The Relationship among Chinese High School Students’ Listening Metacognitive Awareness, Foreign Language Enjoyment and Listening Performance

Abstract

Although the importance of listening metacognitive awareness in foreign language listening has been widely accepted, so far, there has been little research on its relationship with foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and listening performance. Since listening is an important input language skill in the primary stage of language learning, this study examines the relationships among metacognitive awareness, FLE and listening performance of 331 Chinese senior high school students through Metacognitive Awareness of Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) and the Chinese Version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale. The results demonstrate that: 1) the listening metacognitive awareness of the participants was of medium and high level; 2) the listening metacognitive awareness and listening performance were significantly correlated, and the high and low listening performance groups exhibited significant differences in listening metacognitive awareness; 3) FLE had significant positive effects on listening performance, and listening metacognitive awareness could indirectly facilitate listening performance by affecting FLE, that is, FLE had mediation effect between listening metacognitive awareness and listening performance. Pedagogical suggestions for English listening are provided.