The effect of audio stories on the development of listening skills in teaching Turkish as a foreign language: A mixed method study

In this study, the effect of audio stories on the development of listening skills of Turkish learners as a foreign language, was examined. In addition, students' opinions were taken on both classic listening activities in books and activities that use audio stories. The research group consists of 30 B1-level students who learn Turkish as a foreign language at Istanbul University Language Center. In the study, convergent parallel design from mixed research methods was used. The working group was determined by the non-selective selection method and divided into two parts. In the quantitative dimension of the research, a true experimental pattern with a pre-test/ post-test control group was used. Prior to the study, a preliminary test (A2 listening comprehension test) was applied, and then 14 audio stories, prepared by the researcher, were applied to the experimental group. The control group continued its courses with traditional methods. After the application, the final test (B1 listening comprehension test) was applied to both groups. "Participant Recognition Form", "General Opinion Poll of Listening Activities", "Opinion Poll of Audio Story Activities" and A2 and B1 level final exams prepared by Istanbul University Language Center Examination Commission were used as data collection tools in the research. The independent samples t-test was used in the analysis of quantitative data and descriptive analysis method was used in the analysis of qualitative results. As a result of the findings obtained in the study, it was concluded that learners in the experimental group were more successful in terms of listening comprehension success compared to learners in the control group. As a result of quantitative analysis, this difference was statistically significant. In addition to this, findings obtained from qualitative data show that learners found audio story activities interesting and fun. Learners evaluated the subjects, vocalizations, application process and activities of audio stories in general. The results of this study showed that audio stories are an effective tool that can be used to improve the listening skills of B1-level learners in teaching Turkish as a foreign language.