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The Relationship between Listening and Reading Rates of Japanese EFL Learners
Author(s) -
Hirai Akiyo
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/0026-7902.00028
Subject(s) - active listening , reading (process) , listening comprehension , psychology , reading comprehension , linguistics , foreign language , mathematics education , comprehension , language proficiency , communication , philosophy
It has been claimed that the first language (L1) optimal listening rate (LR) is comparable to the reading rate (RR) of college students if the material is relatively easy (e.g., Hausfeld, 1981). However, it is questionable whether these two rates are comparable for second language (L2) learners who have not had the same amount of exposure to spoken English as L1 learners. This study seeks to find the answers to this question by establishing and examining the relationship between the LR and RR of 56 Japanese college students of English at different proficiency levels. Experimental results showed that optimal LRs and RRs are also similar among English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. However, a majority of the less proficient learners in the study encountered considerable difficulty in listening comprehension. Consequently, it was difficult to estimate their optimal LRs. Important pedagogical implications for English teaching and learning are discussed.