Identifying the listening texts standards for Turkish language learners: A proposal for basic level

This study aims to examine the text features (such as average word length [AWL], average sentence length [ASL], speed, and text type) that affect the listening comprehension performance of A2-level learners of Turkish as a foreign language. It also explores the extent to which learners' and instructors' perceived text difficulty, as well as the reasons they attribute to these perceptions, predict listening comprehension performance scores. The research was conducted using a quantitative approach with a correlational design. Participants included A2-level Turkish learners and Turkish language instructors. Data collection tools consisted of a listening comprehension performance test and difficulty perception questionnaires. In the first phase, the linguistic features of the texts were analyzed, and their effects on learners' listening comprehension performance were assessed through multiple regression analysis. In the questionnaires, learners and instructors rated the difficulty levels of the selected texts and identified the text features they believed contributed to these difficulties. The findings revealed that speech rate was the most significant and negatively impactful factor on listening comprehension performance (β = -0.427, p < 0.05). Additionally, ASL and AWL were found to negatively affect listening performance. Text type was identified as a significant predictor, with narrative texts being easier to comprehend than informative texts. It was observed that learners' perceptions of text difficulty and the reasons they provided for these perceptions significantly predicted listening comprehension scores for some texts, though the effect varied depending on the text. The reasons provided by instructors for perceived difficulty significantly predicted the perceived difficulty level of the text, with instructors focusing more on linguistic features. A comparative analysis of difficulty perceptions and their underlying reasons showed that both learners and instructors emphasized "speech rate" as a critical factor. By emphasizing the fundamental variables of "listenability", this study is expected to contribute to the improvement of listening materials and teaching methods in Turkish as a second language.