Explicit Listening Strategy Training for Lower-Proficiency EFL Learners

This data set is from a quasi-experimental study designed to determine whether or not an explicit listening strategy instruction program can effectively improve lower proficiency EFL learners’ listening skills and self-efficacy as L2 listeners.

The sample (N=129) was divided into three groups. The first group (n=43) consisted of two classes and they received 19 hours of strategy training and additional comprehensible listening input (STI). The second group (n=48) received 11 hours of strategy training (ST) only and included three classes. The third group (n=38), receiving no explicit listening strategy instruction, was the control group (CG) and consisted of two classes.

Data was gathered at pre- and post-training stages which included (1) a listening comprehension test, (2) a listening cloze test, and (3) TOEIC® listening section scores. Student perceptions of their self-efficacy as L2 listeners were collected with the listening self-efficacy questionnaire (LSEQ) created by Graham and Macaro (2008). Student responses (on a 100-point scale) to the four LSEQ questions are reported in this data set.

After our review of the data, we were unable to find any strong empirical evidence that the lower-proficiency EFL learners’ listening performance improved as a result of the explicit listening strategy training.