Metacognitive Strategies Used in Listening Comprehension in a Vocational School Context

Abstract

Listening comprehension remains a major challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, particularly vocational high school students navigating English learning under the Merdeka Curriculum. This study explored the listening comprehension experiences of six vocational high school students, focusing on the difficulties they encountered and the metacognitive strategies they used to address them. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Goh's (2000) taxonomy of listening difficulties and Vandergrift & Goh's (2012) metacognitive framework. Goh’s taxonomy provided a basis for identifying listening-related difficulties, while the metacognitive framework guided the analysis of students’ approaches to managing these challenges. The findings highlighted students’ efforts to manage listening difficulties through planning, directed attention, monitoring comprehension, problem-solving, and evaluating their understanding. These strategies reflected students’ attempts to anticipate listening demands, identify misunderstandings, use contextual clues, and assess their comprehension. The findings suggest that metacognitive awareness may help learners respond more strategically to listening challenges. This study highlights the importance of incorporating explicit metacognitive strategy instruction into EFL listening activities to support students’ listening development in vocational education.