Chapter published in:
Understanding L2 Proficiency: Theoretical and meta-analytic investigations
Edited by Eun Hee Jeon and Yo In'nami
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 13] 2022
► pp. 213–233

Chapter 7
L2 listening comprehension

Theory and research

| Temple University

This chapter examines how L2 listening ability has been modeled and operationalized in the research literature, and provides a critical overview of the dominant models. It also describes how researchers have used both taxonomies of listening skills as well as data-driven approaches to creating models of listening ability. The chapter then provides a critical discussion of how the constructs of L2 listening ability have been operationalized and measured by empirical researchers. The chapter concludes with an analysis of why models and operationalizations of L2 listening ability have often neglected to include or focus on those aspects of language that are unique to listening ability.

Article outline
  • 1.Background: A conceptual introduction to the key constructs and models of L2 listening
    • 1.1Taxonomies and data-driven examinations of L2 listening ability
    • 1.2Models of second language (L2) listening ability
    • 1.3L2 listening, L1 listening, and reading
  • 2.Measurement practices: A critical discussion of how the constructs and their components have been operationalized and measured by empirical researchers
    • 2.1Interactive speaking/listening ability
    • 2.2Differentiating listening from reading
    • 2.3Length of the spoken text
    • 2.4Listening task response
    • 2.5Audio-only versus audio-visual input
    • 2.6Accent and dialect variety
    • 2.7Real-world spoken input
  • 3.Conclusion
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 04 August 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.13.07wag
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