JCERJournal of Contemporary Educational Research2208-84662208-8474Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.26689/jcer.v5i8.2421ArticleA Discussion of Foreign Language Listening Problems and Their Causes among Intermediate EFL learners in Chinese universitieshttps://artdesignp.com/journal/JCER/5/8/10.26689/jcer.v5i8.2421ZhuZhiyi2021582021-08-30Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years. The Foreign Language (FL) listening problems gradually reveal when students attend to the Listening Course in universities or colleges. This paper at first illustrates the importance of listening in foreign language learning and provides a discussion on the top-down and bottom-up processes with the analysis of Anderson’s three-model of language comprehension [9] as well as the factors affecting listening comprehension in Foreign Language in general, aiming at the illustration of the necessity on one of the bottom-up processes - the Spoken Word Recognition (SWR). The analysis of two issued official guiding documents for Chinese university students and the current situation of English listening teaching in Chinese universities are followed, providing a general background on English listening teaching in Chinese context. Three possible foreign language listening problems and their causes are proposed, followed by the pedagogical suggestions to EFL learners who are improving their listening skills and instructors who are advancing their teaching procedures.

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