Subject:

A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN LEARNERS’ PROFICIENCY
LEVELS AND LEARNING STYLES ON
THE STRATEGIES EMPLOYED IN
EXTENSIVE AND NARROW (REPEATED)
LISTENING AMONG IRANIAN
LEARNERS

ABSTRACT

1
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL:

This study aims to explore the strategies employed by Iranian

EFL (English as a Foreign Language) freshman university
students in extensive and narrow listening. It also attempts to
study the relationship between these students’ listening
proficiency levels and their learning styles. A mixed
methodology research designed is employed that will involve
90 freshmen from a university in Iran who will randomly be
selected. First, the Oxford Placement Tests is employed to
gather the students’ listening proficiency levels. Then the
Listening Strategy and Learning Style Questionnaires will be
carried out to gather the quantitative data on the students’
listening strategies and learning styles employed.

These questionnaires were piloted and the alpha Cronbach

readings were 0.770 and 0.814 for the Listening Strategy and
Learning Style, respectively. Meanwhile for the qualitative
approach, 12 freshmen will be involved in the semi-structured
interviews and six in the think-aloud procedure. These
participants will be purposively selected. A descriptive
statistics (Frequencies, Means, and Standard deviations) will
be used to describe the quantitative data and the Pearson
Correlation analysis will be used to describe the relationship
between the independent variables (listening strategy use in
extensive listening and repeated listening and learning styles)
and dependent variable (listening proficiency levels).

Meanwhile, the interview and think-aloud data will be analyzed

qualitatively

2
 List of Objects

Subject page
INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS
LITERATURE REVIEW
METHODOLOGY
Research Instruments
Data Collection Procedures
Data Analysis: Quantitative Data
Analysis
Conclusion
Source

3
 INTRODUCTION

In developing countries such as Iran, English is taught and

used as a foreign language that is viewed important for
scientific, socio-cultural, and educational reasons (Rashidi
1995). The ability to use English language in the context of this
study, Iran, facilitates international communication and
enhances cultural exchanges. Utilizing English sources in
education is a prerequisite for keeping up with the recent
technological and scientific developments (Rashidi 1995;
Bakhshi 995). Furthermore, English language is generally
regarded as an international language all over the world since
it is considered as the language of science and technology
(Crystal 2003). In Iran, English language started to be taught
and learned in the schools from 1940s. It was the time when
the whole educational system became centralized and the first
English textbooks were designed to be taught and learned at
schools (Rashidi 1995).

In the context of this study, Iran, the educational system is

divided into four cycles: primary school (five years), middle
school or secondary school (three years), high school (three
years), and a one year pre-university that is an intensive study
cycle in which students prepare for National University
Entrance Examination, namely the Concour Examination.

In the Concour examination, the focus is on grammar,

reading comprehension, and vocabulary. This led to
memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary items. Very
little time is devoted to listening skill which is unlike what
Brown (1980) asserted that “listening ability lies at the very
heart of all growth, from birth through the years of formal
education” (p. 10)

Lack of knowledge and having no information on how to use

listening strategies, not being exposed to English language
outside classrooms, having no motivation towards doing
textbook English language exercises, not having appropriate
textbook materials are sever problems, and not being aware of
their learning styles may all influence Iranian EFL learners’
English language listening proficiency.

Therefore, the researcher in this study will investigate the

strategies employed by Iranian EFL learners in extensive

4
listening and narrow listening. This study will also discover the
relationship between the strategies employed by learners in
listening with their listening proficiency levels as well as their
learning styles. The researcher hopes that findings will help in
adapting teaching and activities in accordance with the
learner’s needs.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

More specifically, this study aims at seeking the answers to the

following research questions:

1. What are Iranian (EFL) freshman university students’ English

listening proficiency levels?

2. What are Iranian (EFL) freshman university students’

learning styles?

3. What do Iranian (EFL) freshman university students say

about the strategies they employ in extensive listening?

4. What do Iranian (EFL) freshman university students say

about the strategies they employ in narrow (repeated)
listening?

5. Is there a relationship between listening strategies

employed by Iranian (EFL) freshman university students and
their English listening proficiency levels?

6. Is there a relationship between listening strategies

employed by Iranian (EFL) freshman university students and
their learning styles?

7. Is there a relationship between Iranian (EFL) freshman

university students’ English listening proficiency levels and
their learning styles?

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to investigate the strategies employed by

Iranian EFL freshman university students in extensive listening

5
and narrow listening. This study also aims to see whether there
is a relationship between strategies employed by the learners
and their English proficiency levels as well as their learning
styles.

Therefore, the current study is prompted by a number of

reasons. First, Iranian EFL learners find it difficult to
comprehend conversations played on tapes for the first time,
they usually keep asking for repetitions. Second, Iranian EFL
learners often complain about forgetting what has been heard;
that they cannot recall the words played on the tapes. In other
words, they suffer from notunderstanding what is taught in
classrooms or when they listen to tapes, they cannot recognize
the words they hear. Third, Iranian EFL learners in English
language laboratories feel listening is boring and tiring. Forth,
Iranian EFL students rarely practice the target language
namely English language, they are learning. Fifth, when Iranian
EFL students face with listening parts, they feel anxious and
worried.

Listening may produce and make Iranian EFL learners be

anxious probably due to being under pressure of processing
input very quickly. Sixth, in Iranian EFL English classes, many
language activities are instructor-oriented. Students are
passive in classrooms. Seventh, Iranian EFL learners in English
classes feel fearful. They fear of being laughed at for errors
that they may make. Eighth, besides the abovementioned
problems, Iranian EFL learners also find it difficult to follow
their instructors’ teaching styles. If learners are able to suit
their learning styles to their teachers’ teaching styles, learning
will be enhanced. Therefore, there is a need to identify the
learners’ learning styles.

Furthermore, no such studies, to the knowledge of the

researcher have been conducted in the Iranian context. Hence,
in order to overcome the above-mentioned reasons, there is a
need to investigate the strategies employed by Iranian EFL
freshman university students in extensive listening and narrow
listening. This study also aims to see whether there is a
relationship between strategies employed by the learners and
their English listening proficiency levels as well as their
learning styles.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

6
The purpose of this study is to identify the listening strategies
employed by Iranian freshman university learners of different
English proficiency levels. This study also aims to identify
these learners’ learning styles. Another purpose of this study is
to determine whether there is a relationship between the
learners’ English listening proficiency levels and their learning
styles and the strategies they employ in the listening. Thus,
the specific objectives of this study are to:

1. Identify Iranian (EFL) freshman university students’ English

proficiency levels.

2. Identify Iranian (EFL) freshman university students’ learning

styles.

3. Identify listening strategies employed by Iranian (EFL)

freshman university students in extensive listening. 68 Farinaz
Shirani & Hamidah

4. Identify listening strategies employed by Iranian (EFL)

freshman university students in narrow (repeated) listening.

5. Determine the relationship between listening strategies

employed by Iranian (EFL) freshman university students and
their English listening proficiency levels.

6. Determine the relationship between Iranian (EFL) freshman

university students’ English listening proficiency levels and
their learning styles.

7. Determine the relationship between listening strategies

employed by Iranian (EFL) freshman university students and
their learning styles.

STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES

In line with objectives, the following alternative hypotheses are

drawn:

Ha1: There is a relationship between listening strategies

employed by Iranian (EFL) freshman university students and
their English listening proficiency levels.

7
Ha2: There is a relationship between listening strategies
employed by Iranian (EFL) freshman university students and
their learning styles.

Ha3: There is a relationship between Iranian (EFL) freshman

university students’ English listening proficiency levels and
their learning styles.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is significant as the findings will be able to

determine the information on the strategies that Iranian
freshman university learners with different listening proficiency
levels employ and it would also be able to show whether there
is a Prosiding Seminar Penyelidikan Siswazah UKM 69 relationship
between the strategies employed and proficiency levels as well
as their learning styles. Therefore, this study can be beneficial
to teachers, instructors, lecturers, curriculum developers,
researchers, and particularly learners in EFL learning
environments especially in Iranian contexts.

It is hoped that this study shows the benefits of narrow

listening. In general, it is stated by Krashen (1996) that
uncontrolled casual conversations that may be too difficult for
learners become easy by using narrow listening. Therefore,
narrow listening can be most useful for learners of various
proficiency levels.

In general, by identifying learners’ listening strategies and

learning styles, instructors can distinguish elementary,
intermediate, and advanced listeners. This study will also be
useful to other researchers who intend to investigate the
strategies employed by learners of different proficiency levels
and learning styles in relation to other areas of language such
as speaking, reading and writing.

DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS

Listening Strategy

Listening strategies according to Vandergrift (1997b) and

National Capital Language Resource Center (2003, 2004) are
techniques or activities that contribute directly to the
comprehension and recall of listening input. In this study
listening strategy refers to any activities or techniques that
Iranian students use to understand and remember the listening

8
input. In this study, learning strategies and listening strategies
are also used interchangeably.

Learning Styles

Claxton and Ralston (1978) defined learning styles as referring

to a learner’s “consistent way of responding and using stimuli
in the context of learning” (p.7). In this study, the learning
style refers to the learning styles recommended by Willing
(1988) and are employed in the learning style questionnaire.

Extensive Listening

Extensive listening refers to common listening instructions

which usually move from one listening material to another very
quickly (extensive listening), which makes it difficult for
listeners at this level to gain sufficient comprehension
(Krashen 1996).

In this study, extensive listening refers to listening to three

different short conversations one after another that is moving
from one conversation to another.

Narrow Listening

Narrow listening refers to a piece of authentic listening

material about 2 to 3 minutes long over and over again until
the listener has gained adequate comprehension (Krashen
1996). In this study, narrow listening or repeated listening
refers to three various short conversations with the same level
of difficulty played three times each. Each conversation is
followed by three filling in the gap statements.

70 Farinaz Shirani & Hamidah

LITERATURE REVIEW

Theories Related to Second Language Learning

Strategies and Listening

Learning strategies are becoming an essential part of a

revitalized multidimensional Iranian curriculum in Iran
(programs where English is taught as a foreign language at
schools and universities). The growing interest in learning
strategies reflects an awareness that students can, and need
to develop tools to become more effective and autonomous

9
language learners. This interest is further evidenced by the
release of a number of significant books on the topic (Wenden
and Rubin 1987; Brown 1989; Prokop 1989; Cohen 1990;
O’Malley and Chamot 1990;

Oxford 1990; Mendelsohn 1994). According to Vandergrift

(1997a), of the four language skills, listening is probably the
most critical for language learning at the beginning stages.

Listening has been acknowledged as a covert activity and has

heavy processing demands (Rubin, 1995). Listening is also a
complex, active process in which listeners must recognize the
distinction and discriminate between sounds, understand
vocabulary and grammatical structures, interpret stress and
intonation, retain and interpret this within the socio-cultural
context of the utterance (Vandergrift 1992). Meanwhile other
researchers believe that listening is characterized as a set of
activities that involves an individual’s capacity to apprehend,
recognize, discriminate, or even ignore certain information. It
is also considered to include complex and active processes
that are involved in linguistic knowledge, personal expectation,
cognitive processing skills, and world knowledge.

Listening also involves interaction and negotiation with a

speaker and needs prior experience of a listener to best
understand and interpret what a speaker says (Purdy 1991;
Rubin 1995; Imhof 1998; Buck 2001; Rost 2002; and Jeon
2007).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

This study aims to investigate the strategies employed by

Iranian EFL freshman university students in extensive listening
and narrow listening. This study also aims to explore the
relationship between the strategies employed by learners in
listening with their listening proficiency levels as well as their
learning styles.

Literature shows that listening strategy use and learning styles

indicates a strong belief that techniques a listener consciously
utilizes to deal with an aural task are related to the learners’
habitual style and characteristics. In other words, learners of
second language have visual and auditory preferences that
might have effect on their listening strategy use. Listening
strategies deployment and learning styles can be predictor for

10
listening ability since according to Liu (2008) there is a
significant relationship between them.

Literature also demonstrates that the use of listening

strategies such as meta-cognitive, cognitive, and socio-
affective strategy employment differ with language
proficiency. For example proficient listeners and non-proficient
listeners are different in terms of employing top-down
(background knowledge, semantics) and bottom-up (acoustic
features, stress and rhythm, syntax) strategies. Literature
Prosiding Seminar Penyelidikan Siswazah UKM 71 also explains
that more proficient listeners of second language use more
flexible strategic processes along with linguistic knowledge
and prior experience to facilitate effective comprehension of
an aural text. Moreover, the more effective listeners
demonstrate the flexibility of learning style.

Thus, the literature reviewed is related to the concept of

listening and what pertains in the process. Literature shows
that listening involves input and internal process which
requires listeners to be active participants. This indicates a
cognitive theory of learning. As mentioned earlier, according to
the cognitive theory a listener is actively involved in the
learning process. Listeners make meaning from the oral input
by drawing upon their prior knowledge of the world and of the
target language. Therefore, they use ‘top-down’ processes
including prior knowledge which are knowledge of the topic,
the listening context, the text-type, the culture or other
information which are kept in long term memory as schemata
to comprehend the meaning of a text and ‘bottom-up’
processes which are used when listeners utilize linguistic
knowledge to find out the meaning of a text.

Listening also involves subjects’ knowledge of the second

language linguistic aspects as well as the meta-cognitive
process. Meta-cognitive processes involve the strategies that
listener employ in listening and understanding what is being
heard.

This involves the strategies that they employ which is very

much influenced by learner’s learning styles.

11
Figure 2. 2 Conceptual Framework of the Study Analytical
Bottom-up Learners

72 Farinaz Shirani & Hamidah

METHODOLOGY

Design of the Study

The design of the current study is a mixed methodology in

which the quantitative and qualitative methods are employed
and triangulated. A mixed methodology

approach is employed because the best understanding a

problem appears from utilizing both quantitative data that may
be generalized and qualitative data that illuminates in-depth
information (Creswell 2002). Thus, in this study, a survey is
used to gather quantitative data because it is also best method
available to collect data for description of a population and an
excellent vehicle for measuring attitudes and orientation in a
large population (Babbie 2007).

Meanwhile, the qualitative data is gathered through a semi-

structured interview and think-aloud procedures. In semi-
structured interviews, the researcher asks some close-ended
questions as well as open-ended questions. Creswell (2002)

12
asserted that the predetermined close-ended responses can
seek useful information to support theories and concepts in the
literature (p. 205). The interview and thinkaloud procedures
are employed to achieve an in-depth understanding that is
best communicated through detailed examples and rich
narratives used by learners (Rubin & Rubin 1995).

This study also employs a case study methodology because it

allows information about particular persons in a group at the
micro level as well as the whole population at a macro level to
be gathered (Berc 2001).

Samples and Participants

The data sources in this study are Iranian freshman university

students who have just enrolled at the large ‘Pearl University’
in Esfahan, Iran. They are majoring in Teaching English as a
Foreign Language (TEFL) at the Faculty of Foreign Languages.

The total population (N) of the freshman university students is

a group of about 190 students from nine classes. Their age
ranges between eighteen to thirty-five years old. For the
purpose of this study, only students aged 18 years old will be
chosen.

This is to avoid the possibility of students who have more

exposure to the language due to their age difference to have
an impact on the findings of the study.

In other words, perhaps older students have more exposure to

the language and are more proficient in English or have higher
level of listening skills. Therefore, the sample size (n) for this
study will be only 90 students aged 18 years old.

Meanwhile, for the qualitative data, a smaller sample size (n) is

chosen because the purpose is to learn or comprehend the
central phenomenon (Creswell 2002). In this case, the
students’ listening skills and its relationship with the learning
strategies and learning styles they employ. In addition, the
number of people

selected in qualitative research varies from one study to

another because the overall ability of the researcher is to
provide an in-depth picture diminishes with the addition of
each new individual and that a total of twenty samples for
interview in maximum and a group of three to five samples for

13
think-aloud can be representative of opinion (ibid, pp. 197).
Based on these characteristics of a qualitative research, the
population size (n) for the interview is purposefully determined
that is 12 cases.

Prosiding Seminar Penyelidikan Siswazah UKM 73 These

participants are chosen based on their English listening
proficiency levels and the findings of the listening strategy and
learning style questionnaires. Then, because there are three
groups in this study a group of six students will be chosen
based on the findings of the interviews for carrying out the
think-aloud procedure two students from elementary, two from
intermediate, and two from advanced levels.

Research Instruments

Generally, six instruments are employed. First, the Oxford

Placement Test (OPT) developed by Allen (1992) is used.
Second, listening tests for extensive listening and narrow
listening from a book entitled Interchange Intro will be
conducted. Third, listening strategy questionnaire adapted and
modified from Vandergrift (personal communication) cited in
(Archer 2002) will be used to see what strategies are used by
learners. Three more items were added to the questionnaire
based on the listening strategy category developed by
Vandergrift (1997b). Fourth, the Learning Style Questionnaire
adapted and modified from Willing (1988) will be used to
identify the students’ types of learning styles. Fifth, semi-
structured interview will be conducted to achieve an in-depth
understanding to discover students’ listening strategy use.
Sixth, the think-aloud procedure will be carried out to discover
students’ inner thoughts based on their listening processes in
extensive and narrow listening.

Data Collection Procedures

Data will be collected in several phases. First the Oxford

Placement Test (OPT) will be conducted. Then the students do
extensive listening in one session and, in the other, they do
narrow listening. After both listening sessions, the students
need to fill out the listening strategy questionnaire. This will be
distributed to the students to be completed twice, one after
doing extensive listening and the other, after doing the narrow
listening. The learning style questionnaire will be completed at
the end of the first session (Extensive listening).

14
After the students have sat for the listening tests and
responded questionnaires a group of twelve students will be
chosen purposefully for the interview. All the interviews will be
tape-recorded, for validation, responses will be transcribed and
protocols will be presented to the participants to see whether it
has been transcribed correctly. After conducting the semi-
structured interview, the think-aloud data collection will be
conducted.

Data Analysis: Quantitative Data Analysis

With regard to the listening proficiency tests, students’ marks

will be categorized by using the criteria adapted from
proficiency levels on the ALTE (Association of Language
Testers in Europe) scale. Thus, three ranges of scores; from 0
to 49 are

representative of elementary; from 50 to 69 are intermediate,

and from 70 to 100 of advanced levels. Meanwhile, the data
with respect to students’ listening strategy use and learning
style will be collected through the Listening Strategy and
Learning Style Questionnaire. The statistical analysis will be
conducted utilizing the Statistical 74 Farinaz Shirani & Hamidah

Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 16.0 for Windows.

Therefore, in order to show whether there is a relationship
between independent variables and dependent variable the
Pearson Correlation analysis will be used.

Data Analysis: Qualitative Data Analysis

After collecting data from the interviews and think-aloud

procedure, the data will be coded according to O’Malley and
Chamot’s (1990) taxonomy adapted for listening
comprehension by Vandergrift (1996, 1997b) and Oxford
(1990).

Conclusion

This study aims to investigate the strategies employed by

Iranian EFL freshman university students in extensive listening
and narrow listening. This study also aims to explore the
relationship between the strategies employed by learners in
listening with their listening proficiency levels as well as their
learning styles.

15
Literature shows that listening strategy use and learning styles
indicates a strong belief that techniques a listener consciously
utilizes to deal with an aural task are related to the learners’
habitual style and characteristics. In other words, learners of
second language have visual and auditory preferences that
might have effect on their listening strategy use. Listening
strategies deployment and learning styles can be predictor for
listening ability since according to Liu (2008) there is a
significant relationship between them.

Literature also demonstrates that the use of listening

strategies such as meta-cognitive, cognitive, and socio-
affective strategy employment differ with language
proficiency. For example proficient listeners and non-proficient
listeners are different in terms of employing top-down
(background knowledge, semantics) and bottom-up (acoustic
features, stress and rhythm, syntax) strategies. Literature
Prosiding Seminar Penyelidikan Siswazah UKM 71 also explains
that more proficient listeners of second language use more
flexible strategic processes along with linguistic knowledge
and prior experience to facilitate effective comprehension of
an aural text. Moreover, the more effective listeners
demonstrate the flexibility of learning style.

Thus, the literature reviewed is related to the concept of

listening and what pertains in the process. Literature shows
that listening involves input and internal process which
requires listeners to be active participants. This indicates a
cognitive theory of learning. As mentioned earlier, according to
the cognitive theory a listener is actively involved in the
learning process. Listeners make meaning from the oral input
by drawing upon their prior knowledge of the world and of the
target language. Therefore, they use ‘top-down’ processes
including prior knowledge which are knowledge of the topic,
the listening context, the text-type, the culture or other
information which are kept in long term memory as schemata
to comprehend the meaning of a text and ‘bottom-up’
processes which are used when listeners utilize linguistic
knowledge to find out the meaning of a text.

Listening also involves subjects’ knowledge of the second

language linguistic aspects as well as the meta-cognitive
process. Meta-cognitive processes involve the strategies that
listener employ in listening and understanding what is being
heard.

16
Source

Allen, D. (1992). Oxford Placement test. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Archer, C. G. (2002). The effect of language learning strategy

instruction on listening

comprehension proficiency and strategy use of learners of

German as a

foreign language. Online M.A Thesis, Department of Modern

Languages and

Cultural Studies. Edmonton, Alberta.

Babbie, E. (2007). The practice of social science. Belmont, CA:

Thomson Wadsworth.

Bakhshi, A. (1995). Teaching and learning English in pre-

university education in Hamedan province: Problems and
suggested solutions, In teaching English. Online M.A Thesis,
University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iran.

17