Abstract
Regarding the popularity of TED Talks which are freely accessible online, we were encouraged to examine the impacts of this online resource on Indonesian EFL learners’ listening skills. The Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was used to recruit 70 Indonesian intermediate respondents for the research. They were then split into two groups: one experimental group (EG) and one control group (CG). After that, a listening test was administered to both groups. After that, the EG participants watched TED Talks via mobile devices, and the CG participants practiced listening skills via DVDs and CDs of the course textbook for 13 sessions. When the treatment ended, a posttest of listening skills was administered to the participants of both groups, and the collected data were analyzed via running paired samples and independent samples -tests. The results indicated that both groups had better listening performances in their listening posttests, but the EG outperformed the CG after the treatment. Overall, the results showed that using TED Talks was more advantageous for listening development than using DVDs and CDs of the course textbook. The implications of this study can encourage EFL teachers to integrate TED Talks into their English classes.
1. Introduction
Technology is an effective tool for all teachers and students worldwide. A variety of methods may be achieved via the use of this tool. In the case of students, instructors, and parents, free internet resources, educational materials, and other chances for effective learning may be quite beneficial. Both learning and teaching are made more exciting and meaningful by the use of technological resources, and if students and teachers use it appropriately, useful learning outcomes can be gained [1]. Numerous educational advancements, particularly in teaching languages, have been made possible due to the fast progress of technology. Audiovisual aids, including films and shows, songs, and PowerPoint presentations, are frequently used in EFL classrooms to supplement textbooks and other interactive activities to promote student agency, autonomy, communication, and connection to a particular idea. EFL Teachers are increasingly turning to these resources to help them convey and create successful courses [2].
The role of technology in the present era of education is facilitating learning through different types of tools. One of these tools is videos. According to Brook [3], videos are a significant tool for language teaching and learning since they raise participants’ awareness, offer realistic resources, and encourage learners to participate more actively in the courses. Videos serve as genuine resources in which learners may examine how language is used in real-life situations and learn from their mistakes. It is indeed a massive benefit to use video resources since they are made by and for native speakers, such as movies and TV shows, as well as music. It is possible to utilize videos in various instructional and teaching environments, such as instructional settings, as a means of displaying knowledge, as a platform for debate, as an aid to self-study, and as an assessment tool [2].
One subcategory of videos is TED (Technology, Education, Design) Talk videos that are claimed to be of utilization not only by many learners but also by many school teachers [4]. TED Talks may help learners become more aware and critical thinkers, but they can also help instructors present knowledge and communicate with their learners more quickly. Many elements contribute to TED Talks’ educational benefits, including the accessibility with which they can be accessed in many languages, the quality of the information, and the precision it is presented. Aside from subtitles and transcribed translations in the native and target languages, speech rate modification is also helpful for students [5, 6].
According to Chang and Huang [7], TED is a video that contains a good presentation with excellent topics or opinions from native speakers that can improve students’ language learning. TED Talk is made from a presentation at the main TED conferences or one of its many satellite events around the world [8]. According to Rubenstein [9], the TED Talks site is one of the most prominent video-delivery sites that provides fresh content in video form. TED Talks are some of the most well-known new media for disseminating cutting-edge concepts worldwide. Instructors may utilize TED Talks to pique learners’ interest and passion about certain subjects, which can then be further developed with more information provided inside the course curriculum [10, 11].
Participants share their thoughts and visions from technology to medicinal study to culture in the TED Talks collection. TED Talks cover a wide range of subjects, from biology to culture [12]. People may watch TED Talks online or offline on their laptop or phone, including lectures by native speakers on a wide range of subjects. TED Talk is an excellent medium to utilize since it has a wide variety of themes to select from, and we can pick and choose what we want to see. As a result, the videos teach us a lot more than just how to listen.
Listening comprehension is the ability to comprehend spoken words in various ways, to name a few, a working knowledge of speech sounds, particular word meanings, and sentence structure. Hamouda [13] states that listening comprehension is the listener’s capacity to comprehend and repeat back what they have heard, even though the listener may just be repeating the noises. He believes that developing interpretation from context information and present knowledge is an evolving process in which the listener relies on a variety of strategic resources to complete the job requirements.
Efficient communication is dependent on the ability to listen. According to Hamouda [13], listening comprehension is a process of interaction in which listeners communicate with one another actively and generate meaning. During the construction of meaning, learners make use of their content and subject knowledge and their understanding of the English language, which includes phonology, grammar, and discourse [14, 15]. Despite its critical role in communication and the fact that L2 learners often struggle with listening, this oral receptive talent has received little attention in the academic literature.
According to Kurita [16], students may find it challenging to develop their listening comprehension skills, which necessitate the need for instructors to adapt their listening activities to be more successful. The improvement of listening comprehension skills assists learners in achieving success in language acquisition and increasing the amount of intelligible material they receive. Given the potential for enhanced self-confidence in listening comprehension, students are driven to have accessibility to spoken English, such as discussions with native speakers, to improve their listening skills.
Even though it is absolutely essential in EFL contexts, listening comprehension is still recognized as a Cinderella skill in foreign language classrooms and high schools, and English language teachers put more emphasis on other skills than on listening comprehension. As Chastain [17] points out, “both language instructors and learners tend to disregard the importance of listening comprehension skills because their focus is settled so entirely on their eventual aim, speaking, that they fail to grasp necessity of developing listening comprehension skills” (p. 192). Using TED Talks as an authentic source has some advantages that can improve listening comprehension. According to Park and Cha [18], TED Talk videos are authentic and interesting since they involve many topics such as entertainment, technology, design, science, business, and universal issues. In addition, TED Talks are useful materials for English teaching since they catch students’ attention and get them more familiar with uses of English language in real contexts. Regarding the benefits of TED Talks in language learning, this study intended to examine the effects of using TED Talks as a learning instrument on improving Indonesian EFL learners’ listening skill. Our study can be significant since its findings highlight the importance of using TED Talks for teachers and students. The results of this study can make language learners and teachers aware of the role of technology in language teaching and learning. In addition, this study is significant since its focus is on authentic listening files. López-Carril et al. [11] state that TED Talks can provide realistic sociocultural contexts for learners, familiarizing students with real speakers’ speaking speed, paralanguage elements, facial expressions, and body language.
2. Review of the Literature
Krashen’s [19] input hypothesis emphasizes the significance of listening comprehension. Listening comprehension is critical for language learning because it creates the ideal environment for language acquisition and the advancement of other language abilities. Furthermore, motivation is regarded as one of the elements influencing target language learning [20]. As a result, to make appropriate use of audio-visual tools and materials, it is necessary to be aware of learners’ attitudes and strategies toward such instructional tools. Such comprehension of learners’ perspectives may change audio-visual resources [21].
Aside from motivating students via real video content, these video tools offer the extra benefit of supporting students in gaining knowledge about cultural backgrounds and emotional perspectives from the learning materials [21]. This enables students to become more independent and comprehend the language used in the films. In contrast to conventional methods of teaching listening comprehension, this method emphasizes student-centered learning. According to Paulsen [22], two factors contribute to students’ good performance while using online sources: authenticity and motivation.
According to Goh [23], the listening process is dynamic and complicated. It is dynamic because it includes the retrieval of meaning from inputs, which is generally imperfect since listeners cannot catch each word they listen to, and it is complicated since meaning building during listening is tied to a person’s cognitive abilities. Furthermore, the intrinsic issues in monitoring students’ progress (unlike speaking and writing) and manipulating material (unlike reading) [24] make the skill a more rigorous task, making many instructors feel inadequate to instruct it [25, 26]. Listening has been a foundation of many SLA theories regarding the effective input form that may aid language acquisition [27]. It has also been shown to have a significant role in the acquisition of pronunciation [28], the improvement of vocabulary [29], and grammar [30]. Studies revealed its vital role in learning to interact in the language [31–33].
Listening skills can be developed more quickly in the era of new technology. Advances in technology and internet services have accelerated the availability of natural learning resources for language instruction and learning and other subjects. One of these widely utilized internet sources has been TED speeches [34, 35]. TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting ideas via short and meaningful talks, began in 1984 as a conference combining technology, entertainment, and design. They have been televised in over a hundred languages since they were made accessible online in 2007. Most of the presentations, presented by both native and nonnative English speakers, are accompanied by free descriptions and captions in over 40 languages.
Many advantages may be gained by utilizing TED Talk videos, according to Park and Cha [18]. To begin, TED Talk videos are intriguing since they cover a wide variety of subjects from technology to amusement, design, business, science, and global challenges [36, 37]. TED Talks also include a unique “interactive transcript” element integrated into each talk. It is an enjoyable experience to read and listen to/watch video materials simultaneously. Learners’ interest and understanding of the listening contents may be improved due to using this method.
Thirdly, TED Talks may be easily disseminated. Connections to the resources may be shared through social networks or downloaded by students to be used offline. TED Talks are accessible “in many ways, including by speaker, topic, or theme” in addition to being shareable [38–40]. This feature makes it easier for listeners to locate the material that piques their curiosity. And last, as long as you have Internet connectivity, TED Talks may be seen whenever and anywhere you choose. TED Talks may be seen on almost any mobile device, including tablets, smartphones, laptops, and desktop PCs. Additionally, TED Talks may encourage and motivate our learners to study on their own, thereby encouraging self-directed and autonomous learning among our learners [9, 41, 42].
Several researchers confirmed the empirical effects of TED Talk videos. For example, Takaesu [43] used TED Talks as extensive material and found that they enhanced college students’ listening skills. Ahluwalia [44], based on her findings, argued that TED Talks could promote the participants’ listening skills, communication skills, and self-confidence. Likewise, Gagen-Lanning [45] found that after receiving training on the use of metacognitive strategies, the participants could use TED Talk videos to promote their listening skills in a self-directed learning environment.
Hakobyan et al. [46] aimed to scrutinize the impacts of subtitled TED Talks on the intermediate level of EFL learners’ listening comprehension. A total of nineteen EFL learners in two groups took part in this study. During six weeks of the experiment, both groups watched TED Talks with and without subtitles. After each viewing, six sets of multiple-choice tests were administered to compare the progress of learners’ listening comprehension. The results disclosed no remarkable distinction between the participants who watched the TED Talks with subtitles and those who watched them with no subtitles.
A study by Obari and Lambacher [47] found that TED-based blended learning had a beneficial impact on the overall English ability of Japanese L2 learners. In a similar vein, Hye and Kyung [48] found that providing 70 Korean EFL students with real content such as TED speeches improved their learners’ listening comprehension significantly. The influence of TED presentations on college learners’ listening was studied by Takaesu [43]. As per the findings, the respondents’ listening comprehension, drive to follow their own passions, and exposure to a variety of English dialects were all positively impacted by TED lectures.
According to Schmidt [49], not only did TED presentations and listening diaries help students improve their listening abilities but they were also seen as an engaging and worthwhile way to get real-world listening training. In their study on the impact of TED Talks on Chinese EFL students, Li et al. [50] found that students transformed their roles from information receivers to investigators due to watching TED Talks, which improved their listening and reasoning abilities. In the same vein, Hashimoto et al. [51] found that Japanese learners’ writing abilities improved when exposed to TED lectures. As a result of their research, the researchers discovered that giving learners more detailed instructions on writing summaries through the TED Talks website was beneficial and welcomed. Participants taking his English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course in Takaesu [43] were allowed to listen to TED Talks as part of the course requirements. The study found that students of all competency levels could better comprehend what they were hearing.
Rashtch and Mazraehno [52] examined whether Iranian EFL students may benefit from listening to TED speeches. The research also looked at whether students’ learning may be affected by various teaching methods. Convenience sampling was used to pick 60 intermediate-level male students aged 18 to 20 from three entire courses (). There were three groups in total: two EG and one CG. The groups had to be of the same language skill level before randomly being allocated. TED Talks were viewed in three different ways: on mobile devices, laptops, and by the CG, which listened to the textbook (American File 2) on DVDs and CDs for ten sessions. While the laptop and CGs practiced listening in the classroom, the mobile group practiced listening outside. Participants were asked to answer comprehension questions during each session that allowed researchers to monitor their progress. According to repeated measures ANOVA results, participants in all three groups improved their listening abilities throughout therapy. As expected, the mobile group viewed TED Talks more positively in comparison with the CGs, but no changes were detected between mobile groups and laptop groups or laptop groups with TED Talks on their phones. According to the study’s authors, TED lectures were accessed through mobile devices, which may have contributed to the observed discrepancy. They may also conclude that attending TED presentations is an excellent way to improve listening abilities. For instructors and practitioners who are looking for methods to expand language learning outside of the classroom, the research illustrates the usefulness of self-directed learning using mobile devices.
According to Nikmah et al. [53], utilizing TED Talks can improve listening comprehension. These studies employed a quasi-EG approach and included EG and CGs. SMA Yadika Bandar Lampung’s eleventh-grade students were the focus of this study. Researchers used XI IPS 1 and XI IPS 1 as the EG and CGs. In the EG class, there were 23 participants, and there were 21 participants in the CG class. After using TED Talks as a medium in the EG class, the researchers then switched to song audio as a medium in the CG class. The sessions were split into two 40-minute sessions, one for each class, and conducted through Google Classroom. The students in each class were given identical pre- and postassessment tests. After administering the posttest, the researchers analyzed the data using an independent sample -test. The results indicated that using TED Talks developed the participants’ listening comprehension.
After reviewing the literature related to TED Talks in language learning, it was found that using TED Talks is an effective tool for developing English as a second or a foreign language. Based on the literature, there have been a few empirical studies on the effectiveness of TED Talks on Indonesian EFL learners’ listening skills. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impacts of using TED Talks on improving Indonesian EFL learners’ listening skills. Thus, the following research question was posed:
RQ. Does Indonesian EFL learners’ listening comprehension develop significantly by using TED Talks as a learning instrument?
3. Methodology
3.1. Participants
This research was conducted on 70 students from one institute in Jakarta, Indonesia. The selected participants were recruited among 93 learners based on their performance in the OQPT. Based on their scores, 70 of them were intermediate students. Respondents with 30 to 47 participated in the research as intermediate subjects. They were divided into two groups: EG and CG. Since the researchers had access only to the male students, they were all males. The respondents’ age range was between 18 and 29 years old.
3.2. Instrumentation
The OQPT was the first tool used in the present inquiry to homogenize the participants. It assisted the researchers in assessing the respondents’ proficiency level (elementary, preintermediate, or intermediate). It had 60 multiple-choice questions, and individuals with scores ranging from 40 to 47 were designated as intermediate learners and selected to participate in the study as participants.
The second tool of acquiring data was a pretest based on students’ coursebooks developed by researchers. It was a listening skill with 40 questions. True/false, multiple-choice, and fill-in-the-blank questions were included. The reliability and validity of a certain test were evaluated. After the exam was constructed, it was evaluated by four experts to confirm the validity of its content and face. As a precautionary measure, four experienced English teachers reviewed the exam questions and made minor changes to their readability, clarity, and generalizability. Afterwards, the exam was revised and piloted on a similar cohort at another university using the same textbooks and levels. To achieve item qualities such as item facility, item discrimination, and option dispersion, the exam was altered and revised once validation and piloting were completed. The exam was finally ready for administration. According to KR-21 (), it has a high level of reliability.
The third tool employed in this study was an updated version of the pretest, which was designed by the researchers. For the purpose of gauging how well the TED Talks treatment was working, it was given to the participants. The posttest had the same features as the pretest in terms of duration and quantity of questions. The only difference was that the options’ order and the questions were modified to eliminate the possibility of remembrance of pretest responses. Four English teachers verified the posttest validity, and its reliability was calculated by utilizing KR-21 ().
3.3. Data Collection Procedures
The OQPT was given to 70 students at a private English language school in Jakarta, Indonesia, in the first stage. It was determined that EG and CG comprised the majority of responses. Before beginning the intervention, the researchers conducted a listening pretest for both groups. After that, the subjects in the EG received the treatment by using TED Talk videos. Each week, four TED Talk videos were instructed to the EG participants. Each week, the respondents were exposed to a TED Talk video and listened to it very carefully. The video was played for them three times, and the researchers asked them some related questions about the video contents. The videos were about different topics, and they were almost authentic. Before teaching each video, some related background knowledge was provided for the students, and during listening to the video, the students were involved in learning by asking them related questions. Thirteen videos were trained for the EG based on the mentioned procedures. The CG participants were taught through the DVDs and the CDs of their course textbook for 13 sessions. One audio file was played and practiced in the CG class in each session. Before listening to the audio file, the students were provided with some pertinent information about the topic, and then the audio file was played for them. The teacher paused the file and asked some related questions to engage the students in the learning process while listening to the audio file. At the end of the instruction, the posttest of listening skills was administered to both groups, and eventually, the data were analyzed using SPSS software.
4. Results
Having gathered the needed data, the researchers analyzed them to gain the final results. Before carrying out any analysis on the pretest and the posttest, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was applied to examine the normality distribution of the data. The results indicated that the distribution of all scores in the pretest and the posttest is normal; thus, parametric statistics, including paired samples -test and independent samples -test, were utilized to determine the effects of the instruction on the learners’ listening improvement.
As seen in Table 1, the EG’s mean score is 14.31, and the CG’s mean score is 13.71. It appears that the CG and EG participants gained almost equal scores on the listening pretest. To discover if the differences between their listening performances were significant, an independent samples -test was utilized in Table 2:
According to the findings of Table 2, Sig is .23, which is higher than 0.05; hence, the differences between the listening pretests of the EG and the CG were not significant; in fact, both groups conducted similarly on the listening pretests.
Table 3 indicates that the means of the EG and CGs are 17.14 and 15.74, respectively. Seemingly, the EG participants had a more successful performance than the CG participants on the listening posttest. This claim can be proved or rejected in Table 4:
Table 4 reveals that Sig (.00) is less than 0.05, implying that there were significant differences between both groups on their listening posttests. In fact, the EG respondents outperformed the CG respondents on the listening posttest due to the TED Talks treatment.
In Table 5, two paired samples -tests are run to compare the pre- and posttests of each group. As Sig (.00) is less than 0.05, the differences between the EG’s pretest and posttest are remarkable. Similarly, since Sig (.03) is less than 0.05, the differences between the CG’s pretest and posttest are noticeable.
In a nutshell, the outcomes indicated that both groups had an improvement on their posttest, but the EG outflanked the CG on the listening posttest. It can be concluded that the TED Talks instruction could assist the EG participants in developing their listening skills.
5. Discussion and Conclusion
After carrying out the data analyses and gaining the final findings, the researchers found significant differences between the two groups of the study in favor of the group that received the instruction via TED Talks by using their mobile phones. The results of our study are consistent with the previous research performed by Rashtch and Mazraehno [52], who indicated using TED Talks could develop the listening skills of Iranian EFL students. Moreover, our research findings align with Liu [54], who showed that TED Talks could positively affect postgraduate students’ speaking anxiety.
In addition, the results of the current study are in line with Takaesu [43], who discovered that TED Talks were effective for improving college students’ listening skills. Also, our results are supported by Ahluwalia [44], who found that TED Talks could enhance the participants’ listening and communication skills. Similarly, our findings are in line with Gagen-Lanning [45], who understood that after receiving instruction on the uses of metacognitive strategies, the students could utilize TED Talks to enhance their listening skills in a self-directed learning setting.
Moreover, the gained results in this study lend support to Nikmah et al. [53], discovering that using TED Talks enhanced the participants’ listening comprehension in their research. Furthermore, our study is supported by Lhamo and Chalermnirundorn [55], who examined the influences of TED Talks on boosting the speaking skill of 30 Bhutanese ESL pupils and demonstrated that using TED Talks generated a significant impact on improving Bhutanese learners’ speaking skills. Our research findings are in accordance with Hadi1 et al. [56], who confirmed the effectiveness of TED Talks on improving the speaking skill of Indonesian EFL learners. Farid [57] advocated our study, whose findings indicated that TED Talks effectively improved students’ public speaking ability.
Willmot et al. [58] asserted that using digital videos in language learning can help students increase their motivation, enhance their learning experiences, obtain higher scores, develop their capability for better learning of the subjects, improve their autonomy, and develop team working and communicative skill. Our study is supported by Nursafira [59], who discussed how TED Talks could help boost learners’ speaking skills. The outcomes of his discussion paper indicated that TED Talks improved the speaking skill of EFL learners.
Based on their results, and in accordance with Westera’s [60] thesis, students’ willingness to actively engage in their own education is critical. Technology and communication have had a direct impact on language education and learning. Multimedia and flexible learning theory may theoretically be used to explain the advantages of technology in terms of cognitive theory [61].
One explanation for our research findings is the possibility that utilizing TED Talks was attractive for the learners and could inspire them to study their English lessons more enthusiastically. The opportunity that the students in the EG could choose where, when, and how many times to watch the TED Talks can be the reason for the positive effects on improving their listening skills. The researchers of the current research assumed that when the students could have the possibility to listen when they were ready, they could better concentrate on the talks and were cognitively more prepared to learn.
The lack of having time limitations could also have influenced the EG’s listening comprehension. In addition, it is worth noting that the EG used their mobiles to watch the talks outside the classrooms and answering the tests in the classrooms could encourage them to keep the information in their memory for a more extended period. Adopting the learning to personal preferences and personality features [62, 63] could be another justification for the better achievement of the pupils in the EG. Similarly, the present investigation is compatible with the previous studies such as Joo et al. [64], Lee and Lee [65], and Lai et al. [66], which confirmed the positive effects of self-directed learning on student’s satisfaction and achievement.
The fact that mobile instruction suggests students the flexibility to select the proper time and place for learning [67] provides them with the chance to be more deeply involved in the learning process. Traxler [68] asserts that mobile instruction can enable students to develop, extend, and enrich their English language learning. Another reason for the effectiveness of mobile learning over traditional classroom-based instruction is that it can provide students with different situations to learn rather than restraining them on predetermined occasions [68].
The present study examined using TED Talks as a learning instrument for enhancing Indonesian EFL learners’ listening skills. The gained results revealed that TED Talks assisted Indonesian EFL learners in improving their listening skills. Therefore, we can conclude that incorporating TED Talk videos in the Indonesian EFL context can generate beneficial results for EFL learners. The role of technology cannot be overlooked in English classes. Technological advancement can provide new chances for teachers to use online resources instead of traditional resources. Using technology can make both teaching and learning meaningful and attractive. According to the outcomes of this research, we suggest EFL English teachers and students use TED Talks as an instructional means in their teaching and learning, hoping that TED Talks be an influential instrument to motivate students and reduce their anxiety while trying to learn the English language.
The results of this research can generate some implications for students and instructors. Videos are transferable and offer incredible flexibility to teachers/instructors and students. As we see a shift in virtual learning due to social distances and the pandemic, institutes need to adapt their methods for the virtual contexts. The outcomes of this research can be exciting and fruitful to English instructors who are searching for innovative approaches for boosting EFL learners’ listening skills. In addition, the outcomes of this research can be encouraging for EFL learners to learn English even outside the classroom milieu. Using videos in an educational setting can create personalized learning experiences, permitting individuals to learn at their own pace. Students can watch videos and rewatch a lesson several times to understand the topics. Using video engages students of all ages and abilities and motivates them with authentic content. Using video exposes students to a variety of languages and cultures. The easy access to TED Talk video and their exciting content can be the significant features of TED Talks that can help EFL students improve their English language learning. Video-based learning can attract all students. A combination of speech, texts, and pictures can make it easier to understand the points. This makes room for more content and different conversations, all in less time. This research can also make Indonesian syllabus makers aware of the significance of TED Talk videos. The findings can encourage them to incorporate TED Talks into EFL learners’ courses.
6. Limitations and Suggestions of the Study
This study has some limitations, including the small sample size (only 70 participants were included in this study) that can lower the generalizability of the findings. Upcoming investigations are suggested to have more subjects to gain more valid results. This research was conducted on male learners, and the female learners were excluded. Next, investigations with a similar topic are recommended to take gender into account, meaning that both female and male students should be involved. This study was limited to Indonesian EFL learners; much care should be taken to generalize the results to other situations. The other drawback is the nature of the data; only quantitative data were collected in this research; the researchers could not gather qualitative data to improve the validity and the generalizability of the outcomes. Our suggestion for the subsequent investigations with a similar topic is to use interviews, questionnaires, and other instruments to gather qualitative data to boost their data’s reliability and validity.
Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.