Mediating Effect of Metacognition on the Relationship Between Listening Self-efficacy and L2 Listening Comprehension

Listening is an essential and challenging language skill to acquire when we learn a new language, but L2 listening has received much less attention than reading, writing, and speaking in L2 teaching. This study investigated the direct effect of listening self-efficacy and metacognition on L2 listening comprehension and tested the mediating effect of metacognition on the relationship between listening self-efficacy and L2 listening comprehension. Three hundred and thirty Chinese university students of English as a foreign language (EFL) participated in a questionnaire survey on listening self-efficacy and metacognition after taking an English listening comprehension test. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) showed that listening self-efficacy and metacognition were positive and significant predictors of L2 listening comprehension (β = 0.136 and β = 0.132, respectively). Moreover, metacognition partially mediated the relation between listening self-efficacy and L2 listening comprehension (β = 0.068). Implications for L2 listening research and instruction are considered.