The Effect of Authentic Oral Texts on Student Listening Comprehension in the Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study determined the effect of authentic, unedited radio features on student listening skills in the foreign language classroom. Twenty‐three students in two classes of intermediate French participated in the research. The basic instructional approach and materials for the two classes of students were identical. The groups differed only in that classwork, in the experimental condition, was regularly supplemented with Champs‐Elyseés, an unedited radio program produced in Paris. Student listening comprehension skills at the end of the fifteen‐week semester were superior in the experimental condition as measured on two different aural tests of unedited native speech. Results confirmed that listening comprehension improves with increased exposure to authentic speech. The current study suggests that adjusting levels of speech (speed, content, and form) to students' developing comprehension, while perhaps helpful to the intermediate‐level foreign language student, might not be essential to improvement of listening skills. © 1991 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages