University Student Use and Perception of Listening Comprehension Strategies: The Case of Online EMI Lectures

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online EMI (English as a medium of instruction) lectures have recently dominated tertiary education. The current study aimed to explore how undergraduate students coped with this new ‘norm’ through exploring their use and perceptions of listening comprehension strategies (LCS) in online EMI lectures, and the extent to which LCS use depends on the students’ general language proficiency and language exposure. A total of 76 English majors completed a language proficiency test, an LCS inventory, and a language exposure survey. Additionally, 60 of the participants answered eight open-ended questions on their perceptions of LCS in online EMI lectures. The results of this mixed-methods approach showed that students used a wide variety of metacognitive, cognitive, and socio-affective strategies to comprehend online EMI lectures. The students also seemed to be aware of the particularly challenging nature of online EMI lectures, and thus took several measures before, during, and after class to facilitate comprehension. Additionally, the results showed that the students’ choice of LCS is partially dependent on their English language proficiency and exposure in terms of watching videos, listening to audio, communicating on social media, and socializing in English. The results are interpreted in light of the study context and the existing literature. Pedagogical implications are provided.