Listening Proficiency Levels Research Articles

The Effectiveness of Duolingo English Courses in Developing Reading and Listening Proficiency

This study evaluated the reading and listening proficiency levels of 245 English language learners who completed the Basic content (through Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [CEFR] level A2) of one of the following three Duolingo English courses: English for Japanese, Spanish, or Portuguese speakers. Participants self-reported having little to no prior proficiency in English and used Duolingo as their only learning tool. Their language skills were measured using the reading and listening sections of the STAMP 4S English Test from Avant Assessment. The results show that, on average, learners at the end of the Basic content (A2) scored Intermediate High in both reading and listening in all three courses. Given that Duolingo’s English courses are CEFR-aligned with an expected proficiency outcome of Intermediate Mid upon completion of the A2 content, it is noteworthy that participants across the three studied courses surpassed these expectations by achieving an additional American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) sublevel in both reading and listening. Such results present a robust and coherent body of evidence affirming the efficacy of Duolingo’s English courses in enhancing learners’ competencies in reading and listening comprehension.

The role of bottom-up strategy instruction and proficiency level in L2 listening test performance: an intervention study

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of bottom-up instruction (BI) on a high-stakes listening test for second language (L2) listeners and compared these effects with those of strategy instruction (SI) in relation to their proficiency levels. Two intact classes (48 L2 listeners) of different L2 listening proficiency levels received five weeks of BI and two weeks of SI. BI offered explicit knowledge of spoken English combined with reproduction practice, whereas SI helped learners deploy metacognitive knowledge and test-taking strategies. The data were collected three times: before the intervention (pre-test) and after each instruction (mid- and post-test). A common-item design that permits Rasch analysis was used. The results showed that BI improved L2 ­listeners’ test performances regardless of their proficiency levels, ­highlighting the usefulness of BI in boosting listening proficiency. Conversely, SI benefited only high proficiency L2 listeners, which supports the threshold hypothesis claiming that L2 listeners require a certain level of L2 proficiency to deploy metacognitive knowledge and test-taking strategies successfully.

The Role of Listening Proficiency Level in EFL Learners’ Strategic Competence

Examination of language learners’ strategy use within the context of language ability may contribute to realizing the role of language knowledge in strategic competence. Employing a mix-methods sequential explanatory design, this study examined whether level of listening proficiency as a part of language knowledge affects Iranian EFL learners’ cognitive and metacognitive strategy use. The objective was to explore the role of listening proficiency level in EFL learners’ strategic competence. Therefore, in the quantitative part of the study, 343 Iranian EFL learners answered a cognitive and metacognitive listening strategy questionnaire (CMLSQ) before and immediately after completing the listening section of a TOEFL test. The results of the MANOVA revealed that the high proficiency group was significantly different from the low proficiency group regarding their strategic knowledge (measured by trait cognitive and metacognitive strategies) and strategic regulation (measured by state cognitive and metacognitive strategies) as the two dimensions of strategic competence. The qualitative data also showed that high proficiency listeners adopted a wider range of strategies than did low proficiency listeners. Both the quantitative and the qualitative data analyses proposed that the high proficiency listeners dealt with the test tasks more strategically than the low proficiency ones. The results of the current study suggest that the implementation of strategic competence depends upon the availability of a certain level of linguistic competence in second language. The findings emphasize the need for a judicious approach to teaching listening, considering both listening skills and listening strategies.

Examining the implementation of academic vocabulary, lexical density, and speech rate features on OpenCourseWare and MOOC lectures

ABSTRACT OpenCourseWare (OCW) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained increasing popularity and importance because they greatly expand students’ access to university lectures. Although the main component of OCW and MOOC platforms is lectures, their differences may potentially affect the difficulty of academic listening comprehension. This study thus explores the extent to which the differences between OCW and MOOC lectures may affect L2 academic listening comprehension in terms of three affecting factors: academic vocabulary coverage, lexical density, and speech rate. The result shows that both OCW and MOOC lectures have a high academic vocabulary coverage, with many more higher-level academic words appearing in the current MOOC lectures. Moreover, the lexical density and speech rate of MOOC lectures are significantly higher than those of OCW lectures, suggesting that students may need to process denser information delivered at a faster speech rate when viewing MOOC lectures. It is thus concluded that comprehending MOOC lectures may demand higher-level academic listening skills and a larger academic vocabulary size. The findings can provide implications for EAP instruction in terms of using OCW and MOOC lectures as academic listening materials for students with different academic vocabulary knowledge and listening proficiency levels.

Assessing the Listening Proficiency of ESL Students in a Pandemic

The debate as to whether or not listening skills can be used as a testing device for measuring language proficiency—particularly grammatical competence—has been quite a controversial issue for the longest time. Yet, current research findings have not been entirely conclusive and sufficient either way. Hence, this particular study was conducted to address the problem given the existing research gap in the field. Firstly, the investigation sought to determine the listening proficiency level of 40 ESL freshmen in a state university for grammatical distinctions utilizing the mean score. Secondly, it identified the learners’ common errors and difficulties encountered in listening for grammatical distinctions using frequency and sentence analysis. To validate the results of the communicative listening test, a writing composition exercise was duly administered. The results showed that the respondents have very good proficiency levels in listening for grammatical distinctions in terms of inflectional patterns of singular and plural forms of subjects or predicates and good proficiency levels in terms of inflectional patterns for present and past tense of verbs. However, it was found that there still exist some problems in terms of more complex syntactic constructions. Results revealed that the respondents were confused and disrupted in some listening items when the test sentence is embedded with intervening words, phrases, or subordinate clauses. This problem may actually be indicative of socio-psycholinguistic factors to retain what they learned in an academic setting, but outside of it, the intervening words easily disrupted their concentration and memory. Lastly, the new normal caused by the COVID 19 pandemic has forced educators and students into a new learning environment: the online classroom. In recognition of this, the test was administered online, and the results similarly processed but with consideration of the electronic platform as a moderating variable. This shift in the modality of instruction affects ways of learning that have not necessarily been plotted before, as observed by EFL and ESL experts like Brown (2000) and Richards (2016). Thus, while it is not the primary focus of the study, this paper nevertheless highlights this new socio-technological aspect as a crucial moderator of listening assessment for better grammatical competence.

Alleviating Effects of Self-Regulating the Audio on Listening Comprehension Problems

ABSTRACT In language classrooms, listening is considered a problematic skill for various reasons. The uncontrollable nature of speech’s speed of delivery plays a major role in these issues. Tight teacher control over the audio input creates even more unfavorable conditions for listeners to sufficiently absorb input. This study explores the positive effects of self-regulating the audio on listening comprehension problems of foreign language (FL) listeners. Thirty Flemish secondary school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Belgium participated in a quasi-experimental design in which the control group (N = 16) worked in pairs and listened to the audio input twice, while the experiment group (N = 14), also working in pairs, had the option to regulate the audio input. Despite having a common listening proficiency level (A2), a qualitative analysis reveals that there are prominent differences in the significance and frequency of listening comprehension problems between pairs with and without the self-regulation option. By documenting the listening problems students experience and self-regulation’s effect on them, the current study illustrates the possible benefits of more autonomy for listeners and suggests new insights into listening education from linguistic and pedagogical perspectives.

Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Factors Affecting Listening Performance of Chinese EFL Learners

Foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA), which consists of various factors influencing listening performance, has been extensively investigated in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. However, little attention has been given to the effects of FLLA factors in different listening proficiency levels. This paper investigated 78 English majors from a Chinese university to examine the differences between and the effects of FLLA factors on listening performance in low (n = 20) and high-proficient (n = 19) EFL listeners. The participants were required to complete a 25-item FLLA questionnaire and take a listening test. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed that the two groups were significantly different in their self-belief in listening proficiency. Sequential multiple regression analyses showed that the listening-anxiety factor was a negative predictor, and the (lack of) self-belief factor was a positive predictor, for less proficient listeners. However, the three factors (including the decoding-skills factor) had no explanatory power in the high-proficient group’s listening performance. Additionally, dissatisfaction with one’s current listening proficiency may facilitate the less proficient listeners’ performance but has a considerably detrimental impact on higher proficient listeners. Finally, pedagogical implications of FL listening anxiety and research suggestions are included.

A Listenability Formula Using Listening Proficiency Level Information of Japanese Learners of English as a Foreign Language

A Listenability Formula Using Listening Proficiency Level Information of Japanese Learners of English as a Foreign Language

A Survey on the Factors Influencing Lower-Level l2 Listeners�� Strategies Use and Proficiency Level

This paper aims to identify the factors that cause EFL learners’ lower listening proficiency level and how these factors influence students’ performance in their listening process. Questionnaire and interview questions were designed to investigate 33 non-English majors and other EFL learners’ strategy use and proficiency levels from four aspects: the learners, the language, the language environment and the teacher. Interviews were conducted and long-term observations carried out for further information. Results show that learners themselves are the main factor that influences their listening proficiency level, personality, language and the teachers’ way of teaching also can have a negative influence on their proficiency level of listening. Thus teaching of English listening not only needs to take the training of the learners’ listening strategies into serious consideration, but also requires teachers’ modification of their teaching to suit the special requirements of students in various levels. The results may have pedagogical implications to facilitate both the college English teachers’ teaching of listening and to improve the EFL learners’ proficiency levels in listening.

The Effects of Three Forms of Listening Support on Listening Comprehension of Korean High School Students

This study investigated the effect of three types of listening support: repeated input, topic preparation, and vocabulary preview. The research involved a classroom-based experiment with 100 high school students in Korea. The listening test results analyzed with factorial ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference among the three different types of support. On the other hand, concerning the learners’ listening proficiency level, in the high level subgroups, vocabulary preview was most effective (p=0.03). Related to the perceptions about each form of listening support, all levels of students in repeated input group showed the consistent positive attitude. In terms of anxiety, majority of the vocabulary preview subgroup in high listening proficiency learners did not agree that the support they received was helpful to reduce their listening anxiety.

The effects of using advance organizers on improving EFL learners' listening comprehension: A mixed method study

Abstract This study investigated the effects of using two types of written advance organizers, key sentences and key vocabulary, on the improvement of EFL learners' listening comprehension. 108 second year university students at the higher and lower listening proficiency levels were randomly assigned to one control group and two experimental groups. Prior to the treatment, all the groups were measured on a listening pretest. The pretest score was used as a covariate to adjust for the initial difference in listening proficiency. Prior to the listening, the first experimental group received a list of key sentences (Previewing Sentences, PS) and the second experimental group received a list of vocabulary items (Vocabulary Pre-teaching, VP). The control group did not receive any kind of advance organizer. After treatment classes, all groups were again measured on a posttest to compare their improvement in listening. The results of the statistical analysis (ANCOVA) showed that the students who received advance organizers demonstrated significant improvement on the listening comprehension posttest while the control group did not. Although participants' listening proficiency had a significant effect on listening comprehension performance, there was no interaction effect between the use of advance organizers and the listening proficiency level. The pedagogical implications of the study are also discussed.

The Relationship between Listening Strategies Used by Iranian EFL Freshman University Students and Their Listening Proficiency Levels

The purpose of the current study was to identify Iranian EFL freshman university students’ listening proficiency levels and the listening strategies they employed to investigate the relationship between these two variables. A total of 92 freshmen were involved in this study. The Oxford Placement Test was employed to identify the learners’ listening proficiency levels and a Listening Strategy Questionnaire was used to identify the strategies they employed in listening. The descriptive analysis of the listening strategy questionnaire revealed that Iranian EFL freshman university students at advanced, intermediate, and lower-intermediate levels employed meta-cognitive strategies more frequently and actively; followed by cognitive and socio-affective listening strategies. The Pearson Correlation analysis also indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between the listening strategies employed by advanced, intermediate, and lower-intermediate freshmen and their listening proficiency levels at p<0.01 and p<0.05 levels respectively.

The effect of prior knowledge on EAP listening-test performance

In this study we looked at whether prior study of a lecture topic enhanced performance on the lecture subtests of a content-based listening test. We postulated that listening proficiency level would affect whether prior knowl edge could be accessed and used: we hypothesized that listeners would need a high proficiency level to be able to use their prior knowledge. To examine these issues, we analyzed the data from 11 lecture subtests from the Test of Listening for Academic Purposes (T-LAP). We used a two-step multiple regression analysis to determine 1) if level of listening proficiency affects whether prior knowledge can be accessed and 2) if prior knowledge is a significant factor in performance on lecture subtests. Our findings did not support the hypothesis that high proficiency listeners who have indicated prior study of a topic will perform better on lecture comprehension than listening skills alone would predict. Although prior knowledge was a significant main effect for five of the 11 lectures, the effect size was trivial. However, the effect is more likely to be present in technical lectures than it is in non-technical lectures. These results indicate that we need to look at what features differentiate technical from non-technical lectures. Lecture dis course features, delivery style, and listening tasks promise to be fruitful areas for future research.