Iranian EFL learners’ perceptions of the effect of different types of scaffolding on their listening comprehension performance, metacognitive awareness, and listening anxiety

This study explored Iranian learners’ perceptions of the effect of context, cognitive, metacognitive, procedural and motivational scaffolding on their listening comprehension, listening anxiety and metacognitive awareness. To this end, a grounded theory design was used using a semi-structured interview to collect the data. The participants consisted of 25 Iranian female intermediate EFL learners who were voluntarily selected from a language institute. Data analysis was conducted through thematic analysis of the interview data. According to the results, the following themes were extracted for the effect of context scaffolding: Reducing Listening Anxiety, Increasing Willingness to Learn Listening, and Enhancing Listening Skill. Moreover, Making Listening Learning Quicker, Increasing Control over Listening, and Increasing Attention were extracted for the effect of cognitive scaffolding. Further, for the effect of metacognitive scaffolding, the following themes were extracted: Increasing Self-Confidence, Increasing Autonomy, and Increasing Enjoyment. Additionally, the themes related to the effect of procedural scaffolding were Enhancing Teacher-Students Relations, Enhancing Problem-Solving Ability, and Enhancing Reflective Behavior. Finally, Increasing Motivation, Increasing Learner Interest, and Increasing Learner Engagement were extracted for the effect of motivational scaffolding. The results have some implications for EFL teachers, learners and curriculum planners.