FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEMS EFL ...

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the interview) that their English is poor. The researcher interviewed the students in this regard to find out the reasons behind their poor listening comprehension. The learners put the blame on their limited English vocabulary, their poor knowledge of grammar and their poor listening ability. Each of them is presented as follows. a. Limited English vocabulary Some learners regarded their limited English vocabulary as an obstacle to their listening comprehension. For example, learner (S27) believed that the first priority in improving listening comprehension was to increase her vocabulary instead of doing the exercises. She thought that once she increased her English vocabulary, listening comprehension would fall into place: "I think if I can improve myself to remember more vocabulary, maybe I can get the main idea more smoothly." When learner (S28) came across unfamiliar keywords, she applied ‘guessing’ but without satisfaction: “Even if I know some words might be the key words due to the stressed emphasis, I still don't know what they mean. . . . Maybe it is because I know too few English words. So, even if I try to guess the words, there are still some sentences that I don't understand.” It seems that she could identify some keywords, but she failed to understand the meanings of the words. In her own analysis, a limited vocabulary was considered responsible for the comprehension breakdown. b. Poor Knowledge of Grammar Some learners implied the importance of grammar in relation to listening comprehension. For instance, learner (S29) says: "I don't think ‘knowing a lot of vocabulary’ only is useful ability for me. . . . My ability to listen for complex sentences is too bad, and also I know my English grammar is as terrible as my ability to English conversation." Similarly, learner (S30) states: "My grammar is poor so my English isn't good. . . . They [listening, reading, and writing] all need grammar, vocabulary, and so on. . . . In the listening class, I feel this way, too." Although the learner did not explicitly illustrate the relationship between grammar and listening comprehension, the concern was there. c. Poor Listening Ability There were learners who attributed the listening difficulties to their overall listening ability. As learner (S22) claimed, the failure of the listening comprehension resulted 61
from his poor listening ability: "It was not the fault of the listening materials; it's all my fault because of my poor listening ability. I'll work harder." Learner (S3) also articulated his listening problem: "My English is not good. In addition, I had not a habit of <strong>EFL</strong> listening in the past, so it’s difficult for me to listen and understand." 5) Difficulties related to listening strategies This group contains the listening difficulties that are attributed to the listening strategies. The components of this group include forgetting to apply strategies, inability to apply strategies, and ineffective use of strategies. They will be discussed one by one. a. Forgetting to apply strategies Learners sometimes forgot to apply listening strategies while they are engaged in listening. For instance, learner (S11) responded, “I can't always remember the inferencing strategy and cannot use it often.” Learner (S18) attempted to use self- monitoring and directed attention strategy, but often forgot to employ them in listening process: “sometimes I forgot to remind myself.” This might imply that strategy use has not yet reached an automatic stage of learning for these learners, or might imply that strategies were not yet internalized as part of their existing listening skills. b. Inability to apply strategies Some learners encountered practical problems while trying to put their understanding of strategies into practice. This might be due to the learners’ unfamiliarity with the procedures for specific strategy application. As exemplified in learner's (S5) response: “Roughly, I know what 'elaboration' is about. But, when it comes time to apply it, it gets somewhat difficult,” the learner understood the strategy of elaboration but was unable to apply it in listening process. c. Ineffective use of strategy There is also a failure of comprehension even after applying strategies. Another frequent report from learners was that the texts were still not comprehensible in spite of strategy use. As learner (S6) indicated when the inferencing strategy was used: "I inferred the word meaning from the context" but still "when all the parts are put together, I don't know what the speaker is trying to say." Likewise, learner (S5) probably used the imagery strategy, but was left puzzled: "Easy to imagine. Hard 62
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ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF
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ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to exp
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3. Methods of the Study------------
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LIST OF TABLES Table-1: Factors rel
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ABSTRACT This study explores the fa
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laboratories of the university. The
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same course to different groups. Fu
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speakers speak, not being able to g
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Chapter Two: Review of Related Lite
Page 21 and 22: descriptions concerning the influen
Page 23 and 24: years (Penny Ur, Mary Underwood, Fa
Page 25 and 26: From the above points it seems reas
Page 27 and 28: of main clause and subordinate clau
Page 29 and 30: problem. She says that perception o
Page 31 and 32: given, rate, and pacing of informat
Page 33 and 34: It is obvious that students will fi
Page 35 and 36: sounds that are unusual to the L2 l
Page 37 and 38: epetitions and other elaborations a
Page 39 and 40: part of the speech.” This tells t
Page 41 and 42: These factors are important not onl
Page 43 and 44: Samuels, 1994; Ur, 1984; Underwood,
Page 45 and 46: statements arranged, on the basis o
Page 47 and 48: is the cognitive complexity of the
Page 49 and 50: However, to make the analysis easil
Page 51 and 52: Item No. partly due to the structur
Page 53 and 54: particular, unfamiliar words, compl
Page 55 and 56: Item No. Table-2b shows that the ma
Page 57 and 58: Item No. Students’ No. Never Stud
Page 59 and 60: Item No. students. In the Ethiopian
Page 61 and 62: grammar, its vocabulary, all the pi
Page 63 and 64: organized into four categories acco
Page 65 and 66: The target students were asked to i
Page 67 and 68: Q2: After you joined a university,
Page 69 and 70: also reported, “What I have learn
Page 71: input, activating related schemata,
Page 75 and 76: of delivery of the native speakers.
Page 77 and 78: egarding his approach in the teachi
Page 79 and 80: necessary skills and knowledge of E
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Page 89 and 90: Strength of the module 1. The modul
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Page 93 and 94: 4.6.2.2 Achievement scores in ‘Co
Page 95 and 96: Chapter Five Summary, Conclusion an
Page 97 and 98: Speaker 21. the pronunciation of na
Page 99 and 100: which pose the most difficulty for
Page 101 and 102: context of the discourse before ask
Page 103 and 104: Bibliography Asher, J. (1969) 'The
Page 105 and 106: Oxford, Rebecca (1993) Research Upd
Page 107 and 108: APPENDIX-A Questionnaire Dear stude
Page 109 and 110: APPENDIX-B Students Interview Guide
Page 111 and 112: Item No. APPENDIX-D Observation che
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FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEMS EFL ...

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