The Relationship between Anxiety and Iranian EFL learners’ Listening Comprehension

The anxiety for EFL learners that accompanies the listening comprehension (LC) task is difficult to detect, but potentially one of the most debilitating, because in order to interact verbally the listener must first understand what is being said. With the instructional emphasis on input processing, LC anxiety merits closer examination. This study investigated the correlation between Anxiety and listening comprehension skill among Iranian EFL learners. At first, a modified version of Comprehensive English Language Test was administered to a group of 82 students to determine their homogeneity as well as to assess their language proficiency. In the next phase of the study Foreign Language listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) was modified. In the last phase of the study, the students were given a listening comprehension test consisting of two lectures to measure the listening comprehension of students. This test was designed to examine the relationship between foreign language listening anxiety and listening comprehension. The result shows anxiety and listening comprehension in English are correlated negatively.

listening comprehension, anxiety, listening anxiety