CAN HYPERMEDIA IMPROVE EFL LEARNERS’ LISTENING SKILL?

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of using educational software on English as a foreign language student’s listening skill. A total of thirty two students from two classes sharing a similar social and educational background determined by a background questionnaire and a language proficiency test participated in the study. Then sixteen learners in each class at the pre-intermediate level of proficiency were randomly assigned into either experimental or control group. Next, the two classes were administered a listening test. For a period of six weeks in twelve sessions the educational software, Rosetta Stone was offered to the experimental group. After twelve sessions both groups were reexamined through a listening test to investigate the effect of software on usersʹ functions and its effect on the listening ability of the participants in the experimental group. The findings displayed a significant increase in the learning outcomes of experimental group from pretest to posttest in which their scores were significantly higher than those of the control group. Moreover, the participants in the experimental group perceived using hypermedia as an effective way for language learning, especially listening comprehension.