The Effects of Authentic Video Materials on Foreign Language Listening Skill Development and Listening Anxiety at Different Levels of English Proficiency

The study aims to find out the effects of authentic video materials on foreign language listening skill and foreign language listening anxiety of students studying at different levels of English proficiency. The experimental practices of the research designed as pretest-posttest true experimental design with control group have been conducted on two experimental and two control groups. While the independent variables of the study are authentic videos and English proficiency levels, the dependent variables are English listening academic achievement levels and English listening anxiety levels of the students. The participants of the research consisted of 100 randomly selected students, who have A1 and B1 levels of English proficiency, studying English preparatory program at the school of foreign languages at a state university. Data collection tools utilized in the study are Key English Test (KET) and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FOLLAS). The statistical analysis of the research data was carried out by using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, effect size tests and correlation analysis. Findings show that authentic video materials reflecting the real language and communication samples, have highly effective results on the development of English listening skills and lowering the foreign language listening anxiety of students who have A1 and B1 levels of English proficiency. On the other hand, as students' language proficiency improves, the impact of authentic videos increases. Finally, when it is compared to control groups, values obtained by the analysis reveal that there is a much stronger correlation among the development of listening, reading, writing and speaking language skills of experimental group students whose English listening skills have improved by using authentic videos.