Promoting EFL Learners’ Listening Fluency Through Web-Based Prosody-Focused Practice

Tóm tắt

With the implementation of Computer-Assisted Language-Learning (CALL) in language learning and teaching, learners can work at their own pace, in their own time, in their own space, and when they feel motivated to do so. These affordances are crucial for developing listening fluency because the listening process is an internal, personalized activity and fluency development requires a certain repetition. Research has shown that it is of importance to promote learners’ listening fluency for effective communication. Having said that, in the study reported here, an openly available computer-assisted prosody-based listening platform was built in an attempt to develop the listening fluency of 65 Vietnamese college students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the beginner level. After a ten-week intervention, students in the experimental group working with this autonomous, teacherless platform outperformed in their listening performance those in the control group taught listening with a traditional, teacher-led, classroom-based approach. The results indicate the effectiveness of an ensemble of related listening activities based on perceptual development (using a verbotonal approach), shadowing techniques, and other exercises for fluency development. Qualitative data collected from participants’ written journals and semi-structured interviews show that learners had positive opinions about the implementation of this self-access listening platform despite a few challenges. Further pedagogical implications and recommendations are also discussed.

Received 19^th September 2021; Revised 15^th February 2022; Accepted 19^th March 2022