Listening Comprehension Ability of The Pclstudents Based on Ielts

Abstract

This Thesis attempts to present theListening ComprehensionAbility ofthe PCL First Year StudentsBased on IELTSTest Materials. For thisstudy, 120 students from four different faculties who are studying in PCLfirst year of Katmandu Valley were selected for collecting the relevant data. To carry out this research work both Primary and Secondary sources of datawere used. After preparing the research tools, the researcher had carried outthe pilot study to find out the difficulty level of the test items. The test itemswere readymade because the researcher used IELTS Practice book as anauthentic material to collect the data. After preparing the test materials, theresearcher visited the selected campuses in Katmandu valley. Then heexplained the main objectives of his study to the concerned informants as towhy he wanted to administer the test to them. Then he informed theinformants that the recorded materials would be played only once as ithappens in IELTS listening proficiency. Before the recorded material wasplayed students were asked to go through question number one to ten. Afterthat, test items were distributed one after another and their answer sheetswere collected one after another and other sheets of test materials were givento them. The same process was followed to the rest of the test. Havingcollected the data, they were analyzed systematically and the findings weredrawn. It was found that the average proficiency of the PCL students havebeen found to be 47.41 percentage, i.e. 5 band levels according to the IELTSBand score. This is below the band level generally accepted at theInternational Level. So, their proficiency is not satisfactory. IX This study consists of four chapters, Introduction, Methodology, Analysisand Interpretation, Findings and Recommendations. The first chapter consists of general background, listening situation inNepalese context, language learning, how is listing unique, techniques fortesting listening, language teaching and language testing, IELTS and itsrationale, importance of IELTS and what makes listening easy or difficult. Chapter two deals with the methodology, sources of data: primary andsecondary sources of data, population, sampling population and samplingprocedure, tools for the study, the process of data collection and limitationsof the study. Chapter three deals with the analysis and interpretations of the data. Thisconsists of proficiency in listening comprehension of the students as awhole, proficiency in listening comprehension ability on the basis of faculty,sex, andnature of text. Chapter four discusses the findings of the study. On the basis of its findings,some recommendations are drawn and some pedagogical implications aremade. In the final section of the study, the references and appendices are included.