This sequential mixed-methods study examined the effect of the use of advance organizers on a video-based listening comprehension task performed by 124 EFL college students in three experimental conditions. In the first phase, each participant completed an advance organizer activity, watched a video segment, took a listening comprehension test, and completed an attitude survey; the second phase consisted of a focus group discussion, which was used to assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of the quantitative data so as to arrive at a more comprehensive analysis. The results showed that students performed best when they had question preview (QP) as an advance organizer prior to viewing the target video, moderately well when they had summary of major scenes (SMS) with accompanying pictures, and poorest when they had cultural background cues (CBC). Statistical analyses indicated that the QP Group was significantly different from the other two groups; however, the SMS Group and the CBC Group did not differ significantly. The implications of this study and suggestions for future research on the use of advance organizers in the second/foreign language classroom are discussed.