This paper aims to study the effect of visual aid in listening comprehension tests for Swedish secondary school pupil. The study also looks at the effects visual aid has for pupils who have difficulty concentrating and lastly to study the effect that previous knowledge has on the pupils’ performance. The study was carried out on 45 economy pupils who study engelska 6, the second English course in secondary school. They performed two tests; one listening comprehension test without visual aid and another listening comprehension test with visual aid. The results indicated that a slight majority of pupils performed better with the test with visual aid but that the difference was scattered, with some pupils having lower results on the test with visual aid. The participants with difficulties concentrating were too few in number to draw any definitive conclusions, but as a group they performed better when they had the visual aid.

This field study is aimed at exploring a suitable curriculum in listening comprehension, especially for training Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The paper is concerned with relating three themes: why the emphasis should be laid on listening practice, what strategies should be used to develop a feasible curriculum and what factors should be considered during the designing process. This study project is intended to be useful to both Chinese EFL teachers in search of a listening curriculum and the students who need ear training in EFL study. The basic aims, objectives and scope of the study are explained in the Introduction. The first chapter presents an overview of existing difficulties and problems in developing the aural abilities of the Chinese EFL students. In Chapter 2, the importance of establishing clear and definite teaching aims is discussed and two basic aims of teaching listening comprehension are suggested according to the students' needs in their communication with native speakers and in their further study of EFL. Chapters 3 and 4 are concerned with choosing and sequencing the course content. Criteria of selecting materials and of classifying unit aims and objectives are studied in an attempt to find a way of teaching listening skills in a systematic manner. Chapter 5 outlines the main teaching activities and strategies of achieving the established objectives. The final chapter is devoted to the discussion of establishing an evaluation procedure throughout the whole designing process, with stress put on testing students' progress and the results of their learning. The whole content of the study is summarized through a suggested curriculum model in the Conclusion. In the process of study, theoretical concepts and linguistic principles basic to understanding spoken English are discussed and used as a reasonable basis for the curriculum. It is intended that this field study will contribute in some way to curriculum design in Listening comprehension, a facet of TEFL which has seldom been systematically treated in China.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Douglas A. Archbald, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

By reviewing previous studies, this report aims to explore foreign language listening anxiety and provide a description of anxiety management strategies. There are three parts in the literature review: First, the report discusses the definition and process of listening comprehension; second, it investigates the concept and components of foreign language anxiety and its measurement and impact; finally, the literature review focuses on the importance of foreign language listening comprehension anxiety, and lists its possible sources and influences. In the pedagogical implication portion, this report lists nine listening anxiety reducing strategies developed from the findings in the literature review. By incorporating these strategies into language learning, learners can alleviate the negative influence from foreign language listening anxiety. / text

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) allows designers to control for rate of speech and the amount and kinds of control learners have over playback in listening comprehension exercises for second language (L2) learners. Research shows that slower rates of speech can improve listening comprehension (Chaudron, 1988; Zhao, 1997), as can pausing (Zhao, 1997). Jensen and Vinther's (2003) work suggests that, in listening comprehension training, slower speeds can help improve L2 learners' comprehension of grammatical structures.This study examined the influence of different rates of speech and learner controls in a CALL environment. The study used a pretest--training--posttest design. All subjects were pre-tested on listening comprehension on both slow (135 words per minute) and fast (180 words per minute) dialogues. They also performed a maze task as a pretest. Then the participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions for ten training sessions: A) trained on only fast dialogues, B) trained on only slow dialogues, C) given a choice of speed for the second playback during the lessons, and D) given an option to pause playback when listening the second time. Posttests followed training. Data were also collected through surveys and interviews, allowing the issues of CALL design and communication and learning strategy use to be investigated as well.The data support the previous research but also suggest that design features can affect L2 learners either positively or negatively. This study, which was done with Chilean, college-level students of English as a foreign language (EFL), has implications for CALL design and classroom teaching, as well as language testing. These are discussed, as are suggestions for future research.

The aim of this investigation was to examine the role of visual elements in second language listening comprehension when digital video was used as a mode of presentation. Despite the widespread use of video in listening instruction, little is known at present about how learners attend to dual-coded media and, in particular, how visual elements may influence comprehension processes. (For complete abstract open document)

Thesis (Ph. D)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-194).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-93).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-226) and index.