The influence of authentic materials on Grade 10 students' level of listening comprehension and motivation in Public Schools in Beirut

النوع : Mémoire

The effect of authentic materials on students’ listening comprehension and motivation is ambiguous since related research is inconclusive. Originating from this fact, the purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of authentic materials on students’ listening comprehension and motivation. An experimental study was conducted on 69 grade-10 students in a public school in Beirut; students were divided into a controlled and an experimental group. Four listening lessons were conducted for the two groups with one difference which is the type of the listening text, since the experimental group was exposed to authentic texts, while the controlled group was exposed to pedagogical ones. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to check the development of each group. As for motivation, students of both groups filled in the same questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the study to evaluate their level of motivation. The teacher as well as another teacher observed the overall classroom motivation at the beginning and at the end of the study. The statistical study of the results shows that students' listening comprehension improved in both groups, yet the progress in the experimental group was significant. An analysis of students' questionnaires and teachers' observation checklists shows that authentic materials boost learners' motivation more than pedagogical ones. Accordingly, the use of authentic materials in ESL classroom is recommended in addition to systematic teaching of listening lessons for the sake of raising students’ listening comprehension level and motivation.