Metacognition and Podcast Use: Developing German Language Learner’s Listening Skill

Abstract

German language beginner learners faced difficulties in learning the listening skill, such as limitation in vocabulary knowledge, the pace of oral L2 input, and the lack of listening materials. Because of those, learners' learning results are not optimal. Learners are pushed to use learning strategies and get more listening practices. Metacognitive strategies can help learners in improving their listening skill. Educators tend to integrate technology in their classroom, for instance, the use of podcasts in the context of language learning. Podcasts, beneficial tool to give supplemental materials, can help learners to improve their listening skill and also help learners to acquire the target language (L2). This paper examines whether metacognitive instruction and the use of supplemental material that can promote the listening skill of German learners. This is a quasi-experimental research with five weeks of the intervention program. The questionnaire and the language test were used. The data were analysed with statistic descriptive and t-test. The results showed experimental group learning results increasing, however, t-test results showed that there is no significant difference between learning results between control and experimental groups. It can be concluded that metacognitive strategies and podcast use can help the experimental group improving their listening skill.