The Effect of Different Types of Advance Organizers on English Listening

The Effect of Different Types of Advance Organizers on English Listening

This study aims to investigate the effect of using different types of advance organizers - used for introducing relevant concepts in advance - on English listening comprehension. A total of 370 sixth grade students in an elementary school, located in Kyunggi-Do, Korea, took part in the study. Three different experimental conditions for the use of advance organizers were examined, such as the use of 'key-words', the use of 'pictures', and the use of both 'key-words and pictures'. There was also a control group 'without any advance organizer. The results showed that advance organizers significantly helped to improve listening comprehension. It was also found that there were significant differences in listening comprehension scores among the three groups. The scores of the group using pictures were significantly higher than those using key-words and those using both key-words and pictures. The interviews with students revealed that they liked pictures but too much information with key-words disrupted their attention for listening. The results suggest that teachers, especially who teach elementary school students in Korea, should utilize the benefits of using an advance organizer, and they should pay attention to the kind of advance organizer they choose for the improvement of English listening comprehension.