A Study On Ambiguity Tolerance And Listening Strategies Of Chinese Learners In New Zealand

The study investigates the listening strategies and the tolerance of ambiguity of116Elementary-level New Zealand students from University of Canterbury and Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology on their Chinese learning. The aim is to describe the relationship among tolerance of ambiguity, listening strategies and listening achievements.The results shows that the tolerance of ambiguity at a Medium-level on average, and there are obvious differences between tolerance of ambiguity and age, but no obvious differences between tolerance of ambiguity and gender. In addition, it shows no obvious differences between high-score students and low-score students on tolerance of ambiguity. But high-score students’ tolerance of ambiguity on all the12items are higher than low-score students’.At the same time, the results shows that the listening strategies at a Medium-to-High-level on average, and there are significant differences between listening strategies and age, also significant differences between listening strategies and gender. In addition, it shows no obvious difference between high-score students and low-score students on listening strategies.The results of the relationship among tolerance of ambiguity, listening strategies and listening achievements shows that:(1)Tolerance of ambiguity and listening achievements are positive correlated, with the former as a strong predictor of the latter;(2)Tolerance of ambiguity and listening strategies are positive correlated, with the former as a strong predictor of the latter;(3)Metacognitive listening strategies and listening achievements are positive correlated, with the former as a strong predictor of the latter;(4)Metacognitive listening strategies play mediating roles between tolerance of ambiguity and listening achievements, and thus tolerance of ambiguity indirectly influences listening achievements via metacognitive listening strategies.