The use of authentic material through WhatsApp in teaching listening skills in EFL out-of-classroom settings

Abstract

Abstract: This research explores the use of authentic material through WhatsApp to teach listening skills in English as a foreign language outside the classroom. The objective of this research is to determine the impact of using authentic material delivered through WhatsApp in improving the listening skills of English language learners. To do this, the perception that students have about the use of authentic materials is analyzed. Likewise, the advantages and disadvantages of integrating WhatsApp in learning English as a foreign language are analyzed. A mixed method was used, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. This research was conducted in a public institution in district 01D06 with twenty-five second-year high school students, who received several videos through WhatsApp, so that they could watch them and then answer several questions related to the information found in them. Additionally, two questionnaires were applied, the first with the aim of measuring the students' perception, and the second to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using this technological tool outside the classroom. The results indicate that the use of authentic material through WhatsApp is effective in improving the listening skills of students of English as a foreign language.