Six-minute flipped classroom: The effect of using podcasts and collaborative learning on Taiwanese freshmen’s English communicative competence

As Taiwanese people do not have to speak English in their everyday lives, most are afraid to speak English. Nevertheless, people have many opportunities to bring English into their lives by employing podcasts on their mobiles. The present study aimed to determine whether teaching English listening and speaking with podcasts and collaborative learning can have a positive influence on learners’ English performance and to assess feedback from learners. A pre-experimental method was employed to examine the effect of podcasts and collaborative learning on the English learning of 108 freshmen. Data collection and analysis were based on pre- and post-test comparisons and a questionnaire survey. Paired-sample t-tests of the pre- and post-tests revealed that students’ overall English performance improved through podcasts and collaborative learning. The participants indicated that they had a positive attitude towards the course design and believed their English abilities had improved. However, this study had some limitations. Overall, online learning resources were employed in this study to conduct an English speaking and listening course, and a positive learning result was demonstrated. Participating students agreed that podcast episodes and collaborative learning were effective in their English learning.