Early Listening Development in Multisensory Classrooms

Listening skills form a foundational component of early English language learning, supporting classroom participation and subsequent language development. Despite their importance, classroom-based evidence documenting listening skill development in early primary contexts remains limited, particularly where standardized assessment tools are impractical. This study examined observed changes in listening skills among Grade 1 learners participating in a structured multisensory English Language Teaching (ELT) programme. A quasi-experimental pre–post design was employed with a sample of 93 learners assigned to experimental and control groups. Listening performance was assessed using classroom-based observational rubrics encompassing auditory attention, sound discrimination, instruction following, and meaning response. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to examine patterns of listening performance across the instructional period. Results indicated incremental improvements in total listening scores for both groups. The experimental group demonstrated higher baseline listening performance and slightly greater consistency at post-test. Indicator-level analysis showed modest increases in auditory attention and meaning response, while instruction following remained stable and sound discrimination exhibited minimal variation. The magnitude of numerical change was constrained by high baseline scores and a compressed scoring scale. Rather than establishing causal effects, the findings provide descriptive evidence of listening skill stability and gradual development within a multisensory ELT context. The study highlights the feasibility of observational assessment for documenting early listening behaviours and offers pedagogically relevant insights for early primary English instruction.