LISTENING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY OF EFL LEARNERS AT A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM

Abstract

Listening is considered the most challenging skill for numerous English foreign language students. However, learners can enhance their proficiency and self-confidence by employing their language learning strategies appropriately. This paper attempts to investigate English foreign language learners’ listening comprehension strategies. The participants were twelve English majors at a university in Vietnam. The case study design was adopted in this research project. The source of data was captured using the think-aloud approach. The data was coded and classified with the use of O’Malley and Chamot’s (1990) and Oxford’s (1990) taxonomies of Language Learning Strategies, then quantitatively analysed using SPSS for descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated that the students utilized the three categories: metacognitive, cognitive and social/affective strategies. Furthermore, there emerged several variations in the learners’ choice of learning strategies regarding gender and task types. Specially, the students’ use of listening comprehension strategies pertaining to task types was found statistically significantly different despite no significant difference between the male and female listeners. The study suggests implications for the language classroom instruction on listening comprehension strategies in future inquiries.