Developing an Instrument for Iranian EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension Problems and Listening Strategies - Instrument Development and Validation

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper addresses a gap in research on listening strategies for EFL learners by shifting attention to learners’ specific listening comprehension problems and existing strategy repertoires. Limited work in Iran leaves no suitable instrument to study these constructs at the tertiary level. An instrument was developed through integrating and validating related measures, producing two questionnaires: LCPQ and LSUQ. The study details development, testing issues, and revisions, supporting further research in comparable contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Procedure

Phases for developing and testing the instrument

Reviewing the literature

Questionnaire design basis and theoretical foundations

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 5 No. 3; June 2014 Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Developing an Instrument for Iranian EFL Learners’Listening Comprehension Problems and Listening Strategies Sara Sara Noroozi (Corresponding Author) English Language Department, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya E-mail: [saranoroozi@gmail.com](saranoroozi@gmail.com) Tam Shu Sim English Language Department, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya Vahid Nimehchisalem English Language Department, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia Gholamreza Zareian Department of English Language and Literature, School of Humanities, Hakim Sabzevari University, Iran Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.3p.63 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.3p.63](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.3p.63) Received: 02/04/2014 Accepted: 13/05/2014 Abstract In the body of literature on listening strategies to EFL learners, what seems to be lacking is that the focus is on teaching listening strategies to learners with little attention to their listening comprehension problems. No local research has been conducted on the nature of the Iranian tertiary level students' EFL listening comprehension problems or strategies. Therefore, no instrument is available to investigate these constructs. This paper reports the findings of a study that made an attempt to develop and test an instrument that will aid researchers identify students’ specific listening problems and listening strategy repertoire. The instrument was developed by integrating and validating the available instruments in the related literature. The two developed questionnaires were: the Listening Comprehension Problems Questionnaire (LCPQ) and the Listening Strategy Use Questionnaire (LSUQ) . Problems related to designing and testing this instrument is shared and the modifications made to it are presented. The instrument is expected to be useful for researchers interested to study the area of EFL listening in a similar setting. Keywords: Questionnaire validation, EFL listening strategies, Listening problems 1. Introduction Studies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) listening skills usually focus on teaching listening strategies to language learners in order to address their listening problems (Goh, 2000; Hassan, 2000; Liu, 2002) . However, it should be noted that before we teach strategies to learners, we should understand their specific areas of difficulty as well as the strategies that they are already aware of. Unfortunately, research on the Iranian tertiary level students' listening comprehension problems and strategies is limited. As a result, no suitable instrument is available in the literature to support researchers in investigating these students’ listening difficulties and strategies. This paper reports the findings of a study in which two questionnaires, namely, the Listening Comprehension Problems Questionnaire (henceforth LCPQ) and the Listening Comprehension Strategy Use Questionnaire (henceforth LSUQ) were developed based on the available theory, literature, and previous similar instruments. The next section presents the procedure that was followed to develop and test the instrument. 2. Procedure The procedure that was followed in developing and testing the instrument included the following phases: 1. Reviewing the related literature, 2. Setting the ground rules for developing the instrument, 3. Constructing the questionnaires, 4. Modifying the questionnaires based on the feedback elicited from a panel of experts, 5. Field-testing the questionnaires on a random sample of the target students, and finally, 6. Refining the instrument. What follows is a report of how the questionnaires were developed and then tested following the phases mentioned above. ALLS 5(3):63-69, 2014 64 3. Reviewing the li

FAQs

What problem does the study address in Iranian EFL listening research?

Research on Iranian tertiary students’ listening comprehension problems and strategies is limited, leaving no suitable instrument to investigate these constructs.

Which two questionnaires were developed for the study?

The Listening Comprehension Problems Questionnaire (LCPQ) and the Listening Strategy Use Questionnaire (LSUQ).

How was the instrument developed and tested?

The instrument was built by integrating existing instruments, then developed through literature review, rule setting, questionnaire construction, expert-panel feedback modifications, field-testing with a target student sample, and final refinement.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher