USING INTERACTIVE LISTENING ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE EFL LEARNERS' LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION: AN EXPLORATORY ACTION RESEARCH STUDY

Abstract

This study investigates how level-appropriate and interactive listening activities influence students' listening comprehension and classroom participation in an EFL context. Conducted over a four-month teaching practicum with 9th-grade students at School No. 33 in Yangiqo'rg'on district, the research employed an exploratory action research design. Data were collected through classroom observations, teacher reflective notes, and student surveys. Findings reveal that students experienced significant difficulties with fast speech, unfamiliar vocabulary, and traditional exercise-based listening tasks. Following the implementation of interactive listening activities — including games, group discussions, repeated listening practice, and vocabulary pre-teaching — student participation and engagement noticeably improved. The study contributes to understanding of listening instruction in low-resource EFL classrooms and offers practical recommendations for English language teachers working in similar contexts.