Investigating EFL Students’ Performance and Perception of Paraphrasing Techniques at Governmental and Private Sudanese Universities

Abstract

This study investigates the performance and perception of paraphrasing techniques of students of English as a foreign language (EFL) at governmental and private Sudanese universities, the extent to which there are differences between the two types of universities, and students’ performance matches their perceptions. The sample of the study was chosen randomly from two universities (one governmental and one private) in order to collect the necessary data. One hundred students did a test about paraphrasing techniques and responded to a questionnaire about paraphrasing perceptions. The researcher used descriptive analytical method by means of One-Way Analysis Of Variance (One-Way ANOVA) to analyze the data. The results obtained revealed a significant difference between the governmental and private universities in terms of paraphrasing performance. In addition, there was no significant difference between the two universities in terms of perception. Moreover, there was a mismatch between the participants’ performance and perceptions. The study recommends adding sufficient research-related courses incorporating paraphrasing techniques to the curriculum, making explicit awareness of the importance of paraphrasing, and providing training and practice in paraphrasing techniques.