Abstract. The study examines the effect of semantic pausing on listening comprehension and perceived mental effort among A2-level EFL learners. The study involved 24 first-year students aged 15-16 from a vocational college. A counterbalanced within-subject design was employed, in which participants listened to two A2-level texts in both an original condition and a semantic-pause condition. The semantic-pause versions contained additional one-second pauses inserted at predetermined semantic boundaries, while the lexical, grammatical, and informational content remained unchanged. After each listening task, participants completed a 10-item comprehension test and provided a 9-point rating of perceived mental effort. The results showed a statistically significant improvement in listening comprehension in the semantic-pause condition compared with the original condition. However, the difference in perceived mental effort was not statistically significant, although a slight descriptive reduction was observed. The findings suggest that semantic pausing may provide A2-level learners with additional processing time and support their comprehension of spoken English without necessarily reducing their subjective perception of mental effort. The study contributes to research on temporal modifications of spoken input and suggests that strategically placed pauses may be a practical way of adapting listening materials for lower-proficiency EFL learners.