Listening Strategies and
Verbal Reports
Research justifies the use of verbal reports as a data collection
strategy in Vietnamese listening classrooms.
Of the four language skillsreading, writing, listening
and speakinglistening is often said to be the most dif-
ficult for second language learners. The main difficulty
lies in the complicated mental processes underlying lis-
tening. To date, our knowledge of these processes is still
limited, and listening to some extent remains a covert
activity. Because of this,there is an urgent need for more
research into listening comprehension in general, and
listening comprehension in second or foreign languages
in particular. What has been discovered or theorized so
far forms a lively, ongoing dialogue about how learners
interact with oral input (Rubin, p. 199).
This article presents research on listening strategies
carried out with 24 fourth-year English majors at Hanoi
National University. It is an attempt to make a contribu-
tion to this ongoing dialogue. In the research, I aimed
to investigate the way learners interact with oral input
by answering this central question:
What, if any, are the quantitative or qualitative differ-
ences in strategies employed by more successful and
less successful learners in listening to spoken English?
To answer this question, data was collected through
verbal reportsa combination of introspective and ret-
rospective methods. These methods have been widely
used by researchers, as they can give us more insight
into listeners mental processes during listening. Some
have argued, however, that this approach cannot be
used with Vietnamese learners due to their traditional
timidity or shyness. This study is an attempt to challenge
this belief.
Definition of Verbal Reports and
Research Methodology
Verbal reports are a combination of introspective
and retrospective methods. The term introspection
was originally described by Haves and Flower as asking
Teachers Edition 16
Nguyen Thi Nhan Hoa, M.Ed.
participants to report on anything they are thinking
while performing a task, and retrospection as asking
them to say what they have done while performing a
task (pp.211-212). Both kinds of reports are considered
to be direct verbalisations of specific cognitive process-
es (Ericsson and Simon, p. 16).
In this study, two types of verbal reports were used
by the researcher in the data collection process: report-
ing while listening and reporting after listening.
Reporting while listening was done in the form of
think-aloud protocols. This is an other-initiated intro-
spection which happens when the informant verbalis-
es only when explicitly requested to do so by the exper-
imenter during or after the task (Faerch and Kasper, p.
17). Participants could choose to use either English or
Vietnamese while thinking aloud. All eliciting sugges-
tions from the researcher were in Vietnamese.
Faerch and Kasper identify another type of think-
aloud protocol which is often used by language
researchers: self-initiated introspection. This method is
used when the informant himself takes the initiative to
verbalise (p. 17). I did not use this technique.
Reporting after listening was done in the form of
retrospection. Short interviews were carried out after
the participants had listened to each of two listening
passages. All questions in these interviews were also
in Vietnamese.
Arguments Against Verbal Report Methods
As mentioned above, there has been an ongoing
debate about the use of verbal report methods, particu-
larly in Vietnamese contexts. Researchers such as
Nisbett and Wilson, and Cavanaugh and Perlmutter (in
Garner), have expressed doubts about the validity of
verbal reporting. They point out its limitations in the
sense that it is mentally disrupting, and that it is impos-
sible to get the whole picture of a subjects inner
thought processes. Furthermore, while reviewing
March 2002
criticisms of think-aloud data, Vandergrift and Garner
worry that verbal reports might be research-biased,
since subjects involved in the research could be either
unconsciously or consciously led to verbalize what a
researcher expects to hear. Therefore,the resulting ver-
bal reports from subjects may bear only minimal relation
to their actual strategic processing (Garner, p. 68).
Nisbett and Wilson likewise claim (p. 233):
People often cannot report accurately on the effects of
particular stimuli on higher order, inference-based
responses. Indeed, sometimes they cannot report on
the existence of critical stimuli, sometimes they cannot
report on the existence of their responses, and some-
times they cannot even report that an inferential
process of any kind has occurred.
Cavanaugh and Perlmutter (in Garner, p. 70) concluded,
therefore,that verbal reports are both quantitatively and
qualitatively poor reflections of processing.
Arguments For Verbal Report Methods
Nonetheless, there are voices in support of verbal
reports as well. Other researchers believe that this
method does enable us to get insight into subjects inner
thoughts. Ericsson and Simon, Faerch and Kasper,
Grotjahn, Cohen, and Vandergrift all argue for the merits
and advantages of verbal reports. They suggest that
researchers consider verbal reports as one of many
sources of data about cognitive processes and struc-
tures, and that models and methods accounting for ver-
bal data should not be different, in principle, from
accounts of other types of data(Erricsson and Simon, p.
372). They also argue (Vandergrift, p. 30):
[I]ntrospection through verbal reports or think-
alouds appears to be the most fruitful methodology
for tapping LLSs [language learning strategies],
enabling learners to report LLSs which have become
automatic and are no longer conscious.
However, they caution researchers to elicit them with
care and interpret them with full understanding of the
circumstances under which they were obtained. Only
then do verbal reports become a valuable and thor-
oughly reliable source of information about cognitive
processes (Ericsson and Simon, p. 247).
As for the concern about disrupting the mental
process, Ericsson and Simon contend that think-aloud
does not interfere with thought processes, but only
Teachers Edition 17
slows them down, as additional time is required for ver-
balization (pp. 34-35).
In response to the doubt about subjects ability to
verbalize what they are thinking, those in favour of ver-
bal reports argue that the think-aloud format seems not
quite as alien to most of us as such objections assume it
to be. Ericsson and Simon assure us that when subjects
come to a laboratory for research, they already have
some ideas about think-aloud in their minds (p. 78). For
example, students might have to explain the process of
solving a problem either to their fellow students or their
teacher. Moreover, in everyday life, people frequently
have to communicate their thinking to others in order to
get approval, sympathy, or feedback.
In short, those in favor of verbal reports claim
(Ericsson and Simon, p. 373):
[I]t is now time for verbal reports to reassume their
position as a rich source of data, combinable with
other data, that can be of the greatest value in provid-
ing an integrated and full account of cognitive
processes and structure.
To summarize, arguments against verbal reports as a
research method criticize their reliability and validity, as
well as their subjectivity and possible foreignness.
Supporters of verbal reports argue that this method can
be reliable if researchers know how to use it. They also
point out that verbal reporting is not as alien to people
as it is thought to be. Generally speaking, the voices in
support of this method seem stronger than their oppo-
nents. This can be seen in the large number of success-
ful studies on second or foreign language comprehen-
sion which have used verbal reports as a research tool
(see DeFilippis; Fujita; Murphy; O'Malley, et al.; Laviosa;
Long; Bacon; and Vandergrift).
Challenges in Using Verbal Report Methods
in Vietnamese Contexts
Verbal reportsespecially think-aloud protocols
in second language research have been carried out most-
ly in Western countries. Thus, the validity of this method
in Vietnam could be doubted. It might be argued that
students in Western culture are less reserved and thus
might not be intimidated by being asked to think aloud.
In addition, the influence of learner-centered methods
in teaching second or foreign languages in Western
countries makes it easier for students to verbalize what
they are thinking. In comparison, Asian
March 2002
students are not familiar with making explicit to others
what they are thinking, especially to an unknown
researcher. The foreign language teaching and learning
style in Asia in general, and in Vietnam in particular, is
still under the influence of a teacher-centered style.
Therefore, think-aloud protocols might not be an appro-
priate method for Vietnamese subjects.
It may be true that Asians, especially Vietnamese stu-
dents, are more reserved than Western students.
Makagawa remarks that one of the cultural characteris-
tics of Asian people is that they are passive (p. 16). In
addition, Nguyen comments:
Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese possess an
inwardness, a well-developed ability to keep their true
feelings hidden. Desires are expressed by indirection,
by hinting and talking around the subject.
He also remarks that in Indo-China, one thinks very
carefully before speaking (p. 47). Therefore, doubts
about the viability of using think-aloud methods are
understandable.
This does not mean, however, that students cannot
reveal what they are thinking, or that there are no ways
to access their inner thoughts. There are cases in such
cultures when people can speak their minds, that is,
when the gap between them is shortened and they have
become close to one another. For example, people tell
their close friends what they are thinking to solve a
problem they have; young children tell their parents
what they are worrying about; or students tell their
teachers how they are planning to deal with a study
task. The major problem for researchers is how to
elicit these thoughts and how to become familiar with
study participants.
Setting Up the Research
For these reasons, in my study I did not start data
collection immediately after meeting the learners. I was
aware that Vietnamese students often have a high
respect for their teacher, so once the researcher
becomes their teacher and the teacher-student relation
is established, they are less reserved and very
It is indeed possible and quite beneficial to employ verbal reports
as a data collection method, even with participants
from a reserved culture such as Vietnam.
Teachers Edition 18
cooperative. I, therefore, offered a free 90-minute listen-
ing lesson to students every week in order to let them
become familiar with me. The listening lessons I gave
were carried out according to the curriculum of the
English Department at our university. I had been teach-
ing English communicative skills to tertiary students for
five years before starting this research, and was thus
familiar with the requirements of such teaching. The
method used in these weekly listening lessons was the
tried-and-true approach of teaching listening as it would
be tested. No listening strategies were explicitly taught
during these lessons. A month after the first meeting
between myself and the students, a pilot study com-
menced. Two weeks after the pilot study finished, the
main study began.
To help elicit what participants were really thinking
while comprehending a listening passage, I made it clear
to all that the research was not a part of the course, and
that no formal assessment would be made of their per-
formance. I also encouraged participants self-confi-
dence and motivation by telling them that how much
they comprehended was less important than how they
comprehended. Vietnamese students are often scared of
assessment. When they have become familiar with a
researcher and feel assured that no assessment will be
made, their reserve can be reduced and they are more
likely to be active research participants.
Research Project
Selection and Training of Participants
Twenty-four students enrolled as fourth-year English
majors at Hanoi National University were chosen as par-
ticipants for this study of investigating listening strate-
gies by using verbal report methods. These students
were given a training session before the data collection
process commenced.
In this session, participants were trained to self-
report what they were thinking while performing lis-
tening tasks. This training session lasted about two
hours, and was carried out in Vietnamese. The time gap
between the training session and data collection was
March 2002
less than a week, so ideas from the training session were
still fresh in participants minds.
The training session had three parts:
(1) Participants were asked to listen to a listening pas-
sage twice. The first time, they listened from the begin-
ning to the end without any pauses. The second time, I
paused the tape several times. After each pause, partici-
pants were asked: first, to summarize what they had
heard, and second, to note down in what ways they
digested and retained the information delivered to them.
(2) I played the tape again
and gave the same pauses
as previously. In pairs, par-
ticipants reported to each
other what information
they had understood as
well as the ways they had
comprehended and
retained that information,
based on their notes.
I approached each pair
and encouraged partici-
pants to exchange their
ideas freely.
(3) I played the tape and
paused after each shorter
chunk of information.
Students listened to
the tape and reported
what they were thinking individually.
The topic of the listening passage chosen for the
training sessionAccommodationwas quite differ-
ent from those used in the actual researchLifestyle
and Populationto avoid any effects of known con-
tent on participants ways of listening.
Process of Data Collection
After the training session, I met each individual
twice. Each time, participants were asked to listen to a
listening passage and, when I paused the tape, to think
aloud about what and how they had comprehended the
delivered information.
Participants listened to each passage twice: the first
time pauses were made after longer chunks of informa-
tion, and the second time after shorter chunks of infor-
mation. Responding after longer chunks of information
required a verbal report which dealt with a complete
piece of information. This was retrospection, right after
Teachers Edition 19
a task had been finished. By contrast, responding after
shorter chunks of information broke into the process of
forming a complete interpretation. Because this process
drew on interpretations which were developing, it was
introspection during the task. Although listening to a
passage several times did not present a natural lan-
guage situation, this approach has been used by various
researchers to gain insight into the use of listening
strategies (see DeFilippis; Fujita; Long; and Laviosa).
Laviosa, for example, argues that listening to a stimulus
several times can be used to obtain information about a
consultants processing
and use of strategies
(p. 7).
The two types of paus-
es were made in order to
gain deeper insight into
the processes by which
participants compre-
hended the delivered
information. Responding
after longer chunks of
information gave insight
into a completed thought
process, while respond-
ing after shorter chunks
of information gave
insight into a still-devel-
oping one. Longer
chunks of information
were always presented before shorter chunks of infor-
mation because participants were not allowed to do pre-
liminary listening; therefore, it was too challenging for
them to comprehend an incomplete piece of informa-
tion the first time through.
Data Collected
After six weeks, the data collected from the 24
research project participantsthink-aloud protocols
while listening, and short interviews after listening
amounted to 25 sixty-minute cassettes. These tapes
were fully transcribed, resulting in 168 pages of data for
more successful listeners and 151 pages for less suc-
cessful listeners. Transcriptions were then double-
checked by another English lecturer at Hanoi National
University, and by another Vietnamese speaker whose
English was at an advanced level. Twenty-three strate-
gies were reported to be used in the process of listening
(see pages 20-21).
March 2002
 Listening Strategy Example From Research Interviews
Predicting what is going to be heard. So they are going to talk about population.

Skipping the missing information. I missed the first sentence, but I can catch the
following information, that is...

Assessing ones knowledge of the Oh, yes...I already know that the population in the
topic. world is six billion people.

Making lexical interpretation. I live on the student campus. Oh, no, on the campus
of the teachers.

Expressing interest, motivation. I do not find this listening passage interesting

because it doesnt meet my expectations.

Being aware of loss of attention. There is some information in the last phrase, but
I missed it because I was busy saying something
then.

Taking notes. First I could catch the word energy, then other
words such as 1970 or 1985. I had to note them
down immediately so that I could remember them.

Repeating the words or phrases. Nature...nature will solve the problem, solve the
problem.

Using grammar strategies explicitly. I used to teach at a secondary school. But Ive
been... It means that she is still teaching there.

Listening for all words or all details. Finally we can wait ten to twenty years before taking
action. I could catch every word very clearly.

Paraphrasing. If we waited ten years, the population in the

Southern part is still 3000 million means three
billion.

Guessing meaning from sounds. Tape said, I might have a chat, usually about work.
A student responded, I might...heart attack. I can
catch the word heart attack.

Analyzing the conventions of I could not catch the next information because the
language: words, spelling, pronuncia- words are too untidy.
tion, and cohesive ties.

Picking out what is missed or not I did not understand what compound means, and
understood. thus could not follow the subsequent information.

Listening for topics first and details She said about what she did in the evening. First,
later. she...
Teachers Edition 20 March 2002
 Listening Strategy Example From Research Interviews
Recognizing and picking out key I guess the meaning based on the main words I
words. catch, such as go home, nurse, canteen, and
shopping.

Translating into Vietnamese. [not available]

Visualizing what the speaker is Then the reporter turns to the second person and
saying. asks...

Making inferences, guessing informa- I guess they speak about the birth rate and the death
tion from the context. rate when the population is exploding.

Making inferences, guessing mean- They said that Asia would have an enormous con-
ing from background knowledge. sumption of energy. Asia is developing, its economy
is dynamic; so it is reasonable to say so.

Asking oneself to resolve listening In the South, South East Asia, energy consumption
comprehension problems. is five...five times? Is it five times bigger than
Western Europe?

Evaluating ones comprehension. I think that I can understand the first listening
passage up to 80 percent.

Analyzing the topic to find out more Even when we dont do anything, nature will solve
information than has been presented. the problem. How can it be?

Feeling relaxed after listening. I feel satisfied with my comprehension of this listen-
ing passage because I could understand it easily.

Conclusion The Modern Language Journal 76 (2), pp. 160-178,

By using verbal reports, data was successfully col-
lected to investigate the listening strategies of
Vietnamese students of English. While I do not here give
the complete details of the results, my main point is that
it is indeed possible and quite beneficial to employ ver-
bal reports as a data collection method, even with par-
ticipants from a reserved culture such as Vietnam.
Asking learners to verbalize what they are thinking
while listening and processing information can help us
understand and improve this vital language skill. n
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