Students perceptions on their listening comprehension difficulties in EFL classrooms: An Ecuadorian Case

Abstract

Abstract: This research entitled "Students' perceptions on their listening comprehension difficulties in EFL classrooms: An Ecuadorian case" attempts to identify the main problems that high school students face regarding listening comprehension when learning English as a foreign language, through qualitative and quantitative approaches. This study was conducted in the city of Cuenca. One hundred twenty five students of second year of senior high school of 5 different parallels from 2 private high schools and 5 English as a foreign language teachers from those schools participated in this research. The data was collected by applying a survey to students and teachers to learn about their perceptions on the listening comprehension difficulties in the EFL classroom; moreover, twenty-five students were interviewed to discover their opinion and experience concerning the difficulties they face when listening. The results of these processes showed that, for students' speed, accent, pauses and pronunciation, are definitely key factors that influence on the clear and good transfer of the message.