They Made it! Enhancing University-Level L2 Learners’ Listening Comprehension of Authentic Multimedia Materials with Advance Organizers

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Hong Li
ReCALL ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maribel Montero Perez ◽  
Elke Peters ◽  
Piet Desmet

AbstractThe aim of this study was twofold: we investigated (a) the effect of two types of captioned video (i.e., on-screen text in the same language as the video) on listening comprehension; (b) L2 learners’ perception of the usefulness of captions while watching L2 video. The participants, 226 university-level students from a Flemish university, watched three short French clips in one of three conditions: the control group watched the clips without captions (N = 70), the second group had fully captioned clips (N = 81), the third group had keyword captioned clips (N = 75). After each clip, all participants took a listening comprehension test, which consisted of global and detailed questions. To answer the detailed questions, participants had access to an audio passage of the corresponding clip. At the end of the experiment, participants completed a questionnaire and open-ended survey questions about their perception of captions. Our findings revealed that the full captioning group outperformed both the no captioning and the keyword captioning group on the global comprehension questions. However, no difference was found between the keyword captioning and the no captioning group. Results of the detailed comprehension questions (with audio) revealed no differences between the three conditions. A content-analysis approach to the questionnaire indicated that learners’ perceived need for full captions is strong. Participants consider captions useful for speech decoding and meaning-making processes. Surprisingly, keyword captions were considered highly distracting. These findings suggest that full rather than keyword captioning should be considered when proposing video-based listening comprehension activities to L2 learners.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Hong Li ◽  
Cai-Jun Chen ◽  
Meng-Jie Wu ◽  
Ya-Chu Kuo ◽  
Yun-Ting Tseng ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Dukhayel Aldukhayel

Chapelle (2003) proposed three general types of input enhancement that help L2 learners “acquire features of the linguistic input that they are exposed to during the course reading or listening for meaning” (p. 40): input salience, input modification, and input elaboration. In 2010, Cárdenas-Claros and Gruba argued that Chapelle’s different types of input enhancement “can be and have been operationalized through help options” primarily utilized in the teaching of reading, listening, writing, grammar, and vocabulary such as glossed words, video/audio control features, captions, subtitles, and grammar explanations (p. 79). As understood from Cárdenas-Claros and Gruba’s classification of help options, input enhancement can only be accomplished through one process: salience, modification, or elaboration. In this article, we argue that YouTube comments have the potential to be (1) a help option that facilitate both listening comprehension of the videos and vocabulary learning and that (2) input enhancement accomplished by comments can be achieved by a combination of different types of input enhancement. Put another way, the aural input of a YouTube video can be salient, modified, and elaborated, thanks to the various types of comments YouTube videos often receive.


2019 ◽  
pp. 136216881985645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping-Jung Lee ◽  
Yeu-Ting Liu ◽  
Wen-Ta Tseng

Existing research has established captions as effective second-language (L2) or foreign language (FL) listening comprehension aids. However, due to the transient nature of captions, not all learners are capable of attending to captions in all cases. Previous work posited that to leverage the impact of technologies in learning and instruction, a better understanding of the interplay between technology and cognition is warranted. In this vein, the current study set out to investigate the effects of four different caption modes (full vs. partial vs. real-time vs. control) on the listening comprehension of 95 high-intermediate Taiwanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different caption reliance (i.e. more-caption-reliant vs. less-caption-reliant). The results showed no significant difference between the participants’ listening comprehension outcomes under the four caption conditions when their caption reliance was not considered. However, when this was considered, the differences among the four caption conditions became salient, which was suggestive of the selective effect of captions on L2 learners with different caption reliance. While less-caption-reliant L2 learners had the best listening comprehension outcome under the partial-caption condition and the worst under the full-caption condition, more-caption-reliant L2 learners exhibited the best performance under the full-caption condition yet the worst under the partial-caption condition. The finding underscores the importance of considering L2 learners’ processing profiles when utilizing captioned videos as multimodal instructional/learning materials and speaks to the need of utilizing differentiated video materials for optimal listening outcomes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa El-dali

In a foreign language environment, students typically have limited exposure to the language outside formal classrooms. Therefore, their ability to comprehend spoken English may be limited. To add to this problem, L2 learners often regard listening as the most difficult language skill to learn. On the other hand, it is noticeable that L2 listening remains the least researched of all four language skills. Accordingly, the present study is based on the commonly believed premises that (1) investigating the listening comprehension process can provide useful insights into teaching listening and (2) learners who learn to control their listening process can enhance their comprehension, and their overall proficiency may be highly developed.The present study reports on the results of an empirical study on forty-six L2 learners of English. The subjects were equally divided into two groups. The first group (N=23) represents first year students (Beginners) in the Department of English at the Faculty of Education, Menufia University, Egypt. The second group (N=23) represents fourth year students (Advanced) in the same department. The major question that this study attempts to answer is “whether listening comprehension a language problem or listening problem?” The instruments of this study consist of five tasks: pre-test, questionnaire, classroom instruction sessions, post-test, and interviews. The data analysis had a quantitative and a qualitative part. Results were obtained and conclusions were made.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Robert Long

This study investigated whether Japanese university EFL learners’ listening comprehension differed significantly on tests of authentic language (AL) or scripted language (SL). Possible differences in comprehension between low and intermediate proficiency students, and how lexical density of the listening samples correlated with listening comprehension, were also explored. Participants scored higher on SL multiple choice tests than on AL tests on average. There was no significant difference in the performance between low and intermediate proficiency students in this study, but there was a significant difference between scores of learners in the two pre-intermediate groups. The inclusion of more content words also appeared to aid the lowest performing students in better understanding authentic listening passages. The researcher suggests explanations for these findings, and suggests the need for more authentic listening practice in language classrooms. 本論は日本人EFL大学生のリスニング力が、オーセンティック・ランゲージ(AL)のテストあるいはスクリプト・ランゲージ(SL)のテストにおいて大きく異なるかどうかを調査したものである。初・中級者間における理解力の相違の可能性や、リスニング・サンプルの語彙密度とリスニング力の関係も調査した。SL多肢選択テストの得点の方がALテストよりも平均して高かった。初・中級者間には有意差はなかったが、2つの準中級学習者群間の得点には有意な相違が認められた。また、内容語をより多く含めることは英語力の低い学習者がオーセンティックなリスニング題材を理解する助けになっているようであった。これらの研究結果に対する説明と、よりオーセンティックなリスニング練習の必要性についても述べる。


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Alzamil

Second language (L2) learners are very keen to master speaking in their L2, and this is among the most important of all language skills. However, speaking anxiety is a major obstacle to successful L2 learning. This study was designed to investigate university-level students’ attitudes towards speaking in English and their experience of anxiety. 81 participants who majored in English with an average age of 21.8 years were recruited. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and administered a four-point Likert-scale questionnaire with 18 items, designed to address three constructs: a) fear of speaking in English; b) fear of making mistakes in English; and c) fear of being judged by others. The findings showed that although the participants were generally unconcerned about speaking English, their attitudes were different when they were asked about specific situations. When asked about their fear of making mistakes in front of their classmates, or of being judged by them, they agreed that in those circumstances they would experience anxiety.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Schmitt ◽  
Tom Cobb ◽  
Marlise Horst ◽  
Diane Schmitt

There is current research consensus that second language (L2) learners are able to adequately comprehend general English written texts if they know 98% of the words that occur in the materials. This important finding prompts an important question: How much English vocabulary do English as a second language (ESL) learners need to know to achieve this crucial level of known-word coverage? A landmark paper by Nation (2006) provides a rather daunting answer. His exploration of the 98% figure through a variety of spoken and written corpora showed that knowledge of around 8,000–9,000 word families is needed for reading and 6,000–7,000 for listening. But is this the definitive picture? A recent study by van Zeeland & Schmitt (2012) suggests that 95% coverage may be sufficient for listening comprehension, and that this can be reached with 2,000–3,000 word families, which is much more manageable. Getting these figures right for a variety of text modalities, genres and conditions of reading and listening is essential. Teachers and learners need to be able to set goals, and as Cobb's study of learning opportunities (2007) has shown, coverage percentages and their associated vocabulary knowledge requirements have important implications for the acquisition of new word knowledge through exposure to comprehensible L2 input. This article proposes approximate replications of Nation (2006), van Zeeland & Schmitt (2012), and Cobb (2007), in order to clarify these key coverage and size figures.


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