Investigating the written performance of the Sudanese EFL University Learners of English

Investigating the written performance of the Sudanese EFL University Learners of EnglishThe study investigates the written performance of the Sudanese EFL students. The study aims to assess the written texts produced by the students to find out how successful they are in their use of writing as a mechanism through which meanin g is communicated. The subject of the study consist s of 65 Sudanese EFL teachers drawn from some Sudanese universities and 240 fourth level students who are taking English as their major in five Sudanes e universities. Three tools are used for data collecti on : writing test, two questionnaires (one for the teachers and the other for the students) and an interview with the students. By using the statist ical program SPSS, the study reveal s that Sudanese EFL students do not possess the ability to cope with the d ifferent modes of writing. This makes them unable to develop an understanding of how to employ the linguistic, cultural and social knowledge to develop an idea into a meaningful and comprehen sive wri tten text. The study also shows that students a re not abl e to depend on the strate gies of writing so that they could produce texts which stimulate readers and keep their atten tion. Furthermore, the study re veals that the students a re not prepared to benefit from their teachers and peers while they are writing; t hey never ask for ad v ice or any clarification but do their writing individually. Moreover, the study has reached the conclusion that the students’ inability to know what the re aders know and what they want represents one of the factors that lead students t o produce less informat ive written texts. The study concludes that the poor communicative competence the students possess stems from different factors: (1) the instruction the students receive in writing does not revolve around the issues that enable them to develop their abilitie s as writers, (2) the students a re not motivated enough to exert efforts and seek opportunities to engage into deliberate writing and intensive reading so that they can promote their writing abilities, (3) the environ m ent in which writing is done does not enhance and foster students' ability to create writing which is sophisticated and communicative in nature, (4) teachers also do not encourage these students to view writing as a mechanism through which meaning is negotiated, and (5 ) the sorts of feedback these students receive on their writing do es not contribute to the development of students' writing proficiency. To help the students develop their writing skills, teachers should help the students be knowledgeable about the differe nt modes of writing and be knowledgeable about the lexical and grammatical structures required by 2 each mode. Teachers also need to help the students develop the linguistic skills they need in the process of writing so that they can produce effective and co mprehensive written texts