An Assessment of the written performance of the sudanese English as a foreign languege university learners: A communicative approach to writing

Abstract

This study investigated the written performance of the Sudanese English as a foreign languege (EFL) students. The study aims to assess the written texts produced by the students in order to find out how successful they are in their use of writing as a mechanism through which meaning is communicated. To achieve the aim of the study, the researcher employed the analytic descriptive method. The subject of the study consisted of 65 Sudanese EFL teachers drawn from some Sudanese universities and 240 fourth level students who were taking English as their major in five Sudanese universities. Three tools were used for data collection: writing test, two questionnaires (one for the teachers and the other for the students) and an interview with the students. By using the statistical program SPSS, the study revealed that Sudanese EFL students did not possess the ability to cope with the different 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 comprehensive written text. The study also showed that students were not able to depend on the strategies of writing so that they could produce texts which stimulate readers and keep their attention. Furthermore, the study revealed that the students were not prepared to benefit from their teachers and peers while they are writing; they never asked for advice or any clarification but did their writing individually. Moreover, the study has reached the conclusion that the students� inability to know what the readers know and what they want represents one of the factors that lead students to produce less informative written texts. The study concluded that the poor communicative competence the students possess stems from different factors: (1) the instruction the students received in writing did not revolve around the issues that enable them to develop their abilities as writers, (2) the students were 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 environment in which writing is done did not enhance and foster students' ability to create writing which is sophisticated and communicative in nature, (4) teachers also did not encourage these students to view writing as a mechanism through which meaning is negotiated, and (5) the sorts of feedback these students received on their writing do 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 different modes of writing and be knowledgeable about the lexical and grammatical structures required by 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 comprehensive written texts.