The Effects of Podcasts on Thai Undergraduates’ English Listening Skills

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of podcasts on students’ English listening skills, students’ perceptions towards using podcasts in English language classrooms, and the level of student satisfaction regarding the podcasts provided in this study. This study employed a survey and a one-group pre-test–post-test design involving 29 English major students enrolled during the second semester of the 2024 academic year at a university located in Songkhla province. An outlier detected in the pretest led to the exclusion of one participant’s data, resulting in an analysis based on 28 students. The findings demonstrated that the students could understand and assimilate the main ideas of the content after listening to the podcasts, as the post-test scores were statistically significantly greater than the pre-test scores. The results indicated that students were able to enhance their understanding and grasp of the main concepts of the listening material through podcasts. Furthermore, the participants conveyed positive attitudes about using the podcast to enhance their listening skills. Many of them found listening to podcasts was difficult; they believed it helped them learn English. Participants also expressed great satisfaction with the podcasts used in this study. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how digital media influences language learning attitudes and support integrating podcasts into English as a foreign language curricula, offering a practical, engaging, and accessible method to enhance listening skills. Teachers and educators can use this research to develop lesson plans and instructional strategies.