Abstract:

Podcasting is nowadays one of the fastest growing Internet media, broadly used in domains such as broadcasting, entertainment, and education. After 2016, podcast market has seen tremendous growth in both production volume and consumption. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular among younger people, such as students, especially when it comes to mlearning applications, as they are a medium fully suitable to their increasingly mobile, always-connected lifestyle.

Podcasts have been used for educational purposes and specifically for language learning applications, since the early 2000. In this paper, numerous studies and research papers published from 2005 to 2021 have been examined to define the effects of using podcasts on language learning. The paper presents the conclusions of the bibliographic research to date and highlights the strengths and weaknesses of podcasts as tools for language learning, as well as students’ perceptions about them. The current data of the podcast market is also presented and conclusions are drawn for the future use of podcasts in language learning. From the market data, but also from the positive conclusions that emerged from the reviewed research, it appears that the use of podcasts in language education presents great prospects. The future of podcasting in language learning is promising, as podcasts can offer remarkable benefits to both teachers and students. Podcasts are a technological educational tool which, in the contemporary mobile educational environment, increases students’ language skills and proficiency as well as the probability that students will feel engaged and motivated, and thus, their exploitation must be further investigated

Keywords:

Podcasts, MALL, m-learning, elearningLanguage learning, Technology, Listening skills, Motivation.