Abstract:
The aim of this study is to investigate the use of listening comprehension strategies
by advanced learners of English. The study also explores possible relationships between
use of strategies and some individual differences such as gender, perceived level of
English, and listening task performance.
Data was collected from a sample of 65 advanced level undergraduate preparatory
program students at School of Foreign Languages at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University,
Çanakkale. Two instruments were administered: Listening Comprehension Strategy
Questionnaire prepared in two forms, adapted from Vandergrift(2006) Goh (2000)
O’Malley(1985); and TOEFL Listening Comprehension Test. The data was analysed
through SPSS 16.0.
Data analysis revealed that “going on listening despite difficulty”, “getting on back
despite losing concentration”, “reconstructing meaning”, “encouraging himself to continue
listening” and “trying to relax before/during listening” were the most preferred items.
While “imitating physical actions”, “taking notes as sentence”, “giving rewards”, “asking
for clarification” and “paying attention to visuals” were the least common strategies
preferred in listening lessons.
According to the findings, there were significant differences in the use of “transfer,
note taking and prediction” strategy types during the listening task with regard to gender.
However, no statistically significant relationship was found between the listening
comprehension strategy use and the listening comprehension achievement.
The study concludes that although students may have strong preferences for certain
listening comprehension strategies, probably performance in listening comprehension is
influenced by other stronger factors which this study did not control.