The Relationship between Cognitive Abilities and English Language Proficiency in Listening Comprehension of English as a Foreign Language

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Mahsa Nadri
• Purya Baghaei
• Zahra Zohoorian

Department of English,, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch, Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.v51i2.76185

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between a number of cognitive abilities (auditory/visual attention, processing speed, and fluid intelligence) and listening comprehension. A total of 97 undergraduate EFL students participated in the study. Tests of auditory and visual attention, processing speed, verbal and nonverbal fluid intelligence, overall English language proficiency, and listening comprehension were administered to the participants. The results indicated that the measure of English proficiency had the highest correlation with the listening test followed by measures of attention and processing speed. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that 17% of the variance in listening comprehension was explained by the cognitive factors. The addition of second language proficiency to the regression model in the second step added another 25% to the total variance explained. That is, foreign language proficiency, after controlling for cognitive abilities, can explain 25% of the variance in listening comprehension. These findings suggest that understanding when listening in L2 involves cognitive information processing skills in addition to proficiency in that language. Although correlations are not indicative of causality, future research should investigate the impact of targeted interventions on listening comprehension. Interventions that focus on supporting attention, reasoning, and processing speed may be essential to minimize the adverse consequences of poor cognitive abilities on listening comprehension.  Likewise, effective teaching techniques for reducing cognitive loads in listening activities, like simplifying complex tasks by reducing speech rate and repeating tasks, may also help learners overcome their cognitive failures. In addition, teaching and facilitating learners’ use of listening strategies can mitigate the adverse consequences of cognitive failure in listening comprehension.
 

Keywords

• Listening Comprehension
• Processing Speed
• Auditory Attention
• Visual Attention
• Fluid Intelligence

20.1001.1.22285202.1397.51.2.4.2

References

Alderson, J. C. (2005). Diagnosing foreign language proficiency: The interface between learning and assessment. London: Continuum.

Andringa, S., Olsthoorn, N., van Beuningen, C., Schoonen, R., & Hulstijn, J. (2012). Determinants of success in native and non-native listening comprehension: An individual differences approach. Language Learning, 62, 49-78.

Baddeley A. D. (1968). A three-minute reasoning test based on grammatical transformation. Psychonomic Science, 10, 341–342.

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. In G. A. Bower (Ed.), Recent advances in learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–90). New York: Academic Press.

Baghaei, P., & Grotjahn, R. (2014). Establishing the construct validity of conversational c-tests using a multidimensional Item Response Model. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 56, 60-82.

Baghaei, P., Khoshdel-Niyat, F., & Tabatabaee-Yazdi, M. (2017). The Persian adaptation of Baddeley’s 3-min grammatical reasoning test. Psicologia: Reflexão e Critica, 30, 16.

Bilker, W. B., Hansen, J. A., Brensinger, C. M., Richard, J., Gur, R. E., & Gur R. C., (2012). Development of abbreviated nine-item forms of the Raven’s standard progressive matrices test. Assessment, 19, 354-369.

Bonk, W. (2000). Second language lexical knowledge and listening comprehension. International Journal of Listening, 14, 14-31.

Brickenkamp, R., & Zillmer, E. (1998). The d2 test of attention. Seattle, Washington: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.

Buck, G. (2001). Assessing listening. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Daneman, M., & Merikle, P. M. (1996). Working memory and language comprehension: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 3, 422–433.

Eckes, T., & Baghaei, P. (2015). Using testlet response theory to examine local dependency in c-tests. Applied Measurement in Education, 28, 85–98.

Eckes, T., & Grotjahn, R. (2006). A closer look at the construct validity of c-tests. Language Testing, 23, 290-325.

Genesee, F. (1976). The role of intelligence in second language learning. Language Learning, 26, 267-280.

Goh, C. C. M. (2000). A cognitive perspective on language learners' listening comprehension problems. System, 28, 55-75.

Graham, S. (2011). Self-efficacy and academic listening. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10, 113-117.

Graham, S., Santos, D., & Vanderplank, R. (2008). Strategy clusters and sources of knowledge in French L2 listening comprehension. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 4, 1-20.

Hatch, E., & Farhady, H. (1981). Research design and statistics for applied linguistics. Rowley, MA: Newburry.

Hulstijn, J. H. (2011). Language proficiency in native and nonnative speakers: An agenda for research and suggestions for second language assessment. Language Assessment Quarterly, 8, 229–249.

Imhof, M. (2010). What is going on in the mind of a listener? The cognitive psychology of listening. In A. D. Wolvin (Ed.), Listening and human communication in the 21st century (pp. 97–126). West Sussex, UK: Wiley.

Kim, Y. S. (2016). Direct and mediated effects of language and cognitive skills on comprehension of oral narrative texts (listening comprehension) for children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 141, 101–120.

Kim, Y. S., & Phillips, B. (2014). Cognitive correlates of listening comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 49, 269–281.

Kintsch, W. (1988). The use of knowledge in discourse processing: A construction-integration model. Psychological Review, 95, 163–182.

Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. M. (2006). How languages are learned (3rd Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lynch, T. (1988). Listening. London: Oxford University Press.

Nadri, M. (2018). The contribution of attention, processing speed, and fluid intelligence to predicting Iranian EFL learners' listening comprehension: Development and validation of two measures of auditory attention (Unpublished master’s thesis). Mashhad Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.

Raven, J. (2000). The Raven’s progressive matrices: Change and stability over culture and time. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 1-48.

Rost, M. (2011). Teaching and researching listening (2nd Ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson.

Rubin, J. (1994). A review of second language listening comprehension research. The Modern Language Journal, 78, 199-221.

Snowling, M. J., & Hulme, C. (Eds.). (2005). The science of reading: A handbook. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Sohlberg, M. M., & Mateer, C. A. (2001). Improving attention and managing attentional problems. Adapting rehabilitation techniques to adults with ADD. Annals of the New York Academy Sciences, 931, 359–375.

Sohlberg, M. M., & Mateer, M. M. (1987). Effectiveness of an attention training program. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 9, 117–130.

Staehr, L. S. (2009). Vocabulary knowledge and advanced listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. SSLA, 31, 577-607.

Strasser, K., & del Rio, F. (2014). The role of comprehension monitoring, theory of mind, and vocabulary depth in predicting story comprehension and recall of kindergarten children. Reading Research Quarterly, 49, 169–187.

Tabatabaee-Yazdi, M., & Baghaei, P. (2018). Reading comprehension in English as a foreign language and some Cattell-Horn-Carroll cognitive ability factors. Reading Matrix, 18, 19-26.

Vandergrift, L. (2003). Orchestrating strategy use: Toward a model of the skilled language listener. Language Learning, 53, 463–496.

Vandergrift, L., & Tafaghodtari, M. H. (2010). Teaching L2 learners how to listen does make a difference: An empirical study. Language Learning, 60, 470-497.

Vandergrift, L., Goh, C. C. M., Mareschal, C. J., & Tafaghodtari, M. H. (2006). The metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire: Development and validation. Language Learning, 56, 431-462.

Wang, Y., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2017). Explaining listening comprehension among L2 learners of English: The contribution of general language proficiency, vocabulary knowledge and metacognitive awareness. System, 65, 139-150.

Worthington, D. L. (2017). Modeling and measuring cognitive components of listening. In D. L. Worthington, & D. B. Graham (Eds.), The sourcebook of listening research: Methodology and measures (pp. 70-96). New York: Wiley.