Developing a framework for investigating L2 listeners’ longitudinal development

Abstract

In research conducted by this author examining the development of adult second language listeners, one key aspect of that study was to evaluate the learners’ growth in their listening strategy use. A search of the literature, however, found no reliable conception of listener growth to guide the evaluation. Consequently, this study sought to develop such a framework. To accomplish this, cross-sectional verbal report studies comparing the strategy use of proficient and less proficient listener groups were examined, and the strategies used frequently by the proficient listeners, but infrequently by the less-proficient listeners, served to indicate developmental trends. A second component of the study was then to order these strategies into the stages of Anderson’s (1985, Cognitive psychology and its implications, 2nd edn. New York: Freeman, 2010, Cognitive psychology and its implications, 7th edn. New York: Freeman) three-stage comprehension model, those of perception, parsing and utilization. This second part of the study was conducted to address apparent flaws in past research categorizing listening strategies based on this model.