EFL Learners' Agency, Perceptions, and Macro/Micro-Listening Processes in Mobile vs. Adaptive AI-Driven Aural Experiences

This study compares learners' agency, perceptions, and macro/micro-listening skills in different aural training modalities: mobile-assisted language learning and intelligent mobile-assisted language learning including adaptive artificial intelligence-generated listening material/activities. From a pool of 389 English as a foreign language (EFL) sophomores, 195 students participated. Within a mixed-methods study design, the listening tests scores were statistically analyzed using linear mixed effects models and linear regression tests. While immediate personalized and adaptive auditory exposure through intelligent mobile-assisted listening has a stronger positive effect on macro-listening processes, mobile-assisted listening has a comparable positive effect on the development of micro-listening skills. This suggests that the development of macro-listening processes is not simply a linear accumulation of micro-listening skills. Moreover, the inductive thematic qualitative data from the open-ended perceptions survey reveal new perspectives on how EFL learners practice agency employing their strategic competence to overcome the limitations of current artificial intelligence uses in EFL listening development.