Perspectives of English department students towards listening skill

Abstract

Listening ability can be interpreted as the ability to understand information when the activity takes place. However, according to students who have studied English for several years, listening is considered one of the most difficult skills for them.This study aims to learn about students' difficulties with listening activities, their perceptions of their ability to listen, and contributing factors to their ability to listen well. After that, a questionnaire and a set of listening tests were given out. The challenges, main factors that prevent students from listening, and learning experiences were investigated using both quantitative and qualitative data. This study's findings revealed that students' listening skills were lacking because they were still unable to finish the fundamental listening skills test. Also, the majority of them thought that the classes in listening were hard for them because they had trouble with certain teaching and learning activities. The students knew about the significance of the listening activities, but they still required assistance from the lecturer and other students for the activities for instruction and learning. In conclusion, being able to listen well remained a challenge during the first semester of the 2022/23 academic year at the English Department of Muhammadiyah University of Pringsewu Lampung.