Premium
Improving Listening Skills in English as a Foreign Language by Reading Rather than Listening: A Cognitive Load Perspective
Author(s) -
MoussaInaty Jase,
Ayres Paul,
Sweller John
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.1840
Subject(s) - active listening , reading (process) , psychology , perspective (graphical) , cognition , linguistics , cognitive psychology , communication , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , neuroscience
Summary This study investigated the consequences of simultaneously reading and listening to the same materials when learning English as a foreign language. During acquisition, native Arabic‐speaking university students were asked to learn some English words and sentences either by reading them or by simultaneously reading and listening to the same spoken material. Following acquisition students were given reading, writing, and listening tests. The findings from the three experiments indicated that participants exposed to reading alone performed better on listening tests than participants exposed to a reading and listening condition. No differences were found on the reading and writing tests. The results, discussed within a cognitive load theory framework, suggest that at least some categories of learners will enhance their listening skills more by reading the materials only rather than simultaneously reading and listening. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.