The Influence of Audiovisual Materials on Listening Comprehension Skills in Learning Japanese as a Foreign Language

This paper examines whether extensive listening with the help of audiovisual materials has a positive influence on listening comprehension. Extensive listening is a method used for learning a foreign language that focuses on listening to a number of texts that can be understood by learners with higher levels of comprehension. This method requires access to tools to support the learning plan, appropriate advising, and the availability of resources. Audiovisual materials allow learners to learn verbal and nonverbal language. Therefore, the usage of these materials for extensive listening is perceived as useful. In recent years, learners have received a variety of audiovisual materials outside of class owing to the development of technology. Since extensive listeners have a higher practice in memorizing grammar, vocabulary, or phrases, this study examines the influence of audiovisual materials outside of the classroom. The study included 13 participants—five intermediate and eight elementary level students. The results did not statistically show that there is a positive influence of extensive listening using audiovisual materials on listening comprehension. However, all the participants perceived audiovisual materials to be useful for learning Japanese. These results indicate that extensive listening has a significant impact on listening skills in the field of second-language acquisition.