Listening is a fundamental skill for English communication. However, it is the least attentively learned skill in EFL classes in many Arab countries. Thus far, it is considered a challenging task for many Arab EFL learners. Different listening strategies have been shown to positively affect learners' performance in listening comprehension tasks. Given that, this study investigates the listening strategies employed by teachers, and those adopted by learners, in EFL 8th-grade classes, in two Arab countries - Kuwait and Jordan. In addition, this study evaluates the effect of training in cognitive and meta-cognitive listening strategies on 8th-grade EFL learners' performance in listening comprehension tasks. Two listening strategies questionnaires were used for data collection: a learners' questionnaire, and a teachers' questionnaire, adopted from Yi-Huang and Yen-Ling (2021) and Ozturk (2018). One hundred twenty-five 8th-grade teachers and eighty-two EFL 8th-grade learners completed the questionnaire. The learners' sample was divided into an intervention and a control group. The intervention group attended a training course on using cognitive and metacognitive listening strategies, for two months. In addition, the learners took pre- and post-tests in listening comprehension to find out whether training in listening strategies improved the intervention group's performance. The results showed moderate and unsystematic use of cognitive and meta-cognitive listening strategies by learners, as opposed to reported high levels of using listening strategies by teachers. In addition, the post-treatment results revealed a significant effect of the treatment on enhancing learners' use of listening strategies and learners' performance in listening comprehension tasks. Based on these findings, it is recommended to include listening strategy instruction as part of the English language syllabus in all Arab schools. Nevertheless, further research is needed to identify the more productive listening strategies, and the factors moderating the effect of these strategies. Keywords: listening skills, cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, listening comprehension performance.