Effective Academic Listening among Medical Students: Challenges and implications for instruction

English has become the dominant language in science, medicine, and global communication, making its mastery essential for medical students in non-English-speaking countries. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and its subfield, English for Medical Purposes (EMP), are specialized instructional approaches designed to equip students with the vocabulary, communication skills, and listening comprehension required in medical contexts. In Algeria, French is the primary language of instruction in medical education. However, second-year medical students often encounter difficulties with listening comprehension due to the French language dominance, complex medical English terminology, and a lack of effective listening strategies instruction. Understanding these challenges is crucial for improving language teaching in Algerian medical schools and designing more effective ESP and EMP programs. Second-year medical students at the University of Tlemcen are increasingly required to engage with English in academic settings, particularly within medical subjects that incorporate specialized terminology. While French remains the main language of instruction, students frequently need to rely on their English listening skills to understand lectures and analyze materials. Many encounter difficulties regarding fast speech, unfamiliar vocabulary, and limited exposure to spoken English. To investigate these challenges, a structured 30-item questionnaire was distributed to all second-year medical students, with a total of 42 students’ reponses collected. The findings highlighted key areas of difficulty and emphasized the need for more focused listening support in ESP instruction. The study advocates the urgent need for adapting teaching approaches to the bilingual context to significantly improve comprehension and learning outcomes. It recommends several measures to enhance listening skills, including integrating listening-based activities into EMP courses, incorporating multimedia resources, providing pre-listening support and context, encouraging note-taking and repetition strategies, increasing exposure to English beyond the classroom, offering listening practice through online platforms, and organizing regular workshops and listening labs. These strategies aim to help students become familiar with real-life speech patterns, medical vocabulary, and varied accents, while enhancing active listening and concentration skills.