Students’ Perceptions of Note-taking as a Listening Comprehension Strategy: A Mixed-methods Study of Vietnamese EFL Majors

Vol 9 No 7 (2026): Volume 09 Issue 07 July 2026

Article Date Published : 20 July 2026 | Page No.: 3912-3925 | Google Scholar | Crossref doi for this article

Abstract :

Note-taking is widely regarded as a critical strategy for supporting second-language listening comprehension, yet little is known about how Vietnamese English-major students themselves perceive its value and difficulty. This article investigated the perceptions of 150 third-year English majors at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) regarding the benefits and challenges of note-taking during English listening tasks. A mixed-methods design that combined a structured questionnaire with semi-structured interviews with 5 students was used thoroughly. Descriptive statistics showed that note-taking is a near-universal habit (83% of students reported taking notes “always” or “often”), predominantly practised with pen and paper (62%) rather than digital devices. Students overwhelmingly perceived note-taking as beneficial for comprehension, memory retention, information organisation, inferencing, test performance and sustained attention with agreement rates ranging from 84% to 93% across the measured benefits. At the same time, a substantial minority reported difficulties related to fast speech rate, unfamiliar vocabulary, divided attention and messy handwriting, particularly regarding missing subsequent information (29% agreement) and message overload at high speech rates (31% agreement). Interview data illuminated the cognitive and strategic mechanisms behind these patterns including code-switching, selective attention to discourse markers and compensatory strategies such as momentarily abandoning notes to preserve comprehension. The findings are interpreted through established learning theories, and practical implications for explicit note-taking instruction in EFL listening classrooms are discussed.

Keywords :

EFL listening classrooms, English major students, listening comprehension, note-taking, Perceptions

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Author's Affiliation

   Nguyen Ngoc Chau
Faculty of Foreign Languages, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH), Vietnam

   Nguyen Xuan Hong
Faculty of Foreign Languages, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH), Vietnam

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Nguyen Ngoc Chau, Nguyen Xuan Hong, 2026

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Students’ Perceptions of Note-taking as a Listening Comprehension Strategy: A Mixed-methods Study of Vietnamese EFL Majors. Nguyen Ngoc Chau, Nguyen Xuan Hong, 9(7), 3912-3925. Retrieved from https://ijcsrr.org/single-view/?id=26961&pid=26792

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