Abstract

Help options, or in-built application resources designed to provide assistance, have long been an integral component of computer-based second language (L2) listening materials. Despite their potential to promote comprehension and efficiency, research on the role of help options has lagged. Previous research has found that learners do not often make use of help options. With a focus on the interventions listeners may deem relevant for comprehension and task completion, the aim of this qualitative study is to examine the interactions of language learners as they use, or do not use, these potentially assistive resources. Data were gathered from 15 adult learners of English who worked with a set of Longman English Interactive (c) (2008) listening exercises over three one-hour sessions. Within two studies, each participant was interviewed on three and six different occasions. Through our cyclical analysis of the data, five themes emerged: Relevance, Challenge, Familiarity, Recovery and Compatibility. We define and discuss each theme, and we conclude the article with suggestions for further research.