FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND BUSINESS STUDIES
Department of Humanities
Listening Comprehension Strategies for Swedish High School Students
Breaking Down the ELL Sound Barriers
Carrie Forsberg
2020
Student thesis, Master degree (one year), 30 HE Education
Upper Secondary Teacher Education Programme
Degree Thesis for Teachers: English with an Emphasis on Didactics Supervisor: Iulian Cananau
Examiner: Henrik Kaatari
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify difficulties some Swedish learners have with listening comprehension in the English 5 course in Upper Secondary Schools and to find methods of teaching such as scaffolding, schematic knowledge, preparation and peer cooperation that may prove successful. The methodology for this study was to test three groups of students representing three different programs of study at a high school in Sweden. These groups performed two different tasks to test theories about listening comprehension methods, and data was collected through test results and observations in the classroom, which were subsequently analyzed through discussion and comparison. The study showed that affective filters affected learning. However, scaffolding, schematic knowledge, preparation, and peer cooperation proved successful as reflected in higher all-around test scores. The researcher has attempted to identify the main aspects that make English listening comprehension difficult for Swedish learners, and to come up with ideas on how to break down the barriers to learning in order to promote improved listening comprehension in both live classrooms and in online learning situations.
Keywords: English, listening, anxiety, schema, vocabulary, affective filter, scaffolding
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ... 4
1.1 Aim and Research Questions ... 5
2. Theoretical Background ... 6
2.1 The Sound of English ... 7
2.2 Schemata and Vocabulary ... 9
2.3 Preparation Through Peer Cooperation ... 11
2.4 Motivation ... 12
2.5 Theories on Teaching Methods in Listening Comprehension ... 14
2.6 Scaffolding ... 15
2.7 Pedagogical Models ... 16
3. Method ... 17
3.1 Outline ... 17
3.2 Data Collection ... 19
3.3 Ethical Issues ... 22
3.4 Validity and reliability ... 22
3.5 Method Criticisms and Shortcomings ... 23
4. Results and Analysis ... 24
4.1 Results Group HV1 ... 24
4.2 Results Group BA1 ... 28
4.3 Results Group TE1 ... 30
4.4 Group Comparisons and Contrasts ... 32
4.5 Anxiety Towards Second Language Acquisition ... 36
5. Conclusions ... 38
References... 44
4
1. Introduction
Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) how to listen effectively in a second language is a challenge for educators today and there are many obstacles on the road to teaching English courses at the upper secondary level of education. Although the difficulties may vary among classrooms, one major pitfall has to do with listening comprehension. It is one of four major knowledge goals of the English 5 course along with reading
comprehension, writing, and speaking. This study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods and two types of listening tests among three different groups of students in upper secondary school. The main theories which form the foundation of this research are Krashen’s affective filter theory towards ELL and Vygotsky’s social learning theory. These theories are the basis for the researcher’s hypothesis and guide the research questions in this study. Moreover, peer cooperation and scaffolding were used as variables for these tests along with advance organizer techniques such as vocabulary and schema pedagogy.
Listening is considered a receptive learning aspect and a crucial building block to learning and mastering a language such as English. However, some researchers have pointed to the fact that listening is more active than passive and this skill is something that learners use more than speaking. In fact, listening is a crucial first step towards better speaking for ELLs, which is often overlooked according to Feyten (1991, p. 173). While examining literature on the subject, she surmised that listening is central to all learning, where forty-five percent of a person’s total communication time is spent using this underestimated skill (Feyten, 1991, p.
174). Her study further discusses research by Brown whose foremost research in the field of second language acquisition has revealed that the listening ability is crucial for ELL. In fact, a learner’s ability to listen peaks around elementary school age but, by the time they reach
5 upper secondary education, it begins to deteriorate as they make use of other modes of
learning (Feyten, 1991, p. 174).
For students in Sweden, further research is warranted in order to attempt to understand why or how it may be problematic to master this crucial language skill. Moreover, a student’s success in the English 5 course depends on being able to listen and understand English with few hindrances. Therefore, certain theoretical aspects such as Krashen’s affective filter theory and Vygotsky’s social learning theory are of interest in this study and how much they factor into the equation for the listening comprehension of these learners. During the course of conducting this study, Sweden became one of many countries that shifted to online or distance learning for upper secondary schools as a result of a viral pandemic, Covid-19, which
occurred during the year 2020 and forced the Swedish High Schools to close their doors to students and move to home-schooling and online instruction. This has affected the study because certain aspects occurred outside of the traditional classroom setting and moved online, which affected motivation and peer cooperation. Certain students felt this was a benefit while others considered it to be an obstacle. All these factors, along with how certain variables and approaches to listening were tested, will be discussed in detail in the sectionsto follow.
1.1 Aim and Research Questions
The idea for this study came about from my experiences with teaching in an upper secondary school in Sweden and observing problems students have in general when it comes to mastering listening skills in English. After four years of teaching and noticing that the lowest scores on the National Test are often on the listening comprehension portion, it has been my goal to research this issue in order to understand why this is an area of difficulty and to find solutions to help students improve this skill. Firstly, the aim of this research is to investigate why listening comprehension may be difficult and a cause of anxiety for learners
6 in Sweden. Secondly, this research attempted to find out how learners would respond to advance organizer techniques and preparation in the classroom in the first test and a lack of preparation and online application on the second test. These tests were designed for the purpose of identifying certain teaching techniques that may be used for future research in improved listening in the English 5 course.
1) What are the main reasons why English listening comprehension might become a cause of anxiety for some Swedish learners?
2) How can an instructor of the English 5 course in the Swedish Upper Secondary School create a lesson which eases some perceived anxieties and works towards improving listening comprehension for these learners?
3) How will advance organizer preparation and distance learning affect the results of a listening test and how will learners respond in terms of perceived anxiety?
2. Theoretical Background
In order to understand how to improve listening for learners of English in Sweden, it is necessary to outline previous research and theories behind how they listen and what factors contribute to their perceived anxiety associated with it. This study will lay the groundwork for the research in three theoretical areas. Firstly, theories pertaining to the general problems learners face with listening comprehension will be discussed. Secondly, theories that relate to how an instructor may generally facilitate improved listening comprehension through
scaffolding and metacognitive strategies will be examined. Thirdly, the concept of online learning will be brought up due to its relevance to the situation facing schools at the time this study was conducted. The purpose of this three-fold theoretical background is to mirror the research questions and create an adequate foundation for the analysis of the results at the end.
Some factors that affect learners include phonological comprehension, schema recognition,
7 and affective filter levels that have a correlation to their perceived anxiety. In other words, it is essential to try to understand how these learners hear English, what they hear and if and how they learn and retain it in relation to any present anxiety causing factors. The first focus of this theoretical background is to explore why listening comprehension is a perceived cause of anxiety for ELLs.
2.1 The Sound of English
Yule (2014, p. 295) defines phonetics as the study of the characteristics of speech sound.
Articulatory phonetics has to do with how speech sounds are made, while auditory phonetics,
deals with the perception of what is heard by the learner. Phonology, as explained by Yule (2014, p. 295), is “the study of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language,”
while the “smallest meaning distinguishing sound unit in the abstract representation of the sounds of a language” are known as phonemes. According to Gass (2013, p. 6), phonology, while complex for learners in their native language, often differs from the phonology of their target language (TL). Thus, the phonology of a language is crucial for learners to master in order to facilitate better listening comprehension. Problems may arise if the learner is faced with listening to the TL at a normal rate if they are not aware of the coarticulation process that occurs in natural speech patterns. One example the author mentions, is how the [t] sound in American English sounds like a [d] sound in normal speech patterns as in conversational speech (Gass, 2013, p. 6). Normal speech, according to Yule (2014, p. 46), includes
coarticulation effects such as assimilation and elision. “Assimilation is the process whereby a
feature of one sound becomes part of another during speech production” (Yule, 2014, p. 287).
“Elision is the process of leaving out a sound segment in the pronunciation of a word” (Yule, 2014, p. 290). In fact, listening to groups of combined speech sounds may become
challenging if ELL’s are not able to discern the phonetic differences from their NL. Proven
8 success comes from having knowledge of the TL so that they may be capable of
understanding these language variances.
Ur (1984, p. 11) discusses the importance of hearing sounds in English for non-native speakers and she mentions how certain sounds in English do not exist in the NL of students and therefore comprehension is affected by this phenomenon. An example of this for Swedish learners is the /tʃ/ phoneme in words such as cheap and chip which differs in pronunciation from the /ʃ/ phoneme as in sheep and ship. For Swedish learners, the /tʃ/ phoneme does not exist in their NL, which affects both listening and speaking. A contrastive challenge for Swedish learners of English is between the /θ/ phoneme, as in the word, thistle, and the /ð/
phoneme, as in the word, this, which many have trouble discerning. Furthermore, as Ur explains, certain homophones and homonyms in the TL may cause confusion for comprehension. These discrepancies occur because of the differences in certain sounds
between the two languages and directly affect how they hear English. She reiterates that, “it is therefore essential for the learner to achieve familiarity with the common phonemes of the target language as soon as possible if he is to be an efficient listener” (Ur, 1984, p. 12).
Furthermore, understanding intonation and stress of the TL is a challenge ELLs face (Ur, 1984, p. 12). It is well known that English is pronounced using different tone and stress patterns than Swedish. In fact, Gårding (1998, p. 127) explains how word accents in Swedish cause the intonation of the language to rise and fall causing it to sound melodic and these intonations are more fixed which is contrastive to English and German.
In their article, Hayes-Harb et al. (2010, p. 368) discuss how second language learners must put aside their familiarity with the grapheme-phoneme knowledge of their NL when learning words in the TL. For example, the spelling and sounds are often at odds between the TL and NL for these learners causing challenges for their listening comprehension. This study tested native English speakers who attempted to learn new novel words through auditory
9 vocabulary means that were either congruent to their NL or noncongruent. It was concluded by these researchers that it was easier for them to learn the new words if they contained some of the same conventions as exist in their NL such as silent letters, which are abundant in English (Hayes-Harb et al., 2010, p. 379). The researchers concluded that language similarity, in the form of similar grapheme-phonemic aspects, aids learners when tackling their TL and that language instructors should consider using both auditory and visual means for teaching new vocabulary (Hayes-Harb et al., 2010). English and Swedish differ in their grapheme- phoneme aspects, and in the case of English, there is a poor correlation between the sound of a word, and how it is spelled. Conversely, Swedish is often spelled as it sounds, making this challenging for ELLs. It may be argued that if this is not sufficiently tackled when the learner first begins to learn the second language, it will be problematic when they progress to higher levels of education. For learners in Sweden, English is taught around age seven but progresses rapidly and culminates in upper secondary education with mixed results. Some students have adapted by this point because of their interest and motivation to learn English, while others have difficulties in the language. If these difficulties are not addressed properly, they will continue to cause problems for them throughout their education.
2.2 Schemata and Vocabulary
It is not only the phonology of the TL that may be problematic for learners of English, but schemata and vocabulary play a major role in their success or failure which is why
preparation in the form of vocabulary and schemata training is essential for L2 learners.
Harmer (2001, p. 199) discusses schema in his book and describes it as pre-existing knowledge of a certain situation that one may have previous experience with which helps them to comprehend what they hear. Certain familiar words from a schema are triggered, and it helps the listener decipher what is being heard as in the example of understanding a
listening task that pertains to a conversation in a supermarket. If the learner has been to a
10 supermarket and recognizes the vocabulary used, it should theoretically trigger their memory and help them gain meaning and understanding. However, as Harmer (2001, pp. 200-203) theorizes, comprehension may be difficult for L2 learners if their pre-existing knowledge of cultural aspects and discourse patterns in the TL is limited or lacking in nature. For example, if a learner has never heard a certain dialect of English, their comprehension may be affected.
Moreover, the learner may become stressed, causing reduced motivation and poor
comprehension. Regarding vocabulary, some learners are more used to American English words than British English words, which may likewise affect the results. Arguably, Swedish learners have been exposed more frequently to American English dialects through media in the form of movies, television series, streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube videos, reality shows and social media applications. Modiano (2009, p. 58) discusses this
phenomenon of “linguistic Americanization” in his book and supports the theory that these learners are affected not only in vocabulary but likewise in grammar, syntax, and
pronunciation. Arguably, most English textbooks in Sweden are written in British English and many teachers use this dialect more readily in classrooms as a result of their own language preferences. This means that for some students, their first encounter with British English may occur in the classroom during a language test resulting in some difficulties. Moreover, Harmer (2001, p. 203) theorizes that when learners are faced with unfamiliar words, it severely
disrupts their flow, causing them to miss the next part of the listening task. He further discusses how it can de-motivate learners and cause them to give up. His prescription is to teach vocabulary prior to the task, to better prepare the learners and build up their knowledge of useful words before they must concentrate on listening. However, as Harmer (2001, pp.
203-204) points out, only words that may be unfamiliar should be focused on in order to activate their schemata and get them to cognitively build awareness through predictions creating general interest in the topic at hand. Because the goal is to get learners to think
11 critically, it is not preferable to provide too much help or make the tasks overwhelmingly easy because this will also affect their motivation and results.
Richards (1983) outlines a detailed taxonomy of how instructors may approach difficulties with listening comprehension. Of interest here is his mention of how most diagnostic testing in listening merely focuses on short term memory recall which says nothing about a learner’s overall comprehension for meaning: “An exercise involving listening to a passage and responding to true/false questions about the content of it typically focuses on memory rather than on comprehension” (Richards, 1983, p. 233). Richards states that as instructors we must use comprehension diagnostics which focus not only on testing but on teaching as well. He cites that the amount of preparation prior to a task is essential for activating a learner’s script and providing a purpose for the listening task and that the authenticity of the material should allow for acquisition requiring negotiation for meaning as Stephen Krashen has previously theorized (Richards, 1983, p. 234).
2.3 Preparation Through Peer Cooperation
Preparation in the language learning classroom often consists of vocabulary training or cultural and historical background information which may help students become acquainted with the topic at hand. However, another important preparatory method includes peer
cooperation where students discuss all of these aspects and confirm their learning through the socialization aspect of small group work. In order to prepare learners for listening, peer cooperation is a natural method that instructors may use to encourage brainstorming. This in turn leads to making predictions, activating their schema, promoting critical thinking, and facilitating better comprehension (Li et al., 2017, p. 117). There are several ways an instructor may utilize peer cooperation in the English classroom. Some examples are: peer reviews, think-pair-share exercises and pre-test questions in small groups. This method is not new, and it has been a part of the English 5 course, but differences occur as a result of the individual
12 instructors who use them. Peer group work is a practical method used in formative
assessment, which is described by Wiliam and Leahy (2015). Their book details the method of peer cooperation and explains why it is particularly useful for learners and instructors alike.
These authors iterate that this strategy of allowing young people to learn from their peers has been around for centuries. They mention that cooperative learning is when learners work in groups in a structured learning situation created by the instructor and collaborative learning is an unstructured situation created by the learners themselves (Wiliam & Leahy, 2015, p. 141).
For the purposes of this study, cooperative learning is more fitting because the research
subjects engaged in structured question answering prior to the test, which was conducted as an individual task. The authors mention five critical aspects for optimal cooperative learning, and these include: positive interdependence, promotive face-to-face interaction, individual
accountability, practice with interpersonal skills in small group work and frequency of small group work (Wiliam & Leahy, 2015, pp. 141-142).
2.4 Motivation
The aspect of motivation is a deciding factor for gaining knowledge and in the case of listening comprehension it is arguably the reason behind success or failure. There are different types of motivation and each one differs depending on the individual. For some, motivation is extrinsic, and for others it is intrinsic. Many psychological factors also contribute to the effect motivation has on the individual’s success at learning English, and this is especially true for listening comprehension. It is natural for learners to want to understand what others are saying and to focus acutely on every word while sometimes missing the overall meaning or context of what is being said. If there is not enough motivation there is little reason for the learner to develop these skills and this may lead to frustration and eventual abandonment. Moreover, while living in Sweden, learners of English do not have the same immersion factor that they would have as being in a country where English is the majority NL, and this means they may
13 not have as many opportunities to use English, although this may vary depending on the geographical area of Sweden being considered. Authentic learning tasks are often hard to come by in these instances and learners are left with textbook assignments, used national tests and material that may seem artificially rehearsed and ineffective. Recently, there has been discussion regarding how the gaming world has provided new opportunities for ELLs and this has led to some improvements for these learners in the classroom as a result. For example, Sylvén and Sundkvist conducted a study on Swedish learners who participated in massive multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and exhibited improved English language skills. Their study cited improvement in areas of reading, listening comprehension and vocabulary based on the data they collected through questionnaires, diaries and proficiency tests (Sylvén & Sundkvist, 2012, p. 302). Furthermore, based on studies like this one, it seems reasonable that gamers would have an easier time with listening comprehension in these instances due to the interactive atmosphere gaming provides for them.
It is a type of scaffolding activity that provides positive motivational factors. Arguably, some learners may have insecurities in the TL due to previous negative experiences in the
classroom which may cause a psychological barrier to their success in ELL. In fact, their own beliefs about their abilities play a major role in their success wherein learners who have had success with the language through other means such as gaming, gain confidence and improve.
Conversely, learners who have had difficulties and have not tried other methods such as gaming, may give up and permanently lose motivation despite the fact that they are exposed to the language outside the classroom.
Using his affective filter hypothesis, Stephen Krashen has theorized why some learners who are exposed to large quantities of input from the TL create a metaphorical barrier which hinders them from effectively acquiring language. Krashen discusses how three factors for an affective filter relate specifically to second language acquisition rather than learning, and they
14 are: motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety (Krashen, 2009, p. 31). This filter is due in part to their anxiety or boredom and arguably their insecurities with their learning outcomes in the TL (Lightbown & Spada, 2013, p. 106). Lightbown and Spada (2013, p. 106) posit that learning languages depends on a learner’s prior language knowledge, which affects their perception of the TL. For example, if learners in Sweden were comfortable listening to English from American speakers, then it would likely be problematic for them to listen to other dialects and their perceived inadequacies could cause anxiety affecting their overall results. Aspects such as vocabulary may become problematic when they vary among the dialects, and learners are expected to perform tasks in the classroom using unfamiliar words.
Therefore, phonology, vocabulary and schemata are helpful aids for these learners’ success in English. Instructors should find ways to solve the issue of creating learning tasks with the purpose of helping learners improve their listening skills in ELL. This should aid in lowering their affective filters to enable optimal learning.
2.5 Theories on Teaching Methods in Listening Comprehension
Pedagogy is best defined as an approach to teaching and the traditional version of this has been where an instructor imparts knowledge or skills to a learner who in turn learns and retains said knowledge or skills. However, this has evolved over the years, and in Sweden, the dichotomy has been flipped from a teacher-centered method to a decidedly more learner- centered curriculum where planning focuses on providing a foundation for learners to be able to learn on their own terms and think critically for the purpose of becoming independent individuals. There is a vast number of teaching methods and theories, but the focus of this study will be on a few of these methods which pertain to listening comprehension and those that the researcher deems the most likely to produce the desired results. These theories and methods will be outlined for the purpose of providing a background to this study and a
15 dialogue for finding ways to tackle the problem of listening comprehension for Swedish learners in English 5.
2.6 Scaffolding
When it comes to improving language comprehension, scaffolding is a common
technique employed in language learning classrooms. According to the theories of Vygotsky, there is a Zone of Proximal Development, which is “the domain of knowledge or skill where the learner is not yet capable of independent functioning, but can achieve a desired outcome given relevant assistance” (Mitchell et al., 2013, p. 223). The idea behind this theory is to use strategies which help students build up skills through both peer work and the help of an instructor toward the goal of eventually being able to perform the skills on their own. This may be perceived in various ways depending on the learner’s needs. For some, it is necessary to provide positive reinforcement and encouragement from their peers and the instructor for students with lower confidence. For others, it may be important to provide new and
interesting topics in order to awaken their curiosity and keep their focus. Another group may need structural aids in the form of templates, checklists, vocabulary lists, study guides and verbal explanations in order to build up their autonomy in the language. According to Mitchell et al. (2013, pp. 222-223), the process of scaffolding has evolved within
sociocultural theory but the main idea is to use support through dialogue with the purpose of guiding the learner successively through a problem, and that there are four key elements, including: adult guidance, assistance to find skill level, varied support and support removal once autonomy is achieved. The modern Swedish classroom is concerned with inclusive learning, which translates to the instructor taking each learner’s individual needs into consideration when conducting lessons and assessing their performance. The Swedish
National Education Board came out with a decision in 2014 concerning inclusion practices for students who have special needs so that they would be included in the classroom instead of
16 isolated from other students (SKOLFS 2014:40). It stands to reason that based on Vygotsky’s theory; social interaction would be a benefit for all students regardless of their ability in the language. In fact, the social aspect of the classroom is a major part of the pedagogy, as students learn from their peers and the instructor alike.
2.7 Pedagogical Models
Livingston and Condie (2006, p. 154) state that online learning and traditional classroom learning differ dramatically, and teachers must adapt to utilizing both strategies to effectively educate learners. They further iterate that these two types of instruction can be described as the dichotomy of constructivism versus transmission models of pedagogy (Livingston &
Condie, 2006, p. 154). For Swedish pedagogy, there has been a shift both from transmission models to constructivist models and from traditional classroom tools such as textbooks to online learning and digital materials. This is especially true for this study which has seen a global pandemic causing a shift from students being taught in the classroom at schools to being taught in their homes through distance instruction. Both Lev Vygotsky and Swiss developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget were researchers and theorists concerned with child development (Mitchell et al., 2013, p. 220). It is the understanding of the researcher that the constructivist model utilizes what Vygotsky prescribed as social interaction being a propellant for learning, and Piaget’s research on the constructivist theory of cognitive development is based on a learner’s own experiences which are utilized in learning practices. This seems to relate to previously discussed aspects such as schema and scaffolding and it also correlates to learner-based pedagogy, which is encouraged in many educational institutions today.
When discussing the transmission model, it is relevant to relate it to teacher-centered pedagogy and behaviorist teaching methods. This is because in this model the teacher is broadcasting the perceived knowledge to the students as if they were empty vessels to be filled with information. A vast quantity of research has shown that there is a more active give
17 and take relationship that goes on in the classroom, which requires a considerably more varied approach to pedagogical methodology. B.F. Skinner was a proponent of the conditioning aspect of learning where repetition or practice leads to habit in language learning (Mitchell et al., 2013, p. 29). Conversely, Chomsky argued toward the idea of innate knowledge of language vis-à-visuniversal grammar which points to nativism of language learning in contrast to the tabula rasa characteristics of the teacher-lead transmission model (Mitchell et al., 2013, p. 62). In Sweden, pedagogical methodologies taught at the university consider that an effective teacher utilizes a variety of teaching methods based on inclusion of each
individual student and their individual needs prescribing situational solutions that meet the demands of unique group dynamics. Although distance teaching is becoming more
commonplace, it needs to be handled with the same amount of planning and structure that is used in live classroom situations. The process of planning lessons for distance learning is at times complicated but once routines and methods are established it can be an aid to both the instructor and the learners. “Research suggests that interactions with technology provide opportunity for learners to engage actively in the learning process and develop their thinking skills” (Livingston & Condie, 2006, p. 150). Certain advantages of distance learning include automatic assessment using computer programs in contrast to the antiquated method of pen and paper grading. Conversely, one disadvantage of online classrooms is the nature of the social interaction which may appear contrived. As Livingston and Condie (2006, p. 150) surmise, online learning when integrated with classroom teaching together enhance the education experience for learners.
3. Method
3.1 Outline
This study utilizes mixed methods research with an explanatory sequential design focused on three groups taking the English 5 course. These groups include 24 all-female students in
18 the handicrafts program, 21 all-male students in the building and construction program and 32 mixed gender students in the technical program. According to Merriam and Tisdell, mixed method research begins by collecting quantitative data followed by qualitative data “with the purpose of explaining the results or a particular part of the findings in more depth” (2016, p.
47). The method included two types of listening activities in order to compare quantitative results in the form of summative letter grades and qualitative results in the form of
observation and informal interviews with the learners. The informal interviews were
conducted individually while giving the students their test results. The researcher asked them how they felt about the test format and if they believed that vocabulary preparation was helpful or not. All 77 students were given their results individually and interviewed briefly. A sampling of these comments will be discussed in the results section of this study for the purpose of qualitative analysis. This design was chosen in order to systematically explore some theories regarding the effectiveness of planning and executing listening comprehension exercises based on experiences in the classroom as an instructor and the problems witnessed in these situations. Furthermore, these methods are intended to explain why these anxieties and difficulties occur and find strategies that may be implemented for the purposes of improving listening comprehension for learners in Swedish upper secondary schools. These tests and exercises have been chosen in order to find better methods for improving results in listening comprehension and to attempt to lower students’ affective filters associated with this skill. For example, a search in the DiVA publication portal for the University of Gävle using the word listening, revealed only four essays in the Humanities Department and none of these studies took place in Swedish upper secondary schools. Other publications that were used for this research study were found by searching in the publication databases: Academic Search Elite and Google Scholar. However, these studies were not based in Sweden, but in other countries in which English as a Second Language is taught. They were deemed relevant to
19 this application because most Swedish learners do not have English as their NL despite the fact that they are arguably more exposed to it than other Europeans.
The method of this study is relevant for the purpose of improved listening comprehension because it is considered an important aspect of learning and mastering the English language.
Furthermore, listening comprehension, with its symbiotic relationship with reading, writing, and speaking, seems to be an overlooked skill crucial to the success of Swedish learners of English. More research needs to be done in this area when considering that many students are dealing with technology devices such as mobile phones, for example, which deter their attention from lessons and affect their overall listening capacity. They are not only having trouble listening, but they may not actually be hearing what the instructor is saying.
Additionally, the factor of distance learning in quarantine adds further uncertainty for some students and their instructors within this field of study. As a result of mandates set forth by the Swedish Government during the time this study was conducted in the Spring term of 2020, learning in upper secondary schools in Sweden shifted from the classroom to distance learning when the Covid-19 virus broke out as a pandemic. This created both challenges and opportunities for learners and instructors in all subjects. For this study, the focus will be on its effects on English language learning and listening comprehension as previously described in the introduction. The move from classroom to online learning has opened up another way to research this aspect which means that instead of only looking at the classroom environment and social aspects included there, it will be useful to also take into consideration the learners’
results using online methods and describe this as a varied learning experience.
3.2 Data Collection
The subjects of this study consisted of three groups labeled, HV1, BA1 and TE1 and include only those who are taking the course English 5 in one Swedish High School in Gävle, Sweden. The names of the groups reflect which program of study the students are enrolled in
20 at the mentioned institution: HV translates to Hantverk (Handicrafts), BA translates to Bygg och anläggning (Building and Construction) and TE means Teknik (Technology) and the number one represents the year of study at the institution which includes a total of three years.
Group HV1 consists of 24 females, BA1 has 21 male participants and TE1 has a total of 32 pupils including 13 females and 19 males. Thus, the total number of females in this study is 37 and the total number of males is 40 with the overall sum of participants numbering 77 students. Group HV1’s lessons were held three times a week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for sixty minutes each. Group BA1 had lessons on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for sixty minutes each and Group TE1 had two lessons on Wednesday for sixty-five minutes and Thursday for eighty-five minutes.
The first listening task included advance organizers and students were introduced to the topic through a teacher led presentation using Power Point which also included an
interactional lecture. The vocabulary words were read aloud by the instructor in order to provide the learners with further preparation. Secondly, students were given a text on Saint Patrick’s Day with a set of questions to answer in small groups. Along with these materials, a vocabulary list was provided with the English words in one column and the Swedish
translations in the other column. These words were picked out of the text because of their perceived difficulty for the learners in order to provide support for the task. The researcher informed them that a listening test covering the material would follow. Finally, they listened to the five-minute-long recorded text spoken by a speaker with an Irish accent and answered twelve questions, two of which were open answer and ten that were multiple choice. This recording was taken from the British Council Teaching English Website about the National festival, Saint Patrick’s Day. This topic was chosen because students in Sweden do not typically celebrate this holiday which is culturally specific to the English-speaking countries they work with in the English course. As a result, there was a perceived general interest and
21 curiosity for the subject matter causing a slight increase in motivation for the tasks involved.
This task was chosen because it was based on the scaffolding theory through its use of
vocabulary and schemata, discussion, peer cooperation and teacher assistance. The goal was a culmination of learning resulting in an individually assessed listening test that would
theoretically provide more successful results than traditional listening tests using no preparation or support.
The second listening task was a common listening test which is used as preparation for the National Test in Sweden in the English 5 course taken from Libers. It included no advance organizers and was conducted online using Microsoft Teams. The advance organizers were left out in order to observe any perceived differences in the outcome. It contained two
recordings; one about an Englishman in America who played American Football and another one called Sports News which were both spoken with British accents. In theory, using this material should be recognizable to the students because the topic is relatable, and its format is moderately authentic considering it is an interview format and a news program about sports.
There were two sets of questions per recording which were in both multiple choice and short answer format and the students could listen to the recordings more than once if desired. All tests were scored using the Swedish six-point grading system with the following values shown in table 1.
Table 1. Grading Scale and Percentages
Grade Scale
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
E 50-59
F 0-49
22 After each test, informal interviews were conducted in order to capture the learners’
perceptions of preparation methods and to find out if they felt they were useful or not in listening comprehension tests. They were also asked about their preference of vocabulary preparation work and if they preferred British or American vocabulary.
3.3 Ethical Issues
The participants of the study performed the tests voluntarily and their identities have been kept anonymous. Another aspect concerning the integrity of the study is the researcher’s position or reflexivity and how it has affected the results (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 249).
The researcher is a native English speaker and this may have affected the learners in this study or the researcher’s perceptions of their language learning. However, it may be argued that the students of this study were able to trust the researcher because of her NL proficiency.
Thus, her position as an insider was not perceived as a hindrance in this particular situation because there was a pre-existing student-teacher relationship that was already established prior to the study. The study may be characterized as action research towards developing improved learning experiences in listening comprehension for learners in the English 5
course. Merriam and Tisdell (2016, p. 4) describe action research as a type of applied research focused on solving a particular problem. The intention of the study is toward the betterment of education practices in the English language field and all of the exercises have been performed with the purpose of aiding learners in English language acquisition.
3.4 Validity and reliability
The method of this study includes several aspects which point to its reliability and validity. Firstly, the research questions could be replicated and included in a similar study for other groups of students who are enrolled in the English 5 course. They are authentic types of tests that students are familiar with and they have been graded similarly to other assignments in the course. Secondly, the qualitative aspect of this mixed method study includes aspects
23 that may be interpreted through several perspectives. Due to the nature of qualitative analysis, one researcher’s interpretation may differ from another’s but this does not take away from the validity of the study itself. This particular study utilizes Krashen’s Affective Filter theory and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, but another researcher could use a different theory to interpret the quantitative data and come up with various results. For this particular study, triangulation was used by including quantitative results from two tests, informal interviews with students afterwards and observations made by the researcher during and after the tests. In the discussion of the results, the details of this data will be discussed and will form the basis of the validity of this study. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016, p. 245), triangulation increases the validity of research studies that include qualitative methods and because this study is a mixed method study it includes a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. For these students, the tests were conducted during their lessons. Although Group TE1 had one less lesson per week the duration of these lessons were longer and the students were characteristically more motivated to succeed due to the nature of their program selection. These students completed the preparation work and the listening test in one sitting.
Group BA1 had one day in between reading the text and listening to the recording and Group HV1 did preparatory work on the lesson the day before they took the test. Furthermore, the researcher’s aim is to come to an understanding about the reason behind listening challenges that learners of English 5 face and this study includes a diversity of both program and gender.
Lastly, the results are consistent with data collected because they make sense according to a reasonable theory of how ELL’s should perform better with extra preparation.
3.5 Method Criticisms and Shortcomings
There are some factors that may be perceived as shortcomings. One example is that the two tests compared both preparation versus non-preparation and classroom teaching versus online teaching combined. However, the online factor was something that could not be
24 controlled for in this instance due to Covid-19. The study was able to quantitatively illustrate how preparation affected listening test performance for the learners in this study. It also provided some insight into how students performed in the two environments. Furthermore, the research provided qualitative results from informal interviews demonstrating how learners perceived the two tests in relation to their perceived anxiety towards listening to English.
Lastly, while conducting this study, the Covid-19 pandemic directly altered the teaching community and forced this study toward another direction that was not planned but added another level to the research. The fact that the researcher was unable to control this aspect meant that she had to quickly adapt to it and adjust the study slightly to accommodate for unforeseen factors in connection to moving to distance learning. However, the first test was conducted prior to the closing of the upper secondary schools and the results were collected in time. The second experiment was changed to account for the new online learning environment where communication was limited to online platforms, emails, and telephone conversations.
Some could argue that this event and the resulting distance learning had both negative and positive impacts on the individual learner, and this will be further discussed in conjunction with the results of this study. However, there are many International English tests such as TOEFL and GRE that are now being conducted online. These testing centers have been allowing learners to take the test in their homes with a camera monitoring system due to the current situation with Covid-19.
4. Results and Analysis
4.1 Results Group HV1
Figure 1 illustrates the test results for Group HV1 with the bars on the left representing test one and the bars on the right representing test two. These results show a trend of higher overall grades with listening test one that employed preparatory aids including vocabulary
25 study, schema learning and peer cooperation. Analysis of these quantitative results will now be discussed using qualitative analysis.
Figure 1.
Results of Test One and Test Two for Group HV1
Most of the students had positive responses toward test one and when asked what they felt was good about it, 20 of the 24 students interviewed mentioned that they were aware of the subject matter beforehand and vocabulary words were helpful in order to understand the material. When interviewed, 15 of the 24 students were positive towards test one and many felt that having a text with questions to answer beforehand was helpful. Several of the
students mentioned that they were not as nervous or anxious about the listening aspect in test one as a result. Six students felt that working in small groups before the test in order to become familiar with the material was a positive aspect. Three of the students, commented that they thought it was good to have preparatory aids but that they did not feel it made much difference in their particular situation. These few students received A’s on both tests and were observed to have low affective filters with ELL. In this group, the questions on test one were perceived as medium to easy as reported by nearly all of the students. Because listening for these learners means that not every word is understood, it worked in this situation because
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26 they could simply relax and try to listen for overall meaning instead of being stressed about hearing every detail. The researcher observed that listening tests in general for this group are normally met with disdain and apprehension. Prior to the listening exercises, one student commented that she would probably fail the test because she is not good at listening in English. The instructor tried to assure her that she should go in with a positive outlook and give it a chance. This could be explained by their past negative experiences with this type of testing situation. However, this particular student scored an A on test one and a B on test two.
Many of the students in this group have low self-confidence when it comes to their listening skills and comprehension in English. Comments such as, “I cannot understand English,” or “I cannot speak English,” are a regular occurrence in this group with a few of the students. This could be explained with Krashen’s affective filter theory by stating that their filter levels toward English language listening are high.
If a student has a negative experience, this affects their motivation in subsequent situations. The instructor for a group such as this one must consider motivation to be a deciding factor for success and provide ways for learners to deal with anxiety in test taking situations. It may be the case that learners need to have more test situations or experiences in order to get used to them. Another factor may be that someone along the way has said something that has made the learner think that they are not good at listening, and instead of trying to improve they become discouraged and give up. This is counter-productive to the language learning classroom because learning a language is built on usage and repetition and practice. There will always be mistakes made but teaching students to deal with them in the right way may be necessary so that they are not simply discouraged. If they are taught to learn from the mistakes through proper corrective feedback and formative assessment this should not be a problem. Moreover, if anxiety is lowered then the affective filter may be lower, and the overall effect will be conducive to retaining this skill. When the students did the
27 preparation work in small groups they worked together effectively and shared ideas using verbal communication, which points to the idea of Vygotsky’s social interaction or
constructivism and proves that students seem to work better when they are allowed to talk through situations. To relate this to the research questions of this study, it can be said that in this case, scaffolding was used, and it appeared to be successful at helping to lower anxiety levels as the researcher theorized. Chang and Read (2006) conducted a study on listening using four types of support including: previewing test questions, repetition of input, providing background knowledge of the topic and vocabulary instruction, where they found that the least effective method was vocabulary instruction. The first test also included vocabulary instruction in conjunction with background knowledge and group work, yet there was no indication from the students that the vocabulary work was a deciding factor for success. In this case, the deciding factor was the background information, which was discussed amongst students in small groups. According to the majority of the participants, the scaffolding method helped to ease their anxiety for the test situation and provided the support they needed.
Although the test had only 12 questions which may be considered too easy for some learners it was designed to test the participants’ active listening skills and to find out how preparation affected the results.
The second test was conducted online and there was no preparatory work with vocabulary done prior to taking it but, because it was online, the students had the opportunity to listen to the recording multiple times. There was considerable apprehension for this test. There were six students who got an A on both tests showing that their listening skills were strong enough to withstand all of the conditions and nine of the students had better results with the first test that had preparatory work including vocabulary and small group cooperation. Consequently, for this group, the online method of learning was not as successful as shown in lower overall results when compared with the test performed in the classroom which included scaffolding.
28 Many of these students stated that they preferred using pen and paper in the classroom and would rather use their mobile phones than their laptops. Much of the time was spent teaching these learners how to use online applications while simultaneously teaching English language skills. Therefore, the aspect of online learning was perceived as a challenge for some in this group. However, a few of the students in this group had little trouble with the online
applications and adapted with ease.
4.2 Results Group BA1
Figure 2 illustrates the test results for Group BA1 with the bars on the left representing test one and the bars on the right representing test two. These results show a higher-grade trend with listening test one which is similar to Group HV1. Analysis of these quantitative results will now be discussed using qualitative analysis.
Figure 2.
Results of Test One and Test Two for Group BA1
Many of the students in this group were anxious about how they would perform on both listening tests. Some anxiety could be related to the fact that there was a longer time delay between their lesson with preparation and the lesson when they took test one. When
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29 interviewed, many of these students stated that they do not normally study for tests and were not concerned with studying the vocabulary words even though they did engage in small group work prior to the test. However, when asked if they felt vocabulary was important, 13 of the 21 students responded that it was important while the remaining eight students felt that it did not matter. When considering their apprehension, it may be related to Krashen’s
affective filter theory, according to which they perceive obstacles or difficulty based on their own insecurities with the language. As with the HV1 group, it is believed that preparatory work provided the basis for generally higher test grades for this test than on the second one because the material was introduced with vocabulary, small group work and the aim of
building a schema for the topic of Saint Patrick’s Day. Thus, it was irrelevant that the first test was shorter because the scores demonstrated that the scaffolding method provided better conditions for improved performance.
As with the other group, the second test was conducted online with no preparatory work with vocabulary, no small group collaboration, no schema training included and the students could listen to the recording multiple times because the recording was sent out on the
Microsoft Teams application. Overall results were lower on this test as shown in Figure 2.
Some of the issues that students mentioned with this test when interviewed, were that the British accents were difficult to understand and some vocabulary words were unknown because they were specific to British culture rather than American vocabulary. For this group, 18 out of the 21students interviewed, stated that they preferred American vocabulary and speaking voices over British ones when taking listening tests. When asked if they felt it was necessary to learn vocabulary words, 15 of the 21 students agreed with the statement that learning vocabulary words prior to tasks is helpful and necessary.
Based on the results of both tests, it can be surmised that advance organizer design in the form of topic preparation, vocabulary instruction, repetition of input and preview of questions
30 on test one, provided for higher overall test scores for this group. Chang and Read point out that preparation such as this “has a substantial psychological role in reducing test anxiety”
(2006, p. 378). Some observations for this group are that the learners were often in a hurry to get the test done and often complained that they missed the information. Some of the students, however, did not offer much comment at all and when asked what they thought about the tests, stated that test one was easy and test two was hard. Furthermore, observations of this group pointed to a preference for classroom tests over online tests. When given the choice, many of the students chose pen and paper over computers when given the option. This
group’s results reveal that the online testing was less effective for some of the students. When taking the tests online, some students had trouble getting started and using computer
applications.
4.3 Results Group TE1
The results in Figure 3 demonstrate nearly identical performance on test one and test two.
For these learners, preparatory aids did not appear to affect their overall performance and this will be discussed below using qualitative analysis.
Figure 3.
Results of Test One and Test Two for Group TE1
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31 For this group, the grades were considerably higher when compared to the other two groups, and it appeared that they handled it without any perceived challenges. It should be mentioned that in other listening tasks observed with this group, the results were generally higher than the other two groups studied. These students seemed to be more concerned with getting higher grades and displayed more confidence with the language. There were a few students who were weaker in listening, but they were often boosted by the preparation work and their results reflected high grades later. This group did not complain about tasks in the English course and appeared confident in general when it came to the subject. Therefore, this group seemed to have more instances of lower affective filters in accordance with Krashen’s theory.
A couple of the students, such as the student who got a C on test one, improved on test two, while the student who got a B on test one got a C on test two. Four students did worse on test two than test one and the majority of students in this group got the same grade on both tests. For this group, advance organizer design was not a decisive factor in this particular study. All 32 of the students who were interviewed about the importance of learning
vocabulary prior to performing learning tasks felt that this was a necessary skill and training aspect in the language classroom. There was one female student who had a difficult time on a previous listening test, but she performed well on both tests from this study. When
interviewed, that student felt that test one was easy and test two was challenging but not impossible. It is possible that test two was not a cause of anxiety for this student because it was taken online and it could be listened to more than once, thus creating a lower affective filter for her.
This group was familiar with social interaction in their other subjects, as they have worked in assigned base groups throughout the school year. In other words, they use small groups often and are used to this type of learning, which seems to influence their affective
32 filter levels as well as the results of their tests. Moreover, they had no trouble with the online method of test taking and seemed to prefer carrying out tasks on the computer. Students in this group were not observed using a pen and paper in the classroom or on any assignment.
Thus, the online aspect did not appear to have any noticeable effect on the results for the second test.
4.4 Group Comparisons and Contrasts
All three groups were treated to the same conditions in order to test how the theory of preparatory work or an advance organizer technique might bear fruit in the environment of the English classroom both at school and online when it comes to listening. Advance organization was used in a recent study conducted by Li et al. (2019) on learners who attended ninth grade at a junior high school in Taiwan and had studied English for seven years on average. The learners in this study are comparable to the learners in this study because they too have been studying English for almost the same number of years and it is considered their L2.
Furthermore, this study also used a test on Saint Patrick’s Day because it was likewise not a holiday celebrated by the students. Another similarity was the use of an advance organizer which the researchers define as “a teaching activity that helps build or activate L2 learners’
prior knowledge for a listening task, or as the provision of support to promote learning” (Li et al., 2019, p. 114). According to this same study, the researchers posit that this type of
scaffolding technique has been “well-documented in L2 research” and that this type of design
“assumes various forms, such as question previewing, key vocabulary presentation and cultural background cues,” to name a few (Li et al., 2019, p. 115). Another point pertinent to this study that has been mentioned in this same article is their discussion of how
brainstorming prior to a test helps learners to make predictions and activates their schema causing the learner to think more critically and arguably comprehend more (Li et al., 2019).
All three groups responded relatively well to the advance preparation for test one and the
33 grades were generally higher on this test for all three groups. This supports the theory of scaffolding and socialization mentioned in sections 2.6 and 2.7 and has been shown to be an effective means of supporting listening comprehension for these learners. However, when it comes to the specific aspect of listening, it is still uncertain whether the success of one group has to do with their ability to listen or if it is inherent in their confidence in their own ability with the language. Certainly, motivation is a key factor in the overall success rates of these three groups, but motivation may be either intrinsic or extrinsic.
Of merit to this study is the aspect of anxiety and how the three different groups were affected by it in their task performances. It has been previously mentioned that some students may have had negative experiences in the L2 classroom that have affected their performance as adolescents, and this is an area bordering on psychological aspects rather than cognitive ones. Psychology is a relative factor for language learning, and, more to the point, the personality of the learners plays a crucial role in their learning in the L2 English course and their listening performance. One aspect of personality that is observable for these learners in this study is inhibition. “It has been suggested that inhibition discouraged risk-taking, which is necessary for progress in language learning. This is often considered to be a problem for adolescents, who are more self-conscious than younger learners” (Lightbown & Spada, 2013, p. 85). Many learners in these groups exhibited anxiety and slight inhibition based on their negative associations to listening to foreign languages, while others in these groups were not noticeably inhibited in the L2 listening tasks. However, anxiety was assuaged when the learners could work with the material beforehand and get to know it in preparation for the impending test number one. This contrasts with the second test, which was given with no preparatory exercise and resulted in lower test scores overall for group HV1 and BA1.
Conversely, group TE1 performed well on both tests and appeared to be virtually unaffected by anxiety for tests based on new material, which may be explained by less inhibition. There
34 is not a sizeable gender difference regarding performance in listening with these groups, because in the homogenous gender groups the effect of inhibition with self-conscious behavior should be lesser. In the group with the heterogenous gender aspect, inhibition was not as apparent, but as mentioned previously, this is a focus for another investigation. When group TE1 worked in small mixed-gender groups, there was no perceived inhibition observed.
It appears that the motivation to succeed for group TE1 outweighs their inhibition or anxiety of being self-conscious. Another explanation for group TE1 and their nearly equal
performance on both tests may be explained by their perception of corrective feedback in general. Mitchell et al. (2013, pp. 171-173) discussed a study conducted with learners of English in Quebec, Canada and how high-achieving students were positively affected by corrective feedback but that low-achieving students appeared to benefit significantly more and showed better overall improvement on the language tasks in this study. In this research, it appears that the students in groups HV1 and BA1 benefited from preparation to a more significant degree than group TE1.
When comparing the two tests, the major differences are the lack of advance organizers provided and the environment with the classroom test and the online test. For the second test, advance organizer preparation may or may not be a deciding factor, depending on how much the students know about sports in general. There were some words that were challenging and unknown to the students, and despite listening and hearing what was said it is not certain that they would know the correct answer. One example was a question that asked about when a rally would occur and the speaker in the recording stated that it would happen in a fortnight.
Almost every student, regardless of group, was unaware that this meant in two weeks. This is a vocabulary word that is specific to British English whereas in American English it is very uncommon. Moreover, it appears to be less common for British speakers than in previous decades. For Swedish learners, it is likely that their experience with the English language
35 comes from mostly American dialectal sources, which would account for the error. A question such as this one suggests a total lack of knowledge and disregard of the target audience, who are from Sweden and more readily exposed to American English, and it is not an accurate test of listening comprehension for this target group.
Another important aspect to consider when comparing the two types of tests and results is the script and schema theory. According to Richards (1983), “the information needed to understand many utterances is therefore not explicitly present in the utterance but is provided by the listeners from their repertoire of scripts…if we lack a relevant script, comprehension may be difficult” (pp. 222-223). This proved to be true for this group because they were more successful when provided with a script or schema on the topic of Saint Patrick´s Day for the first test than when they were left with their own knowledge of sports for the other test, which was based solely on the learner’s individual experience. If some students were not
knowledgeable in this topic on their own, it could affect their success according to Richards’
theory, and this was the case according to the data collected in this study. Many teachers use tests like test two in their lessons as part of the curriculum for checking listening
comprehension skills for students in this course. Considering the data and research on the effectiveness of training with vocabulary and building schemata along with the fact that listening requires acute concentration on the part of the student, this type of exercise often brings about negative reactions from students. However, this negative reaction depends on the motivation and attitude of the student and their confidence level in English. If a student is comfortable with the language and uses it on a regular basis, they should not be concerned, but even students who come in contact with it may have negative perceptions that may be based on their attitude towards theoretical subjects in general and the level of their affective filters. Furthermore, this test was conducted online and there were mixed reactions to it based on if students were comfortable with using computers for schoolwork and test taking. Because
