The effect of metacognitive listening strategy training on listening comprehension in Iranian EFL context

Abstract

Listening can be regarded as a very important skill in academic worlds. Ongoing debates about listening strategy instruction, as well as a lack of methodological consistency in previous language studies, make it particularly difficult for EFL teachers to know how to implement listening strategy instruction in their classrooms. Therefore, the current was designed to examine the effect of metacognitive listening strategies training on EFL learners’ listening comprehension. The participants in the study were selected from six intact classes consisting of 120 intermediate students studying English in Zabansara English Institute in Gorgan, Iran. A listening comprehension test, pre-test and post-test standardized measures of listening comprehension, and metacognitive listening strategy questionnaire were administered to the experimental and control group. The training program period was hold for experimental group within one week after pretest. The instructor taught the metacognitive listening strategies included in Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire based on CALLA instructional model. Paired-sample T-test was utilized for the purpose of data analysis. The results of this study showed that metacognitive strategy training can advance Iranian EFL learners from the beginning level to a higher level of listening comprehension. If teachers in both contexts modify learning strategies to fit students’ special needs and adapt these listening strategies to facilitate academic learning, the learners will elevate their language proficiency levels and develop much higher listening achievement. In sum, Iranian EFL participants benefited in numerous ways from listening strategies instruction.