Article Sidebar

Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 0 Download : 0

Main Article Content

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of the cloze dictation technique in improving the listening comprehension of EFL students, focusing on common problems including poor vocabulary identification, trouble capturing crucial information, and lack of focus during listening tasks. Two sets of eleventh-grade students were used in a quasi-experimental design: a control group (n = 35) was taught using traditional listening techniques, while an experimental group (n = 34) received instruction using cloze dictation. Pre-test and post-test listening assessments were used to gather data, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The results showed that whereas the control group made no discernible gain (from 58.86 to 56.71), the experimental group exhibited a significant increase, with the mean score rising from 60.44 to 73.38. The Mann-Whitney U test verified a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.006 < 0.05) because the data were not normally distributed. The findings show that the cloze dictation method successfully improves students' capacity to recognize spoken words, concentrate on important details, and derive meaning from auditory input. Pedagogically, this study highlights the importance of integrating structured and interactive listening activities to promote active engagement and deeper comprehension in EFL classrooms. Practically, English teachers are encouraged to incorporate cloze dictation regularly using varied and level-appropriate audio materials to support students’ listening development. Future research is recommended to explore the integration of this technique with other language skills or across different educational contexts to further validate its effectiveness.

Keywords

Cloze Dictation EFL Listening Listening Comprehension Quasi-Experimental Design Secondary Education

Article Details

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In submitting the manuscript to the FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching, the authors certify that:

  • They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
  • The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
  • That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
  • The publication has been approved by the author(s) and by responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
  • They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
  • They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.

License and Copyright Agreement

Authors who publish with FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or edit it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
How to Cite
Malik, N. H., Jamiluddin, Mashuri, & Arid, M. (2026). Enhancing EFL Students Listening Comprehension Through Cloze Dictation: A Quasi-Experimental Study. FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching, 7(3), 157-170. https://doi.org/10.24256/foster-jelt.v7i3.448
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

  1. A’R, D. W., Muzammil, L., & Purnawati, M. (2025). A Study on Difficulties and Solutions in Listening Comprehension Among EFL Learners. Journal of English Language and Education, 10(6), 1081–1093. https://doi.org/10.31004/JELE.V10I6.1799
  2. Akmal, M., Arapah, E., & Elyani, E. P. (2025). An overview of the utilization of the spotify application in teaching listening. Proceedings Academic Universitas Jambi, 1(3), 1228–1236. https://doi.org/10.22437/PROCA.V1I3.50480
  3. Burns, A., & Siegel, J. (2018). International Perspectives on Teaching the Four Skills in ELT: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63444-9
  4. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
  5. Cross, J. (2011). Metacognitive instruction for helping less-skilled listeners. ELT Journal, 65(4), 408–416. https://doi.org/10.1093/ELT/CCQ073
  6. Etikan, I. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.11648/J.AJTAS.20160501.11
  7. Field, J. (2008). Listening in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press.
  8. Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (2005). Second Language Listening: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003106609-20
  9. Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. McGraw-Hill.
  10. Goh, C. C. M., & Vandergrift, L. (2021). Teaching and learning second language listening: Metacognition in action. Teaching and Learning Second Language Listening: Metacognition in Action, 1–361. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429287749
  11. Graham, S. (2017). Research into practice: Listening strategies in an instructed classroom setting. Language Teaching, 50(1), 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444816000306
  12. Graham, S., & Santos, D. (2015). Strategies for second language listening: Current scenarios and improved pedagogy. Strategies for Second Language Listening: Current Scenarios and Improved Pedagogy, 1–188. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137410528
  13. Hidayati, H., Fatkurochman, H., & Oktarini, W. (2023). The implementation of running dictation technique to improve student’s listening skills. ENJEL: English Journal of Education and Literature, 2(2), 120–125. https://doi.org/10.30599/ENJEL.V2I02.486
  14. Huynh Thi, K. A. (2025). Young learners’ attitudes toward dictation-based listening practice: Evidence from a Vietnamese EFL context. The International Journal of Language Studies (ISSN : 3078 - 2244), 2(3), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.60087/IJLS.V2.N3.008
  15. Jaya, H. P., Petrus, I., & Kurniawan, D. (2021). Listening comprehension performance and problems: A survey on undergraduate students majoring in English. Indonesian Research Journal in Education |IRJE|, 5(2), 375–386. https://doi.org/10.22437/irje.v5i2.14428
  16. Kazazoğlu, S. (2013). Dictation as a Language Learning Tool. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 1338–1346. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2013.01.195
  17. Linda, N., Nadrun, N., Eisenring, M. A. A., & Dewi, A. K. (2025). Eleventh-Grade Students’ Perceptions of Dictation in EFL Classes: Evidence from Sukma Bangsa School of Sigi. Journal of General Education and Humanities, 4(4), 2335–2344. https://doi.org/10.58421/GEHU.V4I4.838
  18. Liu, L., Darmi, R. H., & Wan Mohtar, W. I. (2025). Improvement of Listening Performance among Undergraduate Learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL): A Systematic Literature Review. World Journal of English Language, 15(7), 278. https://doi.org/10.5430/WJEL.V15N7P278
  19. Milliner, B., & Dimoski, B. (2021). The effects of a metacognitive intervention on lower-proficiency EFL learners’ listening comprehension and listening self-efficacy. Language Teaching Research, 28(2), 679–713. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211004646;CTYPE:STRING:JOURNAL
  20. Moussaoui, M. El. (2025). Shadowing for Developing EFL Learners’ Bottom-up Listening Skills: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 7(4), 388–404. https://doi.org/10.36892/IJLLS.V7I4.2260
  21. Mowlaie, B., Abdolmajid, M., & Rahimi, A. (2020). Partial Dictation vs. Dictogloss Effect on Listening Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners. Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 10(4), 240–256. https://doi.org/10.18844/GJFLT.V10I4.5085
  22. Nguyen, P. B. T., Tran, N. B. C., & Nguyen, M. T. (2025). Music-mediated Pedagogy to Boost Efl Students’ Listening Engagement and Fluency in Emi Contexts: A Scoping Review (2015–2025). F1000Research, 14, 1207. https://doi.org/10.12688/F1000RESEARCH.170296.1
  23. Nishikawa, M., Horiguchi, Y., Yu, G., & Luhovyk, O. (2026). The impact of Japanese EFL test-takers’ listening comprehension on their notetaking and summarization performance in two distinct listen-to-summarize tasks: an eye-tracking mixed-methods study. Language Testing in Asia 2026 16:1, 16(1), 12-. https://doi.org/10.1186/S40468-026-00431-X
  24. Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. Mcgraw-Hill.
  25. Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using IBM SPSS. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
  26. Paris, A. S., Yulandari, E. S., Rosyidi, A. Z., & Suryadi, H. (2024). Dictation: An Effective Way to Enhance Students’ Listening Ability. Jurnal Ilmiah Global Education, 5(2), 1856–1859. https://doi.org/10.55681/JIGE.V5I2.3073
  27. Pham, T. D. K., & Le, T. N. D. (2025). Listening Comprehension in English Language Learning: Challenges, Strategies, and Students’ Attitudes at a Private University. International Journal of Language Instruction, 4(3), 22–40. https://doi.org/10.54855/IJLI.25432
  28. Rifai, M., Ghifari, A., Syarizal, S., & Rima, R. (2025). The Impact Of Using BBC 6 Minute English Podcast On Students’ Listening Comprehension Dampak Penggunaan Podcast BBC 6 Minute English Terhadap Kemampuan Menyimak Siswa. JKIP : Jurnal Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan, 6(4), 1703–1711. http://journal.al-matani.com/index.php/jkip/index
  29. Rost, M. (2015). Teaching and Researching Listening (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315732862
  30. Vitriyati, L. (2021). Using Dictation Techniques to Improve the Eighth-Grade Students’ Listening Comprehension Achievement at SMPN 35 Surabaya. JournEEL (Journal of English Education and Literature), 3(2), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.51836/JOURNEEL.V3I2.240
  31. Zhang, W., Zhang, D., & Zhang, L. J. (2021). Metacognitive instruction for sustainable learning: Learners’ perceptions of task difficulty and use of metacognitive strategies in completing integrated speaking tasks. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/SU13116275