Effect of Listening Proficiency on Types of Listening Strategies Used by Iranian EFL Learners

This study aims at uncovering listening strategy use by Iranian EFL learners in general, and differences among proficient and less-proficient learners, in types of strategies used. To get to this, 40 EFL learners including 10 males and 30 females were selected and, based on listening proficiency test, were divided into two groups: proficient and less-proficient, each containing 20 learners. A listening comprehension test as well as a Likert-Scaled Listening Strategies Questionnaire were administered to the participants. Data collected from listening comprehension test was run through an independent sample t-test, while questionnaire data was analyzed through factor analysis, multiple regression analysis, and independent sample t-test using SPSS version 19. Results of factor analysis indicated that cognitive, metacognitive, and socio-affective strategies were responsible for 54.26% of Iranian EFL learners listening proficiency. Multiple regression analysis revealed that participants employed cognitive strategies more than other strategies (B =.612, T =306, sig=.003). However, independent sample t-test showed that proficient listeners used metacognitive strategies more frequently (T =2.205, sig =.00)