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This study investigated the relationship between English aural vocabulary size and L2 listening comprehension among 288 Chinese tertiary EFL learners who had mastered the first 1,000-word frequency level and were at the intermediate level of language proficiency. The Listening Vocabulary Levels Test and College English Test Band 4 were employed to measure participants’ aural vocabulary size and L2 listening comprehension proficiency, respectively. Aural vocabulary size was found to be moderately correlated with L2 listening comprehension proficiency (r = 0.38, p < 0.01). A step-wise regression analysis showed that the second 1,000-word frequency level could explain 12% of the variance in L2 listening comprehension proficiency, and academic words could add an additional 4% predictive capacity to the regression model. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the most frequent 2,000-word families and academic words could predict 14.5% of the change in L2 listening comprehension proficiency for the relatively low L2 proficiency group. However, aural vocabulary size had little impact on L2 listening comprehension proficiency for the relatively high L2 proficiency group. Findings suggest that high-frequency and academic words significantly contribute to the prediction of L2 listening comprehension proficiency, but the predictive power of aural vocabulary size decreases with increased language proficiency.

Relatively few studies have explored the factors influencing the use of listening strategies despite a growing recognition of their importance in L2 listening comprehension. This study applies the expectancy‐value theory to investigate whether motivational beliefs (i.e., listening anxiety, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and listening self‐efficacy) can invariably predict different levels of listening strategic processing among Chinese tertiary English learners. Responses to a questionnaire solicited from 237 students were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach. The results provided evidence of the positive effects of intrinsic motivation and listening self‐efficacy on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ exploitation of top‐down and bottom‐up strategies. However, extrinsic motivation only had a positive effect on the use of bottom‐up strategies, and listening anxiety only had a negative effect on the use of top‐down strategies. These findings revealed the different predictive effects of motivational beliefs on listening strategy use. The paper concludes with pedagogical implications for listening instruction.

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