Transactional listening, that is listening to stretches of spoken texts to gain information,
such as with listening to lectures, can be a difficult enough task in one’s first language, but
when students have to try and follow such structured discourse in a second language, the
task can become overwhelming to the point that little or no benefit is derived from the
activity. Students who have to comprehend complex information in a second language have,
potentially, additional barriers to overcome in the lecture hall, e.g., complex information
plus unfamiliar language terms. Therefore, both students and their lecturers need to consider
how listening comprehension can be sustained, if not improved. Lectures need to be
interesting to all students in order to maintain their motivation levels, and they also need to
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be accessible to L2 students in order to maintain their concentration levels. When L2 groups
of learners attend lectures, the lecturer has to be more aware of the audiences’ needs and
perhaps make more allowances in the ways in which information is presented to such
students. In order to assist lecturers to deliver their lectures, and L2 students to comprehend
the lectures they attend given in English, research into what aids listening comprehension in
a second language is important. Such research may give us insights into the processes
students use when listening to lectures, and when such information is made available to
lecturers it may aid them in delivering their content material more effectively to their
students.