| This study investigated the effects of two different instructional techniques on the listening comprehension of low-advanced learners of English as a Second Language. The study followed 65 learners for two instructional sessions in the Intensive English Program, Indiana University. All learners in the study watched videotaped academic lectures, took notes, and answered comprehension questions. Four instructional groups were formed according to treatment. Group I received treatment which included conducting interviews with native speakers of English. This communicative task was designed to build listening comprehension through face-to-face interaction outside the classroom. Group 2 received discourse-structure training in class. This task was designed to train learners to recognize specific discourse structural markers that could help them predict topic development and thereby improve listening comprehension. Group 3 received both types of instruction, and Group 4 received no specialized instruction beyond watching the videotaped lectures and taking notes. Pre-test, post-test, and retention tests were administered to test general listening comprehension (measured by the Indiana Noise Test) and academic listening comprehension (measured by an online prediction task). The results showed that Group 2, who received discourse-structure training showed the greatest improvement in both general listening scores and academic listening scores from the pre-test to the post-test. Group 3, who received both interviewing experience and discourse-structure training, had the second highest scores from the pre-test to the post-test on the academic listening task. Group 1, who engaged in interviewing native English speakers on topics related to the lectures showed the greatest overall improvement from pre-test to retention test on both the general and academic listening tests. These results suggest that face-to-face interactions with native English speakers, achieved through conducting topic-related interviews, contribute significantly to a learner's improvement in listening comprehension. |
