Examining the Effect of Listening Strategy Instruction on EFL Iraqi Learners’ Listening Anxiety

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of process-based listening strategy instruction on decreasing the learners' listening anxiety level, and the relationship between listening anxiety (LA) and listening comprehension (LC). The participants consisted of sixty sophomore Iraqi learners who were studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the Department of English at the University of Kufa, Iraq. They were divided into experimental (n=30) and control(n=30) groups. The experimental group received explicit, and integrated listening strategies instruction based on Siegel's model of process-based listening strategy instruction (2015). The control group received the conventional teaching of listening without receiving any training in strategy process-based instruction over a semester (ten weeks). A modified version of the Foreign Language listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) developed by Elkhafaifi (2005) was taken by the participants once before and once after the intervention to measure their LA. The listening section of the Preliminary English Test (PET) used to measure the learners' LC before and after the intervention. Findings showed that listening strategy instruction could decrease learners' LA. Furthermore, a negative relationship found between LA and LC. The paper concluded with some useful pedagogical implications, and suggestions for further research are discussed based on the findings for researchers, teachers, and educators within the constraints of the Iraqi context.