The Impact of Listening Strategies on Improving Learners’ Listening Skill in Iran

Viable listening comprehension skills are essential as the world gets to be more and more worldwide. Multi media and the web get to be discussions for English communication. EFL learners struggle to grasp oral English writings in their listening comprehension categories. In this study, a group of 103 Iranian EFL learners participated in this study and answered a general proficiency test of Nelson and 81 students responded to the listening section of TOEFL. Students were classified into effective and ineffective listeners by application of O'Malley et al's subjective criteria (1989) and the scores of students in TOEFL. To elicit the listening strategies of each group, listening strategy questionnaire was developed. A Case II t-test analysis of the questionnaires (P < .05) showed a meaningful difference between effective and ineffective listeners. The subjects were divided on the basis of their pre-listening scores into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the instruction of listening strategies and control group received the placebo treatment. The treatment included introduction, modeling and practicing the listening strategies. A posttest of listening section of TOFEL was administered to both groups. The results imply that listening strategies can be taught.