EFL postgraduate students’ learning needs on English-medium business programmes: An exploratory study

Business, as a study area, attracts many students on English-medium programmes in ESL/EFL (English as a second language / English as a foreign language). However, there has been scarce research on business studies in literature on EAP (English for academic purposes). Many previous studies have predominantly focused on business classroom written genres and less attention has been paid to students’ needs and other skills necessary for successful coping with English-medium business programmes. This study attempts to fill this gap by moving further beyond and not solely focusing on written genres, but also exploring business students’ learning needs and skills on an English-medium master of business administration (MBA) programme in Sudan from both students’ and subject content teachers’ perspectives. The main objective is to inform both business education and EAP provision in the context and beyond. A qualitative methodology was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews as the main method of data collection. Data was collected in two visits made to the study site and 31 participants: 10 teachers and 21 students took part in the investigation. Data analysis results showed that there was a range of language skills, believed to be necessary for effective study. Results also showed that participants held different views about the importance and priority of these needs and skills. Pedagogical implications for both business education and EAP will be presented and discussed.