ESP at the Tertiary Level : Current Situation , Application and Expectation

English for Specific Purposes, so far, is probing its way in our Sudanese universities. It is taught as a university requirement. Unfortunately, our students are disappointed when they graduate confronting the real situation in the workplace to use their ESP background. Most of the students feel they discontent with the syllabus which had been taught, because it doesn’t meet their needs. Furthermore, the EFL teachers concentrate on teaching general English rather than ESP. This situation evokes the question whether we teach English for Academic purposes or English for Specific Purposes at the tertiary level. Whatsoever the case ESP or EAP is an obligatory subject for the first two levels at the Sudanese Universities. Accordingly, we should investigate the topic to characterize the term first, and then discuss the relevant issues. We have to find out what kind of language acquisition is actually required by the learner.