The Role of Listening Strategy Instruction in Advancing Students’ Listening Achievement and Strategy Use

Abstract The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of listening strategy instruction on students’ listening achievement and strategy use. The participants of the study were 50 English major freshman students of Dilla University. These Students were placed in experimental and control conditions for the purpose of comparing the mean difference between the two groups. The control group was taught listening skills by the conventional approach while experimental group was given explicit listening strategy instruction. The study followed pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The main instruments used to collect data were IELTS listening tests and Strategy Inventory for Language Learners (SILL) which was adapted to listening skills strategy inventory. The study employed statistical techniques to analyze the data obtained from listening tests and Listening Strategy Inventory for Listening. To this effect, independent-samples t test and repeated measures t test were used to examine whether the listening tests/inventory mean differences between and within groups were statistically significant. The findings revealed that listening strategy instruction was more effective and had a positive impact on students’ academic achievement in listening than the conventional approach. Moreover, it was found that the instruction improved the participants’ strategy use.