Discourse type effects on EFL listening comprehension: cognitive load and metacognitive strategy shifts across scientific and literary texts

Abstract Background Discourse type can alter the demands placed on L2 listeners by changing coherence, rhetorical density, and the balance between meaning-driven and form-driven processing. Building on the Information-Rich Discourse Hypothesis, this study examines whether an information-rich scientific text and a rhetorically complex literary text produce different patterns of listening comprehension, perceived effort, and metacognitive strategy use among EFL learners. Methods Sixty undergraduate EFL learners completed a within-subjects listening task involving two counterbalanced discourse conditions (scientific vs. literary). Outcomes included comprehension accuracy, processing speed, self-reported cognitive load, and self-reported use of top-down versus bottom-up metacognitive strategies. Analyses used paired comparisons and repeated-measures modeling that accounted for order and individual differences (listening anxiety and receptive vocabulary knowledge as a lexical-coverage proxy). Results Listening to the information-rich scientific text resulted in significantly higher comprehension accuracy, faster processing, and lower cognitive load than listening to the rhetorically complex literary text. Strategy reports showed systematic adaptation across conditions, with greater reliance on top-down strategies in the scientific condition and greater reliance on bottom-up strategies in the literary condition. Individual differences were associated with variability in outcomes and strategy use; however, interpretations involving vocabulary are framed cautiously because the vocabulary measure reflects written receptive knowledge rather than phonological vocabulary access. Conclusion Discourse type exerts robust effects on EFL listening performance, perceived effort, and strategic regulation. These findings support the Information-Rich Discourse Hypothesis and underscore that listening success depends on an interaction between discourse characteristics, learner profiles, and strategic processing.