Authentic radio clips and their pedagogical value to teaching listening skills within native language learning contexts. A critical multimodal research venture

Abstract

The purpose of this study focuses on one research question: Can radio clips serve as adequate pedagogical tools for the teaching of listening within the L1 language classroom? To answer this question, the paper adopts a socio-semiotic theoretical framework [1]. This framework is used for the analysis of a 100-week radio programme series Ngħidu Kelma [2] transmitted on Maltese national radio. The paper identifies a set of authentic radio clips which can serve as pedagogical tools aimed at teaching listening in secondary 11-13-year-old L1 classrooms. After the identification of these clips, these clips were used during L1 listening lessons. Teachers wrote fieldnotes about their experiences and later participated in an interview where they could share their views. Based on the feedback of the six language teachers participating in the study, adopting thematic approach [3], as a conclusion the paper presents a ten-step checklist with practical tips for other educators willing to use authentic radio clips to teach listening skills within L1 learning contexts.