The Impact of Using Podcast Episodic Series of Spoken-Word Digital Audio on Improving Imam University EFL Beginners Listening Skills

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the role of podcasts on language development as an indirect educational approach to language in general and listening in particular among Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMISIU) EFL beginners. Thus, the purpose of this study lies in its potential effect on students of English by improving the process of introducing them to podcasts as a new input tool. Additionally, it examined how students perceived the use of audio-podcasts outside the classroom. Three questions were addressed in this study via a quantitative approach, a quasi-experimental pre/post-test method. These questions were: 1) What is the effect of using the Podcast Episodic Series of Spoken Word Digital Audio on developing the listening skills of Saudi undergraduate students? 2) How may the podcast facilitate the development of listening comprehension of Saudi undergraduate students? 3) What are Saudi university students’ attitudes towards integrating audio podcasts as a new input tool in the EFL classroom? Study participants in both experimental and control groups were 20 female students studying level two at the College of Languages and Translation (CLT), IMISIU in Saudi Arabia. The findings of the paired sample t-test method showed that there is a relationship between achieving high scores in the listening tests and implementing audio-podcasts as an indirect educational approach. A 10-item questionnaire was used to explore students’ attitudes toward the use of audio-podcasts by using the 5-point Likert scale. The findings showed that respondents have a positive attitude towards integrating audio podcasts as a new language input tool in the EFL classroom. The results also emphasize how imperative it is to incorporate podcasting into the process of developing listening skills to reduce anxiety among EFL learners, familiarize students with how to use the language in real-life situations, and learn the language from its native speakers.