Factors That Hinder Grade 10 English Second Language Learners’ Efficiency in the Use of Grammatical Cohesive Devices, A Case Study of 6 Selected Schools in the Eastern Cape Province – South Africa

Factors That Hinder Grade 10 English Second Language Learners’ Efficiency in the Use of Grammatical Cohesive Devices, A Case Study of 6 Selected Schools in the Eastern Cape Province – South Africa

Nomasomi Hilda Matiso & Lundi Nomlala

Issue: Vol. 6 No. 12 2025 Article 4 pp. 1402 – 1414
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2025612 13 | Published online 30th December, 2025.

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ABSTRACT

Grammatical cohesion plays a crucial role in the construction of coherent and effective written communication. It refers to the way linguistic elements within a text are interconnected to create a sense of unity and flow, facilitating the readers’ understanding of the text. In essence, it encompasses various linguistic devices and techniques that establish a relationship between sentences and paragraphs, guiding readers through the text. Halliday and Hassan’s Theory of Cohesion, which proposes that effective use of cohesive devices allows writers to construct logical connections between propositions, thus contributing to the text’s overall cohesiveness, strengthened this investigation. A descriptive qualitative approach, embedded in an interpretive paradigm, underpinned this paper. Semi-structured interviews were administered to 6 English First Additional Language (EFAL) while document analysis, in the form of essays, was used to collect data from 36 conveniently chosen grade 10 EFAL learners in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Thematic analysis enabled the author to categorise the data into themes, which formulated the findings of this inquiry. Outcomes of this inquiry indicated that learners’ essays lack grammatical coherence due to their inadequate knowledge about the use of grammatical cohesive markers, resulting in lengthy and disjointed sentences. Learners’ restricted acquaintance with these structures could derail efforts aimed at producing comprehensible discourse. It is recommended that the Text-based Approach, which can help learners understand grammatical cohesion indicators by exposing them to real texts, should be the subject of professional development. This study will contribute to the development of learners’ good writing skills, which enable them to be communicatively competent.

Keywords: Grammatical Cohesion, Coherence, Cohesive Markers, Authentic Texts, Text-Based Approach

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AUTHOR(S)

Nomasomi Hilda Matiso graduated from Walter Sisulu University in South Africa with a doctorate in education. Additionally, she holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Linguistics, Phonetics and Phonology, Grammar and Usage, and Morphology and Syntax. She is enthusiastic about creating pedagogies for English language teaching and learning, especially the text-based approach, and teaches curriculum studies in English. She has written, co-written, and published articles in both national and international journals.

Lundi Nomlala holds a doctoral degree in Language Education. He is lecturing at Walter Sisulu University in the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Creative Arts Education Department. He lectures English for the Bachelor of Education Senior Phase and FET students majoring in languages. He has successfully supervised six Bachelor of Education honours students and is supervising three Master’s students. His research interests are language education, school leadership and management, and higher education studies.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Matiso, Nomasomi Hilda, and Lundi Nomlala. “Factors That Hinder Grade 10 English Second Language Learners’ Efficiency in the Use of Grammatical Cohesive Devices, A Case Study of 6 Selected Schools in the Eastern Cape Province – South Africa.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 6, no. 12 (2025): 1393 – 1401. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.202561213.