Effective Listening: Teachers’ and Students’ Awareness about its Roles in Academic Achievement

Understanding of any academic course depends on students’ ability and skills of listening. In other words, students can succeed in their academic performance provided that they can comprehend the lessons presented by their teachers.  This study was aimed at investigating the role played effective listening skills in supporting students in their academic performance. Students become successful when they possess effective listening skills which enable them to grasp the lesson taught by their teachers at any level. The research was conducted in the general secondary schools of Ilu Abba Bor zone, Oromiya region of Ethiopia. It embraced 3 general secondary schools: Gore, Mettu and Hurumu. The participants of the study were English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and grade 9 students in the sample schools. Simple random sampling technique was used to take the sample students from each of the schools. As the number of the English language teachers was not so large, the investigators used comprehensive sampling technique to take teacher informants for the study. The instruments used to collect data for the study were questionnaire, observation and interview. In order to analyze the data, the researchers employed mixed approach whereby both quantitative and qualitative methods were put to use. Put differently, the data from classroom observations and the interview were analysed qualitatively; whereas, those from questionnaire were quantitatively analyzed. It had been found out that the teachers and the students were not much aware of the importance of effective listening skill and the role it plays in helping learners in their academic walk. They held the wrong view about effective listening skill, its roles in academic performance and its teaching/learning. In addition, the teachers took no notice of the strategies to be utilized to develop their students’ effective listening skills.