Effect of Digital Audio Files on EFL Learners' Listening Skill

The role of technology enhancing learning pronunciation has been addressed by recent studies in language learning curriculum. However, there is a need to uncover the effect of this role in the English as foreign language (EFL) context like Iran. The present study was designed based on a quasi-experimental study with the pretest, intervention, and posttest. It aimed to examine the effect of internet or digital audio files (iPods or internet podcasting) as teaching aids in learning listening comprehension among upper-intermediate Iranian students. To perform this study, 80 students were selected based on a placement test. Then they were randomly divided in two equal groups of control and experimental. After an introductory session, they took a teacher-made pre-test of listening comprehension based on the learners' textbook exercises. The participants attended 12 sessions in six weeks of intervention. with the use of audio files. The control group received the listening materials extracted from Developing Tactics for Listening (Richards, 2010). After the post-test, findings revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control one in learning listening comprehension posttest. Paired samples t-test also depicted a significant difference between the experimental group's pre and post-test; however, a significant difference was not seen in the control group's pre and post-test. Implications of the study suggest that listening skill should be strengthened via digital audio files as an effective exposure inside and outside classrooms.