The Usage of Podcast and Its Influence to Students’ Listening Comprehension: A Quantitative Descriptive Study

The Usage of Podcast and Its Influence to Students’ Listening Comprehension: A Quantitative Descriptive Study

Calibuso, Jha S.¹, Alviola, John Aj R¹., Cabale, Jamaica M¹., Cojetia, Gracel Mae Divine R¹., Dublin, Napoleon¹, Gumban, Krisha Mae M¹., Hagonoy, Meriam A¹., Layosa, Christian Oliver L¹., Manguilimutan, Rhey Mark D.¹, Pagunuran, Alexies Jeanelle A¹., Sucnaan, Cahrihl R¹., Krystal Joy M. Clamares, PhD²., Anna Marie O. Pelandas, MAEd²

¹Department of Education, Senior High School Students, Philippines

²Department of Education, Senior High School Teachers Division of Davao de Oro, Philippines

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.804259

Received: 27 April 2024; Accepted: 08 May 2024; Published: 23 May 2024

ABSTRACT

This study dealt with the influence of the usage of podcast to listening comprehension of students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School. The primary goal of the study was to determine the level of usage of podcast and listening comprehension in terms of their respective indicators, the significant relationship between usage of podcast and listening comprehension and what domains of usage of podcast substantially influence listening comprehension. Also, this study utilized a quantitative-correlational design with 112 respondents among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School. The average weighted mean, Pearson R, and multiple regression analysis were the statistical tools used in this study. Along with this, results showed a high level of usage of podcast among students in terms of educational value of podcast, expectancy, affect and attitude. In the same manner, the results also showed high level of listening comprehension in terms of process, input, listener, task, affect and context. In addition, there was a moderate correlation, and a significant relationship between usage of podcast and listening comprehension. Hence, this led to the rejection of the null hypothesis. Also, all domains of usage of podcast significantly influenced listening comprehension, however two (2) out of four (4) domains of usage of podcast significantly influenced listening comprehension. Therefore, promoting usage of podcast as part of interactive learning it would influence the student’s listening comprehension. These approaches not only enhance usage of podcast and listening comprehension but also to enhance new way of interactive learning and development to students. In line with research results, the implementation of these methods fostered a positive environment at Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School, encouraging students to actively participate in their studies and enhance academic excellence. Thus, the students may continue to use podcast since it enhance their listening comprehension, and teachers may also engage and support this kind of medium of development to make better progress and improve their listening comprehension.

Keywords: GAS, Usage of Podcast, Listening Comprehension, Philippines

INTRODUCTION

In a global perspective, specifically in Indonesia, it was widely known that listening had a very important place in language learning but there were existing problems in listening comprehension (Jaya et al., 2021).  However, such difficulty was reported with 83.8% of the students from Indonesia who were having difficulty in improving their listening comprehension, this problem had been revealed in many previous studies (Jyoti, 2020).  According to Vandergrift (2020), listening comprehension difficulties could lead to miscommunication, misunderstandings, and even cultural clashes.  In addition, comprehension was needed in listening, it was a main process that wanted to measure about how the meaning had been understanding (Megasari, 2021).

As of last year, the Philippines is the 6th out of the world in terms of listening to podcasts (Nisa et al., 2022). This means that there are 31 million listeners that listen to podcast shows about their interests (Castro, 2022). This study investigated the listening comprehension levels of the learners who were enrolled in one of the private universities in Cebu, Philippines, as well as, the factors which affected their listening comprehension skills (Sumalinog, 2018). Studies have shown that using podcasts for extensive listening practice can promote listening skills and improve overall language proficiency (Gonulal, 2020). Additionally, Podcasts can also provide meaningful input in a listening and pronunciation class (Nisa et al., 2022).

In Region IX, Particularly in Davao City, Rolle (2019) reported that listening comprehension was a fundamental skill in language learning, but it was a common problem for learners in Davao. Moreover, a study conducted by Diora and Rosa (2020) explained that students in Davao Del Sur had difficulty focusing on what they were listening to, leading to missing important information. Additionally, in the local municipality of Mawab the researchers observed that some students, specifically at Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School, despite the prevalent availability of educational resources, a significant challenge persists in the form of low listening comprehension among students. The inability to effectively understand and interpret spoken language, especially in complex contexts, raises concerns about the overall language proficiency and academic performance of students. With this, the researchers were interested in determining if the usage of podcasts could significantly influence the students’ listening comprehension in Mawab, Davao De Oro.

Research Objectives

1.To determine the level of usage of podcasts among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School in terms of:

1.1educational value of the podcasts;

1.2expectancy;

1.3affect; and

1.4attitude.

2.To find out the level of influence to listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School in terms of:

2.1process;

2.2input;

2.3listener;

2.4task;

2.5 affect; and

2.6 context.

3. To determine the significant relationship between the level usage of podcasts and influence of listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.
4. To determine which of the domains of usage of podcast that substantially influences listening comprehension among student of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.

METHODOLOGY

            This study used a quantitative, non-experimental research design utilizing a correlational technique. This method was used when the objective was to describe the status of the situation as it exists at the time of the study in order to explore the causes of a particular phenomenon. In correlational research, it involved collecting data in order to determine whether the degree of a relationship exists between two more quantifiable variables (Gay, 2006).

            This survey dealt on quantitative data about the said phenomenon. The quantitative aspect is an appropriate schedule for gathering the data designed for the target respondents to answer the questions. The process of gathering the data was based through the use of questionnaire. The focus of the study was to determine the usage of podcast to student’s listening comprehension in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.

Population and Sample

Complete enumeration and purposive sampling were employed in the selection of the respondents. The subjects of the study were the 112 students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School. They were considered ideal respondents for this study because they used and listened to podcasts most of the time, and they were comfortable listening to different genres of stories. The respondents of the study, represented in Table 1, were the students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School in Mawab District, Davao de Oro, Philippines for the School Year 2022-2023.

Statistical Tool

The following statistical tools were utilized for the data analysis and interpretation.

Mean. This statistical tool was used to determine the level of usage of podcast to student’s listening comprehension of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.

Pearson (r). This statistical tool was used to determine the significance on the relationship between usage of podcast and listening comprehension among students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.

Multiple regression analysis. This statistical tool was used to determine the influence of podcast and listening comprehension among students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.

RESULTS

Level of Usage of podcast

Shown in Table 1 are the mean scores for the indicators of the usage of podcast among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School with an overall mean of 4.10 and described as high with a standard deviation of 0.72. The level could be attributed to the high rating given by the respondents in all indicators. This entails that the respondents’ responses to the level of usage of podcast are very positive in terms of educational value of podcast, expectancy, affect and attitude.

This cited overall mean scores was the result obtained from the following computed mean scores from highest to lowest: 4.10 or high for expectancy with standard deviation of 0.69; 4.10 or high for educational value of podcast with standard deviation 0.70; 4.00 or high for affect with standard deviation of 0.76; and 4.00 or high for attitude with standard deviation of 0.71.

Table 2. Level of usage of podcast

Level of Listening Comprehension

Shown in Table 2 are the mean scores for the indicators of listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School with an overall mean of 4.12 and described as high with a standard deviation of 0.59. The high level could be attributed to the high rating given by the respondents in all indicators. This entails that the respondent’s responses to the level of listening comprehension are positive in terms of process, input, listener, task, affect and context.

This cited overall mean scores was the result obtained from the following computed mean scores from highest to lowest: 4.20 or very high for listener with standard deviation of 0.62; 4.20 or very high for task with standard deviation 0.59; 4.2 or very high for affect with standard deviation of 0.60; 4.10 or high for context with standard deviation of 0.59; 4.00 or high for input with standard deviation of 0.58; and 4.00 or high for process with standard deviation of 0.60.

Table 3. Level of listening comprehension

Significant Relationship between Usage of podcast and Listening Comprehension

One crucial purpose of this study is to determine whether or not usage of podcast has a significant relationship with listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School. Pearson r was used to determine the correlation between the two variables.

The results revealed that usage of podcast versus listening comprehension has a significant relationship. This result is due to an r-value of 0.637, which is greater than the 0.05 level of significance. Hence this leads to the decision that the null hypotheses, which stated that there is no significant relationship between usage of podcast and listening comprehension among the students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School is rejected. Pearson’s R value which is 0.637 further means that there is a moderate between usage of podcast and student’s listening comprehension.

Multiple Regression Analysis on the Influence of Usage of Podcast and Listening Comprehension among students

Using the Multiple Regression Analysis, the data revealed that the usage of podcast to listening comprehension among students has a f-value 19.24 and corresponding significance of p-value of <0.01 which was significant. This means that the usage of podcast influences the listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School since the probability is less than 0.05. The R squared of 0.418 implies that 41.8% of the listening comprehension among students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School is influenced by the usage of podcast, while 58.2% remaining were not covered by the study and is influenced by other factors.

DISCUSSIONS

Level of Usage of Podcast

The respondents’ level of usage of podcast in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School is high. This means that using podcast among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School was much positive. This further means that it implies that the utilization of podcasts embodies a variety listening approach, demanding students to actively engage in the classroom as to educational value of podcast, offer significant educational value by providing accessible and diverse content, promoting active listening skills, and facilitating convenient, on-the-go learning experiences; expectancy, refers to the anticipation or expectation that listeners have regarding the content; affect, a profound impact by enhancing listening skills for information dissemination; and attitude which means that it can influence listeners’ perceptions, emotions, and engagement, contributing to an immersive audio experience.

This study affirms the preposition of Syahabuddin and Rizqa (2021), that the use of podcasts can significantly improve students’ listening skills.  In addition, podcasts can provide a more engaging and authentic listening experience, which can help students develop their listening skills (Basalama et al., 2018). Also, collaborative listening to podcasts has also been shown to improve high school learners’ listening comprehension and vocabulary learning (Saeedakhtar et al., 2021).

Level of Listening Comprehension

The respondents’ level of listening comprehension in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School is high. This means that the listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School was much positive. Developing strong listening comprehension skills in students fosters effective communication, enhances critical thinking, and lays the foundation for successful academic and professional endeavors. Embracing listening comprehension, this confirms the notion emphasized by Diora & Rosa (2020), presenting an opportunity for individuals to significantly enhance their communication skills through active information acquisition. Recognizing the historical imbalance in emphasis on listening activities in traditional English language classrooms (Tacarraoucht et al., 2022), the positive outlook lies in acknowledging listening as a crucial skill, as highlighted by Lestari et al. (2023). Despite challenges such as poor materials, addressing these issues can lead to an enriched language learning experience, emphasizing the importance of fostering effective listening skills for overall language proficiency.

In terms of the listener as one of the indicator of listening comprehension, the level of this indicator to the usage of podcast is very high, this signifies that this indicator was very positive. It explains the proficiency in understanding and interpreting spoken information, showcasing effective auditory processing skills and comprehension abilities. Connecting this to communication skills, active listening, this is aligned with the perspective emphasized by Gimenez and Lim (2023), which not only enhances understanding but also fosters deeper connections by acknowledging others’ thoughts and feelings. Research by Izchakov and Kluger (2018) further reinforces the positive impact of a listening based communication culture, creating a more relaxed, self-aware, and collaborative work environment.

Significant Relationship Between usage of podcast and listening comprehension

The present study reveals a significant relationship between usage of podcast and listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.  This implies that usage of podcast influences listening comprehension, Which can be seen in the data.  This confirms the main anchor of this study, the preposition of Abdulrahman et al. (2018) it claimed that podcasts had a positive connection with students’ listening comprehension. This agitates the other supporting anchor proposition used in this study, This study affirms the proposition of Abdulrahman et al. (2018), asserting that the use of educational podcasts effectively enhances listening comprehension skills among language learners. It actively engages them in real-world language contexts, fostering active listening and facilitating substantial growth in comprehension. Similarly, Saeedakhtar’s (2021) study confidently confirms that podcast-based listening activities promote learners’ ability to understand spoken language nuances and significantly improve overall listening proficiency.

Multiple Regression Analysis on the Influence of the Teaching Strategies on Students’ Engagement in Learning       

usage of podcast to listening comprehension among students

The regression coefficient is to test the significant influence or overall usage of podcast and listening comprehension among students. Using the Multiple

Regression in Microsoft Excel, the data reveal that the influence of using podcast towards listening comprehension among students has a significant influence.  Only 41.8% of the listening comprehension among students of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School is influenced by the usage of podcast. The overall results of the usage of podcast predict the listening comprehension in students. Therefore, the significance level of the hypothesis of usage of podcast and listening comprehension in students is rejected.

This result is supported several research studies that demonstrated the effectiveness of podcasts in enhancing listening comprehension skills. The This study was robustly confirmed by the research conducted by Abdulrahman et al. (2018), who investigated the impact of podcasts on EFL students’ listening comprehension. Their comprehensive study yielded results indicating that students taught using podcasts demonstrated superior performance in listening comprehension skills. The substantiated findings align seamlessly with several other research studies that consistently highlight the pivotal role of podcasts in enhancing students’ listening comprehension abilities.

In connection to this, educational value of podcast has a significant influence on listening comprehension among students. This study robustly corroborates the findings of Salamida (2023), who investigated the use of educational podcasts in improving listening comprehension, affirming their positive impact on students’ skills. Similarly, the research conducted by Indahsari (2020) convincingly demonstrated that students improved their listening skills and motivation toward English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning through the effective integration of podcasts (Chavis and Dela Peña, 2023). Furthermore, a diploma thesis from Masaryk University in 2019, examined by Sicova (2020), systematically explored the impact of using podcasts as an educational tool on English learners’ listening skills, recognizing podcasting as an effective medium for developing these crucial language skills. Additionally, a study focused on the impact of podcasts on EFL students’ listening comprehension, conducted by Basalama et al. (2018), revealed a substantial difference in post-test scores, favoring the experimental group. This robustly indicates the significant and positive impact of podcasts on students’ listening comprehension skills.

CONCLUSION   

Conclusions are drawn based on the results of the study. The study concludes that the level of usage of podcast among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School was high for educational value of podcast, high for expectancy, high for affect, and high for attitude, thus the overall mean is high for the level of usage of podcast. On the other hand, the level of listening comprehension among students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School is high for process, high for input, very high for listener, very high for task, very high for affect and high for context, thus the overall mean is high for the level of listening comprehension. Moreover, the findings opposed the theoretical assumption of no significant relationship between the influence of usage of podcast and listening comprehension among student of Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr. National High School.

Contrary to the assumption, the study concludes that the usage of podcast and listening comprehension were positively correlated. That was, change in the level of usage of podcast affects the level of listening comprehension. Further, there are two out of the four domains in usage of podcast that significantly influence the listening comprehension of senior high school students in Lorenzo S. Sarmiento Sr National High School

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