The assessment of listening comprehension in a second language has received relatively little attention until recently. This study investigated the effective- ness of providing different types of listening support for learners in a foreign language environment with a low level of English proficiency. The research was conducted with 140 students taking an English listening course at a college in Taiwan. The participants took sections of a listening test under four different conditions. Two of the conditions provided support in the form of either a set of pictures or a written background text. The third condition was a repetition of the test input, whereas the fourth one was simply no type of support. After the test, the participants completed a short questionnaire and some of them were also interviewed. According to the results, repeating the input was the most effective treatment, followed by having visual and textual support. However, the limits of the learners’ English competence meant that all of the types of support could improve their comprehension only to a certain degree. Nevertheless, the provi- sion of appropriate support may motivate foreign language learners to improve their listening proficiency by making adequate comprehension more attainable for them.

1. Reporter: Cindy Shen Anna Ching-Shyang Chang & John Read RELC Journal, 38 (3), 375-394 Support for Foreign Language Listeners: Its Effectiveness and Limitations