of Grade 9 learners in developing proficiency in English creative essay writing? (2) What errors are commonly found in the essays of Grade 9 second language learners?

Teachers and learners in South African schools often face challenges when using English in the classroom because they have limited proficiency, as English is a second language for many. Furthermore, teachers who are not home language speakers of English themselves experience difficulties and find it challenging to help learners with their linguistic and cognitive development (Ngubane, Ntombela & Govender 2020). Allman (2018) states that few learners can read and write efficiently.

With the advancement of technology, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a potential tool to assist learners and teachers in academic tasks such as idea generation, essay evaluation, narrative development, and feedback. However, while AI can provide support, it does not exempt learners from acquiring a solid understanding of English grammar to write independently. Studies on the application of AI to improve students’ essay writing skills are still limited (Jen & Salam 2024). In addition, Eagar (2024) points out that AI induces copycat writing and stunts the writers’ creativity. It underscores the importance of studying learners’ creative writing and finding ways to promote English proficiency especially in the case of English as a second language.

Furthermore, there a challenge with multilingualism in South Africa with regard to teaching English essay writing. The Constitution of South Africa (RSA 1996) clearly stipulates that all people have the right to receive education in the language of their choice. In addition, Barkhuizen and Gough (2018) posit that it is important that all South African languages must be promoted, rather than just English and Afrikaans, yet English is preferred by many parents as language at school, since it affords learners study and job prospects (Ngcobo & Barnes 2024). Currently, South African learners in township schools have an African language as their home language and English as their first additional language. The poor English writing proficiency is confirmed by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS; RSA 2021) as it was found that learners are still battling to write English well. It follows that since learners in primary school have poor reading and writing skills, the problem surfaces once they are required to produce more advanced essays in secondary school and even at the tertiary level (Sultana 2021). In addition, the use of AI has brought new concerns regarding independent creative writing (Eagar 2024; Jen & Salam 2024).

Krashen (1982) maintains that learning a language is a conscious process. It is done deliberately. When in the process of learning, effort is required. Learners go to school to learn a language; for instance, in this study, the learners learn English so that they can know its grammar and language rules.

Learners who do not achieve proficiency in the language of instruction often struggle to master academic content. This makes it difficult for them to learn effectively in school when English serves as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT), leading to poor academic performance in subjects such as mathematics and science. Learners can struggle to follow instructions and understand instructions and it can hinder them to fully engage with the content. Furthermore, the language barrier can make it difficult to grasp complex concepts.

Krashen (1987) wrote extensively on second language acquisition, emphasising how language proficiency can influence overall learning success. When learners are proficient in the language of instruction they can understand lessons better and participate in discussions which can also facilitate comprehension.

Communication in second language learning develops in two ways. This is in the form of language learning and language acquisition. Language learning involves explicit ways in which a language is learnt with instructions given to the learners. In contrast, language acquisition involves how children acquire a language. Learners will be able to acquire a language when the input is comprehensible which will enable them to understand and develop. Krashen (1982) emphasises that providing natural, communicative input is essential when designing a syllabus. According to his Input Hypothesis, learners develop language skills most effectively when exposed to input that is slightly beyond their current level of linguistic competence, a concept he refers to as ‘i + 1’. This means that the new input should be understandable but must still introduce language elements that challenge learners and promote further development.

Prasanna (2020) explains that a creative essay reflects the ideas of the author or writer on a piece of paper related to a specific topic. The process writing approach includes several stages that proficient writers go through when they write (Hyland 2019). McNamara et al. (2018) define essay writing as a process surrounding text production that includes social interaction with a text and people, both of which are important sources of learning how to write in a specific way. This study focused on the English writing proficiency of Grade 9 learners and how they honed their writing skills.

Lea and Stier (2000) define essay writing as the mastery of text organisation, usage, and grammar. In the South African education system, English is taught as a first additional language (EFAL), meaning it is not the learners’ home language but serves as a primary medium of instruction in many schools. Mpiti (2016) asserts that learners doing EFAL often produce texts that indicate a lack of thought; this means that the learners cannot brainstorm ideas and proper planning for writing texts. Fawcett (2010) conceptualises essay writing as a group of paragraphs about a subject, mainly with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

English constructionist still tend to focus more on the older ways of teaching writing that are teacher centred. Another approach to writing is the social-constructionist approach that focuses on learner support according to individual needs, which is more viable than the older traditional grammar-focused product approach to writing (Likaj 2015). Learners are also increasingly experiencing fear of writing due to grammatical challenges (Jarak et al. 2024). This study intended to bridge the gap of addressing additional challenges with essay writing and intended to promote essay writing by studying errors committed in Grade 9 essay writing.

Albarracin and Shavit (2018) agree that an attitude is an evaluative reaction to an object. Gibbons (1987) states that language can be spoken, written, and signed. However, extant research has almost exclusively focused on language attitudes. Brown (2020) characterises a language attitude as the degree of emotional involvement in a language, such as feelings and relations in the community. A learner with a positive attitude towards English may become successful in the language and may enjoy essay writing.

English proficiency refers to the level of mastery of a language. Singh (2020) contends that language and literature are two words that appear similar; they are interrelated. When a person can apply the rules and components of a language, that person is referred to as being proficient and can thus engage in essay writing (Rao 2019; Rubio & Hacking 2019). This study, therefore, focused on the English writing proficiency of Grade 9 learners in Gauteng.

Written text can significantly be improved by using AI writing tools such as ChatGPT. They can assist in eliminating grammatical errors, improving sentence structure, and ensuring that the text is readable and engaging. For instance, writers can improve their work by receiving instant feedback from AI-based grammar checkers and style editors. This not only improves the essay but also aids in the development of writers (Balch 2023). The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS; DBE 2011), however, prescribes essay writing for test purposes without the use of AI when writing for marks as part of the assessment. It implies that the learners’ grammatical language proficiency must be up to standard to pass the essay writing question. Thus, while AI can assist learners, they must still be able to demonstrate their ability to use the language effectively when writing essays, especially when AI support is not permitted.

This study employed an exploratory case study design to assess learners’ English essay writing skills in two selected township schools. To achieve this, a mixed-methods approach was adopted, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques (Fouché & Strydom 2023). This approach allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the learners’ English writing proficiency. One key aspect of this analysis involved conducting an EA, which is briefly explained in the following section.

Error analysis is a process used to identify, classify, and understand the linguistic errors made by second language learners (Pasaribu 2021). It examines writing errors, investigates their causes, and provides insights into learners’ underlying language systems.

Corder (1971) distinguished between errors – which result from gaps in learners’ knowledge – and mistakes, which occur when learners struggle to apply grammatical rules consistently. In this study, an EA was conducted on 50 essays, with 25 essays selected from each school.

Pasaribu (2021) defines EA as the identification of the frequency, kind, causes, and sequences of errors. He underscores that errors committed by learners or users in their oral or written production of the target language (L2) involve deviation from the norms or rules of the L2. These are described and systematically explained by EA. Error analysis looks at the errors committed in writing, highlights the causes of the errors that occur in writing by learners and analyses the errors that are made. Error analysis was proposed by Corder (1971); he states that errors in writing occur because the learners have gaps in their English knowledge, whereas mistakes happen when the learners are not yet able to master the grammatical aspects of a language. An EA was conducted of 50 essays, 25 per school.

The study focused on 10 Grade 9 learners and two teachers, who were selected through purposive and convenience sampling.

Fifty English creative writing essays written by Grade 9 learners were analysed using EA. The learners attended two township schools in Gauteng and spoke various mother tongues: LP1f: Xitsonga; LP2m: Northern Sotho; LP3f: Tshivenda; LP4f: isiXhosa; LP5f: Setswana; LP6f: Northern Sotho; LP7f: Setswana; LP8m: isiZulu; LP9f: Tshivenda; LP10m: Xitsonga. All participants were African, each with a distinct linguistic background.

Regarding the teachers, T1F, a 52-year-old female, had over 10 years of experience teaching English as a second language in township schools and her mother tongue was Setswana. T2F, a 32-year-old female, spoke Xitsonga as her mother tongue. Both teachers held a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree (with specialisation in English language teaching.)

Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and an EA. Semi-structured interviews provide reliable, comparable data, allow the participants to have the freedom to express their views, and they also allow the necessary changes to be made based on the initial results, unlike the case with a questionnaire, and it is more personal as compared to standard interviews. Furthermore, themes were identified using open coding which refers to coding of data by breaking these down into smaller segments to identify emerging themes (Schurink, Schurink & Fouché 2024). The reason for choosing semi-structured interviews is for the learners and teachers to be as comfortable as possible and give responses.

The act of composing texts in English as second language learners creates problems for the learners. The learners at the two selected Soshanguve schools were given the opportunity to write essays. The teachers marked the creative writing essays. These essays are analysed using EA to identify learners’ writing errors. The topic was a creative writing essay on ‘The day I will never forget’.

Error analysis is described as a process used to classify and analyse learners’ errors when writing; it is used primarily for learners writing using a second language (L2). The components to look out for in writing when errors are analysed are spelling embracing omission, addition, misformation, and sentence order (Bialystok et al. 1982). The following steps were considered when interpreting the errors made by learners in academic writing. The researcher must first collect the samples of the student’s written essays, then identify the students’ errors, then describe, and explain and evaluate them. In this study, the researcher asked the two teachers to provide the marked scripts of the 50 essays the learners wrote to analyse the errors made. The essays or documents were analysed so that the research question could be answered. The results are discussed below.

Permission was sought from the Gauteng Department of Basic Education (GDE) to conduct research at two selected schools in Gauteng. Before commencing with the research, it was approved by the Tshwane University of Technology Research Ethics Committee. Learners were given informed consent forms for parents or guardians to sign as they were under 18. The participants were informed that they would be anonymous and could withdraw at any time they wished to do so.

Two teachers and ten learners were interviewed. One teacher from School A and another teacher from School B, five learners from School A and another five learners from School B. The teachers and learners gave their views on teaching and learning EFAL at the selected township schools. The responses from the face-to-face interviews with the participants are given below. Four themes surfaced: grammatical errors, the use of AI, steps to write essays and attitudes towards writing essays.

The teachers were first asked to answer questions about different punctuation and spelling errors they encountered when marking EFAL essays. Both teachers outlined the errors that learners often make in their writing such as typical spelling errors (e.g. the double l in ‘beautifull’), and subject-verb agreement errors, such as using singular verbs for plural forms and vice versa. Then, learners were also asked whether they knew how to spell and use the correct punctuation when they were writing essays and replied that they sometimes miss the typical full stop at the end of the sentence. They reported that the focus was on facts more than on how the facts were communicated. They seemed to lack confidence in their writing. The following responses present the answers the learners and teachers provided during the semi-structured interview:

Ivanova, Arupova and Mekeko (2022) conducted research on English essay writing proficiency. They found that technology can assist students to enhance their English writing. They also claimed that punctuation was an important aspect of writing since it affects the intonation of spoken words. It also enhances the text organisation and readability. T1f and T2f in this study indicated that they taught learners the proper use of punctuation. However, the learners made various errors that hampered the clarity of their essays:

The use of slang was also prominent, and words such as ‘ain’t’ and ‘kidding’ surfaced in the essays. The detection of slang emerged as an essay writing style, showing a preference for informal language even though creative essays were written; the essay topic used was ‘The day I will never forget’.

Matias (2023) states that slang in essay writing is impacted using technology. She elaborates that social media has altered academic terminology by preventing learners from distinguishing between social and academic writing by relying on slang or social media jargon for convenience. When writing, they must avoid using slang and carefully use proper syntax, punctuation, and word choice. She pertinently noted the frequent use of ‘gonna’, ‘wanna’, emoticons and symbols such as ‘xoxo’ (hugs and kisses) and ‘LOL’ (laughing out loud). Slang language (e.g. ain’t) was also a problem in the Grade 9 learners’ essays.

Doyle (2014) discusses the use of ‘ain’t’ as slang and states that the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic characteristics of the word ‘ain’t’ are widespread in English. A small-scale study was done to investigate the use of ‘ain’t’ in rhetorical issues. It was found that non-English speakers would struggle with the unclear polarity of ‘ain’t’ and related inquiries. Most responders were able to cope thanks to their pragmatic sense. Learning English or living in an English-speaking culture, however, does not ensure proficiency in dealing with idioms such as ‘ain’t’. Paying attention to pragmatics, especially the context of the circumstance, can help.

Collectively, the teachers indicated that learners need to use formal academic language in their writing so that they can produce comprehensible essays. Teachers said that they struggled when it came to assisting the learners to write well, as they continued to commit many errors even after grammar teaching. It was reported that grammatical errors were a huge challenge as was appropriate vocabulary and spelling especially without the use of technology. The learners admitted that they did not plan or edit their work most of the time.

Participants except LP3f agreed that Google Translate can help improve learners’ EFAL writing proficiency. Therefore, technology can assist struggling learners when they must produce comprehensible texts. The participants gave many reasons why they chose the statements in the see Table 1 in their responses:

Both teachers confirmed that technology is a useful tool that can assist with the writing process for the learners, although they felt that there were limited resources, and they were undertrained to use technology. They reported that technology even ChatGPT can be used to help them but that it must be used responsibly. Online dictionaries are essential in expanding vocabulary and assisting with correct spelling when they are required to do independent creative writing. The learners were also not convinced about the idea of technology to improve their English writing proficiency.

Many learners used ChatGPT to improve their written text, and the benefits and disadvantages focused attention on the fact that it was a new way of changing a written text that must be considered and taught responsibly, since those learners who can access AI would use it, yet the requirement to write an essay independently, as outlined in CAPS (DBE 2011), also implies the ability to write without relying on AI tools.

Reading and writing play a significant role in education. This theme also emerged from the participants’ responses on how learners learnt English in the classroom. Essay writing communicates ideas and information to the readers of the written text. The written work must be grammatically correct and intrigue the reader. The writer, which in this case is the learners when they are writing their English essays, must ensure that the produced text is well structured. Essay writing is formal. Therefore, the essays written must reflect formal language. The teacher must collect the essays that show or have some features of academic writing to facilitate progress and improvement in the learners’ writing. From data collected during semi-structured interviews, it emerged that teachers do not receive well-constructed essays from the learners. Fang (2021) also states that writing is crucial for academic learning and disciplinary activities. However, many undergraduate and graduate students and early career researchers struggle to understand and write academic and disciplinary texts. Language is one of the primary causes of this conflict. This refers to a lack of understanding of language patterns. Learners and researchers sometimes struggle with grammatically correct writing due to the many errors:

When writing essays, the learners must first identify the type of essay that they are writing, brainstorm, do some research based on the topic, and outline the work. All teacher participants understand the importance of teaching learners the steps of essay writing:

All the teachers agreed that it was important for the learners to know which essay they were writing so that they could plan and produce a comprehensible text. The learners had mixed views, and they stated that writing essays was hard; some learners (LP3f, LP4f, LP5f, LP7f and LP8m) admitted that they lacked enough vocabulary to write correctly the way the teachers wanted them to write. To write an essay, learners need to have an adequate English vocabulary. In this regard, it is important to emphasise that mastering English requires sound vocabulary skills. Students may have trouble with both the written and spoken language. Vocabulary knowledge is a fundamental component of literacy skills. To generate language, new learners should understand and increase their vocabulary skills. Learning a word involves multiple components of vocabulary comprehension. Learning vocabulary entails taking cognisance of the context in which vocabulary is used, learning how to use combinations of words, and using speaking and writing as complementary methods (Samsidar, Sharmila & Patak 2022).

Both teachers encouraged the learners to write, although T1 encouraged them to write at school and at home. It was acknowledged that the teachers followed the guidelines from the Department of Education of how they should teach essay writing to the learners. Learners committed many errors when writing in English, and most errors were made without them being aware. T2f alleged that most of the learners struggled not only with writing but also with reading. The learners who were interviewed revealed that they did not plan or edit their work. Gillis (2021) is of the view that learners struggle with the types of essays when they are supposed to write EFAL. The teachers noticed that when these learners were writing essays, they did not fully understand the topics that they had chosen.

This theme responds to the first objective and the main research question of the study. When teachers are positive when they are teaching, the learners also become positive about what they are taught; this might make the classroom enjoyable. This might result in an improvement in their writing skills. Furthermore, the teachers indicated that they were aware that they could assist learners in having a positive attitude about learning English by emphasising its benefits for the corporate world and furthering their studies:

Learners added that:

The learners stated that when they are writing, they tend to enjoy being free and expressing themselves. When teachers and learners are positive, learners can express themselves through their writing. The goal of positive language education is to help students discover their own strengths and develop resilience while also establishing a learning environment that not only focuses on traditional school subjects but also encourages student psychosocial development that can impact their attitudes to writing (Sandholm et al. 2023).

During interviews with the participants, it emerged that learners became positive in their writing tasks when the teacher is positive. This supports the statement made by Snell (2017:65–83), who claims that a teacher’s positivity leads to successful classroom learning and teaching.

Errors related to subject-verb agreement were among the most prominent issues identified in learners’ writing. These errors typically involved incorrect use of verb forms with singular or plural subjects, as well as confusion in compound sentence structures. Table 5 presents examples of such errors extracted from the essays.

While analysing the essays, it was observed that the learners’ sentences lacked correct subject-verb agreement.

Forty per cent (20 out of 50 learners) of the errors came from incorrect verb-subject agreement. The sentences were poorly constructed, and the subject and verb had no agreement. Subject-verb agreement comprised the highest percentage of errors committed in the learners’ essays. These findings agreed with previous views that concord is a severe problem in the learners’ writing.

The following recommendations are made to the DBE, learners and teachers: