Exploring grammatical cohesion in Grade 10 learners' academic texts at two selected schools in Maseru

Abstract

Writing practices in academic texts have piqued the interest of academics worldwide. Educators teaching English as a second language (ESL) have endeavoured to address writing difficulties their learners encounter. However, not much attention has been drawn to cohesion in writing in Lesotho. This study aimed to investigate grammatical cohesion in Grade 10 learners’ academic texts at two selected schools in Maseru. Based on the qualitative research design, the study adopted semi-structured interviews, diagnostic tests and documentary sources for data collection to achieve the overarching aim of the study. The study has, therefore, identified various cohesive devices used by students, such as references and conjunctions. Specifically, using the aforementioned instruments to collect oral and written data from the target participants, this study discovered that personal references were the most frequently used types of references and additive conjunctions were also often employed by students from both schools. The usages identified include systematic salient patterns of redundant, missing, misused cohesive devices and zero articles by the participating students. This study, therefore, concludes by highlighting the challenges faced by learners with regard to cohesion and coherence in academic writing, thus calling for language practitioners in high schools in Lesotho to reconsider their approaches to teaching cohesive devices for enhancing students’ writing practices