Research with ESL students has begun to show that Chinese students experience particular challenges in English academic listening. This study focuses on their challenges as reported by Chinese ESL students in understanding English lectures. Seventy-eight Chinese ESL students at an American university participated in this study. This paper focuses on the effects of the following academic skills on Chinese ESL students' lecture comprehension: 1) text previewing, 2) note-taking, 3) short-term memory, and 4) English language skills. This paper also offers suggestions for Chinese ESL students about how to improve their academic skills for English lecture comprehension at American universities. (Contains 3 tables.)