A Qualitative Study on Listening Skills in Turkish EFL Classes

Abstract

This study focuses on pedagogical implications and evaluation of listening skills in an English as a Foreign Language context. In this sense, this study aims to investigate i) whether listening skills are considered as important as the other receptive and productive skills, ii) EFL teachers' perspectives on motivation levels of learners towards listening in the target language, iii) whether teachers feel competent enough to teach listening skills, and iv) whether listening skills are evaluated in EFL classes. The participants of the study consisted of 45 teachers, and the data were gathered through a semi-structured interview form which was prepared by the researchers. The findings reveal that teaching listening skills is mostly ignored in Turkey, teachers believe that learners have low motivation while learning listening skills in English, and most of the teachers who participated in the study feel competent in teaching listening skills; however, in teaching and testing listening, they have some concerns. Lastly, the findings reveal that testing listening skills are mostly ignored in Türkiye. © 2023 The Author(s).