سعید نجفی صارم

This study explores the impact of supplementary blended learning on the listening comprehension skills of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. A sample of 60 male Iranian EFL learners was selected from a population of 100 learners studying English at Pardis Language Institute, Hamadan, Iran, via double-stage sampling. After being selected, participants were sorted into two groups, that is, a control group and an experimental group. In the treatment sessions, all participants listened to parts of the American English File (book 2). The participants in the control group received the usual procedure of teaching listening in the institute. In the experimental group, the students received target language input via videos and supplementary reading materials before classes so that they had sufficient exposure to the input. The listening topics were uploaded on a common social networking site, i.e., the telegram application, which was also reserved for giving teachers feedback on the students’ questions. The results of the data analysis showed that supplemental blended learning had a statistically significant effect on EFL learners’ listening comprehension. In other words, the research question was answered positively, and the corresponding null hypothesis was rejected.

Listening is referred to by many scholars as the most important as well as the most complicated skill in the language, which can cause mental fatigue in the learners. This study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between L2 listening comprehension and listening fatigue among Iranian EFL learners. For this purpose, 86 intermediate and upper-intermediate Iranian EFL learners randomly selected after administering a paper-based TOEFL among an initial sample of 120 BA learners majoring in English language translation, took part in the study. A TOEFL listening test and a researcher-made validated listening fatigue questionnaire were utilized in order to gather the necessary data. Afterwards, during the qualitative phase, oral interviews were employed to obtain 30 % of the participant’s’ attitudes about the relationship between listening comprehension and listening fatigue. Applying a Pearson product-moment correlation revealed that there was a significant relationship between L2 listening fatigue and their listening comprehension. These findings were also supported by a small qualitative phase and learners gave their positive support and attitude about the relationship. These findings have some pedagogical implications for teaching and learning an L2, the most important of which is that in order to enhance EFL learners’ L2 listening comprehension, it is better to reduce their debilitative listening fatigue.