FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEMS EFL ...

Samuels, 1994; Ur, 1984; Underwood, 1989; Rubin, 1994; Yagang, 1994; Long,
1989; Dunkel, 1991; see also references of this research) about factors that
influence listening comprehension. The initial drafts of the questionnaire consisted
of 15 close-ended and 2 open-ended questions. To ensure the validity of the
questionnaire, it was given to three specialists in English language Education for
judgment and amendment. The insights gained from the comments of the
specialists were taken into consideration, and then the initial draft was modified.
When modifying the initial draft, items of the questionnaire were increased to 22
questions (i.e., 18 close-ended and 4 open-ended questions) and certain questions
were reformulated so as to be clearly understood by the respondents. For the
close-ended items in the questionnaire, the researcher used a five-point scale
where 1-represents the lowest and 5-represents the highest experience of listening
difficulties. Here, the numbers 1 to 5 were designated by the adverbs of frequency:
‘Never’, ‘Seldom’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Often’, and ‘Always’ respectively. The open-ended
questions, on the other hand, were designed in a way that the students are able to
express their feelings and to add supplementary listening difficulties on the course
if there were any that were different from those presented in the close-ended
questions.
The second data gathering instrument which was employed in this study was
interview. The purpose of the interview was to triangulate the information that was
obtained through the questionnaire; to obtain data on how the listening difficulties
which had been identified through the questionnaire affected the learners’ listening
comprehension; to obtain information about the reasons behind the learners’
difficulties of listening comprehension; and to find out if there are any other
listening difficulties that affect the learners’ listening comprehension. On the other
hand the instructor interview aimed to provide information about his approach in
the teaching of the listening course, about the quality of the listening materials in
the lab, about the support he provided while the learners engaged in listening and
the opportunity he gave for the students to practice in the lab.
The third data gathering instrument which was employed in this study was
observation. The observation was used to get information about the current
physical appearance of the listening environment and the equipment in the
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