The teaching and facilitation of academic literacy skills in English second language for in-service teachers presents a challenge in the light of the increased enrolment of un- and under-qualified teachers on the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE). The course aimed to up-skill teachers to meet the minimum standards as required for the profession. Fundamental Literacy, a core module on the NPDE course, was designed to support and equip in-service teachers as students, with sufficient academic literacy skills to complete the teaching qualification successfully. This qualitative study explored the academic experiences of part-time in-service teachers in the fundamental literacy module. The collected data was analysed thematically to understand in-service teachers’ experiences of the module and the support needed to ensure academic success. Findings suggest that adult learners experience anxiety upon entering the higher education environment. Factors outside the educational sphere (i.e. home and work) presented major obstacles to their success as students. In-service teachers are oriented to more social ways of learning as opposed to an individualised and autonomous method of studying. Teamwork and scaffolding techniques accommodated the unique linguistic and cultural needs of this mature learner cohort. It is recommended that a more innovative and collaborative approach to learning is considered with in-service teachers.