Using Podcasts for Extensive Listening Practice: Effects on EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension and Motivation

This study explores how teaching podcasts as a listening strategy can improve the Iraqi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ listening comprehension and motivation. In this study, 80 female students from two separate private institutes in Baghdad took part in a quasi-experimental design research. Two groups of participants were developed (experimental and control). The experimental group received instruction about how to use podcasting while listening, whereas the control group was provided with traditional listening instructions. Data were gathered through use of the oxford placement test, IELTS listening tests, and the language motivation questionnaire. The results show that using podcasts improved overall performance on the part of participants in the experimental group and created increased motivation. The study highlights that the learning approach using podcasts helped the students from the experimental group perform better in the test and also enhanced motivation. It was found that the usage of podcast-based learning strategies would help the learners reduce anxiety and improve listeners' comprehension and that the approach would make the learners feel positively towards their abilities regarding learning English.