Effective Strategies for Listening Comprehension: A Focus on Asia

1 College of Teacher Education, Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet
Link Copied!

Listening, once perceived as the least important language skill, has gained increasing attention recently, as shown by the growing number of studies in the field. However, research on listening comprehension strategies remains limited. This study reviews the most frequently used teaching and learning strategies in Asian classrooms to enhance listening comprehension and identify research gaps for future exploration. A systematic literature review was conducted on studies published between 2021 and 2025 across eight Asian countries: China, Iran, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. Findings reveal that the most common teaching strategy is the use of regular and repetitive listening activities, while metacognitive strategies emerge as the most frequently practiced learning approach. Moreover, the review highlights a notable imbalance between the number of strategies examined under learning strategies versus teaching strategies. These results emphasize the need for further research across Asia, particularly studies that design and test innovative strategies aligned with the growing demand for technology-driven and digitally enhanced language instruction.

Calis, J. B., Ngolab, R. D., Pablo, S. B., Saysayap, A. F. B., & Pelila, J. R. O. (2025). Effective Strategies for Listening Comprehension: A Focus on Asia . ETDC: Indonesian Journal of Research and Educational Review , 4(4), 1103–1117. https://doi.org/10.51574/ijrer.v4i4.3047

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
  1. Abed, A., Rahimi, M., & Zareian, G. (2022). The role of active listening in developing EFL learners’ comprehension skills. Journal of Language and Education Studies, 14(3), 233–245. https://doi.org/10.36783/jles.2022143.233
  2. Al-Khresheh, M. H., & Alruwaili, S. F. (2024). Metacognition in listening comprehension: Analyzing strategies and gender differences among Saudi EFL university students. Cogent Education, 11(1), Article 2291954. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2291954
  3. Aslanoğlu, A. E. (2021). Effective variables that predict 5th-grade Turkish students’ success in listening comprehension of the Turkish language. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 13(3), 3478–3494. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1312774
  4. Bi, N. Z., & Wang, Y. (2025). Effects of metacognitive interventions on listening comprehension performance: A meta-analysis. Acta Psychologica, 242, 103121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104623
  5. Bozorgian, H., Sabokpa, M., & Muhammadpour, M. (2022). Dialogic interaction and dynamic systems theory in listening comprehension: A case study. SAGE Open, 12(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251328768
  6. Chang, A., Millett, S., & Renandya, W. A. (2019). Developing listening fluency through supported extensive listening practice. RELC Journal, 50(3), 422-438. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217751468
  7. Chitprarop, A. (2024). Cultivating linguistic listening: Unpacking EFL accounting undergraduates’ challenges and empowering strategies with mobile-assisted language learning. rEFLections, 31(1), 235–254. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1426685
  8. Chou, M. H. (2017). A task-based language teaching approach to developing metacognitive strategies for listening comprehension. International Journal of Listening, 31(1), 51-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2015.1098542
  9. Deregözü, A. (2021). The use of listening comprehension strategies in distance language education. English Language Teaching, 14(10), 62–69. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1318437
  10. Dillon, H., & Cameron, S. (2021). Separating the causes of listening difficulties in children. Ear and hearing, 42(5), 1097-1108. https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001069
  11. Fu, C. (2021). Application of cohesion theory in CET-4 listening comprehension. English Language Teaching, 14(12), 18–22. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1324219
  12. Fung, D., & Macaro, E. (2021). Exploring the relationship between linguistic knowledge and strategy use in listening comprehension. Language Teaching Research, 25(4), 540-564. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168819868879
  13. Hocaoğlu, N., & Ocak, G. (2024). The effect of listening strategies on the listening and speaking skills and listening motivation. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 82(6), 818–836. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/24.82.818
  14. Institute of Education Sciences. (2025). Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). https://eric.ed.gov/
  15. Irgin, P. (2025). Note-taking in academic listening: A translanguaging perspective. RELC Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882251322253
  16. Ismail, N. S. C., & Aziz, A. A. (2020). The teaching of listening strategies in ESL classrooms. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(6), 197–209. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v10-i6/7279
  17. Jia, C., & Hew, K. F. (2021). Toward a set of design principles for decoding training: A systematic review of studies of English as a foreign/second language listening education. Educational Research Review, 33, 100392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100392
  18. Jiang, H. (2025). Effects of peer-assisted listening training on learners’ listening performance and listening anxiety. Asia Pacific Education Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sasc.2025.200210
  19. Jiang, D., Kalyuga, S., & Sweller, J. (2018). The curious case of improving foreign language listening skills by reading rather than listening: An expertise reversal effect. Educational Psychology Review, 30(3), 1139-1165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-017-9427-1
  20. Jung, H. (2024). Enhancing L2 listening proficiency and metacognitive awareness through self-annotation in high school EFL. English Teaching, 79(3), 31–59. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.79.3.202409.31
  21. Kök, İ. (2023). Investigating learners’ listening comprehension strategy awareness and its implications for language learning. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 33(1), 132–149. https://doi.org/10.32038/ltrq.2023.33.07
  22. Kurudayıoğlu, M., Yazıcı, E., & Göktentürk, T. (2021). Turkish teacher candidates’ self-efficacies to use listening strategies scale: A validity and reliability study. SAGE Open, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211023174
  23. Kwon, S. K., & Yu, G. (2024). The effect of viewing visual cues in a listening comprehension test on second language learners’ test-taking process and performance: An eye-tracking study. Language Testing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322241239356
  24. Kwon, Y., & Yu, H. (2024). The effectiveness of video-mediated tests for listening comprehension assessment. Language Testing Asia, 14(1), 25–41.
  25. Lo, C.-C., Wen, H., & Lin, Y.-S. (2021). The effect of readers theater on EFL seventh-graders’ reading and listening comprehension. SAGE Open, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211038388
  26. Meltzer, L., Greschler, M. A., Davis, K., & Vanderberg, C. (2021). Executive function, metacognition, and language: Promoting student success with explicit strategy instruction. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(6), 1343-1356. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-000
  27. Naijland. (2024). Is ScienceDirect legit? ScienceDirect honest reviews. Naijland. https://naijland.com/is-sciencedirect-legit-science-direct-reviews/
  28. Nazarieh, M., Razmi, M. H., Azizian, M., & Ghani, M. U. (2022). A brief history of listening comprehension in second language teaching and learning. Education Research International, 2022(1), 3894457. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/3894457
  29. Polatcan, F., Bicxer, N., & Er, O. (2025). Metacognitive listening strategies and critical listening attitudes as predictors of teacher candidates’ academic listening skills: A structural equation modeling analysis. SAGE Open, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251328768
  30. Riffe, D., Lacy, S., Watson, B. R., & Lovejoy, J. (2023). Analyzing media messages: Using quantitative content analysis in research. Routledge.
  31. Robillos, R. J., & Bustos, I. G. (2022). Learners’ listening skills and metacognitive awareness through metacognitive strategy instruction with pedagogical cycle. International Journal of Instruction, 15(3), 393–412. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2022.15322a
  32. Shaojie, Z., Lin, M., & Tang, Y. (2024). Enhancing listening through mobile-assisted tools in Chinese classrooms. Journal of Mobile Learning and Education, 9(2), 114–129.
  33. Shahani, S., Chalak, A., & Tabrizi, H. H. (2022). Impact of critical thinking instruction through flipped teaching on Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 23(2), 236–251. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.1096565
  34. Tan, S., Wu, Y., & Zhang, H. (2024). The influence of meta-cognitive listening strategies on listening performance in the MALL: The mediation effect of learning style and self-efficacy. SAGE Open, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241249354
  35. Taylor & Francis. (2025). Publishing ethics and research integrity. https://taylorandfrancis.com/about/corporate-responsibility/publishing-ethics-and-research-integrity/
  36. Temur, M. (2021). The impact of awakening perception of learners’ comprehension on English learning via regularly listening to songs in English. International Journal of Progressive Education, 17(1), 145–157.
  37. Wandah, P. N., Fadillah, J., Firzaly, Z. A., & Asri, S. (2024). Analyzing students’ learning styles in listening comprehension. Journal of English Teaching, 10(3), 292–306.
  38. Wang, H.-C., & Hsiao, C.-H. (2022). Effects of advanced organizers on Taiwanese middle school students’ English-video listening comprehension. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 19(2), 107–144.
  39. Yeldham, M. (2016). Second language listening instruction: Comparing a strategies‐based approach with an interactive, strategies/bottom‐up skills approach. Tesol Quarterly, 50(2), 394-420. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.233
  40. Zhang, P. (2022). How does repetition affect vocabulary learning through listening to the teacher’s explicit instruction? The moderating role of listening proficiency and preexisting vocabulary knowledge. Language Teaching Research, 27(6), 922–944. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221140521
  41. Zhang, Y. (2022). The value of regular listening practice in EFL environments. Modern English Education, 24(1), 39–55.
  42. Zhou, S., Wu, X., Tang, Y., & Wang, W. (2025). To survive or to thrive? Synthesizing the narrative trajectories of students’ self-regulated listening practice in an EMI transnational higher education context. Language and Education, 39(2), 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2023.2260358

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Dimension Badge

Downloads

Downloads
Crossmark Badge
Section
Articles