University Publications

Teaching EFL learners EAP productive skills at university are important because most of institutions recently are using English language as a medium of instruction in Sudan, moreover it is the medium of research that has been adopted and acknowledged worldwide. Teachers at University of Khartoum face challenges while teaching these skills. This paper discusses the problems facing teachers of academic English in teaching speaking and writing skills. It investigates the obstacles they face and their attitudes towards teaching these skills. The researcher designed an interview to collect data. The population of the study are the teachers of English for Academic Purposes at the University of Khartoum faculty of Education and Faculty of Arts. They teach students of the first and the second year in all the faculties of university. The sample is seven teachers. The results show that teachers encounter many problems when teaching EAP productive skills. These are the lack of unified syllabus, large and unequipped classes and different academic standard and levels of English language in one class, in addition to the absence of training to the teachers. However, most of the teachers have positive attitudes toward teaching the subject. The study recommends providing a unified syllabus for EAP courses including the productive skills and should be based on the students' needs as well as well-equipped classes that suit language teaching. More attention should also be given to EAP productive skills courses and teaching hours should be increased. In addition to that study recommends dividing students to small groups according to their levels and to give in-service training to the EAP teachers in order to update their knowledge of the field.