Breaking Down the ELL Sound Barriers : Listening Comprehension Strategies for Swedish High School Students

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify difficulties some Swedish learners have with listening comprehension in the English 5 course in Upper Secondary Schools and to find methods of teaching such as scaffolding, schematic knowledge, preparation and peer cooperation that may prove successful. The methodology for this study was to test three groups of students representing three different programs of study at a high school in Sweden. These groups performed two different tasks to test theories about listening comprehension methods, and data was collected through test results and observations in the classroom, which were subsequently analyzed through discussion and comparison. The study showed that affective filters affected learning. However, scaffolding, schematic knowledge, preparation, and peer cooperation proved successful as reflected in higher all-around test scores. The researcher has attempted to identify the main aspects that make English listening comprehension difficult for Swedish learners, and to come up with ideas on how to break down the barriers to learning in order to promote improved listening comprehension in both live classrooms and in online learning situations.