The Mediating Effect of Listening Metacognitive Awareness between Test-Taking Motivation and Listening Test Score: An Expectancy-Value Theory Approach.

Jian Xu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02201

Abstract

The present study investigated test-taking motivation in L2 listening testing context by applying Expectancy-Value Theory as the framework. Specifically, this study was intended to examine the complex relationships among expectancy, importance, interest, listening anxiety, listening metacognitive awareness, and listening test score using data from a large-scale and high-stakes language test among Chinese first-year undergraduates. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating effect of listening metacognitive awareness on the relationship between expectancy, importance, interest, listening anxiety, and listening test score. According to the results, test takers’ listening scores can be predicted by expectancy, interest, and listening anxiety significantly. The relationship between expectancy, interest, listening anxiety, and listening test score was mediated by listening metacognitive awareness. The findings have implications for test takers to improve their test taking motivation and listening metacognitive awareness, as well as for L2 teachers to intervene in L2 listening classrooms.

Highlights

Second or foreign language (L2) listening is considered as one of the most difficult skills for foreign language learners of English because of its transient and implicit nature (Graham, 2006)
It is theoretically reasonable that the effective use of listening metacognitive awareness is affected by test-taking motivation in language learning and testing, thereby influencing listening test score (Dörnyei and Skehan, 2003; Vandergrift, 2005; Liu, 2016)
They found that listening metacognitive awareness accounted for 22% of the variances of the overall listening test score; problem solving strategy and directed attention were significantly correlated with listening test score

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Second or foreign language (L2) listening is considered as one of the most difficult skills for foreign language learners of English because of its transient and implicit nature (Graham, 2006). It is theoretically reasonable that the effective use of listening metacognitive awareness is affected by test-taking motivation in language learning and testing, thereby influencing listening test score (Dörnyei and Skehan, 2003; Vandergrift, 2005; Liu, 2016). It is, high time to empirically explore how test-taking motivation influences listening test performance via listening metacognitive awareness. High time to empirically explore how test-taking motivation influences listening test performance via listening metacognitive awareness This relationship is highly context-specific, but there lacks a systematic investigation into the high-stakes L2 listening testing context. (2) Does listening metacognitive awareness mediate the correlation path from expectancy to listening test score, as well as from expectancy, importance, interest and listening anxiety to L2 listening test score?

LITERATURE REVIEW

Participants

RESULTS

Findings

DISCUSSION