The listening comprehension skill as language enhancer in intermediate level in Colombia

Abstract

This mixed methods research was carried out in a higher education institution in Colombia. The study basically aimed to know whether regular listening in a second language could have an effect in the acquisition of other language skills such as grammar, vocabulary, speaking and pronunciation. The subjects of the study were 3 English teachers and 20 students from the institution. 10 of the students claimed to listen to English sources on a regular basis while the rest denied being skilled listeners. As the method applied was mixed, interviews to 3 teachers and 3 out of the 20 students, and a test to the 20 students were used to provide both qualitative and quantitative information. The kind of qualitative study was phenomenological, as it was used to identify teachers’ and students’ perceptions on how listening influences the acquisition of other skills; and to analyze classroom situations in which skilled listeners may show outstanding performance. The type quantitative study was cross-sectional ex-post-facto and helped to evaluate to what extend students who regularly listen to the target language were able to achieve better results in other language tasks. Both in the qualitative and the quantitative parts of the study, teachers and students expressed and demonstrated that actually listening to a second language on a regular basis has an effect on the acquisition of other language skills. All teachers and students agreed that listening was a fundamental aspect when learning a second language. Teachers emphasized interaction skills as the biggest strength skilled listeners had, while students stated that besides communication, from their experience in the classroom, they had noticed listening could foster other language aspects such as vocabulary and grammar. The quantitative study corroborated the information obtained in the qualitative one. Skilled listeners’ results were considerably better than those obtained by non-skilled ones. Skilled listeners outperformed non-skilled ones at both listening and grammar, and even required less time to solve the test.