The Effects Of English Accented Speeches, Specific Content Knowledge, And Test-taking Strategies On Listening Comprehension Of High And Low Efl Achievers

Abstract

This study aimed to examine (1) the effects of three main variables: English-accented speeches, specific content knowledge, and test-taking strategies on listening comprehension of high and low EFL learners. It also investigated (2) the relationship among these three variables on listening comprehension of high and low EFL achievers, and (3) the attitudes of both high and low EFL achievers towards English-accented speech. Eighty third-year university students from the Faculty of Communication Arts were purposively selected and classified into two different English proficiency groups: high and low regarding the z score of ±1 on the average grades of two prerequisite English courses. There were three types of research instruments: a listening comprehension test, two sets of questionnaires: test-taking strategies and English-accented speech attitudes, and a retrospective semi-structured interview. Repeated measures analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the paired sample t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for analyzing quantitative data. The qualitative data from the interview was proceeded by the content analysis.

The results revealed (1) a statistically significant impact of English accented speeches, specific content knowledge, and test taking strategies on listening comprehension of EFL achievers. ฺAdditionally, high EFL achievers reported more test taking strategies than low EFL achievers. (2) It was also found the relationship among three main variables on listening comprehension of high and low EFL achievers at the significant level. Finally, the result showed (3) a statistically significant difference among the attitudinal mean ratings of English accented speeches by both high and low EFL learners. The study provides more insights into assessing listening comprehension when some characteristics of listening stimuli and learners are different. It also suggests that the development of the listening comprehension test must be in line with the appropriate criteria of selecting English accented speeches, specific content knowledge, and test items associated with the use of test-taking strategies relevant to the construct and objective of class instruction and language testing.