Multicultural Education Volume 7, Issue 8, 2021 _______________________________________________________________________________________ 220 Exploring The Novice Teachers’ Experiences Of Teaching In English Across The Curriculum In Rural Schools In South Africa Rachel G Mkhasibe, Dumsani W. Mncube, Oluwatoyin Ayodele Ajani Article Info Abstract Article History Received: May 05, 2021 This study explores the experiences of novice teachers who are teaching in English across the curriculum in South African rural schools. Their entry period into the profession is vulnerable and makes them novice in practice,characterised by a high rate of attrition,especially during the first five years of their career. Moreover, it becomes worse with some of the novice teachers who are employed in rural areas and have to teach in English across the curriculum. While there is a broad consensus on the importance of using the medium of instruction when teaching, studies that have investigated the experiences of novice teachers in teaching in English across the curriculum are few. This study employed a qualitative research design. Fifteen FET novice teachers were purposively selected for observation and focus group discussion from five high schools located in King Cetshwayo District in KwaZulu-Natal province. Theories of the Skills Acquisition Theory (SAT) and the Second Language (L2) Comprehensible Input through Teacher Talk Theory (CITTT) underpinned this study.Findings revealed that novice teachers face several challenges in curriculum delivery in English. The participants indicated learners' backgrounds as a limitation to the effective use of English as the medium of instructions. Lesson observations affirmed that teachers are comfortable using indigenous languages to teach across the curriculum. It is recommended that pre-service teachers should be prepared and exposed to both rural and urban areas during their teaching practice sessions.English language as a medium of instruction in schools,should be encouraged as a compulsory module for all pre-service students in teacher education. Accepted: August 10, 2021 Keywords : Beginning Teachers, Novice, Teaching, Curriculum, Language,Rurality DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5177714 Introduction Teaching and learning using English as the second languageis becoming more prominent in many countries to enhance learners' comprehension, and to encourage their exposure with their global contemporaries (Nel, 2010; Wong, Indiatsi, & Wong, 2016). Hence, intensive preparation is required for learners whose first language is not English to be accommodated in the use of English as themedium of instructions.This predicament is also affecting even novice teachers because a majority of them were provided with very limited knowledge and skills for dealing with the reality of teaching across the curriculum in English in the rural areas during their pre- service training.Moreover, school communities often fail to provide adequate support to novice teachers who are teaching in rural areas to help them adapt to their new professional environments (Alhamad, 2018). Subsequently, they facethe shock of their lives when teaching in English across the curriculum in rural schools. That is why Bunch (2013) emphasises that the development of pedagogical language knowledge across the curriculum is crucial to prepare novice teachers for working with learners to increase their language and literacy expectations. Holguin and Morales (2016) state that mostnoviceteachers in Columbia are reluctant to go and teach in rural areas because they know that they cannot fit into the peculiarities of rural education. They point out that these peculiarities have several causes, including poverty, which is mostly found in rural areas, as they are relatively isolated,and English is rarely used in their people‟s daily lives.Moreover, the development of policies has mostly focused on urban areas (Holguin & Morales, 2016). Similarly,Early and Norton‟s (2014) findings in their study conducted in Uganda reveal the difficulties faced by content teachers when using English as a means of instruction in rural African classrooms. Theycite the Uganda Minister of Education and Sports when he said that he was concerned that while all subjects in the school curriculum are expected to be taught well, language education has particular importance because it is fundamental to the teaching of any other subject. He stressedthat learners who do not have an adequate command of the English language as a medium of instruction cannot do well in any subject. 1. Literature review