A comparative study of listening comprehension measures in English as an additional language and native English-speaking primary school children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of different measures of listening comprehension for Years 2, 3 and 4 children with English as an additional language (EAL). Non-standardised uses of reading comprehension measures are often employed as proxy measures of listening comprehension, i.e. for purposes for which they were not intended. The extent to which such uses can validly and reliably measure listening comprehension is disputed. In this study, one standardised and two unstandardised measures of listening comprehension were implemented: the listening comprehension subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second UK Edition (WlAT-II); a listening comprehension version of the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-Revised with original, open-ended questions (NARA-R [open-ended]); and a listening comprehension version of the NARA-R with modified, forced-choice questions (NARA-R [forced-choice]). It is argued that the NARA-R (forced-choice) is susceptible to guessing and is less reliable as a measure of listening comprehension. It is further argued that the appropriateness of both the WIAT-II and the NARA-R (open-ended) varies depending on participants' age and language group. Issues of reliability and validity, and the wider methodological relevance of this study's findings, are discussed throughout.

Keywords:

• comprehension
• methodology
• measures
• listening
• English as an additional language
• primary school children