Listening strategies used by adult learners of Japanese to comprehend satellite television programs

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 139-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyoko Seo ◽  
Marilyn McMeniman
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
Media Technology ◽  
Satellite Television ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Listening Strategies

Abstract This paper identifies listening comprehension strategies from the perspective of cognitive psychology, with a focus on the experience of Australian learners of Japanese as a foreign language (L2). In this study, a listening strategy is conceptualised as a mental operation undertaken by a learner to solve a listening comprehension problem in a non-interactional situation. Reading researchers in L2 identified one of the variables which affects text comprehension as formal schema or discourse organisation of text (Meyer and Freedle, 1984; Carrell and Eisterhold, 1988; Carrell, 1991). However, this variable has not been the subject of intensive and extensive research in L2 listening and consequently, there is little empirical evidence which has explored this important variable. With the increased availability of media technology, satellite programs offer rich content and have the potential to provide such information. This paper investigates how news and drama texts may affect the choice of listener strategies, and discusses how the strategies selected by listeners relate to L2 learners’ language proficiency. To collect data on strategies, an introspective ‘think-aloud’ procedure is used and the results are analysed quantitatively.

scholarly journals An Investigation into Listening Comprehension Strategies and the Relationship between Listening Comprehension Strategies and Overall Proficiency Level of Intermediate and Advanced Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Kazemi ◽  
Soraya Kiamarsi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Listening Proficiency ◽  
Listening Strategies ◽  
The Relationship

Research into the role of listening strategies in acquiring knowledge of language has attracted increasing attention over last decades. The current study sought to determine the strategies used by intermediate and advanced learners. It also attempted to investigate the relationship between learners’ overall language proficiency and their choice of strategy. To this end, two language institutes were randomly selected in Yasouj. A Quick Placement Test was validated and administered. Based on the results, 30 intermediate and 30 advanced EFL learners were selected. Two listening tasks were given to each group. Think-aloud technique was used in order to elicit learners’ listening strategies. The protocols were coded by two raters in order to yield more reliable results. The data analyzed through descriptive statistics showed that advanced learners employed more listening comprehension strategies than intermediate listeners did. It was shown that advanced learners employed meta-cognitive strategies more frequently than cognitive and socio-affective strategies. However, intermediate language learners employed cognitive, and then social/affective strategies more frequently. The findings of the present study indicated that there was a relationship between overall listening proficiency of language learners and listening strategies employed by them.

Practitioners respond to Suzanne Graham's ‘Research into practice: Listening strategies in an instructed classroom setting’

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-155
Author(s):  
Kedi Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Classroom Setting ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
Teaching Of Listening ◽  
Listening Strategies

In her article, Graham (2017) concludes ‘that very little of the research regarding the teaching of listening has made it into the classroom in England, not least in a positive way’ (p. 117). She suggests that teachers rarely delve into the process of second language (L2) listening in class; instead, listening comprehension is treated more as a test than a task. She continues that there is an over-application of the widely shared findings that pre-listening tasks aid listening comprehension – particularly tasks which involve predicting the vocabulary which will be heard during the listening task. Given the suggestion that learners find listening tasks difficult has been addressed within schools simply by making such tasks easier, Graham feels a more pedagogically apt approach might be to examine more closely what has made the task difficult and to modify teaching to address this.

L2 proficiency as predictor of aptitude for interpreting

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Jesus Blasco Mayor
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Initial Assumption ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Consecutive Interpreting

This study reports findings from an experiment that was conducted to investigate language proficiency as an indicator of future interpreting performance. The initial assumption was that Spanish undergraduate translation and interpreting students had an insufficient command of L2 skills to start interpreter training. We hypothesized that an intensive teaching module on L2 phonology and listening comprehension would improve their academic performance in interpreting. Several tests were used to evaluate participant L2 listening comprehension (TOEFL), L2 reading comprehension (TOEFL), L2 grammar (TOEFL), and L1 verbal fluency (WAIS-III). Only those related to L2 are reported here. A consecutive interpreting test was given at the end of the first interpretation module. The students’ self-perception regarding L2 issues was assessed using two questionnaires and an interview. The results suggest that L2 listening comprehension training aided in consecutive interpreting performance. Language proficiency was also found to correlate with interpreting scores. A base level of L2 proficiency for interpreting training is suggested. We conclude that L2 listening comprehension proficiency has a significant effect on undergraduate students’ interpreting ability and is therefore a suitable predictor for interpreting aptitude. Consequently, L2 listening skills should be included in the interpreting program curriculum, preferably before interpretation classes start.

scholarly journals The Effect of Note Taking vs. Summarizing Strategy on Iranian EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Mehri Khavazi ◽  
Mandana Yousefi ◽  
Naeemeh Kharaghani
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Note Taking ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Listening Strategies ◽  
Output Hypothesis

This study, specifically, investigated the effect of note taking and summarizing strategies on Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension. The study aimed at investigating the effects of note taking and summarizing on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study included 75 female language learners in Bojnord who were homogenized in terms of language proficiency. They were divided into two experimental and onecontrol groups. ANCOVA test was used to analyze the effect of instructing listening strategies on the students’ listening comprehension. The results revealed that both note taking and summarizing strategies were effective in enhancing Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension performance. In addition, it was found that summarizing strategy was more effective than note taking strategy in improving students’listening comprehension. In terms of theoretical implications, the results of the study contribute to the validity of such theories like depth of processing, output hypothesis, and noticing hypothesis.

scholarly journals Fostering incidental vocabulary uptake from audio-visual materials: The role of text comprehension

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Chí Đức Nguyễn
Keyword(s):  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Visual Materials ◽  
Ted Talks

<p>This research project explores various factors that may influence the rate of incidental foreign/second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition from audio-visual materials, with a special focus on procedures that enhance learners’ comprehension of these input materials. Informed by relevant theories and research findings in the fields of L2 listening comprehension and incidental vocabulary acquisition, I investigate the effects of having learners (a) view a TED Talks video twice rather than once, (b) sum up the content of the video before watching it a second time, (c) watch TED Talks videos on the same subject in order to increase familiarity with that subject, and (d) exchange summaries of TED Talks videos with peers so as to assist each other’s subsequent processing of those videos. As these interventions are all deemed to facilitate L2 listening comprehension, they are also expected to create favourable conditions for incidental vocabulary uptake to occur.  The effects on incidental vocabulary acquisition of the above interventions were gauged in a series of classroom experiments with Vietnamese EFL learners. Although vocabulary uptake was generally far from spectacular, all of the tested procedures were found to result in statistically significant vocabulary gains. The insertion of the output tasks (i.e., the summary activities) was particularly useful. First, they helped to enhance the learners’ text comprehension. Second, they created opportunities for the learners to use newly met words and thus consolidate their knowledge of these lexical items. A thread through the experimental data is the strong association between the learners’ vocabulary uptake and their comprehension of the input content.  The findings from this research project are consistent with several established notions, models and theories in the fields, including Ausubel’s Advance Organizer (1978), Hulstijn and Laufer’s Involvement Load Hypothesis (2001), Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1985), Nation’s Vocabulary Generation (2013), Swain’s Output Hypothesis (2005), and Wittrock’s Model of Generative Teaching of Comprehension (1991). However, there are also findings that go beyond the core tenets of these, and that can further our understanding of how learners process new lexical items in meaning-focused input and output tasks.  Regarding pedagogical implications, this research project confirms that fostering L2 listening comprehension creates favourable conditions for incidental vocabulary acquisition to happen, and that the aforementioned classroom procedures are facilitative in this regard, albeit to different degrees.</p>

Contribution of English aural vocabulary size levels to L2 listening comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guohui Du ◽  
Zuwati Hasim ◽  
Fong Peng Chew
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Predictive Capacity ◽  
Frequency Level ◽  
L2 Listening

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between English aural vocabulary size and L2 listening comprehension among 288 Chinese tertiary EFL learners who had mastered the first 1,000-word frequency level and were at the intermediate level of language proficiency. The Listening Vocabulary Levels Test and College English Test Band 4 were employed to measure participants’ aural vocabulary size and L2 listening comprehension proficiency, respectively. Aural vocabulary size was found to be moderately correlated with L2 listening comprehension proficiency (r = 0.38, p < 0.01). A step-wise regression analysis showed that the second 1,000-word frequency level could explain 12% of the variance in L2 listening comprehension proficiency, and academic words could add an additional 4% predictive capacity to the regression model. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the most frequent 2,000-word families and academic words could predict 14.5% of the change in L2 listening comprehension proficiency for the relatively low L2 proficiency group. However, aural vocabulary size had little impact on L2 listening comprehension proficiency for the relatively high L2 proficiency group. Findings suggest that high-frequency and academic words significantly contribute to the prediction of L2 listening comprehension proficiency, but the predictive power of aural vocabulary size decreases with increased language proficiency.

The relationship between vocabulary knowledge and L2 reading/listening comprehension: A meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882091399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songshan Zhang ◽  
Xian Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Vocabulary Depth ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension

This study set out to investigate the relationship between L2 vocabulary knowledge (VK) and second-language (L2) reading/listening comprehension. More than 100 individual studies were included in this meta-analysis, which generated 276 effect sizes from a sample of almost 21,000 learners. The current meta-analysis had several major findings. First, the overall correlation between VK and L2 reading comprehension was .57 ( p < .01) and that between VK and L2 listening was .56 ( p < .01). If the attenuation effect due to reliability of measures was taken into consideration, the ‘true’ correlation between VK and L2 reading/listening comprehension may likely fall within the range of .56–.67, accounting for 31%–45% variance in L2 comprehension. Second, all three mastery levels of form–meaning knowledge (meaning recognition, meaning recall, form recall) had moderate to high correlations with L2 reading and L2 listening. However, meaning recall knowledge had the strongest correlation with L2 reading comprehension and form recall had the strongest correlation with L2 listening comprehension, suggesting that different mastery levels of VK may contribute differently to L2 comprehension in different modalities. Third, both word association knowledge and morphological awareness (two aspects of vocabulary depth knowledge) had significant correlations with L2 reading and L2 listening. Fourth, the modality of VK measure was found to have a significant moderating effect on the correlation between VK and L2 text comprehension: orthographical VK measures had stronger correlations with L2 reading comprehension as compared to auditory VK measures. Auditory VK measures, however, were better predictors of L2 listening comprehension. Fifth, studies with a shorter script distance between L1 and L2 yielded higher correlations between VK and L2 reading. Sixth, the number of items in vocabulary depth measures had a positive predictive power on the correlation between VK and L2 comprehension. Finally, correlations between VK and L2 reading/listening comprehension was found to be associated with two types of publication factors: year-of-publication and publication type. Implications of the findings were discussed.

scholarly journals Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani ◽  
Narjes Banou Sabouri
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Listening Strategies

<p>Listening is one of the most important skills in English language learning. When students listen to English language, they face a lot of listening difficulties. Students have critical difficulties in listening comprehension because universities and schools pay more attention to writing, reading, and vocabulary. Listening is not an important part of many course books and most teachers do not pay attention to this important skill in their classes. In this paper, the researchers reviewed the terms listening, listening comprehension, listening comprehension strategies, and listening difficulties. The review of literature indicated that when teachers are aware of students’ learning difficulties they can help them develop effective listening strategies and finally solve their difficulties in listening and improve their listening comprehension abilities.<strong></strong></p>

scholarly journals EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF THREE JIGSAW LISTENING ACTIVITIES ON TEXT COMPREHENSION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Chi Duc ◽  
Pham Xuan Tho
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Input Text ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
The One ◽  
Listening Group

This exploratory study examined the relative effects on L2 listening comprehension of three different jigsaw procedures: having learners listen to either the first or the second half of an input text and then share the content with a classmate who did not listen to the same half (Jigsaw-Listening 1), or having them implement the same procedure as above, but followed by their actual exposure to either the remaining content (Jigsaw-Listening 2) or the whole listening passage (Jigsaw-Listening 3). Their text comprehension as gauged by ten multiple-choice content questions was subsequently compared to that obtained by learners who listened to the same complete input text, either once (One-time Listening) or twice (Repeated-Listening). The quantitative results showed that all Jigsaw Listening groups obtained better text comprehension than the One-time Listening group. The learners in Jigsaw-Listening 2 and 3 were also found to outperform those in the Repeated-Listening group. Follow-up interviews with some participants randomly selected from the Jigsaw-Listening groups revealed that these learners carried out different metacognitive strategies to complete their assigned listening procedures and the more strategies they used the better listening outcome they produced. These findings have implications for both L2 listening instructors and course designers.

scholarly journals Fostering incidental vocabulary uptake from audio-visual materials: The role of text comprehension

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Chí Đức Nguyễn
Keyword(s):  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Visual Materials ◽  
Ted Talks

<p>This research project explores various factors that may influence the rate of incidental foreign/second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition from audio-visual materials, with a special focus on procedures that enhance learners’ comprehension of these input materials. Informed by relevant theories and research findings in the fields of L2 listening comprehension and incidental vocabulary acquisition, I investigate the effects of having learners (a) view a TED Talks video twice rather than once, (b) sum up the content of the video before watching it a second time, (c) watch TED Talks videos on the same subject in order to increase familiarity with that subject, and (d) exchange summaries of TED Talks videos with peers so as to assist each other’s subsequent processing of those videos. As these interventions are all deemed to facilitate L2 listening comprehension, they are also expected to create favourable conditions for incidental vocabulary uptake to occur.  The effects on incidental vocabulary acquisition of the above interventions were gauged in a series of classroom experiments with Vietnamese EFL learners. Although vocabulary uptake was generally far from spectacular, all of the tested procedures were found to result in statistically significant vocabulary gains. The insertion of the output tasks (i.e., the summary activities) was particularly useful. First, they helped to enhance the learners’ text comprehension. Second, they created opportunities for the learners to use newly met words and thus consolidate their knowledge of these lexical items. A thread through the experimental data is the strong association between the learners’ vocabulary uptake and their comprehension of the input content.  The findings from this research project are consistent with several established notions, models and theories in the fields, including Ausubel’s Advance Organizer (1978), Hulstijn and Laufer’s Involvement Load Hypothesis (2001), Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1985), Nation’s Vocabulary Generation (2013), Swain’s Output Hypothesis (2005), and Wittrock’s Model of Generative Teaching of Comprehension (1991). However, there are also findings that go beyond the core tenets of these, and that can further our understanding of how learners process new lexical items in meaning-focused input and output tasks.  Regarding pedagogical implications, this research project confirms that fostering L2 listening comprehension creates favourable conditions for incidental vocabulary acquisition to happen, and that the aforementioned classroom procedures are facilitative in this regard, albeit to different degrees.</p>

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