الفهرس 
Materials & Instruments of the ResearchOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The current study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of a program
based on podcasts in developing some EFL listening comprehension skills
of second-year preparatory students. To achieve this purpose, the
researcher constructed and validated a questionnaire, a listening
comprehension skills test and a program based on podcasts. Participants
of the research included two classes (sixty students) from second-year
preparatory students at Sohag governorate, Awlad Khalifa preparatory
school at Dar El-Salam Administration. They were randomly selected and
divided into an experimental group and a control group. Both groups were
pre-tested using the listening comprehension skills test. Then, the
experimental group students were taught listening using the program
based on podcasts while the control group students were taught according
to the teaching procedures included in the Teacher’s Guide set by the
Ministry of Education. After teaching the program, both groups were
post- tested using the same tool utilized in the pre-testing. Findings of the
research regarding the development of the students’ levels of English listening comprehension skills showed a significant difference between
both groups on the listening comprehension skills post-test in favor of the
experimental group students. The researcher recommended that more
attention should be given to teaching listening comprehension in the
preparatory stage.
Language is a peerless human phenomenon; it is mainly a system used for
communication by a whole community. Effective communication skills are now required in
every aspect of life. Teachers of English should have good command over the language and
possess excellent communication skills. There are two types of communication; the first is
verbal communication that includes oral and written communication. The second is
nonverbal communication that includes expressive behavior and body language.
Listening is one of the important oral skills in communication. Many researchers
assert the effective role that listening skills play in developing language learning and
communication. Kul (2010) emphasizes the important role listening comprehension
occupies in teaching EFL, stating that listening is a pre-requisite to speaking, reading, and
writing. Listening comprehension sets the foundation for the acquisition of speaking and
promotes the development of linguistic competence Ridgway (2000) points out that listening is elementary in the classroom language
because it provides input for the learner. Without understanding input at the right level, no
learning can begin; therefore, listening is fundamental and demanding to speaking and other
language skills. Buck (2001:120) states, “Our brains are well programmed to learn
languages through sound and speech.”Moreover, Rost (1994:53) states that listening plays an important role in secondlanguage
instruction for several reasons. First, listening provides comprehensible input for
the learner which is essential for any learning to occur. Second, listeners need to interact
with speakers to achieve understanding. Third, listening exercises help learners direct their
attention to new forms (vocabulary, grammar, interaction patterns) in the language. In
addition, Saricoban (2002) indicates that listening provides the foundations for learning and
functioning in a language. Buck (1995:118) says, ”To arrive at understanding of the
message, listeners must understand the phonetic input, vocabulary and syntax (bottom- up
processing), and at the same time, use the context of situation, general knowledge, and past
experiences (top- down processing).”