Students' perceptions of listening learning in English: A qualitative descriptive study on challenges, strategies, and attitudes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37058/tlemc.v10i1.447Keywords:
Attitudes, Challenges, Listening Learning, Strategies, Students' Perceptions.Abstract
The urgency of this research arises from the gap between the importance of listening skills in academic and professional communication and students' low self-confidence and learning outcomes in this area. Students' perceptions of the listening learning process play a crucial role in English competency achievement. The objectives of this study are: (1) to describe students' perceptions of English listening learning; (2) to identify the main challenges students face in the listening learning process; (3) to explore the strategies students use to overcome listening difficulties; and (4) to analyze students' affective responses to English listening learning activities in class and independently. This study used a descriptive qualitative method. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and open-ended questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis techniques, which included the following stages: data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. This study yielded a comprehensive picture of students' perceptions of English listening learning through thematic analysis of data from 20 participants. Four main themes were identified: (1) The students have different opinions about listening, but most of them agree that listening is challenging; (2) multilevel challenges encompassing linguistic, cognitive, and affective dimensions. The obstacles faced by a person do not only come from one source, but occur at three different levels at once, namely the language level, thought processes, and feelings; (3) There are many different ways used to achieve a goal, but most of these methods rely on digital-based tools, devices, or systems. (4) a motivational landscape characterized by conditional anxiety but also motivation responsive to the relevance of the material. These findings contribute to listening pedagogy by emphasizing the importance of integrating authentic listening materials, explicit strategy instruction, structured digital resources, and supportive assessment practices to enhance students’ listening engagement and confidence in EFL contexts.
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