Selective auditory attention and listening comprehension in English additional language learners

Abstract

Background: Auditory attention and listening comprehension are key skills required by school-aged children for the development of academic skills that will ensure overall learning success in a school context. These skills are particularly indispensable for EAL learners to achieve successful academic learning, as their learning takes place through an additional language. As yet no studies have investigated the listening comprehension and selective auditory attention abilities of young EAL learners. Aim: To compare the selective auditory attention and listening comprehension skills of EAL learners aged seven to eight years. Method: A descriptive comparative cross-sectional design was used to obtain data from learners, aged 84 to 102 months (SD= 0.45), at two independent urban schools. A static two-group comparison design was applied to compare the results of the research group (20 EAL participants) and the control group (20 EFL participants). Four outcome measures, namely the Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk (S.I.F.T.E.R), Digits-In-Noise Hearing Test (DIN), Selective Auditory Attention Test (SAAT) and Listening Comprehension Test 2 (LCT-2), were used. Results: Although more EAL than EFL participants were scored as being at an academic risk on the S.I.F.T.E.R., no significant difference between the two groups was found. No significant difference was found on the DIN between the results for the EAL and EFL groups, although the EAL group obtained poorer scores. The EAL group scored significantly lower on the SAAT when the speech stimuli were presented together with a competing signal. A significant difference was found between the EAL and EFL groups in all the categories of the LCT-2. Conclusion: These findings indicate the difficulty EAL learners experience with linguistically dependent tasks. This knowledge can be utilized to improve intervention and educational support aimed at developing their auditory attention and listening comprehension skills as a basis for literacy and academic learning. Keywords: English additional language; English first language; auditory attention; listening comprehension; Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk; Digits in Noise Hearing Test; Selective Auditory Attention Test; Listening Comprehension Test-2; South African context.