Podcasts in higher education: teacher enthusiasm increases students’ excitement, interest, enjoyment, and learning motivation

Teacher enthusiasm is linked to various positive outcomes. However, most teacher enthusiasm research is based on correlational data. Therefore, no causal inferences can be drawn. To overcome this limitation, a between-subject experimental design (N = 163) was used to analyse the effects of teacher enthusiasm on instructional quality. Two versions of an educational podcast were developed: A neutral and an enthusiastic version. While the wording was kept identical between both versions, the speaker was instructed to read the podcast script either in a neutral or in an enthusiastic manner. The results show that listening to the enthusiastic version resulted in more positive instructional quality ratings: Participants who listened to the enthusiastic version rated it as more interesting and exciting; they enjoyed the listening process more; had a higher motivation to learn more about the topic; evaluated the podcast host as more trustworthy; and gave the podcast a higher overall rating.