The Effect of Listening Strategy Intervention on the Development of Young Learners’ L2 Listening Skills

ABSTRACT The impact of strategy intervention on second language (L2) listening development has been explored in various contexts; however, research on both implicit and explicit listening strategy interventions for young learners remains limited. This study investigates how listening strategy intervention affects young learners’ L2 listening development and their use of cognitive and metacognitive listening strategies. Conducted in a Turkish K‐12 context, this study adopted a quasi‐experimental design involving two intact Grade 4 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes: one assigned as the experimental group ( n = 29) and the other as the control group ( n = 28). The experimental group received a 12‐week listening strategy intervention, whereas the control group followed the standard language curriculum. Data were collected using listening comprehension tests and cognitive interviews. Results indicated a statistically significant improvement in L2 listening comprehension and strategy use among the experimental group. Notably, participants demonstrated increased use of metacognitive strategies (i.e., self‐monitoring, self‐evaluation, directed and selective attention) and cognitive strategies (i.e., prediction, word recognition, and imagery) following the intervention.