The use of podcasts in improving 9th-grade students' listening skills at a private high school in Milagro City El uso de podcasts para mejorar las habilidades auditivas de los estudiantes de 9º grado en una escuela secundaria privada en la ciudad de Milagro

Abstract

In Ecuador, EFL learners perceive listening as one of the most complex skills to master. Due to the challenges that mastering this skill brings with it, the necessity to find effective solutions has been identified. Integrating technological tools such as podcasts is an effective way to enhance listening skills since they are highly motivating and engaging resources and they can be selected according to the EFL learners’ interests, levels, and age. Therefore, the present research, conducted at a private high school in Milagro City, Guayas, Ecuador, aimed to discover how effective the use of podcasts is in improving ninth-grade EFL students' listening skills. During the study, a quantitative approach was employed and the participants were 20 ninth-grade students whose ages ranged from 12 to 13 years old and were at an A1 proficiency level. According to the findings, during the pre-test, most participants obtained ‘fair’ and ‘poor’ scores; conversely, in the post-test, the majority upgraded to ‘fair’ and ‘good’ scores. Hence, it was concluded that there was a significant enhancement in the participants’ listening abilities after receiving listening lessons employing podcasts as the main teaching resource.