A comparative study of the effects of the use of multimedia on listening comprehension

Results of performance on tasks showed more effective comprehension and recall while using multimedia than either audio or video plus pen and paper, suggesting that multi-media-delivered listening comprehension tasks may be more efficient and that ongoing feedback to tasks should improve comprehension.

Abstract

Listening is a key second language skill, it has a vital role in the language acquisition process, and its development is of prime concern to language teachers. Computer software applications to further language learning are becoming commonplace and with advances in technology are now able to include multimedia that delivers video and audio in combination with text. This study investigates listening performance in a computer-based multimedia environment. It compares learner success rates on comprehension and language recall tasks while using the three different media of audio, video and multimedia. Results of performance on tasks showed more effective comprehension and recall while using multimedia than either audio or video plus pen and paper. A learner questionnaire indicated possible reasons for the greater success of multimedia. Implications of these results for the use of multimedia for listening comprehension are then discussed. Among these are that multi-media-delivered listening comprehension tasks may be more efficient and that ongoing feedback to tasks should improve comprehension.