| The use of authentic listening materials in the foreign language classroom has been supported by theorists and practitioners alike in the last decade and has resulted in a need to find the best ways to use these materials. The present study explores the effects of four types of listening guides on comprehension and recall of authentic texts by L2 novice learners of French. A comparison of 480 second-semester high school French students' recall of four radio texts consisting of primarily factual passages from the French audio-magazine Champs-Elysees was conducted within a one-month period. Students from four high schools were exposed to four types of listening guides: Multiple Choice, Choose-the-Picture, Vocabulary List, and Wh-Questions, and were then asked to write an immediate recall protocol to determine the level of comprehension of the texts.;The total number of idea units recalled was analysed in order to identify which guides aided comprehension and recall of the radio passages. Findings indicate that the variable of Listening Guide does impact on L2 listeners comprehension and recall of audio selections. Specifically, Multiple Choice guides appeared to help comprehension and recall the most. Differences in texts and schools were also found.;The research presented here may lend insight into both text-based and activity-based factors that influence listening comprehension of novice learners. The data suggest that Multiple Choice items facilitate beginning students' comprehension and recall of unsimplified audio texts. Results suggest that the nature of the text used influences comprehension and recall as well. |
