Research project Real Time Monitoring of Dynamic English Listening (ReMoDEL)
This study investigates students’ listening comprehension in university lectures where English is the language of instruction (EMI).
Participants use an innovative foot pedal machine to indicate trouble understanding the teacher’s spoken English. By comparing these measures of comprehension to recordings and transcripts of the teacher’s speech, the project identifies: a) the percentage of a lecture students understand; b) specific listening comprehension problems that students face; and c) strategies that students use to overcome said problems. Comparisons are made between students with different genders, mother tongues, and years of formal English instruction.
More information and future updates on the project website
Data will be made available at Stockholm University’s Figshare data repository in the future.
Project description
Research shows that listening is the most difficult skill to develop in a second language (L2). In EMI lectures, English is often used as an L2 by either the teacher, at least some of the students, or both. As such, varying levels of speaking and listening proficiency in English can affect teaching and learning. Students face listening challenges such as unknown words, accent, fast pace, and inability to follow long stretches of speech.
This new research offers insights on an old problem: why do some students fail to understand what the teacher has said? To answer this question, students use the foot pedal machine to show their level of understanding while they attend an EMI lecture.
That lecture is also recorded and transcribed. Those two types of information are then lined up so that we can see where in the teacher’s speech the listener experienced problems. In interviews, we discuss with students why they indicated non-understanding at certain points in the speech. Those problem areas are then categorized by type; for example, unknown words, rate of speech, or lack of background knowledge.
Using this routine, we can better understand listening comprehension in real-time and identify potentially problematic areas as well as solutions related to listening comprehension in EMI lectures.
Project members
Project managers
Joseph Siegel
Professor
Members
Maria Kuteeva
Professor
Aki Siegel
Associate senior lecturer/Assistant Professor
