Correlations between Listening Comprehension Problems Encountered By English Majors and Their Coping Strategies

2020 International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature  
Listening is considered one of the most significant macro skills in the process of language acquisition. In EFL classrooms, however, this skill is likely to be underemphasized, which may cause EFL learners confusion and difficulties in comprehending what people intend to express. The difference between effective listeners and ineffective listeners has been showed clearly through the employment of the learning strategies. Learners with higher level of proficiency in listening were the ones who
more » ... ve employed more various strategies than those who have not used the strategies very often. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the correlations between the listening problems and strategy usage among English majors at the Saigon International University. The quantitative study was conducted with the participation of 115 undergraduate students majoring in English. The quantitative data collected from the questionnaire were processed by SPSS (19.0). The study found out some positive and significant correlations between the listening problems and strategies. It is recommended that more studies on correlations between listening problems and solutions. Last but not least, the similarities and differences in perception of listening difficulties and solutions should be conducted in which different instruments should be employed for data collection. Correlations between Listening Comprehension Problems Encountered By English Majors and Their Coping Strategies International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Page | 25 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Based on the aforementioned reasons, the authors conducted the study to find out the answers whether there are some correlations between English listening comprehension problems and English listening learning strategies employed by English Majors at the Saigon International University (hereafter SIU) and if yes, how positively and significantly they are correlated. LITERATURE REVIEW Listening Comprehension Problems Ur (1984) analyses some factors that may inhibit learners' listening comprehension and lists them in order according to the importance: (a) sounds, (b) intonation and stress, (c) coping with redundancy and noise, (d) predicting, (e) colloquial vocabulary, (f) fatigue, (g) different accents, (h) visual and aural environmental clues. Richards (1983) has some listening factors causing listening problems in common with Ur's (1984), but still has some different conclusions regarding nine medium factors that can affect considerably how messages are understood. These medium factors are: (a) clausal basic of speech, (b) reductions of forms, (c) ungrammatical forms, (d) pausing and speech errors, (e) rate of speech delivery, (f) rhythm and stress, (g) cohesive devices, and (h) information content. Listening Strategies Cognitive Strategies Derry and Murphy (1986) state that cognitive strategy is a problem-solving method employed by the leaners in order to gain the knowledge and skills. Richards (2008, p. 11) identifies cognitive strategies as "mental activities related to comprehending and storing input in working memory or long-term memory for later retrieval" including: -Comprehension processes: related to the processing of linguistic and non-linguistic input -Storing and memory processes: related to the retention of linguistic and non-linguistic input in working memory and long-term memory -Using and retrieval processes: related to getting accessed to memory, to be prepared for output. Metacognitive Strategies Richards (2008. p. 11) clearly identifies metacognitive strategies as "conscious and unconscious activities that perform an executive function in the management of cognitive strategies" including: -Assessing the situation: Thinking carefully of the situation from a language task by checking listeners' own knowledge, listeners' available internal and external resources as well as the restrictions of the situations before taking part in a task -Monitoring: Checking the effectiveness of the listener's own performance and another listener's while engaged in a task -Self-evaluating: Checking the effectiveness of the listener's own performance and another listener's after taking part in a task -Self-testing: Testing the listener himself to check the effectiveness of his own language use or the lack thereof. Socio-Affective Strategies
doi:10.20431/2347-3134.0810004 fatcat:gpuu3hsnqfd6laiqjbrbryhdta