Listening difficulties of English-majored sophomores at Tay Do University

Abstract

Listening is considered the most important part of second language learning, especially English. However, many students, especially English-majored sophomores, face a lot of difficulties in studying listening. Because of this, the study entitled "Listening difficulties of English-majored sophomores at Tay Do University" was conducted. It aims to figure out the challenges difficulties that sophomores majoring in English at Tay Do University may encounter when studying listening. Eighty Englishmajored sophomores of English classes, course 16 at Tay Do University, were chosen as the participants of this research. Questionnaire and interview papers were delivered to collect and analyze the data. This was a combination of quantitative and qualitative research. The results from analysis of the questionnaires and paper interview showed that students faced various kinds of difficulties in studying listening such as linguistic factors (vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and background knowledge) and listening comprehension (listening environment, different accents, speakers' speed and psychological factors). The findings of this study are hoped to be a reference for teachers and students in teaching and studying listening, and for further studies in similar field.