Student perceptions of a self-regulatory approach to second language listening comprehension development

Abstract

This study investigated: (1) the effects of a process-based, self-regulatory approach to second language (L2) listening instruction on language learners' (a) metacognitive awareness, (b) self-regulatory abilities, (c) listening comprehension strategy use, and (d) overall success in listening comprehension, (2) the interrelationships between language learners' metacognitive awareness, self-regulatory abilities, listening comprehension strategy use, and their overall success in listening comprehension, and (3) language learners' perceptions and attitudes towards a self-regulatory approach to L2 listening comprehension development. The participants came from two small groups of native anglophone Canadian federal government employees enrolled in a mandatory French as a L2 learning program. One group, at the beginner-intermediate level, had been assessed by the learning institution as low-achievers; the other group, at the intermediate-advanced level, had been assessed as high-achievers. Six data collection instruments---questionnaires, stimulated recalls, think-alouds, interviews, listening note-books, and observation---were cyclically used to complement, explain, and verify the findings elicited by each instrument in the investigation of the research questions. In addition, at the end of the study, the students and their instructors completed individual summative reports of evaluation of the pedagogical method investigated in this research. All sources of data concur in indicating that low- and high-proficiency students responded positively to the pedagogical approach examined, and that this method exerted beneficial effects on low- and high-proficiency students' metacognitive awareness, strategy use, and on their confidence and interest in L2 listening. The beneficial effects of this approach are most evident in the case of the low-proficiency students, whose think-aloud protocols reveal a considerable improvement in listening comprehension success over the course of the nine week listening training. This study provides detailed insights into the components of metacognitive, self-regulatory, and strategic knowledge---as well as individual listener characteristics---which influence L2 listeners' comprehension, and into the intricate interrelationships among these factors. The study also provides detailed insights into the advantages and drawbacks of the various instruments which can be utilized in L2 listening research. These methodological findings underscore the necessity for rigorous data triangulation in the investigation of the covert processes underlying listening comprehension.