LISTENING STYLE PREFERENCES OF UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS IN A HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT: EVIDENCE FROM THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LISTENING STYLE SCALE (FL-LSS)

Merve Yüksel, Yasemin Kütük, Tuba Odabaş

Abstract


This study investigates the foreign language listening style preferences of EFL learners enrolled in a university-level English preparatory program in a higher education context in Türkiye. Data were collected from 114 participants using the Foreign Language Listening Style Scale (FL-LSS) developed by Genç and Kızılkaya Cumaoğlu (2023). The FL-LSS is a 17-item instrument designed to measure four listening style dimensions- Visual Style, Spatial Style, Auditory Style, and Bottom-Up Style- using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 27.0.  The normality of the data distribution was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. An independent sample t-test was used for comparisons.  ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests were conducted to address multiple comparisons and determine differences between groups.  The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05 (p<0.05). The results showed that speaking was the most challenging language skill for these students. Moreover, the Visual Style emerged as the most strongly preferred listening style across all demographic and academic variables, such as gender, age, department, and previous educational institutions. The findings highlight the importance of considering individual listening style preferences when designing listening instruction in higher education EFL contexts.

Keywords


second language listening, listening style preferences, EFL learners, learner differences, higher education

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al-Khresheh, M. H., & Alruwaili, S. F. (2024). Metacognition in listening comprehension: Analyzing strategies and gender differences among Saudi EFL university students. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2291954

Cárdenas-Claros, M. S., Sydorenko, T., Huntley, E., & Montero Perez, M. (2023). Teachers' voices on multimodal input for second or foreign language learning. Language Teaching Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231216044

Education First. (2025). EF English Proficiency Index: A ranking of 123 countries and regions by English skills. EF Education First. https://www.ef.com/epi/

Field, J. (2008). Listening in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Listening_in_the_Language_Classroom.html?id=TpRpV1LQyH8C&redir_esc=y

Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (2005). Second language listening: Theory and practice. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Second_Language_Listening.html?id=P1CpYhp0nZMC&redir_esc=y

Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (2010). Listening in a second language. In C. Salmon (Ed.), Listening and human communication in the 21st century (pp. 158–177). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444314908.ch7

Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (2014). Listening and speaking in a second or foreign language. In M. Celce-Murcia, D. M. Brinton, & M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed.). National Geographic Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Second_Language_Listening.html?id=P1CpYhp0nZMC&redir_esc=y

Furuya, A. (2021). How do listening comprehension processes differ by second language proficiency? Top-down and bottom-up perspectives. International Journal of Listening, 35(2), 123–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2019.1694411

Genç, H., & Kızılkaya Cumaoğlu, G. (2023). Yabancı dil dinleme stili ölçeğinin (FL-LSS) geliştirilmesi [Development of the Foreign Language Listening Style Scale (FL-LSS)]. International Journal of Turkish Academic Studies (TURAS), 4(1), 60–74.

Goh, C. C. M. (2008). Metacognitive instruction for second language listening development: Theory, practice and research implications. RELC Journal, 39(2), 188–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688208092184

Hocaoğlu, N., & Ocak, G. (2024). The effect of listening strategies on the listening and speaking skills and listening motivation. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 82(6), 818–836. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1456495.pdf

Kinsella, K. (1995). Perceptual learning preferences survey. In J. M. Reid (Ed.), Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classroom (pp. 221–238). Heinle & Heinle. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.12n.5.p.1

Muñoz, C., & Miralpeix, I. (Eds.). (2024). Audiovisual input and second language learning. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2025.2455204

Nurhanipah, G. S., & Karmina, S. (2024). Gender differences in listening strategy use: Correlation with listening proficiency. Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts, 4(10), 1002–1015. https://doi.org/10.17977/um064v4i102024p1002-1015

Nunan, D. (2002). Listening in language learning. In J. C. Richards & W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (pp. 238–241). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667190.032

Polat, M. (2017). Akademisyenlerin yabancı dil bilgisi seviye tespit sınavı’nın (YDS) içeriği ve ket vurma etkisine ilişkin görüşleri (Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi). Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Eskişehir.

Rost, M. (2011). Teaching and Researching Listening (2nd ed.). Pearson Education. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Teaching_and_Researching_Listening.html?id=jBM4qQQ6YJUC&redir_esc=y

Seferoğlu, G., & Uzakgören, S. (2004). Equipping learners with listening strategies in English language classes. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 27, 223–231. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234562455_Equipping_Learners_with_Listening_Strategies_in_English_Language_Classes

Shin, S.-Y., & Lee, S. (2024). Effects of the type of audio-visual input and listenability on young L2 learners’ listening comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, 58(4), 1580–1608. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3298

Sydorenko, T. (2010). Modality of input and vocabulary acquisition. Language Learning & Technology, 14(2), 50–73. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/44214

Vandergrift, L. (2007). Recent developments in second and foreign language listening comprehension research. Language Teaching, 40(3), 191–210. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-teaching/article/abs/recent-developments-in-second-and-foreign-language-listening-comprehension-research/59FCACBDE27E3B2CEFA26A8182489FFB

Vandergrift, L., & Goh, C. C. M. (2012). Teaching and learning second language listening: Metacognition in action. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203843376

Wandah, P. N., Fadillah, J., Firzaly, Z. A., & Asri, S. (2024). Analyzing students’ learning styles in listening comprehension. Journal of English Teaching, 10(3), 292–306. https://doi.org/10.33541/jet.v10i3.6181

Youssef, H. (2023). Non-verbal expressions: Ways to convey emotions, attitudes and intentions. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31595.96800




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejfl.v10i2.6864

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching (ISSN 2537-1754) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).