From Internship to Impact: Tackling Challenges of Writing Pedagogy in Ghanaian English Language Classrooms

Abstract

Although writing remains essential for effective English language instruction, many teacher interns in Ghanaian tertiary institutions struggle with resource constraints, learner diversity, and pedagogical limitations. Guided by this concern, this study examined the key challenges teacher interns face and the strategies they employ in English language writing within the Ghanaian tertiary setting. A descriptive survey design grounded in a positivist orientation was adopted, and data were gathered from 286 teacher interns at the University of Education, Winneba. Data were collected using a closed-ended questionnaire with a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.78 and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that heterogeneous student proficiency levels and adequate teaching and learning resources remain persistent barriers to effective writing instruction. At the same time, scaffolded approaches such as mentor feedback, structured task sequencing, and collaborative writing enhance pedagogical effectiveness and support interns’ confidence as writers and teachers. Drawing on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, particularly the notion of Zone of Proximal Development, the study illustrates how mentorship and collaboration mediate learning and professional growth among teacher interns. The study contributes to teacher education discourse by situating scaffolding and mediation within a resource-constrained context and suggesting practical strategies for improving writing instruction during teaching internships.