The crucial role of listening skill in language learning has been well acknowledged, yet attention to this skill remains modest. Numerous studies investigating learners’ listening performance have identified listening strategies as a key factor contributing to the success of effective listeners. This study, using a Likert-scale questionnaire, examined the listening strategies employed by 81 Vietnamese English-majored students, which were divided into two groups - effective and less effective listeners based on an IELTS proficiency test. Findings showed that listening strategies were used at a relatively high level with the metacognitive group employed most frequently compared to cognitive and socio-affective strategies. Lowering anxiety, predicting and planning, resourcing, repetition, and cooperation were found most commonly employed individual strategies. Although no significant differences were found between the groups’ use of the three overarching strategy categories, several discrepancies were identified concerning their use of individual strategies, which provides important implications for listening pedagogical adjustments in this particular context.