English abstract
This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effect of incorporating
authentic materials via Edmodo on students' listening comprehension skills for grade
11. Precisely, it aimed to answer three questions:
1. Is there any significant difference between students' listening using simplified
materials and students' listening using authentic materials?
2. Is there any significant difference between students' listening to authentic audio
materials and students' listening to authentic audio-visual (video) materials?
3. What are students' attitudes towards using authentic materials and Edmodo?
It was conducted in Al Shaima School in Dakiliya Governorate with three intact
classes, which were chosen and assigned randomly to the control group, the first
experimental group and the second experimental group. A total number of 59 students
were recruited to participate in this study. Students in the control group were taught the
conventional simplified textbooks listening materials via Google Classroom. In contrast,
students in the first experimental group were taught the conventional simplified textbooks
listening materials in addition to authentic audio materials via Edmodo whereas students
in the second experimental group were taught the conventional simplified textbooks
listening materials in addition to the same authentic materials given to the audio group
but as videos instead of audios via Edmodo. The experiment lasted for two months; a
listening comprehension test and an attitudinal questionnaire were utilized as the two
instruments of the study.
The analysis of the findings revealed that incorporating online authentic materials
was effective in enhancing students' listening comprehension skills since students in the
experimental groups outperformed their counterparts in the control group. One-way
ANOVA was utilized to assess the differences between the groups. Additionally, the
authentic audio and audio-visual materials were similarly effective in enhancing students'
listening comprehension skills. Even though students in the audio group scored slightly
better than students in the audio-visual group, it was not statistically significant. Multiple
comparisons were run to conduct post-hoc tests using Scheffe test to investigate the
differences between the two experimental groups. The analysis of the questionnaire
revealed that students held positive perceptions towards authentic materials and Edmodo.
Students perceived authentic materials as motivating and interesting yet challenging.
Students supported the idea that authentic materials provided more exposure to the
language used outside the classroom in real contexts, which increased their confidence
and made them less anxious while using the language. With regard to Edmodo, students
praised the easiness to learn the program, its security, its accessibility and its organized
content. Additionally, students praised its positive role in promoting more interactions
between the teacher and the students and amongst the students themselves. Students
supported the idea that traditional classrooms in schools should be supplemented with
online learning. In light of these findings, some implications and recommendations were
proposed.
