LISTENING STYLE PREFERENCES OF UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS IN A HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT: EVIDENCE FROM THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LISTENING STYLE SCALE (FL-LSS)

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Yüksel M., Kütük Y., Odabaş T.

European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, cilt.10, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

This study investigates the foreign language listening style preferences of EFL learners enrolled in a university-level English preparatory program in a higher education context in Türkiye. Data were collected from 114 participants using the Foreign Language Listening Style Scale (FL-LSS) developed by Genç and Kızılkaya Cumaoğlu (2023). The FL-LSS is a 17-item instrument designed to measure four listening style dimensions- Visual Style, Spatial Style, Auditory Style, and Bottom-Up Style- using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 27.0. The normality of the data distribution was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. An independent sample t-test was used for comparisons. ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests were conducted to address multiple comparisons and determine differences between groups. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05 (p<0.05). The results showed that speaking was the most challenging language skill for these students. Moreover, the Visual Style emerged as the most strongly preferred listening style across all demographic and academic variables, such as gender, age, department, and previous educational institutions. The findings highlight the importance of considering individual listening style preferences when designing listening instruction in higher education EFL contexts.