The Impact of Thematization & Contextualiztion as Discoursal Features on the Quality of EFL M.A Students Written Performance: An Analytical Study

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the discoursal features of Thematization and contextulization on the quality of EFL M.A students written performance. As the main objective is to observe this impact the researcher distributed an essay test to the second batch of M.A students of English at Sudan University of Science & Technology in December 2013 in order to measure their abilities in these discoursal features. The 50 students were asked to write an argumentative essay entitled The Challenges that Face Education in Sudan. To support the data obtained through the test 30 copies of a questionnaire were administered to 30 university teachers, particularly those who teach at the graduate level. The data collected through the two tools were statistically analyzed using the statistical program SPSS. After applying the descriptive analytical method for both research tools the researcher has come up with some results concerning Thematization & Contextualization. As for Thematization, M.A students, in their written performance, mishandle both Single Theme-Rheme, as well as, Zig-Zag Themes. As for Contextualization, they misuse both situational and conceptual contextualization. These misuses negatively influence their written performance. To solve this problem, the researcher recommends exposing students to intensive writing skill courses that adopt Systemic Functional Linguistics theory; as it links text to its context of use and thematic progression, as a way of introducing cconnected ideas; otherwise, writing skill will remain a problem.