Academic Listening Difficulties Experiences of East Asian International Students

Sitting in taught classes requires listening to academic lectures and presentations most of the time. This makes listening integral to the overall learning experience of students. This research explored East Asian students’ experiences in relation to academic listening while studying in a higher education institution in Baguio City, Philippines. It aimed to describe the international students’ academic listening difficulties, identify the factors giving rise to these difficulties, and present possible means through which these difficulties may be constructively addressed. Seven international students participated as informants in the study: two Chinese and five Koreans who have already taken their classes in Philippine history. Employing the qualitative research approach, the study utilized interviews to gather data. The findings show that all seven informants had English classes in high school back home but they did not use the language at the same extent when outside of school. Relative to this, the informants, irrespective of nationality, reported similar listening difficulties which are largely attributed to their limited English communication skills. In spite of this, it is worth noting that they remained passive in finding ways to ease their situation; on their end, silence is a preferred mode of reaction when faced with a difficult listening situation. Finally, the study identified three main factors that caused the informants’ listening difficulties: their limited vocabulary being of non-English speaking backgrounds, the newness of and their unfamiliarity with the subject matter studied, and the social status and English accent of the teachers.

Keywords – Academic Listening, Baguio City, International Students, Non-English Speaking Background, Schema