A Report on an ICT-supported English Listening Class

Abstract

　　The present study reports the results of listening practice given to first year Japanese university students majoring in science and engineering. The practice aimed to overcome the problems which Japanese learners can face in recognizing English speech. Considering the fact that words are the basic meaning-bearing units in communication, focus was put on word recognition, and factors which can hinder the recognition process were chiefly dealt with in the class. The practice employed ICT-related devices; specifically, e-learning, to provide focused training on a specific matter and to secure more learning opportunities inside and outside the class, and a CALL system, to make the teaching contents more analytical and understandable. The results of the pre- and post-test using CASEC tests showed significant improvement in the students’ performance on two listening sections, and a questionnaire given to the students showed that a majority of them regarded the activities they had been involved in in the class as effective.