Utilizing dialogic recalls to determine L2 listeners' strategy use

Abstract

This article examines the viability and practicality of dialogic recalls as a tool for researching listening strategy use in classroom settings. To investigate this, a small-scale study over five lessons involving six pairs of Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners was conducted. The pairs completed dialogic recalls pertaining to their use of strategies to comprehend news videotexts. The learners' dialogic recalls were audio recorded and analyzed in terms of the quantity, type, and quality of elaboration of strategy use. Findings are presented, supported by representative examples of verbal protocols, which indicate a number of strengths and some weaknesses of dialogic recalls as a tool for classroom-based listening strategies research. Several other general aspects related to the application of dialogic recalls, such as the use of the L2 for reporting, are discussed and inform recommendations for future research.

Keywords:

• research methods
• introspection
• learning strategies
• listening

Notes

1. The author has also used dialogic recalls with segmented audio texts from the British Council's LearnEnglish website.

2. Pairs completed other tasks in the pedagogical cycle, such as comparing their answers to the transcript at the end of each lesson, but they were not relevant to this study of strategy use.

3. There were six segments presented from each news videotext per lesson, and the learners recalled their strategy use twice for each segment.

4. Inter-rater reliability for strategy types was 88%, with differences resolved by discussion.