A Study on Techniques to Improve Listening Skills for Second-year English Majors at Phenikaa University

Abstract

The main purpose of the research is to find out the listening comprehension challenges among second-year English majors at Phenikaa University and provide some strategies to help students overcome difficulties. The tool used for collection data in the research is a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed for first-year English majors and specifically, 100 students at the Phenikaa University participated in the survey. The results show that learners encounter many difficulties in learning Listening skills: Difficulties knowledge of language, knowledge of discourse and language, emotion, the speed of the speaker(s), listening materials, listening time at class, the quality of listening recording, background noises. In addition, the study has suggested some strategies to help students overcome the difficulties and improve their Listening skills. The findings highlight the need for differentiated instruction, scaffolding, authentic materials, explicit strategy instruction, and a positive learning environment.