The Role of Reading Literary Texts in Raising Students’Cultural Awareness

Abstract

This research investigates the role of the reading literary texts reflecting Sudanese cultural diversity in raising the Sudanese students’ cultural awareness and reinforcing Sudan’s national unity in diversity. Sudanese university students of English are of various diversified cultural backgrounds. English reading comprehension curriculum has to be based on the accumulated aspects of Sudanese cultures to assist the enhancement of the students’ cultural diversity. The study adopts analytical descriptive method by employing a questionnaire administered to 80 4th year students of English, Department of English, college of languages, Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) and 40 Sudanese university teaching staff, lecturers and Ph.D. holders of English. Data gathered was analyzed by using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). An interview has also been conducted where five interviewees were been interviewed and the data obtained was recorded, typed and analyzed. Results demonstrate a significant direct statistical relationship between the reinforcement of Sudanese cultures as that of ethnicities, gender, Nomads and Bedouins, indigenous languages, types of food and clothing and integrating them into the English reading comprehension syllabus in order to raise cultural awareness among undergraduates. The research comes up with a number of recommendations as that the various aspects of the Sudanese diversified cultures have to be integrated within the reading literary texts in order to raise Sudanese cultural awareness. Suggestions for further studies to be carried out on other language skills as that of listening, speaking and writing skills.