Listening Proficiency Research Articles

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.

Interactive Instructions to Enhance English Listening and Reading Proficiency

This study examines how effectively interactive instruction with storytelling affects learners for English listening and reading proficiency. Two groups with the different English level of 46 and 48 college students respectively taking a TOEIC class were selected for the study. The pre-test was followed by the second week of the fall semester, 2011 and the post-test was administered to examine their progress upon completion of 45 hours of the coursework that includes lectures and storytelling. The questionnaire was also conducted to learn the students' opinion on their participation and performance during the lesson. The results of the study reveal that the group provided with storytelling instructions performed better on the post-test, and a close rapport between a teacher and the learners established more than the beginning of the semester. More numerous students of a class with storytelling instruction also did their assignment with enthusiasm rather than those of a class without storytelling instructions during the course. It is concluded that interactive instruction with storytelling increases learners' interest, confidence, and motivation with great satisfaction via the participation of hands-on activities.(Korea Nazarene University · Kongyang University)

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.

Note-taking quality and performance on an L2 academic listening test

This study investigated the relationships among the quality of L2 test takers’ notes evaluated in terms of different levels of information and test takers’ performance on open-ended listening tasks tapping into different comprehension subskills. In addition, this study examined the invariance of the structural relationships among the variables across two different note-taking formats, that is, a blank format and an outline format, by employing a multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The results indicated that note quality measures, in particular the number of topical ideas found in the notes and the organization of these notes, may be good indicators of test takers’ second language academic listening proficiency. It was also found that despite the invariance of structural relationships among variables across the two note-taking formats, the associations between the open-ended listening measures and note quality measures were slightly stronger in the outline format than in the blank format. The implications of these results for L2 academic listening assessment are considered.

Exploring the relationship between listening development and strategy use

This article reports on an investigation into the development of the listening proficiency and strategic behaviour of 15 lower-intermediate learners of French in England. We consider whether listeners remain in the same listening proficiency group after six months, and whether changes in strategy use are related to movement or non-movement between listening proficiency groups. We also examine whether learners’ strategic behaviour reflects their teachers’ approaches to listening. Data were gathered at two time points from a recall protocol which learners completed after listening to short passages and from verbal reports made by learners while they completed a multiple choice listening task. Teacher interviews provided information on how listening had been presented in learners’ classrooms. We detected little movement by students across the listening proficiency groups between the two time points. In spite of some changes in frequency of strategy use, we also observed stability in manner of use by some learners. Differences in strategy use were more evident between groups (non-movers, improvers and decliners) than between uses from Time 1 to Time 2. We conclude by discussing the pedagogical implications of these findings.

An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Extended Online Thematic Listening Tasks on the Development of Listening Comprehension

This study investigates the effects of employing extended online thematic listening tasks on the development of listening comprehension in an English course focusing on reading and writing skill development. To accomplish this aim, extended online thematic listening tasks were designed and implemented in English as a Foreign-Language (EFL) college level General English course. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to examine students’ gains in overall listening proficiency. Moreover, students’ mid-term and final exams were compared in order to track student progress. Data on student perceptions of online thematic tasks was also collected and analyzed. Findings suggest that extended online thematic listening tasks may constitute a dynamic forum which fosters significant gains in listening comprehension, test performance, and development of learning strategies. In addition, the findings reveal that students’ initial enthusiasm toward extended online listening tasks faded and the efforts that they put into the tasks gradually decreased as the semester progressed. Therefore, time availability and management become an important pedagogical issue in e-learning.

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.

How “Proficient” Is Proficient? Subjective Proficiency as a Predictor of Bilingual Listeners’ Recognition of English Words

English proficiency must be considered when a bilingual individual is to be evaluated clinically with English speech material. This study describes the minimum level of self-reported English proficiency that identifies bilingual individuals who may perform on par with monolingual listeners on an English word recognition test. A total of 125 normal hearing bilingual listeners rated their English proficiency in listening, speaking, and reading on an 11-point scale. Other related linguistic variables were also obtained. A randomly selected Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) list (50 English monosyllabic words) was presented to all participants at 45 dB HL in quiet. Over 90% of the listeners self-rated to have at least "good" proficiency in English listening, speaking, or reading. Of these participants, more than 30% did not achieve a monolingual normative level in English as delimited by binomial distribution. Composite proficiency ratings across language domains better predicted word recognition performance than self-ratings for listening proficiency only. Combining language dominance and age of English acquisition with proficiency ratings further improved prediction specificity. Self-rated English proficiency can predict bilingual listeners' performance on the NU-6 test. For desirable sensitivity and specificity in predicting monolingual-like performance, a minimum rating of 8 out of 10 across all language domains is recommended.

The effects of teaching English through American soap operas on college students' listening competence

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of American soap operas on college students` listening ability. This research was conducted over a 12-week period with college students: two classes consisting of 27 and 26 students each. The classes were divided into an experimental group, which studied English through American soap operas, and a control group, which studied English using a typical listening text. Fifty three students in two classes were surveyed to investigate their previous learning experience and backgrounds. They were asked to take a pre-listening test to evaluate their listening proficiency. Their progress was assessed on the basis of a post-listening test. Finally, twenty seven students in the experimental group were administered to fill out a post-questionnaire in order to measure their perceptions and attitudes toward their learning experience. The findings of this study indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the control group and the experimental group with respect to their post-test scores. However, there was no statistically significant difference not only between the highly proficient students in two groups but also between the students of low proficiency in two groups. The results of this study were discussed and pedagogical implication were suggested.

Japanese learners' processing time for reading English relative clauses analyzed in relation to their English listening proficiency

The present study examined Japanese university students' processing time for English subject and object relative clauses in relation to their English listening proficiency. In Analysis 1, the relation between English listening proficiency and reading span test scores was analyzed. The results showed that the high and low listening comprehension groups' reading span test scores do not differ. Analysis 2 investigated English listening proficiency and processing time for sentences with subject and object relative clauses. The results showed that reading the relative clause ending and the main verb section of a sentence with an object relative clause (such as "attacked" and "admitted" in the sentence "The reporter that the senator attacked admitted the error") takes less time for learners with high English listening scores than for learners with low English listening scores. In Analysis 3, English listening proficiency and comprehension accuracy for sentences with subject and object relative clauses were examined. The results showed no significant difference in comprehension accuracy between the high and low listening-comprehension groups. These results indicate that processing time for English relative clauses is related to the cognitive processes involved in listening comprehension, which requires immediate processing of syntactically complex audio information.

The effects of ‘focus on form’ instruction on elementary school students’ English listening and reading proficiency

The effects of ‘focus on form’ instruction on elementary school students’ English listening and reading proficiency

The Impact of Cultural Knowledge on Listening Comprehension of EFL Learners

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cultural knowledge on improving Iranian EFL learners' listening comprehension. To achieve this purpose, out of three hundred participants, one hundred and twenty pre-intermediate language learners were selected based on their scores on a listening comprehension test and were randomly assigned to four groups. Each group was exposed to a certain condition as follows: TC (Target Culture), ITC (International Target Culture), SC (Source Culture), and CF (Culture Free). At the end of the experiment, to see whether or not any changes happened regarding their listening proficiency, a post-test was administered to the four groups. The results suggested that the participants performed differently on the post-test indicating that familiarity with culturally-oriented language material promotes the Iranian EFL learners' listening proficiency.

Effects of Vocabulary Learning Strategies on English Listening and Reading Proficiency

Effects of Vocabulary Learning Strategies on English Listening and Reading Proficiency

Support for Foreign Language Listeners

■ The assessment of listening comprehension in a second language has received relatively little attention until recently. This study investigated the effectiveness of providing different types of listening support for learners in a foreign language environment with a low level of English proficiency. The research was conducted with 140 students taking an English listening course at a college in Taiwan. The participants took sections of a listening test under four different conditions. Two of the conditions provided support in the form of either a set of pictures or a written background text. The third condition was a repetition of the test input, whereas the fourth one was simply no type of support. After the test, the participants completed a short questionnaire and some of them were also interviewed. According to the results, repeating the input was the most effective treatment, followed by having visual and textual support. However, the limits of the learners' English competence meant that all of the types of support could improve their comprehension only to a certain degree. Nevertheless, the provision of appropriate support may motivate foreign language learners to improve their listening proficiency by making adequate comprehension more attainable for them.

Listening Fidelity: Seeking Congruence between Cognitions of the Listener and the Sender

This project explores the theoretical position, potential value, and measurement challenges of listening fidelity (LF) as a fundamental listening proficiency concept. The notion of listening proficiencies and current listening assessment tools are reviewed relative to the value and evolution of the conceptual definition of LF that uniquely includes aspects of both the source and receiver. Potential areas for expansion and improvement of LF are discussed including the potential to normalize distribution, generate a databank, standardize cognition complexity, and establish additional proficiency predictors.

A Longitudinal Case Study of ALS: Effects of Listener Familiarity and Proficiency on Intelligibility Judgments

This study describes the effects of listener proficiency and familiarization on judgments of speech intelligibility and speech severity associated with a progressive dysarthria. Speech performance was followed longitudinally for 39 months postdiagnosis for a man with ALS. The subject’s spouse served as a highly familiar listener whose speech severity and intelligibility judgments were compared to those of 24 unfamiliar listener-judges. The expected superior ratings of the spouse over the unfamiliar listeners became especially evident at 20 months postdiagnosis when the speech disorder was moderately severe. That is, the advantage of familiarity evolved over time and reached its maximum when the speech impairment was marked. Results for the unfamiliar listener group illustrated that differences among judges represented large individual variations in listener proficiency. These results have clinical significance in that they suggest the use of a practice standard for progressive dysarthria that includes speech intelligibility measures, listener proficiency indices, and familiarization training.

Evaluation of English Listening Proficiency of SALC Users at KMUTT, Thailand

Evaluation of English Listening Proficiency of SALC Users at KMUTT, Thailand

Second Language Lexical Knowledge and Listening Comprehension

This study investigates the interaction between lexical knowledge and listening comprehension in a second language. Fifty-nine Japanese university students of low-intermediate to advanced English ability were tested using first-language recall protocols as comprehension measures, and dictation as measures of lexical familiarity on four texts of increasing amounts of low-frequency lexical words. Comprehension correlated with text-lexis familiarity at .45; acceptable comprehension levels were significantly associated with higher text-lexis familiarity; good comprehension seldom occurred with text-lexis familiarity levels lower than 75 percent, but occurred frequently at 90+ percent levels. This pattern was observed equally for learners of high, middle, or low second-language listening proficiency. It is concluded that efficient listening strategies may make comprehending lexically complex texts possible, but most learners seem to need very high lexical familiarity for good comprehension.

Frans Artillerievuur In Kroatie

This article is a plea for more research into the interaction between linguistic expectancy and acoustic information. Even if under normal circumstances priority should be given to the acoustic signal, it is evident that linguistic expectancy is a prerequisite for understanding speech. Second language students in the Netherlands generally have a good command of the phonotactic properties of English. In developing the students' listening proficiency teachers therefore experience the law of diminishing returns if they keep focusing on phonetic and phonological properties of the foreign language. However, the students' linguistic familiarity with English may still give rise to interpretative problems. Notably collocations, false friends (faux amis), homonymy and polysemy are categories of words prone to misunderstanding. In research on listening proficiency more attention should be paid to how linguistic expectancy interacts with acoustic information in the perception of these categories of words in particular. It is demonstrated that slight uncertainty with respect to acoustic information may have disproportionate repercussions on understanding speech. A slight decrease in redundancy may make the difference between understanding everything or nothing, as the hearing-impaired are well aware. In this respect minor hearing losses - not uncommon nowadays at early ages due to overexposure to noise and loud music - may have serious effects on information processing. If reduction of redundancy results from hearing loss, there is little teachers can do to help their students improve their listening proficiency. Teachers should be aware that the inherent differences in sound perception of their students may go unnoticed in the mothertongue, but will inevitably surface in the second language, where linguistic expectancy is by definition less well developed. It would therefore seem unwise to relate listening proficiency in the native language as a test-measure to listening in the foreign language, as has been suggested by some researchers in the past.