Students’ Perceptions of the BBC Learning English Podcast Application for Improving Listening Skills: A Survey of English Education Students
Indonesia 
India 
Sri Lanka 
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BBC Learning English Podcast, Learning Media, Listening Skills, Mobile-Assisted Language Learning, Student Perceptions
Abstract
Background: Listening is a foundational yet challenging skill for learners of English as a foreign language, and mobile applications offer flexible, self-paced opportunities to practise it. However, empirical evidence on how students experience the BBC Learning English Podcast application remains limited.
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate English education students’ perceptions of the BBC Learning English Podcast application as a medium for improving listening skills.
Method: A quantitative descriptive survey design was employed. The participants were 38 students of the English Education Department at Universitas Muhammadiyah Enrekang. Data were collected through a 30-item questionnaire consisting of positively and negatively worded statements, with four response options ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree, and were analysed using descriptive percentages.
Results: All respondents (100%) agreed or strongly agreed that they used the application to improve their listening, that it helped them, and that it developed their listening skills; 97.4% agreed that it improved their English listening ability. Most respondents also rejected the negatively worded statements. Nevertheless, 26.3% found the application boring, and respondents reported drawbacks such as excessive advertisements and the need to download audio before listening.
Conclusion: Students generally perceive the BBC Learning English Podcast application as a useful and flexible medium for supporting listening practice. As the findings rest on self-reported perceptions, future experimental research is needed to measure actual gains in listening performance.
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