Listening is a critical skill in second language acquisition, yet it remains one of the most challenging for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, particularly college students who are developing higher-level academic listening skills. Traditionally, studies on listening comprehension focus on identifying barriers such as fast speech, unfamiliar vocabulary, or accents that hinder understanding. While these studies provide valuable insights, they often frame listening difficulties as external obstacles, overlooking the internal cognitive and affective processes learners experience while navigating these challenges. This study shifts the focus from identifying listening barriers to examining perplexity as a cognitive–affective experience among college-level EFL learners. Perplexity refers to moments of confusion, uncertainty, or mental overload that occur when learners process spoken English.

Using a qualitative research design, the study involves undergraduate students enrolled in an English course where podcasts are used as material for observation. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations of podcast-based listening activities submitted as part of students’ coursework. The findings aim to provide insights for designing listening tasks and assessment practices that better support learners during moments of confusion in L2 listening.