A Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Audiobooks and E-Texts on Comprehension in SLA

Abstract

The objectives of the study are to assess the impact of the input derived through audiobooks and e-books on comprehension and the retention level in second language learners. Forty Engineering undergraduates in their first term at CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) B1 level in proficiency were randomly divided into two comparison groups: E-Text Group (EG) and Audiobook Group (AG). Data was gathered via two parallel zoom sessions conducted at different intervals in the learning process. The participants were exposed to the short story: The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekhov through an E-text (pdf) and Audio respectively. They were instructed to understand the context of the story under minimal teacher intervention. First, the students’ general perception towards reading was examined via a Likert scale survey; afterwards, similar immediate tests and posttests were administered in groups via quizzes created in Google forms to check the effectiveness of comprehension. The findings showed that both the E-text and Audiobook modes have significantly improved student comprehension. While the mean of the E-text group was higher than that of the Audiobook group in both tests, the difference is not statistically significant in immediate and longterm retention. Neither of the modes has been demonstrated superior to the other at the immediate test and the post-test levels. Therefore, both E-texts and audiobooks of literary texts are recommended as supplementary material in facilitating students’ comprehension and retention in Second Language Acquisition.