Ling Fridays: Gault on Russian SLA

Student and Instructor Beliefs about L2 Russian Listening Comprehension Difficulties

Lidia Gault, Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition, UW–Madison

Listening is an integral part of learning second or foreign spoken languages (L2s). L2 listening used to be considered a passive skill; however, this view has shifted toward acknowledgement that L2 listening is a complex physiological and cognitive process, which is “the least explicit” and “the most difficult to learn” (Vandergrift, 2004, p.4). This study examines U.S.-based second- and third-year students’ and instructors’ beliefs about L2 Russian listening comprehension (LC) challenges. The study employs a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, using a vignette methodology in a survey and a semi-structured follow-up interview. Preliminary findings based on the pilot study (n = 19) indicate that fast speech rate and authenticity were believed to be the primary contributing factors in L2 listening. Neither students (n=7) nor instructors (n=12) perceived an unfamiliar accent as a factor. The results are discussed in relation to existing experimental research findings on factors contributing to L2 listening comprehension difficulties, with pedagogical implications for L2 LC instruction.

Linguistics Fridays Colloquium Series