Investigating the Difficulties of Pragmatic Competence among EFL Learners, AL-Neelain University, Sudan

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the difficulties of pragmatic competence among learners of English as a foreign language in Sudan. The researcher has adopted the descriptive and analytical methods. The population of the study included learners of English as a foreign language and teachers of English as a foreign language at Sudanese universities. The sample of the study consists of (50) of 4th year students of English as a foreign language in the Faculty of Arts at Al-Neelain University and 30 teachers in different Sudanese universities. Written Discourse Completion Task and Questionnaire were adopted as tools for data collection. The data were analyzed by the SPSS program. The study reveals that there is a positive tendency among EFL learners in Sudan towards understanding the language functions, nevertheless, they are unable to deal with the directive function. It also reveals that EFL learners in Sudan face difficulties to use English in different social situations and contexts. Moreover, EFL teachers in Sudan focus on pragmatic competence while teaching English. The researcher recommends that: EFL learners should be engaged in the programs based on the target language culture, EFL learners should be exposed to the different language functions, and communicative language teaching should be considered.