Pre-service Teachers` Perspectives on a Blended Listening Course Using TED Talks

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This study explores Korean pre-service EFL teachers` perspectives on the use of TED website (http://www.ted.com) to practice designing listening tasks and test items. Thirty-five university students majoring in English education participated in this project as a part of their regular course for a semester. The course consisted of two main parts: 1) classroom activities for learning theories in the field of teaching second language listening (i.e., lectures, chapter presentations, and discussions) and for practicing actual teaching skills in listening classrooms (i.e., microteaching); and 2) an individual online project for applying their knowledge and ideas to design creative listening tasks and test items using TED Talks. In other words, the course was intended to run as a form of blended learning which integrates a combination of offline and online activities. This offered opportunities for the students to develop their own advanced English listening skills, allowing for autonomous and level-based learning while preserving the face-to-face contact features of the traditional listening classroom. At the end of the course, students` assignments were analyzed and a survey questionnaire was conducted to examine their perspectives of using TED website as a source of authentic listening materials not only for them but also for their future students.Â