Investigating Listening Comprehension Challenges in an Omani Higher Education Context

Listening is one of the challenging skills for students studying English as a foreign or second language. Omani students studying in the preparatory studies center face challenges in listening tests. Therefore, this study investigates the main challenges that level 2 Omani students face in listening tests conducted at a preparatory studies center in a higher educational (HE) institution in Oman, analyzing their mid-term test scores and survey responses. The study aims to identify the section that level 2 Omani students find most difficult in the listening test, the main challenges they face during these tests, and the relationship between students' test performance and their perceived difficulty. The study adopted a quantitative method. Quantitative data were collected from level 2 Mid-term listening test scores (N=459) and a self-prepared survey, which was administered to Level 2 Omani students in a preparatory studies center (N=179) of a HE academic institution. The findings from test scores revealed that students have difficulty answering section 3 (MCQs and completing the sentence). Still, the survey responses presented section 1 (True or False, MCQs, and Answering WH questions) as the most difficult. Additionally, a relationship was found between test scores and perceived difficulty, with higher-scoring groups reporting fewer difficulties than lower-scoring groups. Furthermore, the survey responses revealed several common challenges that students face in the speed of the speech, understanding the speaker's accent, and dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary. The findings underscore the need for targeted instructional strategies to enhance the listening skills and test performance of Level 2 Omani students.