Pragmatic Competence of Sudanese English Foreign Language (EFL) Learners at University Level

Abstract

This descriptive analytical study aimed to explore the pragmatic competence of the Sudanese EFL learners at tertiary level. A pragmatic competence test (PCT) was developed to collect data from 126 participants; 104 EFL learners majoring in English and 22 EAP learners who were willing to take part in the study. The participants were divided into two main groups.  The first group was composed of the fourth level and the second level of English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners, while the second group was composed of the second level of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners.  Each main group was divided into two sub-groups to provide data. A test was used to collect data and the results were processed to measure the performance of each sub-group.  The results were correlated and it was found that the academic level had an effect on the pragmatic competence of the fourth and second level EFL learners. It showed that there was a significant difference in favor of the fourth level.  As to the effect of gender on pragmatic competence, the statistical analysis showed no difference in the pragmatic performance due to gender difference. Finally, the analysis of the effect of the type of syllabus on the pragmatic competence of the 2nd level EFL learners and the 2nd level EAP learners showed statistically significant differences in favor of the 2nd level EFL learners.  It was concluded that the existing syllabus properly addresses its audience intercultural communication needs. However, it was recommended that more practice needs to be added to sustain the current level of the students' pragmatic competence.