Abstract:

Nowadays students have permanent access to media technologies and are exposed to a lot of authentic English content: TV programs, news videos and series. Technological advances give them an opportunity to watch videos and listen to podcasts on a daily basis. However, students of even a relatively high level of English experience difficulties in listening comprehension.

The objective of the research is to analyze various techniques which are used to develop listening comprehension skills among undergraduate students of upper-intermediate level. An in-depth analysis of the students' test results enabled the evaluation of the employed techniques.

The method of the research combined both quasi-experimental and reflective approaches. A total of 20 students of upper-intermediate level participated in the study. The paper provides a detailed description of the activities aimed at developing listening comprehension among upper-intermediate learners. The study also highlights the importance of the use of authentic listening material in an English course.

The research findings show that the suggested ways of improving the vocabulary and listening skills have a highly positive effect on the progress students have made during the course. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various listening activities, as well as opportunities for improvement by means of technologies available to teachers in a classroom.

Keywords:

Listening comprehension, english teaching, upper-intermediate, listening skills.