Multicultural Education ISSN: 10683844 Volume 6, Issue 1, 2020 _______________________________________________________________________________________ 105 The Effect of Applying the Discussion Strategy on Improving the Listening Comprehension Skills in the English Language among Students of Shoubak University College Waddah Mahmmoud AlBdour Article Info Abstract Article History Received: March10, 2020 The study aimed at identifying the effect of applying the discussion strategy on improving the listening comprehension skills in the English language among students of Shoubak University College in Jordan. The study adopted the quasi-experimental approach, and the study tool, prepared by the researcher himself, was set to test the listening comprehension skills. This tool was applied on a random sample of students of Shoubak University College during the academic year 2019-2020, and their number reached (60) male and female students. These students were divided into two groups, an experimental group consisting of (30) male and female students studied according to the discussion strategy and the control group consisting of (30) male and female students studied in the usual way. The findings of the study showed that there are statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the two groups on the listening skills test due to the variable method of teaching, and in favour of the experimental group. In light of the findings of the study, the researcher recommended both training teachers on using the discussion strategy in teaching the English language for its effectiveness in teaching and conducting studies dealing with introducing other teaching methods. Accepted: May 30, 2020 Keywords discussion strategy, listening comprehension skills, English language, Shoubak University College. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3866219 1. Introduction The English language has a distinguished position among the languages of the world nowadays. Being the most prevalent language in the world, we hardly see a country that does not teach English to its students in schools and universities for its status as a global language. Besides, English is the official language for many types of university fields of study such as science, medicine, engineering, economics, business administration, and other educational fields that many undergraduate students seek to study; therefore, if we want to keep pace with the scientific progress, then we must pay attention to teaching this language and learning its four skills: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Listening is one of the most important language arts. Since our childhood, we have been learning how to communicate with others through multimedia: speaking, writing, and reading because people use listening more than they use other language arts, and it is a necessary factor in the communication process (Al-Naqah and Al- Eid, 2009). Listening is one of the linguistic skills that affect an individual's contact with the outside world surrounding them. Individuals can acquire a number of vocabulary, patterns, structures, ideas, concepts, and develop language skills related to speaking, reading and writing. A person who distinguishes linguistic voices and who knows the main and secondary ideas of the topics he/she listen to, will be able to communicate with others, understand their opinions, and deal with them in a way that enables them to progress and continue in his/her scientific and practical life (Abu Al-Daba'at, 2007). The reading skill is related to the listening skill, which means that listening to a well-read text improves the level of reading skills for students. As a result, when students get to know their listening style, they can straighten themselves in listening and in other language arts. In addition, the teacher’s use of reading clearly and loudly shows good results in the students' reading as a result of their good listening to their teacher's reading (Kaplan & Tracey, 2007). Therefore, the listening skill is a complex skill in its nature. It includes the awareness of the spoken language symbols through auditory distinction and understanding of the meaning of these symbols, the awareness of the communicative function or "message" included in symbols or spoken speech, the interaction of the experiences carried in this message with the listener's experiences, values and standards, the criticism and evaluation of these experiences, and their judgment (Madkour, 2007). Success in teaching the listening comprehension skills depends on the teachers’ knowledge of the listening skills and their operations, their ability to design relevant and appropriate activities and trainings to employ these processes in learning situations, and their ability to design supportive language activities that are based on the