The Effects of Linguistic Context on English Listening Test Results in Dutch Secondary Schools

Abstract

This Master’s thesis on ELT aims to investigate and identify presumed advantages of English pre-listening in Dutch secondary schools. An empirical case-control experiment was carried out to determine if listening to English speech prior to taking an English listening comprehension test leads to better test results. The experiment was carried out at a Dutch secondary school where EFL courses are compulsory for every student. The experimental group watched a short video with English speech before taking the English listening test, while the control group watched a video with Dutch speech before taking the English listening test. Results showed that the differences between both groups were insignificant. Future research may extend this underinvestigated topic, taking other languages and other student proficiency levels in account.