Sudanese EFL Research Articles

Exploring the Potential Challenges Faced by Sudanese EFL Learners in Acquiring English Language Speaking Skills at the Tertiary Educational Level

This study aims to investigate the challenges that might face Sudanese EFL learners in acquiring the English language as a means of communication and to emphasize the importance of speaking skills in the English language, in Sudanese English language learners at the postsecondary level. To achieve its objectives, the study adopted the descriptive-analytical method, in which a questionnaire was used to address the research inquiries and goals. A total of 100 employed students participated in responding to the questionnaire. As per the study’s findings, students’ confidence in using speaking skills is very weak; they also lack the motivation to practice speaking skills since they were taught by Grammar Translation Approach which ignores speaking skills, moreover most lecturers prefer to avoid classroom interaction which leads to non-smart fluent EFL learners. This study suggests EFL teachers to consolidate the use communicative activities in a variety of ways which help leaners to play a crucial role in using English inside the classroom.

Evaluation of an ODL Contemporary Novel Program for Sudanese EFL University Students During the Wartime: A Case Study of Khartoum University

Evaluation of an ODL Contemporary Novel Program for Sudanese EFL University Students During the Wartime: A Case Study of Khartoum University

A Classroom Ethnographic Study on Silence among EFL Graduate Students: A Case Study

Miscellaneous investigations have been implemented to investigate the factor of silence among Asian students in the ESL and EFL contexts and has generated huge literature most of which is related to ESL/EFL students’ silence because of several cultural and social factors. The study in hand reports on an ethnographic investigation of silence attitudes among Sudanese graduate learners in the EFL graduate linguistics environments with their academic staff in Gezira University, Sudan. The study has exploited a previously developed ethnographic interview protocol as well as observations with EFL graduate students and teachers in the MA linguistics. The researcher has investigated the probable patterns of silence among Sudanese EFL learners, explored the reasons behind this phenomenon and has attempted to trace the cultural interpretations among Sudanese silence. The participants of the study were eleven first-year graduates of English (all 26-38 years old) and 6 professors. The whole sample of the study was from Gezira University situated in the central region of Sudan. Another important factor is that the participants of this study came from different parts of Sudan including Khartoum, Darfur, and Gezira State etc. All the participants have BA and BEd in English language enrolling in Gezira University MA Program. The results of the study representing sufficient empirical proof highlight/emphasize that the Face Negotiation Model (Ting-Toomey 1994; West and Turner 2010; Wang and Yang 2005) indicates that Sudanese students’ silence behaviors are reported to be determined Sudanese cultural factors including its notions of face, sense of impact and infrequent social interactions.

The Effect of Negative Transfer on English Writing of Sudanese EFL Learners

The Effect of Negative Transfer on English Writing of Sudanese EFL Learners

Teaching the English Definite Article through Reading Comprehension: A Pertinent Context in a Foreign Language Classroom

This study reports on the use of the English definite article, which forms a problem for EFL learners in formal writing. Specifically, the study attempts to measure the teaching of English definite article through reading comprehension tasks which are assumed to be suitable tactic in a Sudanese EFL classroom. In this concern, the study also intends to pinpoint the errors of the English definite article that emerge in the writings of Sudanese students of English. The study used descriptive-analytic and experimental methods for data collection. Data collection took place before and after training on the use of the definite article of English. Training continued for four weeks after which students took a posttest. Importantly, three native speakers (Americans) also took the test as a control group. Analysis revealed that as Arabic-speaking students of English, students tend to omit the English definite article before post-modified nouns, while they confuse ‘the’ in generic and specific contexts. Students also tend to add definite articles in contexts where no articles are required. In the light of the results obtained, teaching English definite article through reading comprehension tasks proved to be effective in improving the students’ performance.

EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN PROMOTING READING AND WRITING SKILLS IN SECOND YEAR SUDANESE EFL STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF KHARTOUM

The study aims to investigate the effect of cooperative learning in promoting reading and writing skills in second year Sudanese EFL students at University of Khartoum. The researchers used quasi experimental and analytical descriptive approaches. The subjects of the study were (43) students representing the second year of English department in the academic year (2017-2018). The treatment was done within two phases. In phase (1) the class divided into two groups; 22 students representing the experimental group and another (21) students as a control group in reading comprehension. In phase (2) the two groups were reversed the control group became experimental and the experimental group became control group in writing skill. Pre and post tests were conducted to both groups in the two phases of the treatment. After the treatment, a random group of (27) students were selected to respond to attitudes questionnaire. The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference between the students who taught with cooperative learning and those who were being taught by the traditional whole class- method in both reading and writing skills. Additionally, the high achiever students (high GPA), gain most from cooperative learning in writing skill and more importantly, the majority of second year students have positive attitudes towards cooperative learning. Based on these results, several theoretical and pedagogical implications are provided

The Perceptions of Faculty Members and EFL Learners to Proficient Instructors: A Philosophical Approach

Adopting a philosophical approach to the concepts of knowledge and instruction, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of faculty members and EFL learners towards the efficiency of EFL instructors at the University level of Sudan University of Science and Technology, College of Languages. Two tools were used to collect data. A direct interview was administered to both learners and faculty members of the English Department at the College of Languages in which faculties and learners were asked about their perceptions of the good EFL instructor. A 30-point questionnaire was distributed to both learners and instructors. The instructors and learners were requested to assess the points from the items of opinion including the valuable instructor merits. The findings revealed that the concepts of instruction varied immensely over the past two decades. Also, the results showed that the EFL learners and the teachers are different regarding the arrangement and exhibition of learning resources. The instructors prepared the tutorial plans in a way that grabs learners' attention and that satisfies the learners' needs to achieve gauges in a useful EFL tutor. To sum up, it might be said that skilled Sudanese EFL instructors are in high demand since they can motivate and push their students to reach their best potential to maximize their language learning prospects.

Error Analysis and English Prepositions Learning Strategy of Sudanese EFL Leaners

This study aimed to investigate the learning strategy of English preposition proficiency of Sudanese EFL Learners. The participants of the study were 50 intermediate year students chosen randomly from the School of Management Studies, Khartoum University. The participants enrolled in a pre- intermediate general English language course for two semesters. Written and oral samples were taken at the end of the first and second semesters, respectively. Errors were grouped into three types: omission, addition and substitution. Errors were analyzed in terms of performance mistakes, negative transfer, and overgeneralization. The main findings of the study indicated significant differences in the strategy of learning English prepositions between the first and second semesters. The study showed that the students were progressing well in their learning of English prepositions. It also, revealed that female students achieved better learning strategies in learning English prepositions compared to male students in both written and oral productions in the two semesters.

Exploring the Characteristic Features of PhD Programs in ELT among Sudanese Universities (Study at Nile Valley University and SUST 2021- 2022)

The motion of holding a PhD Degree among Sudanese EFL learners is increased widely throughout Sudan. Most of PhD candidates prefer to study courses followed by complementary research. This study aims to explore students’ views on the PhD in ELT programs by courses and complementary research at some Sudanese universities.  The study was conducted to investigate these programs and an attempt to achieve the following objectives: 1- To identify the most prevalent characteristic features of each of these programs. 2- To explore whether the contents of the program satisfy the needs of students or not. 3- To what extent the syllabuses in the programs help to qualify the candidates to become qualified teachers of English language. The study also serves as a needs analysis which was a very important point for the betterment of every ongoing program. The researcher applied the descriptive research method to achieve the study objectives. A questionnaire was used for the data collection. The participants in the study were students enrolled in PhD in ELT programs and graduates who had already graduated from these programs. Then, the data were statistically analysed to evaluate the PhD in ELT programs. The results showed that most participants agree that the contents of the program satisfy the needs of students. Many participants agree that the syllabuses offered in the programs help to qualify students to become qualified teachers of English language.

Impact of Teaching Short Stories on Sudanese EFL Learners’ Vocabulary learning

The current study aimed to explore the relationship between teaching short stories and the improvement of the learners' vocabulary in the Sudanese EFL context. The study used a descriptive and analytical research design. It used a pre-test and post-test for 20 students from Khartoum University and was divided into two groups- an experimental group and a control group, with 10 participants in each group. Using statistical analysis, the findings showed that the participants who were taught using short stories improved their vocabulary in terms of increasing their word count and usage that the participants in the control group. That is to say, using short stories motivates the learners to learn new words and enables them to use such vocabulary in sentences. Reading a short story can improve students' vocabulary. With this significant result, it can be said that short stories develop learners' vocabulary and this helps EFL learners, like many other similar contexts, to develop their vocabulary through the teaching of short stories. Keywords: ELT, EFL learners, Short stories, Sudanese Context, Vocabulary

The Attitude of Sudanese EFL Students towards Literature to Enrich Their Vocabulary Building

This study aims to explain the attitude and perception of Sudanese EFL secondary school students towards learning literature to enrich their vocabulary. The study is unique as the researchers believe that no significant research in the undertaken area has been conducted in secondary schools in Sudan. The study sample consists of seventy-nine subjects: thirty girls, thirty-five boys, and fourteen teachers from Ahfad Secondary School in Khartoum. This study investigated vocabulary acquisition challenges faced by secondary school students of Ahfad due to lack of interest, lack of good study material for literature, lack of experienced and well-qualified teachers, lack of modern techniques in the EFL classroom, and the implementation of a designed curriculum. Secondary students can engage in meaningful active communication in English if they have good vocabulary, and literature is the most effective way to expand vocabulary. The study adopted qualitative methodology using a questionnaire and vocabulary building activities to perceive how literature helps vocabulary acquisition. The study results showed that the EFL subjects positively enriched their vocabulary through the existing curriculum. EFL teachers should use innovative methods to inculcate vocabulary acquisition in the heart of the EFL students to develop the spirit of reading sections.

Vocabulary Learning Strategies Frequently Used by Sudanese EFL Learners at the Tertiary Level to Strengthen their Vocabulary Knowledge

The study aimed to find out the most frequent Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) that had been used by the Sudanese EFL learners at the Faculty of Education, Alzaiem Alazhari University. A (VLSs) questionnaire was designed and handled to 159 EFL learners in 1st year. The questionnaire adopted Schmitt’s (1997) taxonomy with slight changes of items. There was a significant agreement among them in using vocabulary learning strategies to expand their vocabulary. Cognitive and memory strategies were the most frequently used, while social was the least used. The study recommended that teachers can help their students to become initiative and take responsibility for their success by providing them with a sense of what vocabulary learning strategies are, to enhance their vocabulary knowledge. Moreover, teachers should present a wide range of (VLSs) to their students for both a classroom-related setting and self-directed vocabulary learning.

The Applicability of CALL in Teaching EFL Based on Sudanese Universities Teachers’ Attitudes

This research article tackles “the applicability of CALL in teaching EFL based on Sudanese EFL teachers’ attitudes”. The researchers utilized quantitative and experimental methods using two data gathering tools for the study in question: The first is the questionnaire is administered to (50) different EFL Sudanese universities and colleges teachers, andsecond one is pre and post-tests given to an experimental group consisting of (30) students of English in the second year selected from the Department of English in the Faculty Education at the University of Kassala; they were taught reading comprehension lessons through the use of computers. The data obtained from the questionnaire and the two have been computationally processed with the SPSS program to check the truth hypotheses, to reflect the Sudanese EFL teachers’ perceptions towards the integration CALL in teaching EFL and to see to what an extent there is a significant impact integration of CALL on the students’ performance. Finally, Sudanese EFL teachers through this study recommend strongly the ultimate integration of CALL in teaching EFL.

Translating Collocations from English into Arabic and vice versa: An Empirical Study

Collocations are defined as ''the frequent co-occurrence of lexical items that naturally share the characteristics of semantic and grammatical dependencies"(Ibrahim, 2003: iii). In translation, collocations are considered a factor that makes translation more effective and powerful. However, translating collocations is an everlasting struggle for most students of translation. The present study aims at investigating the challenges that Sudanese EFL university students encounter when rendering English collocations into their Arabic equivalences and vice versa as well as the reasons behind these challenges. To this end, 26 Sudanese EFL students, between 20-30 years old, studying at Nahda College in Sudan, were selected. A diagnostic test composed of two questions is used as a tool for data collection. Frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation are used to analyse the collected data. The results of this study manifests that Sudanese EFL university students encounter difficulties in translating collocations from English into Arabic and vice versa; the causes of these difficulties are due to students’ unawareness of the linguistic and cultural differences between the two languages as well as their heavy reliance on literal translation strategy.

The Essential Techniques Affecting the Performance of Sudanese EFL Learners in Writing: A Case Study of Three Eastern Universities of Sudan

This paper explores the English language learners’ weakness in writing because most of them do not know how to combine their sentences correctly. The paper was devoted to Sentence Combining (SC) as an essential technique or method that affects EFL learners' performance in writing English. Using the case study on fourth-level students majoring in English, the descriptive-analytical method has been applied, representing the three eastern universities in Sudan: The University of Kassala, University of Gadarif and Red Sea University. The researcher used an objective test of (83) items in Sentence Combining in English. The frequency tables and percentage were used for the five areas in the students' test (pass-fail). According to the students' outcomes, they have been proved that the Sudanese learners of English at the three eastern universities lack the awareness of methods and techniques of combining English sentences. They are not well-informed of combining English sentences by means of punctuation, co-ordination, subordination, reduction and apposition. The concept of sentence combining is unconsciously neglected by the teachers themselves, who are unaware of its importance.

Investigating Reading Comprehension Problems Encountered by Sudanese Secondary School Students: Teachers perspective

This study aimed to investigate reading comprehension problems encountered by Sudanese EFL secondary school students. To achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher used an analytical descriptive method and a questionnaire as a tool. The sample of the study consisted of 30 teachers who were randomly selected from Kenana secondary schools in White Nile State, and responded to the items of the questionnaire. The findings of the study showed that Sudanese Secondary School students face problems in reading and answering comprehension questions. The main causes of these problems were attributed to students’ lack of vocabulary and motivation. English language curriculum and lack of teachers’ training were also considered as causes of this difficulty. The researcher suggested some recommendations for both teachers and syllabus designers. As a recommendation for both sides; teachers and students, the researcher recommended that English language teachers should be trained to improve students’ levels in reading comprehension. Teachers should also motivate their students to have more interest in learning English language. In addition to that, they should encourage their students to read extensively so as to improve their level of comprehension, and syllabus designers should provide good reading material with adequate exercises besides English language literature.

Stimulating Students’ Motivation in the EFL Classroom

This study aimed to explore Sudanese EFL undergraduate students’ level and kinds of motivation towards learning English as a Foreign Language. Simple random sampling technique was used to select (25) firs-year students drawn exclusively from the English Language Department, at College of Languages, in University of Bahri. A questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The data was then analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS). The researcher adopted the descriptive analytical method to interpret the data obtained from the above mentioned instrument. The findings revealed that most of Sudanese EFL students have extrinsic orientation towards English language learning. Therefore, the study recommended that EFL teachers should incorporate authentic teaching materials and content into their lecture plans to supplement and enhance textbook units and topics to encourage internal motivation in students and help them achieve their goals.

Suggestion Strategies As Employed By Sudanese EFL Students

Suggestion Strategies As Employed By Sudanese EFL Students

Using information and Communication Technology in E.F.L Classrooms at University level (Case Study of Gezira and Butana University lectures)

Using Information and Communication Technology in EFL classrooms at the university level is very important for universities lecturers in Sudan. This study aims to investigate the role of ICT in teaching English in Sudanese universities represented by Gezira and Butana University. The study casts light on the importance of ICT today particularly in the field of English language teaching. Moreover, investigates the problems which face Sudanese EFL teachers in using ICT in classrooms at the university level. The study has followed the descriptive-analytical method. The data for the study[ has been collected by means of a questionnaire and an interview with some ICT experts and technicians. The study has used the (SPSS) statistical package for the social science programme for analyzing the data. The study has reached many important results: There are many problems facing Sudanese English language teachers at the university level in teaching the English language while using the technology of information and communication because they are not specialized in the field. In the light of these results, the study recommends that: Introducing ICT into educational curricula so as to be understood and used easily by learners and teachers. Also the necessity of training EFL teachers on using these technologies. Finally, the study recommends all teachers at the university level have full knowledge of using ICT in education because it is very important nowadays.

The Impact of Teaching Short Stories for the Sudanese English Foreign Language Learners' Achievement of English Language

This study aimed to investigating the effect of teaching short stories for Sudanese EFL Learners' Achievement of English Language. The problem of the study was that, the researcher noticed that the aims of Sudan Practical Integrated National English Series (SPINE ) are not achieved since the students who finish the 6th textbooks of SPINE series can hardly write a paragraph or speak English freely, naturally and fluently, add to that the results of English Language Exams in Sudan Secondary Certificate are characterized by deterioration. This study adopted a quasi-empirical method. The sample of the study consisted of (68) male and female eighth basic students in Omdurman locality in the first term of the academic year 2016 / 2017.The population of the study was (204) students. The subjects of the study were distributed randomly into two groups in each one (34) (17 male and 17 female group as an experimental) and (17 male and 17 female as a control group). The experimental group was taught via student's text book plus short stories strategy while the control group was taught via student's textbook only. A pre/post-test was constructed to measure the students' level in Language skills before and after the experiment. The study used recent statistical package to analyze the data. The results indicated statistically significant differences in students' achievement in favour of the experimental group. Based on these results the researcher recommended that curricula designers, educators, and experts should adopt short stories or include at least short stories in syllabuses. There is an urgent need for training programs for teachers in the field of literature in general and short stories in particular. Simplified copies of short stories such as A Tale of Two Cities, the Black Tulip, Treasure Island, etc., are very much recommended as formal literary text.