Investigating English Students’ Perception of English Podcasts in Improving on their Speaking Skills (A Descriptive Study on English Department Students of Universitas Serambi Mekkah)

Abstract

English podcasts have increasingly been used as digital resources that give learners access to authentic English and allow them to study independently. This study explored English Department students’ perceptions of English podcasts in relation to the development of their speaking skills, as well as the challenges and learning opportunities they encountered while listening to podcasts. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed in this study. The participants were ten English Department students at Universitas Serambi Mekkah who had experience listening to English podcasts. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and examined using thematic analysis. The findings showed that the participants generally viewed English podcasts positively. They considered podcasts useful and easy to access, particularly because they provided exposure to authentic English that supported the development of pronunciation, vocabulary, speaking fluency, and confidence. The flexibility of podcasts also allowed participants to listen to episodes repeatedly and manage their learning according to their individual pace. Nevertheless, the participants encountered several difficulties, including rapid speech, unfamiliar accents, limited knowledge of vocabulary and expressions, and the absence of direct interaction and immediate feedback. To deal with these difficulties, they used several strategies, such as replaying episodes, slowing down the playback speed, writing down unfamiliar vocabulary, referring to transcripts or subtitles, and imitating the speakers’ pronunciation. These practices helped them develop vocabulary, pronunciation, listening comprehension, speaking fluency, and independent learning. Overall, the findings suggest that English podcasts can serve as useful supplementary resources for developing speaking skills by providing authentic language exposure and flexible learning experiences. However, podcasts are more appropriately used alongside interactive speaking activities rather than as a replacement for them, since students still require opportunities to communicate directly and receive constructive feedback.