Correlates of Listening Comprehension in L1 and L2: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

The present meta-analysis aimed to explore the correlates of listening comprehension in first (L1) and second language (L2). In this regard, the overall average correlation scores, obtained from several primary studies retrieved from several databases, between linguistic (vocabulary size, vocabulary depth, syntactic knowledge), cognitive (working memory, metacognitive skills), and affective factors (anxiety and self-concept) and oral comprehension were measured. The results of the analysis revealed that in terms of strengths of association with listening comprehension, linguistic correlates were superior to cognitive correlates in L2 listening comprehension. There existed positive correlations with large effect sizes between vocabulary and grammar knowledge and listening comprehension while working memory yielded a positive correlation with a small effect size. Metacognitive skills, on the other hand, demonstrated a positive correlation with L2 listening comprehension with a large effect size. A similar pattern was observed in L1 listening comprehension with smaller strengths of association. Vocabulary and grammar knowledge yielded positive correlations with L1 listening comprehension and the effect size was medium while working memory weakly correlated with listening comprehension. An important distinction between L1 and L2 listening comprehension was observed in the affective domain. Anxiety and self-concept which were not reported to correlate with L1 listening comprehension were found to display large correlations with listening comprehension in L2. Overall, it was found that listening comprehension in both L1 and L2 is a multi-faceted process with different types of components involved.

Examining Second Language Listening and Metacognitive Awareness: A Meta‐Analytic Structural Equation Modeling Approach

“…For the relationship between metacognitive awareness and L2 listening, we found that metacognitive awareness explained listening to a small degree (Research Question 2). The results accord well with those of previous studies (e.g., Goh & Hu, 2014;Karalık & Merç, 2019) and suggest the limited importance of metacognitive awareness to listening. The results were moderated by publication type, the response format of listening comprehension tests, and participant type.…”

“…The proportion of variance explained was 9.364%, which was slightly smaller than the results from previous primary studies, for example, a correlation of 13% in Vandergrift et al.’s (2006) study, and a multiple regression coefficient of 22% in Goh and Hu's (2014) study. Our results were slightly larger than those from previous meta‐analyses, compared, for example, to 3.881% (.197 × .197 in Table 1; Karalık & Merç, 2019). As we produced our results using MASEM while considering measurement error and testing the model‐data fit, they would be more tenable than the previous results.…”

“…We further inspected the results as we have described in the next section. Third, we inspected recent relevant resources, including books (e.g., Ockey & Wagner, 2018; see Appendix S1 in the Supporting Information online) and meta‐analyses on L2 listening (In'nami & Koizumi, 2009; In'nami, Koizumi, et al., 2022; Karalık & Merç, 2019; Li, 2016; Shintani & Wallace, 2014; Zhang & Zhang, 2022). Across these three search methods, we scrutinized the reference list of each paper and chapter, both published and unpublished, for additional relevant materials 3…”

“…Table 1 summarizes the meta-analyses that researchers have conducted to explain these different results. Karalık and Merç (2019) meta-analyzed various variables, including metacognitive awareness, in relation to listening comprehension. Overall, Karalık and Merç found metacognitive awareness to relate to listening, r = .541, 95% CI [.294, .721], p < .05, but the relationship was weaker when they analyzed only studies using the MALQ, r = .197, p < .05.…”

The Association between Linguistic Competence Components and Listening Comprehension of Thai EFL Learners

“…Regarding the investigation of a correlation between linguistic competence and listening comprehension in the current study, the result shows a positive linear relationship between linguistic competence and listening comprehension. This corresponds to the findings of some other studies (Oh & Lee, 2014;Karal?k & Merç, 2019) showing that there are relative contributions of linguistic competence to L2 listening comprehension. Although linguistic competence significantly correlates with listening comprehension, it has only a small influence on listening comprehension due to the covariance of 16.4 per cent out of all factors involved in listening success.…”