Innovation in Language Learning

Owing to unexpected events such as natural disasters or pandemics, an immediate transition to online education may be essential. Moreover, some universities now deliver particular courses online. Therefore, there is a special need for fresh methods to improve EFL learners’ language proficiency in online settings, especially their speaking skills, which are still difficult to develop in virtual environments (Alhumsi, 2024 &Ying et al., 2021). The study investigated the potential of student-created video podcasts as an instructional tool for speaking skill development in an online course from the perspective of students. Although the research was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, its findings bear continuing relevance to current and future digital learning environments. This mixed-methods study was conducted with 60 first-year ELT students at a state university in Turkey. In the online course called “Oral Communication Skills”, the students were required to create video podcasts, in pairs and individually on a given topic, and to evaluate both their own and their peers’ speaking performance based on a specific rubric. Data were obtained from a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire and semi structured Zoom-based interviews carried out with 14 students. The questionnaire responses were analyzed descriptively, whereas a thematic analysis was applied to the interview data. The results indicated that video-podcasting tasks were perceived as valuable in developing communicative functions. Additionally, interview data highlighted that watching their own video podcasts enabled students to recognize mistakes in pronunciation, accuracy and fluency. This study suggests that video podcasting may be integrated into online speaking instruction across a range of foreign languages besides English to enhance learners’ communicative competence.