Abstract
This paper reports on a study which examined the nature of L2 listeners’ decoding problems as they strived to comprehend authentic input. Rather than employing psycholinguistic laboratory methods to investigate decoding issues, this study utilized a procedure pertinent for teachers operating within a L2 classroom environment. Groups of Japanese, adult, EFL learners watched a sequence of audio-visual segments from each of two news videotexts, and wrote extended responses reflecting their comprehension of the segments’ contents. Written responses indicative of decoding breakdowns were collated, and representative examples explored, explained, and discussed in terms of three potential problem sources identified in the literature: process, text, and intrusion problems. Based on this analysis, initial remedial action is recommended to address learners’ issues with cliticisation and resyllabification, discriminating various vowels and consonants, and ill-conceived word choices. Useful teaching resources are suggested for alleviating such concerns.

Key words: L2 listening, spoken word recognition, Japanese EFL learners