A Study On The Relationship Between Listening Strategy Use And Listening Proficiency

Since the 1970s, research and theories in second or foreign language education have shifted from less stress on how to teach to greater emphasis on how to learn. One consequence of this shift is an increasing awareness and interest in language learning strategies. On the basis of the relevant literature review, aiming at examining the relationship between listening strategy use and listening proficiency, the current study addresses4 main questions:1. What types of listening strategies do Chinese English major students employ and with what frequency?2. What are the relationships between the three categories of listening strategies and listening proficiency? Which categories of listening strategies are most predicative of listening proficiency?3. What are the differences in terms of listening strategy use between high proficiency students and low ones?4. Does gender have an effect on strategy use and listening proficiency?This thesis consists of 5 chapters.Chapter One begins with introduction, which specifies the goals and significance of the study and introduces the structure of the thesis.Ensuing Chapter One is Chapter Two—Literature Review, laying out the definitions of key terms frequently referred to in the present study and presenting the related empirical studies on the relationship between listening strategy use and listening proficiency abroad and at home.Chapter Three is about methodology. Two instruments were employedin the present investigation, in which 58 second year English majors fromJilin Agricultural University participated. One is the listeningcomprehension test that yields a direct picture of the listeners'listeningcomprehension proficiency level. The other is a questionnaire which ibased on the definition and classification of listening comprehensionstrategies by O'Malley and Chamot's (1990) and Vandergrift (1996) in theframework of cognitive theory. The data was keyed into computer andanalyzed by the SPSS 14.0. Descriptive analysis, Pearson- CorrelationStepwise Multiple Regression, T-test and Chi-square tests were used and theresults and discussions of this study are summarized in Chapter Four afollows:1. Participants in general employ listening strategies at a medium frequency level and metacognitive strategies are reported as being used most frequently, followed by cognitive strategies, while social/affective strategies are the least frequently used.2. There does exist a significant positive correlation between learner's strategy use and their listening proficiency in terms of 2 types of listening strategies, i.e., metacognitive strategies and cognitive strategies, whereas social /affective strategies show no significant relationship to proficiency level. In addition, metacognitive strategies are the most powerful predictor of listening proficiency.3. The differences between the means of frequency of strategy use of the high proficiency listeners and that of low ones are statistically significant in terms of metacognitive strategies and cognitive strategies, but significant differences can not be seen in social/affective strategies.4. There are no significant differences in strategy use between female and male listeners, and gender does not have a direct effect on proficiency either.5. Finally, at individual strategy items, it is found that although the two different groups may share some similarities in strategy use, significant variation by proficiency level is usually positive (strategies are more frequently used by high proficiency listeners), and there is only one exception to this general trend in the present investigation.In light of the major findings of this study, some implications for listening comprehension learning and teaching are presented in the last chapter—Chapter Five. Teachers should shift their roles from instructors to facilitators of learning in the process of listening strategy training, whose roles are to keep the students informed and aware of all kinds of listening strategies and help them construct their own strategy network in the listening comprehension. Besides, limitations and proposals are also posed for further study in this field.