Abstract

The current study reports on a group of Taiwanese college students’ first-person diary accounts of their private, transactional listening activities outside the classroom. Issues related to students’ material selection, listening problems, and perceived usefulness of keeping a listening diary were explored. It was found that most students chose audiovisual materials to listen to, and the most frequently chosen material was ted talks. In their diaries, the most frequently reported listening problems were unknown vocabulary and speed. Most students perceived the experience of keeping a listening diary positively. It was found that keeping a listening diary facilitated the development of future study plans, linguistic knowledge, listening and writing skills, and self-confidence. Data also suggest that students need to take more responsibility of their own learning to be able to benefit from the abundant resources available in the digital age. The study concludes with a set of recommendations to further the research on using listening diary as a pedagogical and research tool.

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