An Investigation of Listening Comprehension Difficulties amongst EFL Sudanese University Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate listening comprehension difficulties experienced by EFL students at Sudanese universities; the study took place at Alneelain University, the Faculty of Arts, English Department in the university academic year (2018-2019). The study has adopted the descriptive analytical method: the researcher collected data by using two tools, a diagnostic test for (30) Alneelain University second year students and a questionnaire for (30) Sudanese university teachers .To analyze the data the researcher has used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).The findings of the study revealed that Sudanese university students encounter some listening comprehension difficulties; they are unable to discriminate sounds and pronunciation of native speakers of English, they posses limited knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and phonological rules and they find it difficult to pick up the necessary information. In the light of the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that, teachers should try to familiarize their students with native speakers' pronunciation, they should pre-teach new vocabulary, grammatical and phonological rules, furthermore, they should train the students to grasp the main idea rather than understanding every single word or phrase. Teachers should also raise the students' awareness about the importance of listening comprehension in the process of foreign language learning.