Application, results and perceptions of a think-aloud study in listening comprehension of Spanish

TY - JOUR

T1 - Application, results and perceptions of a think-aloud study in listening comprehension of Spanish

AU - Nogueroles López, Marta

PY - 2017/12

Y1 - 2017/12

N2 - The present article outlines the procedure and shows the outcomes of a think-aloud study intended to, first, find out what listening strategies Hong Kong students of Spanish use to comprehend a particular oral passage in the target language, and, second, understand the participants’ perceptions of the think-aloud protocol. Such a protocol was developed during interviews in which students listened to an unidirectional text in Spanish twice, the first time interruptedly and the second without intermediate pauses, and were asked to verbalize the processes they had been using to understand such a passage. After listening, they completed five comprehension questions, listened one more time with the transcript, reflected on their understanding and their strategic behaviour, and evaluated the protocol itself. These interviews were recorded, transcribed, analysed, categorized and computed. Results reveal that the metacognitive strategies of problem identification and evaluation are the most used strategies; while the strategies of focusing attention, note taking, and cooperation are reported to be the most effective ones. Findings also show that students have a very positive view of the developed think-aloud protocol.

AB - The present article outlines the procedure and shows the outcomes of a think-aloud study intended to, first, find out what listening strategies Hong Kong students of Spanish use to comprehend a particular oral passage in the target language, and, second, understand the participants’ perceptions of the think-aloud protocol. Such a protocol was developed during interviews in which students listened to an unidirectional text in Spanish twice, the first time interruptedly and the second without intermediate pauses, and were asked to verbalize the processes they had been using to understand such a passage. After listening, they completed five comprehension questions, listened one more time with the transcript, reflected on their understanding and their strategic behaviour, and evaluated the protocol itself. These interviews were recorded, transcribed, analysed, categorized and computed. Results reveal that the metacognitive strategies of problem identification and evaluation are the most used strategies; while the strategies of focusing attention, note taking, and cooperation are reported to be the most effective ones. Findings also show that students have a very positive view of the developed think-aloud protocol.

U2 - 10.1075/itl.17007.nog

DO - 10.1075/itl.17007.nog

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0019-0829

VL - 168

SP - 164

EP - 182

JO - ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics

JF - ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics

IS - 2

ER -