2.7.1. Students’ responses related to problem concerning length and density of the text, and delivery speed
Item 13 deals with the problems related to the length and diversity of the text, while items 14 and 15 examine the speed of delivery. While 77.5% students get trouble due to the long and complex sentences of the spoken text (choosing often or always), up to more than 90% of the students say that they frequently run into difficulties because of the way in which the speaker gives his/her speech, either too fast or with too short pauses. This proves to be the most frequently encountered problems of all. (see chart 6, page 35)
0
7.5
35
57.5
0
30
52.5
17.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
never sometimes often always
item 8 item 9
% / frequency
Chart 5. Students’ responses related to problem of the mismatch between learner’s vocabulary range and that used in listening text
Chart 6: Students’ responses related to problem concerning length and density of the text and the speed of delivery
2.7.2. Students’ responses related to problem of the complexity of the task Item
No.
Statements Never
%
Sometimes
%
Often
%
Always 16 The questions in the listening task %
require other than a short answer (e.g. why or how questions).
25 47.5 27.5
17 I lose my concentration when I think of another question.
42.5 52.5 5
18 The multiple choice questions in the listening task are confusing or too long.
22.5 62.5 15
Table 7: Students’ responses related to problem of the complexity of the task The next three items (16-18) cope with the problems of the complex tasks. The task of answering long questions (item 16) frequently causes difficulty to many students, with 25% choosing sometimes, 47.5% opting for often, and 27.5% marking always.
The multiple choice type of questions causes even more trouble to learners. More than three quarters of the students (77.5%) often or always get into problems with this kind of questions in the listening task. The complexity of the task also often distracts the students when they are listening. As is shown by the table, 42.5% of the students say they sometimes lose concentration due to this problem, while 52.5% choose often and 5% opt for always.
2.8. Students’ responses to questions about other factors
2.8.1. Students’ responses related to problem of failing to apply effective learning styles and strategies
Item No.
Statements Never
%
Sometimes
%
Often
%
Always
% 19 I fail to infer the meaning of an
unknown word while listening.
25 50 25
20 I find it difficult to understand the recorded material if I am unable to
25 35 40
get things repeated.
21 I fail to recognize the signals which indicate that the speaker is moving from one point to another
7.5 30 45 17.5
22 I find it difficult to get a general understanding of the spoken text from the first listening.
17.5 42.5 40
23 At the time of listening I find it difficult to predict what will come next.
5 5 35 55
24 I find it difficult to quickly
remember words or phrases I have just heard.
25 55 20
Table 8: Students’ responses related to problem of failing to apply effective learning styles and strategies
Lack of language knowledge, as well as lack of effective learning styles and effective strategies, creates difficulties to the respondents. On average, more than 60% of the students say they often or always face all problems of this type. Table 8 indicates that 30 from 40 questioned students respond that they cannot work out the meaning of unknown words, based on the listening text frequently or all the time.
Also, 62.5 % say they are unable to recognize the signals which indicate that the speaker is moving from one point to another. Up to 40 % think that they, all the time, fail to get the overall meaning of the listening text. Especially, 55 % of the students totally lack predictive strategies, and they find it difficult to predict what will come next. Finally, three fourths of the students say they often or always have difficulty remembering words or phrases they have heard.
2.8.2. Students’ responses related to problems of fatigue and lack of concentration
Item No.
Statements Never
%
Sometimes
%
Often
%
Always
% 25 I lose focus of the talk when I
have got an expected answer in my mind.
15 25 35 25
26 It is difficult for me to concentrate with noises around.
10 40 22.5 27.5
27 I lose my concentration when the text is too long.
2.5 22.5 42.5 32.5
28 I lose my concentration when I think about the meaning of new words.
5 32.5 52.5 10
Table 9: Students’ responses related to problems of fatigue and lack of concentration
As far as fatigue and lack of concentration are concerned, there are 4 questions raised. First, the factor that affects the concentration of most of the students are the excessive length of the text (42.5% choose often and 32.5% mark always). The second most common situation that makes students lose focus is when they think about the meaning of new words. A total of 62.5 % of students agree that trying to decode one word‟s meaning often or always (52.5 % and 10 % respectively in table 9) distracts them from the listening text. Besides, the habit of keeping expected answers in their mind during the listening time also causes students to lose concentration, with 25% of the students choosing sometimes, 35% opting for often and 25 marking always. Last, surrounding noise accounts for frequent distraction among half of the students (22.5 % often and 27.5 % always).
2.8.3. Students’ responses related to problems of physical settings Item
No.
Statements Never
%
Sometimes
%
Often
%
Always 29 Unclear sounds resulting from a poor- %
quality CD-player interfere with my listening comprehension.
42.5 27.5 30
30 The big size of the class prevent my listening
22.5 62.5 5 10
31 I lose my concentration if the recording is in a poor quality.
2.5 50 25 22.5
Table 10: Students’ responses related to problem of physical settings
Among the factors related to physical settings, the big size of the class appears to be the least troublesome. As is illustrated by the table, 22.5% of the respondents say they are never and 62.5% are sometimes affected by this matter, while only 15 % say they often or always experience the problem. The poor quality of listening equipment and the recording trigger challenges to students with roughly the same frequency. Approximately half of students accept that their comprehension is often or always hindered by these two factors.
2.8.4. Students’ responses related to problems related to lack of invisibility of the speaker
Item No.
Statements Never
%
Sometimes
%
Often
%
Always 32 I find it difficult to understand the %
meaning of the spoken text without seeing the speaker‟s body language.
15 40 27.5 17.5
Table 11: Students’ responses related to problem concerning lack of invisibility of the speaker
The gathered data shows that lack of visibility of the speaker frequently has its effect on 18/40 students, whereas the other 22 only sometimes or even never find it a problem to them.