Listening anxiety in focus: the case of the foreign university students in the philippines

There is a good number of foreign students in many universities in the Philippines, but these students encountered listening dilemmas which hindered their learning. In this paper, the researcher randomly chose fifty (50) participants from 18 different nationalities to determine their listening anxiety levels, their causes, as well as the coping strategies they used in hurdling their listening difficulty. Using the measures of central tendency, the findings revealed that the foreign students’ listening anxiety in general is high due to three (3) main factors: teachers’ factors, environmental factors and, individual factors. As to their coping strategies, it came out that they used socio-affective strategies, meta-cognitive strategies, and cognitive strategies. Social and affective aspects, which involved asking for assistance and sharing of experiences, were dominantly employed by the students, followed the other two strategies. As conclusion, the participants’ anxiety levels differ in impact towards their studies, and they used varied coping strategies that effectively addressed their listening anxiety. Consequently, the result could build a listening dilemma-free learning experience. Recommendations and suggestions for further studies to prepare and assist international students were included for their seamless learning experience wherever they may go.