Abstract
Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute to listening comprehension. The authors assessed oral text comprehension, as well as the concurrent contributors vocabulary, verbal short- and long-term memory, self-efficacy and concentration in a sample of 442 upper elementary school children (9- to 12-year-olds). Structural equation models were used to test for direct and indirect associations. The best-fitting model was an indirect model in which verbal short-term memory and self-efficacy were positively associated with children’s vocabulary. Vocabulary, in turn, was positively associated with children’s listening comprehension. Using bias-corrected bootstrap procedures, however, vocabulary appeared to mediate the association between academic self-efficacy and listening comprehension. The indirect association between verbal short-term memory and listening comprehension through vocabulary just missed significance. The findings relate to models of listening comprehension that state a dominant role for vocabulary, also in the upper elementary years. They imply that the models could extend to evaluating broader student-related resources, such as academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, the findings on general cognitive resources fit the pattern of mixed findings in previous research. Together, the results motivate further research into contributors to listening comprehension throughout the elementary years.
Highlights
Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years
We aimed to explore whether vocabulary, verbal short-term memory (VSTM), verbal working memory (VWM), self-reported concentration and academic self-efficacy uniquely contribute to upper elementary children’s listening comprehension
Children’s Vocabulary, and VSTM and VWM were positively associated with their Listening Comprehension skills
Summary
Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The authors assessed oral text comprehension, as well as the concurrent contributors vocabulary, verbal short- and long-term memory, self-efficacy and concentration in a sample of 442 upper elementary school children (9- to 12-year-olds). The findings relate to models of listening comprehension that state a dominant role for vocabulary, in the upper elementary years. They imply that the models could extend to evaluating broader student-related resources, such as academic self-efficacy. There are changes in the ways that knowledge and skills such as vocabulary and verbal memory contribute to listening comprehension outcomes across the elementary grades (e.g. LARRC et al, 2018, 2019). We explore the unique contributions of vocabulary and verbal (short-term and working) memory, factors whose relation to listening comprehension has been assessed (e.g. Currie & Cain, 2015; Lervåg et al, 2018; Wolf et al, 2019), in tandem with academic self-efficacy and self-reported de Bree and Zee concentration – two variables that have received much less attention in relation to listening comprehension
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