Kurdish EFL Students’ Attitudes towards the Use of Authentic Listening Materials in Improving their Oral Language Proficiency

Abstract

It is argued that supplementing EFL classes with authentic listening materials helps EFL students be equipped with necessary skills and prepares them for real-life situations. Additionally, such materials tend to increase EFL learners’ interest and motivation in language learning. This study aims to explore the attitude of Kurdish EFL university students regarding the importance of authentic listening materials for improving their language proficiency. Moreover, it seeks to investigate any potential challenges faced by Kurdish EFL university students when they are exposed to authentic listening materials. To achieve these aims, this study employed a mixed method research design using a questionnaire and interview questions. A total of 76 students from the University of Human Development in Sulaimani City participated in the study. Of these, 18 volunteers have been interviewed to provide further details to corroborate the collected data from the questionnaire. The questionnaire’s findings has revealed that the overwhelming majority of the respondents have a positive attitude towards authentic listening materials in EFL classes. The results further showed that more low-proficiency students reported difficulties, such as vocabulary and cultural obstacles than high-proficiency ones. The findings of the interviews mainly supported the questionnaire data. It can be concluded that the use of authentic listening materials could motivate Kurdish EFL university students and enhance their oral language proficiency. Therefore, communicative English classes at the tertiary level should be supplemented with authentic listening materials to prepare students for real-life communication.