A situated examination of the complex dynamic nature of L2 listening in EMI

Abstract

Second language (L2) listening skills play an important role in both content- and language-focused academic success; however, provision of L2 listening-related pedagogy may be lacking or unsuitable in many contexts. Difficulties transposing research derived knowledge about listening processes to appropriate pedagogy arise because it can be difficult to monitor learners’ L2 listening activities, much research uses group-based data which can be difficult to extrapolate to individual needs, and comprehension and related factors are often measured using static metrics. For educators, situated, learner-centric accounts of listening processes, difficulties, and related responses may enable more appropriate listening-related pedagogy; therefore, this study used idiodynamic methodology to capture the dynamic nature of listening comprehension and to elicit rich accounts of learners’ experiences as they watched English medium instruction (EMI)-situated presentations. The data provides evidence of previously-uncaptured comprehension-related volatility during a single presentation, and different comprehension patterns across presentations and between learners. Idiodynamic methodology further allowed the researcher to pinpoint which listening difficulties – e.g. top-down, bottom-up, knowledge- and vocabulary-related – impacted which learner at any specific moment of the presentations. These results can help provide targeted L2 provision in language and EMI programs, and give guidance to EMI providers as to the level-appropriateness of their programs.