Listener anxiety and listening strategies on multiple-choice items of EFL learners

Abstract

Anxiety has been known to be a general trait of foreign language learning, but listening skill-specific anxiety has been less researched in understanding the listening process of EFL learners. Concomitantly, it is the employment of strategies that will help learners compensate for their listening problems, and it was within the interest of the present study to seek how anxiety may have facilitative-debilitative aspects on the learners’ use of strategies. Also, there was need to be highlight listening strategies on multiple-choice questions since the learners’ listening tasks are often associated with testing. The study was conducted with 121 adolescent high school learners who were asked to respond to questionnaires on anxiety felt towards concern for insufficient prior knowledge, lack of self-confidence, and testing. There was attention to cognitive and metacognitive listening strategies which the learners retrospectively reported after solving three multiple-choice items. There was reduced levels of anxiety with more proficient learners whereas testing anxiety was positively related to the use of listening strategies overall. Also, with any interaction among listening strategies, listening proficiency, and item type, there was an interaction effect only between strategies and listening proficiency. Implications for teaching L2 listening are suggested.