Senior english majored students benefits and difficulties using podcasts to improve listening skill a survey at banking academy of vietnam

BANKING ACADEMY OF VIETNAM FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ---o0o--- GRADUATION THESIS SENIOR ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS' BENEFITS AND DIFFICULTIES USING PODCASTS TO IMPROVE LISTENING SKILL

BANKING ACADEMY OF VIETNAM FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-o0o -

GRADUATION THESIS

SENIOR ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS' BENEFITS AND DIFFICULTIES USING PODCASTS TO IMPROVE LISTENING SKILL: A SURVEY AT BANKING ACADEMY OF VIETNAM

Supervisor : M.A Tran Thi Thu Thuy Student name : Bui Phuong Anh

Class : K21ATCA Faculty : Foreign Languages Student code : 21A7510001

HANOI 2022

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, Bui Phuong Anh, hereby strongly confirm that this whole graduation thesis entitled

“Senior English-majored students' benefits and difficulties using podcasts to improve listening skill: A survey at Banking Academy of Vietnam” is the production of my original research work

This paper is based on my reading and comprehension of the original text All the sources either cited or quoted in this paper are fully acknowledged in “References''

This paper has not been submitted to any institutions but only Banking Academy of Vietnam

Hanoi, May, 2022

Bui Phuong Anh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I could not have finished this work if I had not received great support and guidance from my supervisor, Ms Tran Thi Thu Thuy (MA) She has been a really patient and caring supervisor, ma’am I would like to express my sincere gratitude to her for always pushing me forward and giving me the best advice

I want to express my thankfulness toward my friends and all the students under the Faculty of Foreign Language of the Banking Academy of Vietnam for participating

in the investigation Without their unmeasurable help, I could not have made my research become what it is called, literally

Also, I would like to send my sincere thanks and gratitude to my family, my mom,

my dad and my little sister who have been by my side and encouraged me throughout the stressful making period of this paper

ABSTRACT

Application of podcasts in language learning has been executed for many years since the advent of this means of media Specifically, using podcasts to learn listening is one of the most common practices that students studying English can have access to Realizing the above mentioned facts, the author decided to conduct this thesis This research aims to investigate how ATC students approach and regard podcasts, especially the already available ones that can be easily found online nowadays, as a material to gain better listening skill in English Furthermore, the difficulties they confront when processing this material is also brought into investigation

To serve for the investigation, this research is utilized with a questionnaire which records the responses of 113 ATC students who completed three Listening courses and data is processed and analyzed in quantitative method The questionnaire mainly includes questions for students to give information about their access to podcasts, self-evaluation the listening benefit of podcasts and list out their drawbacks of practicing listening with podcasts

The result of this research shows that most students realized that podcasts are free source for improving their listening skills However, they mostly suffered from being overwhelmed by the huge amount of information delivered in the podcasts

Key words: podcasts, listening skill, English-majored students

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF FIGURES vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Objectives of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Significance of the study 3

1.5 Scope and limitation of the study 3

1.6 Structure of the study 4

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Listening skill 5

2.1.1 Definition of listening skill 5

2.1.2 Importance of listening skill 6

2.1.3 Strategies of learning listening skill 7

2.1.4 Difficulties of learning listening skill 8

2.2 Podcasts 9

2.2.1 Definition of podcasts 9

2.2.2 Types of podcasts 10

2.3 Podcasts in language learning 11

2.4 Podcasts in learning listening skill 14

2.4.1 Use of podcasts in learning listening skill 14

2.4.2 Benefits of podcasts in learning listening skill 15

2.4.3 Difficulties of podcasts in learning listening skill 16

2.5 Previous study 17

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Research setting and participants 19

3.1.1 Research setting 19

3.1.2 Participants 19

3.2 Data collection instruments 20

3.2.1 Research Instrument 20

3.2.2 Description of Survey Questionnaire 20

3.3 Procedure of data collection 23

3.4 Validity and reliability 24

CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS 25

4.1 Podcasts access of English-majored students at Banking Academy 25

4.2 Benefits of using podcasts to learn listening skill 26

4.3 Difficulties of using podcasts to learn listening skill 30

CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 32

5.1 Discussion 32

5.1.1 Podcasts access of English-majored students at Banking Academy 32

5.1.2 Benefits of using podcasts to learn listening skill 32

5.1.3 Difficulties of using podcasts to learn listening skill 34

5.2 Recommendations 35

CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSIONS 38

6.1 Summary of results 38

6.2 Conclusion 38

REFERENCES 40

APPENDICES 47

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1.1 Devices used to access to podcasts

Figure 4.1.2 Time (per week) spent on listening to

podcasts Figure 4.2.1 Students’ acknowledgement of podcasts

in improving listening skill Figure 4.2.2 Mean range of rating scale of the survey Figure 4.2.3 Benefits of using podcasts to learn

listening skill Figure 4.2.4 Students’ willingness to continue using

podcasts to learn listening skill Figure 4.3.1 Difficulties encountered when using

podcasts to learn listening skill

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

This chapter gives a dedicated introduction about the background information, reasons for the topic decision, objectives, significance as well as scope and limitation

of the study

1.1 Background of the study

Being able to use English proficiently is the common goal of students who major in English as a second language One key factor is to have high competence in listening skill You can only give good outputs when you process the input thoroughly However, listening skill is considered as a hard-to-achieve skill by the relatively major number of EFL learners Although English-majored students are offered standardized courses in essential language skills in college, the amount of class time

is limited and not enough for students to have further practice at school Students would have to self-learn the skills outside the classroom to further improve their skills Furthermore, non-native learners have to face the issue of finding the ultimate sources for their learning as most of them do not have the opportunity to be surrounded by native speakers – the best environment to learn listening skills Since non-native learners also receive teaching from non-native teachers, students tend to reach out for learning sources that are created by native speakers

Thanks to the development of high technology in the 21st century, people can easily get exposed to other nations' cultures through media It is commonly seen that learning through movies and music is constantly shared as a strategy to learn language, especially for English listening skill It can be argued that English is one of the most popular international languages Besides, developed countries whose official languages include English like America and The UK usually have their media flourished in all kinds and forms These facts imply that there are huge sources of English listening materials offered through online access

In recent years, new tools, especially technology related ones, have been applied in learning languages, especially in learning listening skills One of them is the newly rising podcasts Podcasts, first introduced in 2004, are soon mentioned as a strategy

to learn languages Podcasts have become a common means to practice and enhance necessary skills in English nowadays Podcasts are an increasing kind of media that offers aural input Therefore, they have a high chance of being used in learning listening skill, especially as a self-practice outside of the classes

The listening skill in general is a hard-to-achieve skill toward senior EFL students at

BA There are numerous recent studies conducted by alumni about the problems EFL students at BA have encountered when learning this skill Taking initiative in practicing is the common advice when students want to improve their language skill There are numerous ways for students to practice listening on their own From the observation of the author, who is also an English-majored senior at BA, students have reached out for different sources for listening Living in the year of 2022, college students tend to possess mobile devices that are utilized with audio playing features, and English-majored seniors at Banking Academy are not exceptional to this Students tend to be regular visitors of streaming platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, TED or broadcasting websites and apps like BBC, CNN where they go for English music and videos Podcasts are also published on these platforms; therefore, students can get acquainted with podcasts very easily As a result, podcasts become

a source for listening for English-majored students

1.2 Objectives of the study

There are two main objectives in this study Firstly, the research aims to investigate the benefits that podcasts bring to students in the Faculty of Foreign Language at Banking Academy when they are used to learn listening skill Secondly, the research aims to clarify the difficulties the students can encounter during the process of using podcasts to learn listening skill Some solutions will be recommended to help reduce the difficulties The research is executed with the expectation that students are able firstly to regard podcasts as a beneficial tool for self-learning listening skill; and secondly to determine the limitations of the use to find a better approach Also, it is expected that teachers can use this research as a reference and a recommendation for teaching and learning methods to obtain a better performance in listening

1.3 Research questions

As stated in the objectives of the study, there are two categories to be figured out: the benefits and difficulties of using podcasts in improving listening skill of senior English-majored students at BA To achieve this goal, two research questions are specifically addressed as bellow:

1 What are the benefits of using podcasts to improve listening skills?

2 What are the difficulties of using podcasts to improve listening skills?

1.4 Significance of the study

Listening skill is considered a difficult English skill for EFL students This study is hoped to contribute in helping not only EFL students but also the educators in minimizing the burden of teaching and learning listening skill According to the study's results, it is expected that EFL students and teachers may be more aware of the benefits of podcasts for improving listening skills As a result, it can be encouraged to think about using the method in listening lessons Eventually, regulators, educators, and professors will find this information beneficial in developing instructional curricula for pupils Moreover, since this study investigated the use of podcasts without academic instructions from teachers among students, it is also encouraged that the practice can be considered as an effective self-learning method for students, especially those in colleges

1.5 Scope and limitation of the study

The study refers to the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing podcasts to learn listening skills among senior students majoring in English at Banking Academy's Faculty of Foreign Languages who had completed all three listening courses As a result, the focus was on establishing the method's advantages and disadvantages A survey was done to gather information about the benefits and problems they are aware of To meet the study's goal, the research data would be examined

However, due to several limitations on time, references, and the researcher's understanding, the research paper has several drawbacks To begin with, the mismatch in the actual and expected number of participants, which are 113 and 150

respectively, can lead to less persuasive results Secondly, the close-ended questions were applied for most of the questions in the research questionnaire, including questions of the benefits and difficulties, which can make it difficult for the author to discover predetermined benefits and difficulties and gain fully reflected Finally, due

to the problematic pandemic circumstances, the author was unable to use additional research tools such as interviews and listening tests to produce a more detailed study conclusion

1.6 Structure of the study

This study is consisted of five main chapters as follows:

Chapter I - Introduction lists out all of the following content: background information, reasons for the topic decision, objectives, significance as well as scope and limitation of the study

Chapter II - Literature review presents the former theories covering the topic, namely listening skill, podcasts and its use in language learning and especially listening skill Chapter III - Research methodology is the chapter including the Research setting and participant, data collection instruments and procedure of data collection In addition,

it also explains the validity and reliability of this research

Chapter IV – Data analysis gives visualization and analysis of the data collected Chapter V – Discussion and recommendations specifies the purpose as well as implication of the answers to the research questions Moreover, it also provides some recommendations based on the previous results Limitations of this study are also included as a basis for suggesting further research

At last, Chapter VI – Conclusions summarizes briefly the results of this study and finally concludes the research

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

The chapter features a review and analysis of relevant literature that provides a basis for this research’s issue This chapter gives definition Listening skill, podcasts, and involves use of podcasts in language learning, especially in learning listening skill

2.1 Listening skill

2.1.1 Definition of listening skill

According to Shafiee & Salehi (2019), listening as a term can have different definitions Brown & Yule (1983) defined it as an ability that a person perceives and indoctrinates the text through hearing Driven & Oakeshott-Taylor (1984) define it as

a series of teaching methodology and language processes including speech understanding, spoken language understanding, speech recognition, and speech perception Rost (2002) and Hamouda (2013) explain listening as an interactive process in which listeners construct meaning Listeners realize the oral input through sound discrimination, previous knowledge, grammatical structures, stress and intonation, and the other linguistic or non-linguistic clues According to Nadig (2013), listening skill is a precondition for comprehending spoken language

Listening skill varies as the context of communication differs Five types of hearing are proposed by Wolvin & Coakley (1988) Discriminative hearing, for starters, aids listeners in distinguishing between facts and views Second, thorough listening aids comprehension of oral information Third, critical listening enables listeners to consider the content of an incoming message before accepting or rejecting it Fourth, therapeutic listening acts as a sounding board and does not include any form of criticism Finally, appreciative listening allows listeners to appreciate input and acquire emotional responses All of the many types of listening illustrate that hearing

is an active rather than a passive process Listening, according to Wolvin & Coakley (1988), is the process of making sense of oral input by paying attention to the message, responding to spoken communication Listeners should be active participants in the communication process

2.1.2 Importance of listening skill

Listening skill has the central role in second and foreign language learning today and appropriate listening comprehension instruction is significant for target language competence (Morley, 2001) According to Abdulrahman et al (2018), listening is important in communicating with others Feyten (1989) shows that listening is used more than 45% in communication Rankin (1926) points out that listening skill was the most dominant skill for the mode of human communication Listening skill occupies almost 50% of our daily communications In this regard, Ralph & Stevens (1957) and Rankin (1930) reporte that listening covers 46% of daily communication According to Quasim & Fadda (2013) listening plays a vital role in language learning Hasan (2000) states that listening comprehension is the process of two-way interaction between the listener and the listening content This process of "hearing" and "understanding" is done when the listener selects and interprets the information received by the auditory organ and other given visual signs in order to understand the message In many studies, listening comprehension is the most important language skill and the most used language skill that deserves special attention Listening skill

is a must when it comes to perceive language and improve language ability (Rubin & Thompson, 1994)

Yurko & Styfanyshyn (2020) list some reasons to emphasize the importance of listening skill Firstly, listening skill is the most frequently used language skill As learners gain the essential skills for effective listening, the feedback learners receive

on our performance as language listeners will assist us in correcting our errors and increasing our drive to continue studying, as well as helping them gain more confidence in speaking the language Secondly, students can revise their language usage mostly through listening skill When listening, they are consistently reviewing

a lot of crucial language usage such as vocabulary, grammatical structures, intonation, accent and our own interpretation as well as general knowledge Having good listening skill can train attention Lastly, students can learn the segmentation rules through listening skill Listening is a vital step to become familiar with the segmentation rules for how the foreign language is spoken

2.1.3 Strategies of learning listening skill

Bottom-up and top-down interactive models are often mentioned in teaching listening (Anusiené & Kavaliauskiené, 2009; McBride, 2009) Bottom-up skills are to listen to sounds, perceive and analyze words and sentences among them Top-down skills required listeners to have comprehension of general knowledge and background information to activate in order to interpret spoken messages (McBride, 2009) Anusiené & Kavaliauskiené (2009) expresses that neither of these models is the remedy for listening learning They aime at a model comprising contextualized, individual, social, cultural, affective, strategic and critical dimensions Thus, they suggest audio from the Internet - the ideal source that is increasingly popular McBride (2009), on the other hand, emphasizes the role of bottom-up skill and suggests ways to obtain it: through focused listening activities which direct the learner's attention on specific features of the aural input, and through extensive exposure to authentic speech

In listening, the major points include determining a reason for listening, predicting information, attempting to organize information, assigning a meaning to the message, and transferring information from short-term memory to long-term memory (Kavaliauskienė, 2008) It is also said that memory limits, vocabulary knowledge and its recognition, authenticity of listening materials, intonation and pronunciation are crucial factors affecting listening process

The most common strategy to improve listening skill, or any other skills, is practicing Successful listening skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice (Rivers, 1992) According to Susser & Robb (1989), extensive listening is defined as an individualized listening activity with large amounts of target language input of learners’ interests and at their levels Extensive listening involves “automaticity of recognition of words in their spoken form, in turn leading to improved aural fluency and thus improvement in overall comprehension” (Brown, 2007, p 15) The method

is backed up by several authors: “Practice is the most important thing The more listening the better, and the subskills will take care of themselves as they become automatized” (Ridgway, 2000, p 180), “just like reading, listening is best learnt through listening” (Renandya & Farrell, 2011, p 56)

Technology offers great remedies for language learning, especially listening skill Artyushina & Sheypak (2011) conduct a review of how to get over difficulties in listening, and develop listening skills with the help of mobile phones outside the classroom, in which they mention podcasts Field (2008) develops an independent learning approach aiming to equip learners with the ability to continue learning after they complete language courses and when the teacher is not there to assist them Extensive listening is used to foster independent learning and podcasts are the rich target language input needed for this approach Podcasts are also recommended in

other research on English listening skill The use of podcasts for extensive learning

is studied by Yeh (2013) Podcasts could encourage self-regulated learning outside

the classroom (Brown, 2007; Al-Fadda & Al-Qasim, 2013; Yoestara & Putri, 2018)

Reasons and motivations for self-practicing listening can lie in the large number of students per class, limited time allocated to learn English in class, which leads to students’ poor listening performance Students should learn English listening independently by using podcasts, particularly outside the classroom due to the convenience that podcasts offers, such as 24/7 accessibility, automaticity, simplicity and portability, allowing students to listen to English language repeatedly at almost anytime and anywhere (Hasan & Hoon, 2013) This self-regulated listening activity will likely result in English improvement, particularly because the students are responsible and have control over their own learning in terms of choosing what, when, and where to listen from the podcasts (Istanto, 2011) Podcasts enable students

to practice listening in a self-directed manner and at their own pace (Kavaliauskienė, 2008)

2.1.4 Difficulties of learning listening skill

Listening is regarded as a hard-won English skill for non-native speakers Quasim & Fadda (2013) and Kavaliauskienė (2008) argue that when students are required to quickly process the information they just have heard and not understood, they tend to experience mental blocks that negatively affect their motivation Kavaliauskienė (2008) defines listening as “an active and demanding process of selecting and interpreting information from auditory and visual clues” (p 3)

According to Artyushina & Sheypak (2011), listening is the only kind of speech activity where practically nothing depends on the listening person In general, the difficulties that can hinder listening proficiency The first difficulty is the speed delivery as the speech rate of a native speaker often seems too rapid to a foreigner and there is lack of control over speed (Artyushina & Sheypak 2011; Azmi et al 2014; Buck 2001) The impossibility for learners to have words repeated is also a problem toward listening skill (Artyushina & Sheypak 2011; Azmi et al 2014) Limitation in learner vocabulary and grammar can affect listening proficiency (Hasan 2000; Buck 2001; Graham 2006; Artyushina & Sheypak 2011; Azmi et al 2014) Lack of cross-cultural or contextual knowledge is another drawback of EFL students when learning listening skill (Artyushina & Sheypak 2011; Buck 2001) Length of spoken passages also prevent students from using their listening proficiently (Azmi

et al 2014; Hasan 2000) Unfamiliar accents are factors hindering students from capturing and understanding the spoken text (Buck 2001; Bloomfield et al 2010; Azmi et al 2014) The spoken language varies differently from the written language and individual style of the oral speech which makes it hard for students to understand what they are listening to (Bloomfield et al 2010; Artyushina & Sheypak 2011)

devices, including a desktop computer Similarly, Abdulrahman et al (2018) mention that podcast was defined as an internet audio blogging or internet audio publishing that can be downloaded and listened to on a portable mp3 player or on a computer According to Constantine (2007), users can subscribe to a podcast through an RSS subscription (Really Simple Syndication) charge-freely to get the episodes automatically downloaded whenever a new one is out

McBride (2009) defines podcasts at a broader scale Podcasts can be downloadable sound files on the Internet, without them needing to be either syndicated, nor one in

a series of episodes, although both features are common Adopting this broader meaning, podcasts become more potential resources for educational purposes Furthermore, besides professionally-made podcasts, there is a wide variety of podcasts, which focus more on personal, social, and entertainment reasons, produced

by individuals When looking for a podcast, having a podcast directory or searching

on Google are effective and easy ways By following these, users do not have to download the podcasts but still get facilitated

2.2.2 Types of podcasts

According to Sze (2006) and Rosell-Aguilar (2007), there are two kinds of podcasts for language learning, which are the available ones on the Web and the ones created for learning The podcasts available that can be found online are conducted by native speakers without the aim of teaching and learning language, while the other kind is usually created by teachers and students to serve their educational goals

The available source that can be found online is mainly regarded as “radio podcasts” and “independent podcasts or Web-based podcasts” (Sze, 2006, p 117), “authentic content” like news or radio programming and “language courses or teaching content” (Rosell-Aguilar, 2007, p 475)

Similarly, Stanley (2006) separates podcasts for English learners into three kinds: authentic podcasts such as radio programmes, podcasts produced by teachers to provide students with listening content and podcasts produced by students to let them practice on their interest

Podcasts can be in different formats Chan et al (2007) state that they include pure audio podcasts, video podcasts and enhanced podcasts such as pictures and slideshows, however, audio podcasts are the most popular source due to its cost-effectiveness and easy production (Dennett et al (2008))

Abdulrahman et al (2018) distinguish casual radio and podcast Listeners can access

to select their favorite program according to their convenience Being delivered online automatically via a website, podcasts are different from other audios Podcast

is a series of sound files that consist of educational information in a comprehensive manner to make the user an advanced learner

2.3 Podcasts in language learning

Kargozari & Zarinkamar (2014) conclude that the use of podcasts in class in learning vocabulary is extensively more viable than the traditional procedures utilized Alfian

et al (2019) shows that podcasts were an effective media to teach and learn English Students are interested in podcasts which have good effects on their language skill Furthermore, podcasts can deliver knowledge for the listener This statement is in line with Xiangming et al (2020) In addition, Knight (2010) found that podcasts can develop student phonetics’ ability

According to Abdulrahman et al (2018), listening is examined in relation not only to comprehension but also to language learning Teaching listening requires part of the teacher more than that of the learners One of the main principles of teaching listening

is that language material should be intended for training listening comprehension and

it should never be presented visually first Therefore, audio listening is a great tool to achieve this objective

Schmit (2005) mentions that teachers evaluate podcasts as curriculum supplements,

an authentic tool for assessment and professional development

Freely available podcasts are a generous resource for classroom teachers These podcasts offer great supplementary vocabulary and grammar lessons that teachers can make use of for different teaching purposes Moreover, podcasts can be integrated as part of class time or as a strategy to extend learning

Schmit (2005) and Abdulrahman et al (2018) see that podcast is the primary source,

or in other words, authentic resources from native speakers and cultures, such as news broadcasts, political and cultural dialogues, and travel audio blogs These help students improve perspectives and experiences in listening to language Teachers need to give their students instructions of the language they are studying Schmit (2005) states that podcasts offer introductory exposure to language instruction Podcasts production is considered as a tool to assess student learning This is handy for teachers to increase accuracy and effectiveness when assessing students’ spoken language Furthermore, not only obtaining audio portfolios, students can integrate every aspect of language acquisition including grammar, vocabulary, oral reading, writing, and culture when producing podcasts (Schmit, 2005)

Schmit (2005) suggests that teachers use podcasts to create a channel of content available to the entire membership to help students increase flow of ideas and have more consistent access to professional development materials and experience them whenever they like

According to Kaplan-Leiserson (2005), podcasting can be an excellent technology for language learning Students not only listen to speech and pronunciation but also,

in combination with a recording device, capture their own speech for review by themselves or a teacher

Lu (2007) agrees that by transcribing, identifying vocabulary and grammar along with discussing the topic, students can gain confidence in their ability to comprehend English overall

Rosell-Aguilar (2007) reports in his paper about the benefits of podcasts that can be contributed to language learning The first benefit is that the podcast's format is portable, convenient and easy to use since users can download and take away the

podcasts to listen to anywhere In addition, podcasts listeners can pause, forward, or

skip in order to control the pace, which supports learning preferences and contributes

to reduced dependence on physical materials This aligns with research of Quasim & Fadda (2013) and Istanto (2011) which promote self-paced learning by podcast The second benefit is that podcasts are attractive since portable media players are widely owned and podcasts can be obtained easily It makes listening to an educational

learning object less like studying The third benefit is that podcasts give motivation

as podcasts are in a new format, which could be motivating and help them engage with materials Being cost-effective is another benefit because it is free to download these learning materials Another benefit is that public podcasts give visibility to the individuals and institutions that provide them Besides, podcasts allow lectures to focus on interaction and other work can be shifted to outside times and locations as well as integrating in-class and out-of-class activities and materials Gromik (2008) concludes that podcasting provides learners with “full access authentic resources” in non-English speaking contexts (p 47) Constantine (2007) points out that language learners from different levels can benefit from podcasts Podcasts offer general listening and exposure to new languages to beginners, authentic materials and exposure to a variety of voices to the intermediate, and great options for materials based on one’s need for the advanced Besides listening skills, podcasts also bring benefits on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, speaking, grammar, writing skills, knowledge (Istanto, 2011; Artyushina et al, 2011; Chan et al, 2011)

Rosell-Aguilar (2007) also accumulates the challenges of using podcasts Regarding the use in teaching, teachers have to increase their workload for creating the content

of podcasts Technically challenge is a common drawback, mentioned by various researchers (Hur & Suh, 2012) Students can not be familiar with how to search for podcasts or how to filter out the sources that are suitable for their need and level (McBride, 2009) There is a threat that the role of podcasts can somehow replace the traditional class and the students as a consequence, will lose motivation to go to classes (Blaisdell, 2005) The podcasts in the form of audio may not attract visual learners (Clark & Walsh, 2006) Jennings (2004) states that it is hard to skim to check the content of podcasts and its suitability or appropriateness for purpose; thus, it can

be disappointing and time-consuming to filter and download the proper resources

2.4 Podcasts in learning listening skill

2.4.1 Use of podcasts in learning listening skill

Podcasts are used in teaching listening as primary sources and review tools As supplementary materials, podcasts assist students to pay attention to its content and motivate them to learn by listening both using bottom up and top down strategies Fadda and Qasim (2013) conclude that the use of podcasts made a positive and significant difference to the listening comprehension This kind of result also aligns with that of Ashraf et al (2011) and Hawke (2010)

Artyushina et al (2011) find out that podcasts can improve a student's listening skill and build a meaningful education activity This finding is in line with that of Minh (2019), Sanjana, 2014; Abdulrahman et al, 2018; Quasim & Fadda, 2013; Fitria et al, 2015) Besides, podcasts can motivate students to learn the listening skill (Istanto

2011; Chan et al, 2011; Darwis, 2016; Dung, 2017; Indahsari, 2020)

Using podcasts in developing English listening skill has certain impacts, however, there are some drawbacks students may face when self-studying with podcasts (Kavaliauskienė, 2008; Fitria et al, 2015; Hasan & Hoon, 2012; Abdulrahman et al,

2018; Quasim & Fadda, 2013; Sanjana, 2014; Yeh, 2013; Dung, 2017; Minh, 2019)

Stanley (2006) points out that podcasts offer students a wide range of possibilities for extra listening both inside and outside of the classroom More advanced learners can

be encouraged to listen to authentic podcasts This activity effectively bridges the gap between the formal English which dominates most second language classrooms and the informal English used in most real-life communication events

O'Bryan & Hegelheimer (2007) conclude that podcasting is a rich source of input and instruction for students in the language classroom, with the potential to alter instruction Combining CALL activities with podcasts into an academic Second Language English (ESL) course on listening methods had a structured effect They also state that both the teacher and the students agreed that podcasts had a favorable impact in ESL classes

Kavaliauskienė & Anusien (2009) suggest that most learners reflect that, based on practical approaches, using podcasts can improve listening skills and competency

Weinberg et al (2011) report that podcasts can be created to assist Anglophone French Immersion (FI) students with academic listening They conclude that podcasts enhance not only their L2 listening skill but also note-taking skills for French academic courses Besides, the majority of students enjoy listening to podcasts, despite certain inconsistencies

Furthermore, NamazianDost et al (2017) point out that podcasts can have some impacts on listening comprehension among Iranian pre-intermediate EFL students

By integrating podcasts into English classes, students can have significantly better performance in their listening comprehension, compared to when there was no use of podcasts in-class before

2.4.2 Benefits of podcasts in learning listening skill

Podcasts are commonly regarded as authentic materials for listening (McBride 2009; Dung 2017; Fitria et al 2015; Quasim & Fadda 2013; Abdulrahman et al 2018) Authentic materials contained in podcasts are actual communication extracted from real-life without any setting or modification for specific purposes Therefore, they are real talks of native speakers McBride (2009) and Yeh (2013) state that students can listen to the real rate of speech in real life talks, as other listening material built specifically for teaching and learning listening skill offer much slower and less natural pace of speaking Besides, it is emphasized that natural intonation will provide better understanding of the context (Quasim & Fadda 2013) Students often get to practice with American or British accents when listening; thus, these tend to be the easiest accents for them to recognize and other less famous accents, for example Australian or Indian, turn out to be difficult to listen to However, it is important to

be able to recognize and understand speeches delivered by different accents Indahsari (2020) mentions that podcasters are native speakers yet they come from different countries; thus, listeners can get exposed to different English accents Besides, podcasts have a wide variety of appealing topics that can increase attraction toward students and motivate them to listen (Dung 2017) Listening to podcasts allows learners to have mobile learning (Quasim & Fadda 2013; Dung 2017; Hasan & Hoon, 2012) Istanto (2011) insists on the fact students can practice listening anywhere and

anytime with podcasts Yeh (2013) emphasized podcasts as a free listening source that college students can benefit from Podcasts are also famous means of learning because they are easy to access and use (Quasim & Fadda 2013; Sanjana 2014; Istanto 2011) Other benefits of podcasts in listening skill are also mentioned by Quasim & Fadda (2013) and Dung (2017) They had a similar idea that students felt less anxious about their listening skill after listening to podcasts Furthermore, listening to podcasts is an interesting way to improve listening skill (Quasim & Fadda 2013) Abdulrahman et al (2018) agree that students can practice concentration when they listen to podcasts

2.4.3 Difficulties of podcasts in learning listening skill

Yeh (2013) reports a number of difficulties categorized into three criteria including language competence, technology, and personal preference

Yeh (2013) and Sanjana (2014) point out that there were students who found it hard

to listen to rapid speeches Some students did not understand the talks in podcasts clearly even after repeated listening Yeh (2013), Dey (2014) and Abdulrahman et al (2018) realize the listening problem students face when they are not given a transcript

of the podcasts Abdulrahman et al (2018) also state that listeners can find it difficult

to understand what the speakers in the podcasts say McBride (2009) suggests that using authentic listening sources can be a challenge to students under advanced level

A few students encountered various technology problems, for instance, not owning any devices needed for listening or having to spend much time in front of their desktops for podcasts listening (Yeh 2013) One of the drawbacks of using podcasts

is poor internet access or slow internet connection (Dey, 2014; Hur & Suh, 2012; Indahsari, 2020)

Some personal problems affecting the experience were that it can be difficult to find suitable podcasts (Yeh 2013; McBride 2009; Indahsari 2020) It can be overwhelmed

by the large amount of podcasts’ content and it can be mismatched with learners’ preference (Yeh 2013; Sanjana 2014)

2.5 Previous study

Yeh (2013) did research to figure out how integration of podcasts in English speaking and listening classes can help students in improving extensive listening and assisting independent learning The participants of the study were Taiwanese undergraduates both majoring and non-majoring in English According to the open-ended survey’s results, students reported a number of benefits of using podcasts to learn English skills, especially listening skill One of the benefits was that students can listen to the real rate of speech in real life talks, as other listening materials built specifically for teaching and learning listening skill offer much slower and less natural pace of speaking Moreover, podcasts can be seen as a free listening source that college students can benefit from However, students had to face some issues relating to language competence, technology, and personal preference For example, it is hard

to listen to rapid speeches or non-transcript podcasts It was also hard for students because they did not own any devices needed for listening or had to spend much time

in front of their desktops for podcasts listening The study was conducted in 2013, which leads to a comparatively big time gap In addition, this study was not conducted

in Vietnam academic locale Therefore, it is suggested that there would be differences

in the results

In Vietnam, the number of research on podcasts is low It is shown that podcasts use

is not popularized yet, especially in teaching and learning English listening skill Still,

a few Vietnamese authors who have recently conducted research on the impacts of podcasts on students’ English listening skill, especially in higher education This can

be seen as an evident of the rising trend of approaching and integrating podcasts in language learning in Vietnam

Dung (2017) did a study to prove the effectiveness of podcasts on listening skill of English learners at the university of Da Nang in Da Nang, Vietnam The participants

of the study were the students majoring in English in the whole institution The study, which is primarily conducted with theory and findings from former related research, claimed that podcasts are a rich and mobile learning source that helps students reduce their anxiety, improve comprehension and motivate their listening learning The benefits emerged from the study were that podcasts offer real talks of native speakers,

podcasts have a wide variety of appealing topics that can increase attraction toward

students and motivate them to listen, and students felt less anxious about their

listening skill after listening to podcasts The study focused on the general EFL

students on the whole campus scale and just proposed the hypothesis of how

beneficial using podcasts for listening is; thus, it might not be qualified in terms of

leverage of participants and practical results

Another recent study was carried out by Minh (2019) to testify the efficiency of

podcasts application in order to improve listening skill of students at Electric Power

University of Vietnam The participants of the study were non-English majored

sophomores who were at pre-intermediate level Through the open-ended survey, the

majority of students reported that they can see improvement in their listening skill

and feel motivated to learn English The study focused on non-English majored

students taking English classes and investigated mostly on the benefits of podcasts in

improving listening skill; thus, the findings of the study were limited in terms of

reference

To conclude, using podcasts in learning listening skill has been a rising topic in the

era These above mentioned studies discussed relevant matters to those of this study

and left important lessons to be adapted On the other hand, these available studies

have not mainly generalized the benefits and difficulties of using podcasts to learn

listening skill, which would be covered in this study for a broader view on the topic

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the methods and procedures that were followed in conducting the study Four areas were described in this chapter: research setting and participant, data collection instruments, procedure of data collection, validity and reliability

3.1 Research setting and participants

3.1.1 Research setting

The study was conducted at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Banking Academy

in Hanoi, Vietnam This study took a two-month length of time in the second term of the school year from March to May in 2022 Banking Academy is known as a top tertiary institution specializing in Banking and Finance sector Students under the Faculty of Foreign Languages here are taught and required to take an adequate number of courses in all four English practice skills, namely Speaking skill, Listening skill, Reading skill and Writing skill Regarding Listening skill, students have to finish three courses including Listening I, Listening II and Listening III During the process of taking these subjects, students are encouraged to practice their listening skill not only in classes but also outside of the classes Podcasts are mp3 files, which can be in forms of audio or video, used by students, through their devices, to learn listening skill outside of the classes Students using podcasts to learn listening skill are able to perceive the benefits and difficulties of the process

3.1.2 Participants

The investigation’s subjects are EFL students who use podcasts to learn listening skill Among the last-year students under the Faculty of Foreign Languages at BA, there are two classes, K21ATCA and K21ATCB, accounting for a total 150 students The estimated number of survey responses received was expected to reach that figure However, the author only received back a total of 113 responses in the last day of the data collection procedure Since senior students were not required to take classes on site and most of them were long distance, the survey was only sent via the internet and it was not able to reach every student Among responses of 113 students, 97 responses were proper and were analyzed for the main discussion of the research

3.2 Data collection instruments

3.2.1 Research Instrument

This study is conducted in the form of an online survey research with the use of questionnaires as a method of data collection for this study According to Wright (2005), questionnaire makes use of the Internet's potential to connect people and groups that would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach through conventional means This is very correct as this study was conducted in the severe situation of Covid-19 in which students were not attending school Besides, most of the senior students who were targeted participants of this study were staying in their hometowns far away from the institution location Furthermore, an online questionnaire, according to Wright (2005), can save time in a variety of ways Despite enormous geographic distances, the questionnaire can reach a large number of people in a short period of time The author of this study employed the most popular social media platform among students, Facebook Messenger, to distribute the survey link Another remarkable advantage of online questionnaires according to Wright (2005) is that it saves costs The use of online surveys discards the need for paper and other expenses associated with delivery, printing, and data entry For this online survey, participants were not required to provide personal information relating to their identities like name, phone number or email so they could remain anonymous and be as honest as possible when answering the survey As to give the general view of the questionnaire utilized in this study, the questionnaire, in order to be detailed and suitable for the possible later reference by both the native and the non-native, was presented mainly

in English and also included Vietnamese interpretation along the side As be piloted, each questionnaire was estimated to take an individual about 10-15 minutes online to fulfill

3.2.2 Description of Survey Questionnaire

The main part of the questionnaire was divided into three sections including Section

A, Section B and Section C for three different purposes

Section A highlights how students accessed podcasts There are two questions including a semi-opened question about the devices the participants used to listen to

podcasts, which was adapted from Dey (2014) and a close-ended question about the total time they spent on listening to podcasts on a weekly basis, which was adapted from Yeh (2013) Section B investigates the benefits of using podcasts to learn listening skills There are four questions Since students had high acknowledgement

of podcast in helping them improve listening skill in numerous former research (Abdulrahman et al 2018; Istanto 2011; Yeh 2013; Sanjana 2014; Quasim & Fadda 2013; Hasan & Hoon, 2012; Kavaliauskienė, Anusienė 2011), there was a close-ended question to see the participants’ attitude toward the statement “using podcasts can improve my listening skills” There was a rating scale question consists of 11 items with the 5 points ranging from “strongly disagree”, “partly disagree”, “neutral”,

“partly agree” to “strongly agree” The statements for benefits were based mostly on theory about the features of podcasts for language learning and also some findings of students’ view toward podcasts in learning listening skill

I can get used to native speakers’ rapid

speeches by listening to podcasts

Talking speed of speakers in podcasts

is fast (McBride 2009; Yeh 2013) Listening to natural intonation in the

podcasts helps me better understand the

communicative context

Intonation can conveys the message directly to listener (Quasim & Fadda 2013)

I can get used to different accents of

English speakers in the podcasts

Listening materials use different accents (Indahsari 2020); students can listen to the accents directly (Dey 2014)

Podcasts offer wide variety of appealing

topics

Podcasts’ wide variety of contents would draw more attraction and motivation (Dung 2017)

I can practice listening anywhere and

anytime with podcasts

Since podcasts are portable on personal devices, learner can do mobile learning with podcasts (Dung 2017)

Podcasts are free listening sources, thus,

they are available for students

Students appreciated podcasts since they were free (Yeh 2013)

It is easy to access and use podcasts Many students agreed that podcasts are

easy to get and use (Quasim & Fadda 2013; Sanjana 2014; and Istanto 2011) Listening to podcasts makes me more

confident about my listening

Practice listening with podcasts would relieve students’ anxiety and concern about their skill (Quasim & Fadda 2013; Dung 2017)

Listening to podcasts is an interesting

way to improve listening skill

Podcasts can be entertaining and trendy for learning listening (Quasim

& Hoon (2012)

Section C examines the respondent’s difficult experience in listening to podcasts to improve listening skill This section includes 10 items in the form of rating scales The difficulties were mainly based on findings of former research since difficulties were mostly discovered through learners’ experience and reflection The statements were either detailedly paraphrased or newly worded in order to give participants better understanding

It is difficult to catch up with rapid

speeches of native speakers in podcasts

Speaking pace effects how well students listen to podcasts (Yeh 2013; Sanjana 2014)

It is difficult to understand the general

content of the podcasts

Yeh (2013) reports content difficulty among students when listening to podcasts

It is overwhelmed to listen to the big

amount of information of the podcasts

Some students “seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of accumulated content from podcasts with daily updates” (Yeh, 2013, p 95)

It is difficult to listen to podcasts without

transcripts

Yeh (2011) and Abdulrahman et al (2018) reports problem of lack of transcript

It is difficult to download and play

podcasts on my devices

Students did not own appropriate devices for podcasts listening (Yeh 2013)

It is difficult to access to podcasts due to

limited internet connection

Students reported problem of internet access hindering them from listening to podcasts (Sanjana 2014; Hur & Suh 2012; Indahsari 2020)

It is difficult to find suitable podcasts for

listening

It was difficult for students to have a podcast suitable for them (Yeh 2013; McBride 2009; Indahsari 2020)

I am not interested in listening to podcasts Some students lost interest in podcasts

(Yeh 2013; Sanjana 2014) Improving listening skill using podcasts

is time consuming

Students found the process to be time consuming (Sanjana 2014)

3.3 Procedure of data collection

The procedure of data collection was executed as three consecutive phases below:

The first phrase was creating and finalizing the survey questionnaire The questionnaire was initially prepared in about three weeks Google forms were used to design the survey questionnaire After that, the questionnaire was piloted by the author a couple of times before being sent out

The second phrase was sending and receiving answers The questionnaire was mutually sent to Messenger and Facebook to reach the participants of the study Participants individually filled the survey in their time, thus it took more than two weeks to receive all of the possible answers

The third phrase was gathering and analyzing the data After excluding the invalid responses, which did not meet the requirements, the raw data was processed via Microsoft Excel software Calculation was carried out and quantitative analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the questionnaire There was a figure for each question

3.4 Validity and reliability

In terms of validity, the method of measurement and sampling methods were properly chosen A questionnaire survey was used to collect data This questionnaire was created based on accumulation of theory and findings in former related paper and careful supervision of the supervisor The population of the study was 113 senior English-majored students at BA This sampling was chosen since seniors were most likely to finish all three compulsory Listening courses and were at the similar levels

of English listening skill, which were pre-intermediate or intermediate; thus, results

of the survey can be prevented from being varied

In terms of reliability, the method applied and the research’s condition were consistent All participants answered the same questionnaire Options were limited for chosing and all answers were recorded for analysing The questionnaire provided brief information of the study and was sent to every participant through Messenger All the participants fill the survey form online and the answers were counted immediately

CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS

The chapter focuses on statistical analysis and offers a comprehensive explanation to solve the predetermined research question

4.1 Podcasts access of English-majored students at Banking Academy

Figure 4.1.1 describes the electronic devices the students used to access podcasts Overall, it seems that most of the students possess a smartphone which is often used

to listen to podcasts 99% of the students reported that they have used their smartphone to access podcasts The second most used device is the laptop which was chosen by more than half of the students More than a quarter of students chose a personal computer which is not portable to listen to podcasts Tab was used by only 13% of the participants The least chosen devices are audio players like music players and mp3 players, which were presented by 6% and 4% votes respectively Notably, the basic phone was not cited by any respondents

6

9613

55

254

Music Player

Smartphone

TabLaptopBasic phone

Personal Computer

MP3 player

Figure 4.1.1 Devices used to access to podcasts