Listening ability is a fundamental skill for L2 language development but not enough is known about the factors which contribute most to its development. This study attempted to demonstrate the correlation between listening performance and bottom-up skills as well as the correlation between listening performance and metacognitive awareness. A comprehensive English course with 54 Japanese first-year university students participated in the study. Listening performance data was collected using the EIKEN Pre2 listening section, bottom-up skill data was collected using the Clear Listening Diagnostic Test and metacognitive awareness data was obtained with the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire. Results showed that the ability to correctly transcribe de-emphasized function words had a moderately strong correlation (r = 0.50) with listening performance. Also, a weak to moderate correlation (r = 0.31) was found between metacognitive awareness and listening performance. Questionnaire data revealed which strategies skilled and less-skilled listeners reported using most with implications for listening development.