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The aim of this thesis is to examine what strategies teachers use when they teach listeningcomprehension in order to develop student’s listening skills, and especially if and how they usescaffolding in their teaching. To examine this, seven upper secondary school teachers inSweden were interviewed about their listening comprehension teaching. The qualitative datawere analyzed using a cross case analysis with a combination of framework and IPA analysis.The data was labeled and divided into two themes: general strategies and scaffolding. In thethemes the data was further sorted and categorized into language immersion, raising selfconfidence,division into smaller groups, notetaking, pre-information and connection to theme,collaborative discourses, teacher peer and modeling and finally increasing level of difficulty.All seven teachers discussed several different strategies they use. They often combine strategiesto create the best learning environment for the students. Six out of these seven teachers gaveexamples of scaffolding strategies they use, such as modeling, working with themes and preinformationto support their students. However, as mentioned previously, they were oftencombined with other strategies such as collaborative discourse and smaller groups.

Study abroad has been shown to improve students' linguistic and cultural competence, but students who gain their fluency abroad may struggle to adapt to the plethora of regional dialects they encounter in their studies and interactions after they've returned from their study abroad. The researchers of this study posited that learning Spanish in a domestic immersion context may improve a student's flexibility or tolerance for dialectal variation in regard to listening comprehension. Using a detailed survey and multi-dialectal listening assessment, the researchers examined the degree to which Spanish language learners, in this case 183 missionaries, were exposed to a variety of dialects, whether this exposure varied depending on region of study, and whether it affected their ability to comprehend a variety of accents. Significantly higher levels of variation were found in Spain, the U.S., and Canada, possibly due to the higher levels of Hispanic immigration to these regions. A comparison of Spain, the region with the highest average test score, and Mexico, the region with the lowest average test score, showed high practical significance (d=.8), suggesting that high levels of linguistic variation in the region of study may improve listening comprehension of multiple dialects. Pearson correlations between exposure to variation and listening test score were also positive. The researchers believe this is grounds for increased support of immersion programs both domestic and abroad, especially to areas such as Spain with high levels of linguistic diversity.

The purpose of the current study was to examine how well the Narrative Language Measure (NLM) of Listening predicts the NLM Reading measure and the extent to which brief narrative-based listening and reading comprehension assessments administered to first, second, and third grade students demonstrate symmetry and equity. A total of 1039 first graders, 395 second graders, and 501 third graders participated in this study. The students were administered the NLM Listening and NLM Reading, and their scores were examined to address the research questions. Students with incomplete data sets and students who performed 1.5 standard deviations (7th percentile based on the local dataset norms) below the mean within their respective grade using local norms on a either the first or second winter benchmark reading fluency measure were removed from the participant pool. A correlation and regression analysis indicated that the NLM Listening was weakly predictive of NLM Reading. The means and standard deviations of listening comprehension and reading comprehension were compared, with the expectation that the means from both tasks would not be significantly different. This was examined using repeated measures ANOVA. Results indicated that for the first, second, and third-grade students, while removing those who scored at or below the 7th percentile, there was a statistically significant difference between the means for both the NLM Listening Benchmark 1 and NLM Reading Benchmark 1, as well as the NLM Listening Benchmark 2 and NLM Reading Benchmark 2. An equipercentile analysis determined the first-grade students scored higher in the listening comprehension than reading, and the second and third-grade students scored higher in the reading comprehension. While the data from this study indicate that the NLM Listening is not an adequate proxy for the NLM Reading measure, this study is another step in laying a foundation that a narrative-based assessment with carefully constructed parallel forms that reflect written academic language has the potential to produce scores in listening and reading comprehension that are symmetrical and equitable, in order to justify the use of one measure as proxy for the other.

This study aimed to explore the impact of pedagogical agents in computer-based listening instruction on EFL students' listening anxiety levels and listening comprehension skills. A total of 66 Korean college students received computer-based listening instruction. Students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: American agent condition, Korean agent condition, or no-agent condition. Additional data sources were included in the experimental design in order to investigate students' learning experience more thoroughly. Results indicated that there were no statistical differences in listening anxiety levels and listening comprehension skills between students who worked with the agent and students who worked without the agent. In addition, there was no statistical difference in listening anxiety levels between students who worked with the Korean agent and students who worked with the American agent. However, survey findings indicated a few differences between the agent condition and the no-agent condition when students were asked to describe their learning experiences. Students from both groups enjoyed the lesson overall; however, their comments revealed some differences. Students in the agent condition regarded the agent as an important contribution to their enjoyable learning experience, and specifically chose the presence of the agent as the reason they would want to work with the program again, while students in the no-agent condition mainly enjoyed the useful functions integrated into the computer-based lesson, and indicated they would work with the program again because it was interesting and helpful. Although there were no statistical differences between the groups, these results seem to illuminate that the guidance provided by the pedagogical agent during the lesson positively affected students' learning experiences, which is in line with previous study findings. The findings from the survey can also provide suggestions regarding what aspects of pedagogical agents should be kept or improved for language learning. More data would strengthen the impact of the results. However, these findings offer practical and theoretical implications for using pedagogical agents in foreign language education.

This paper aims to examine the evolution of the depiction of listening comprehension in Swedish curricula and attached policy documents for upper-secondary schools from the 1970s onwards to the contemporary ones by analyzing the content and placing it in relation to curriculum theory. The research approach for this paper was inductive since the prior knowledge in this field was limited. Further, the data for this paper are policy documents that regulate education as well as commentary material that argue for the relevance of the content presented in the respective document. Moreover, the data analysis method used is content analysis since the aim is to do a manifest and latent analysis of the content presented in policy documents to depict listening comprehension, thereby revealing how it has developed in accordance with socially situated ideals. The research questions for this paper are (1) How has the depiction of listening skills changed in Lgy70, Lpf94, Gy11 and Gy22 for English at the upper secondary school level? And (2) How are the differences between Lgy70, Lpf94, Gy11 and Gy22 related to the ideological trends during their time? By applying curriculum theory as the theoretical lens, two main advancements were recognized when examining curricular development. Firstly, the results suggest that Swedish curricula and attached educational policies have developed in the spirit of globalization to meet the requirements caused due to the theoretical reorientation of language learning. Secondly, attention to listening comprehension has evolved due to the increased presence of English in Swedish society since the 1970s. This development is illustrated in the increased amount of text in the policy documents for EFL that focus on function rather than formal aspects in the pursuit of strengthening communicative abilities.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the addition of music and sound effects to recorded stories increased the comprehension and retention of information for fourth grade students. The data were analyzed by a two-factor analysis of variance, with repeated measures for both comprehension and retention tests, for the total population. Each reading level group was analyzed separately by an analysis of variance. Of eight hypotheses tested, six showed a significant difference. The conclusions drawn from this study indicated that the addition of music and sound effects 1) Increases the listening comprehension and retention of fourth grade students; 2) Is more effective for retention for students with a high reading level; and 3) Is more effective for initial listening comprehension for students with low reading level but the effect is not significant for retention.

The use of preinstructional strategies frequently results in improved comprehension as evidenced by test scores. Although empirical support for this phenomenon is inconsistent, the potential utility of preinstructional strategies warrants further consideration. The rationale of this study suggests that intervening situational factors, or individual learner characteristics, account for the inconsistencies. The knowledge of factors that influence the effectiveness of preinstructional strategies would be beneficial in assisting educators' attempts to apply the strategies for their students' best advantages. The problem of this study was an analysis of the effects preinstructional strategies have upon students' state anxiety and listening comprehension. The purpose was to compare the state anxiety fluctuations and listening comprehension scores of students given advance organizers, pretests, cognitive objectives or overviews with a control group given no prefatory assistance.

This is a study about English teachers’ use of audiobooks when working with literature in upper secondary school. This study investigates to what extent and in what ways teachers use audiobooks as well as their attitudes toward them as a teaching tool. This research study also investigates whether teachers believe that audiobooks have a positive effect on students’ reading motivation. The study was conducted through a mixed-method questionnaire, which 24 participating teachers in Sweden answered. The study shows that most teachers are using audiobooks in their literature teaching, hence having an overall positive attitude towards them. However, the reasons for using them vary among the participants. The findings reveal that participating teachers find audiobooks helpful for improving students’ reading and listening comprehension, pronunciation, and reading accuracy. Further, teachers believe that audiobooks help students to show more engagement with the literature, but that they do not have much effect on increasing students’ motivation to read. The results of this study provide insight into some English teachers’ opinions and attitudes toward the audiobook as a teaching tool and this may help other English teachers make better informed choices when they want to incorporate the audiobook into their literature teaching.

Communication is an integral part of our everyday life. In learning a new a language, there are a series of different skills that need to be mastered by a student to be efficient in the language. One of these skills is listening comprehension. Listening comprehension is the skill that students found the hardest to master and be confident in. Therefore, it was of importance to see how students are exposed to listening comprehension in the textbooks that they use in German. In the study, 4 textbooks in the series Alles Deutsch were analysed. The books were analysed according to types of exercises, authenticity in theme and language as well as instruction type. The study found that meaningful exercises were the most common in the material while communicative were the least common. It could be analysed that the themes in the textbooks were authentic to the student’s prior knowledge and that themes reappeared throughout the language learning process. However, there was relatively little authenticity in the language in the exercises, but the difficulty progressed over time. Conventional approach-instructions were the most common which means that students are not exposed to strategy building and awareness in the exercises. Lastly, the results were interpreted from a hermeneutic perspective and the hermeneutic cycle