聽力技巧不論對於母語(First language)或第二語言習得(Second language acquisition)均扮演著相當重要的角色。藉由聽力技巧的訓練，學生們不但能更加熟習聽力技巧，還能用英語表情達意。近年來，聽力的學習因為發達的電腦科技以及網際網路的問世變得更加方便也更具彈性。先前的研究已指出學生們對於使用線上教材和聽力網站抱持著非常正面的態度。然而，少有研究在瞭解學生的態度之外更進一步評量這些教材的益處。此外，新科技雖然提供教師們選擇教材的新方向，但由於教材品質不明，在選擇時也常遭遇困難。同時，相關文獻雖已指出許多形成聽力困難的因素，這些因素卻尚未用以建構一套評量聽力教材的裝置。鑑於先前研究的不足以及評量聽力教材工具的需要，這份研究旨在探討線上聽力教材對學生聽力發展的影響以及提出一個以三個影響聽力的因素構成之評量聽力教材難易度的公式。藉著此公式，我們架構了一聽力網站以訓練學生的聽力，同時也藉著學生們在網站上的活動記錄瞭解評量教材公式以及現在教材的效用。此研究的聽力網站是用MOODLE平台所架構而成，包含了六十六篇使用評量公式所排序之由易至難的聽力文章以及其MP3檔和測驗題目。我們將此網站融入一聽講課程當中，讓十八位學生作為十一週的課後練習。每一週提供六篇練習，學生被指定完成三篇，餘三篇則供自由練習。聽力問題主要針對五種聽力技能訓練：聽取文章大意(listening for main idea)、聽取文章細節(listening for details)、理解說話者的意圖(interpreting the speaker’s intent)、推論(making inferences)、以及概述聽力文章內容(summarizing)。學生線上練習的成效、教材益處，以及公式效用透過以下工具評量：一份作為前測、後測的聽力測驗、學生們在網站上的週表現、一份難易度問卷以及一份評量問卷。研究的流程如下：學生接受前測，接著進行十一週的線上練習。為了瞭解公式效用，學生完成每週練習後必須填寫一份難易度問卷。最後，為了評量學生是否從線上教材中獲益，我們實施後測，同時也讓學生填寫評量問卷以瞭解其對線上教材的看法。
本研究共有四項重要發現。首先，研究結果顯示這些線上聽力教材對學生聽力確有助益。經過十一週的練習，學生們整體聽力以及聽取文章細節和概述文章技巧上有顯著進步。其他三項技巧的進步則未達顯著。第二、在將學生依能力和勤奮程度分組後，我們並未發現這樣的學習者差異對學生的後測成就有所影響。第三、由於學生們對於難易度的感知以及週表現似乎與評量公式的排序不一致，我們的公式似乎還需未來之修正改進。最後，基於學生們在評量問卷中的回答，我們發現學生對於線上教材抱持著非常正面的態度，同時也更佳明瞭線上教材的益處。以上結果顯示將線上聽力教材納入課程是可行的，部分不明確的結果也指出聽力學習的複雜度。
本研究明確指出將線上聽力教材納入聽力課程的益處，也對聽力評量裝置做了初步探索，希望能對聽力教學有所助益。鑑於聽力學習的複雜，我們也提供了未來發展方向以期將來的研究能更加深入瞭解聽力學習。

Listening is critical to language acquisition not only in first language, but in second language and foreign language as well. With the help of skill training, learners are able to become more proficient in listening and consequently in using the target language. In recent years, advanced computer technology and the advent of Internet have made the learning of listening more accessible and flexible. Previous studies have shown that learners held very positive viewpoints to online listening materials and listening websites. However, few of them attempted to measure to what extent the online listening materials could benefit the learners. Likewise, while online materials and multimedia CD-ROM can serve as alternative instructional materials, they also pose a question of materials selection. Meanwhile, though factors contributing to listening difficulties have been identified in much literature, a grading mechanism specifically for ‘listening’ which operationalizes these factors is still virtually unavailable.
Given the research gaps and the pedagogical need for a grading mechanism, the present study aims to examine to what extent online listening materials can benefit the learners in their listening, and to propose a formula to grade listening texts by manipulating the weights of three difficulty factors: speech rate, syntactic complexity, and academic word ratios. Based on the proposed formula, a listening website with graded listening materials was constructed for the learners to enhance their listening ability. The website, Freshmen Listening, constructed using the MOODLE platform (a open source software for course management), contained sixty-six listening texts with their MP3 files and comprehension check questions which were sequenced from easy to difficult. To the purpose of enhancing the learners’ listening ability, the website was infused into a listening and speaking course for the learners to do self study for eleven weeks. Each week, six listening texts with their MP3 files and comprehension questions were presented to the learners, of which three were required and the rest were optional. The comprehension questions were designed specifically for the training of five listening skills: listening for main ideas, listening for details, interpreting the speaker’s intent, making inferences, and summarizing.
Various instruments were used to measure the learners’ achievement, material usefulness, and the formula usefulness: an independent listening test administered before and after the project, learners’ scores on the weekly listening tasks, an evaluation questionnaire, and a weekly difficulty questionnaire. Eighteen English-majored freshmen were recruited as participants in this study. At the beginning, the pretest was administered to understand the learners’ beginning level. Then, the learners were asked to do the online listening tasks and respond to the weekly difficulty questionnaire every week for eleven weeks. This was to trace the learners’ improvement and thus the material usefulness, and to understand formula usefulness. After the eleven-week period, the posttest and the final evaluation questionnaire were administered in order to understand the learners’ improvement in their listening ability, also their perceptions of the material usefulness and formula usefulness.
Four major findings were obtained in this study. First, the online listening materials were useful in enhancing the learners’ listening ability both in overall ability and in specific listening skills: listening for details, and summarizing. For the rest skills, significant improvement was not found. This may in part due to the uneven distribution of the question number for each skill. Nevertheless, whereas pre- and post-test comparison revealed significant improvement of the learners, we did not find supportive answer to the material usefulness based on the learners’ weekly performance on the listening tasks. This indicated that learning of listening is more complicated than we have understood. Secondly, by classifying the learners depending on their proficiency and diligence levels, we did not find such learner differences affecting their achievement in the posttest. One explanation for this finding may be that, as the learners were of different proficiency levels, our listening materials also included a wide range of difficulty, and hence, were beneficial to all the learners. Regarding diligence level, the different start points of both groups may in part account for the insignificant difference of posttest achievement between groups. Thirdly, concerning formula usefulness, the formula seemed to need further refinement since supportive answers were not found either in the learners’ weekly performance or from their perceptions reported in the questionnaires. Combined effect of online practice and classroom learning may be one explanation for this finding. Finally, learners seemed to hold very positive attitudes to the use of online materials. In the evaluation questionnaire, the high ratings and comments given by the learners revealed that after the project, they became aware of the potential benefits brought by the online materials.
Based on the results, it is undeniable that online materials were beneficial to learners. Yet, bearing in mind the inconclusive finding concerning the learners’ weekly performance and the formula usefulness, it should be noted that learning of listening, listening difficulty are more complex issues than we have assumed. Limitations and directions for future research were given at the end of the study. It is expected that the pioneer effort made by this study could shed light in the teaching of listening and in listening difficulty literature.

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