Are You Listening Strategically or Randomly? Examining Listening Comprehension Strategies Among Saudi University EFL Students

Listening is obviously an essential skill for anyone who wishes to acquire a new language, but second-language (L2) listening research is scarce compared to research on L2 reading. Additionally, the literature indicates that Saudi students, regarding listening, lag behind students from other nationalities on standardized international language tests. Hence, in this study, I examined the use of L2 listening comprehension strategies in an English as a foreign language Saudi university context. Based on an existing 19-item psychometrically validated questionnaire followed by a listening test, the results revealed that students were aware of L2 listening strategies and used cognitive strategies slightly more often than metacognitive strategies. However, notably, their less frequent use of practice-based self-regulation listening strategies (e.g., having good partners in practicing listening skills) could adversely impact their L2 listening success. The results also showed a rather weak significant difference between the listening strategic trait and listening test performance; a weak negative significant relationship between listening strategies, age, and years of learning English; and an insignificant relationship between listening comprehension strategies and academic level. However, the results suggest that the number of years of learning English is linked to better listening test performance. Finally, the items in the existing questionnaire, which was employed to assess listening comprehension strategies, lacked internal consistency and had problematic subscales; nevertheless, an acceptable one-factor model emerged from this study.