Using Podcasts in Teaching Speech Acts of Invitation and Request in EFL Contexts

Many foreign language learners cannot communicate pragmatically as well as native speakers. Although one of its reasons is that language learners do not have access to native like situations, technologies can help learners to have accessibility to real world and authentic contexts. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of podcasting in teaching speech acts among foreign language learners. It considered the effect of both audio and video podcasts across different language proficiency levels in EFL classroom context. In the light of previous studies that have found podcasting advantages on different language skills and components like teaching pronunciation, listening, grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension; very few studies have looked at the role of podcasting in pragmatics, speech acts and improvement of communication skill. Sixty Iranian female English learners sampled with pre- intermediate and intermediate proficiency levels completed the two tests of speech acts of invitation and request after downloading and watching video and audio podcasts for a month. The analyses of findings were shown to lead the improvement of speech acts among the participants. Results reveal that whereas environmental factors and individual differences, there is a significant affection of podcasts in improving the performance of learners in learning speech acts prompts. It also indicates high interest and motivation of learners and teachers not only in using podcasts for speech acts but also other skills and components can be potentially affected by language technology.

کلیدواژه ها:

Authentic Context ، EFL Classroom Context ، Podcasting ، Pragmatics ، Speech Act