What you know and see can help you: An examination of the effects of advance organizers, visual images, and gender differences on the video-based listening comprehension of EFL college students

This mixed-methods study examined the effects of advance organizers, visual images, and gender differences on a video-based listening comprehension task performed by 120 college students in an EFL context.; In the first phase, quantitative instruments were used to investigate the effects of the three factors on listening comprehension. A survey was conducted immediately after the experimental manipulation, which was aimed at addressing participant' attitudes and opinions toward the three factors in their comprehension process. The second phase consisted of a focus group discussion, which was used to assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of quantitative data so as to arrive at a more comprehensive analysis.; The results showed that students performed best when they had question preview (QP) as an advance organizer prior to viewing the target video, moderately well when they had summary of major scenes (SMS) with accompanying pictures, and poorest when they had cultural background cues (CBC). Statistical analyses indicated that the CBC Group was significantly different from the other two treatment groups; however, the QP Group and the SMS Group did not differ significantly. Video presentation types also affected listening comprehension. Results revealed that playing a visual-only silent film followed by a full audio-visual presentation, in comparison to the other two presentation modes, yielded the most facilitative effect on students' comprehension of the video. Seeing the overall context first in the silent film enhanced students' retention and comprehension, presumably because the stimuli that involved visual images and associations with prior knowledge would be processed at a deeper level in the learner's cognitive structure. In light of the Selectivity Hypothesis, males and females are known to be different in their use of strategies to process information. Contrary to this hypothesis, male and female participants performed similarly on the comprehension test. The shared process of formal schooling on students' listening behavior may be the cause of the failure of Selectivity Hypothesis.; The implications of the study and suggestions for future research on the use of advance organizers and videos in the second/foreign language classroom are discussed.