The objectives of this study are: (1) to study the problems of English listening improvement of the second-year Master of Arts students in linguistics, academic year 2015/17, (2) to investigate the causes of students’ perception of English listening improvement, (3) to propose how to overcome the difficulties of English listening improvement. The present study attempts to investigate the listening problems encountered by a group of the second-year Master of Arts students in linguistics 2015/17 at MCU. 30 students who took the listening course in 20015/17 were selected for the study. Data was gathered by means of questionnaires and interviews.

The results of the study showed that accent, pronunciation, speed of speech, insufficient vocabulary, and different accent of speakers, lack of concentration, and bad quality of recording were the major listening comprehension problems encountered by students in linguistics. Understanding students’ learning difficulties may enable linguistic teachers to help students develop effective learning strategies and ultimately to improve their English listening abilities. Suggestions are made for addressing problems regarding how teachers can help their students overcome listening comprehension problems. The results of this study may also be useful for participants who are interested in this field.

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