Exploring the Affordance of ‘BBC 6 Minute English’ Mobile Application as an Online Supplementary Listening Tool

Abstract

Listening skills have always played an important role in English learning. Communication and improvements in English can only be established when a certain level of proficiency is achieved. Therefore, it is important for all English learners to reach the required level. Nowadays, with advanced technology, learners can make use of many digital tools to improve their listening skills. Apart from the Internet and other applications for computers, English learners can also use their mobile devices as an alternative option to improve their listening skills thanks to a large number of software developed for these devices. An example of a mobile application for this purpose is “BBC 6 Minute English” developed by Kavin.flee. This study was conducted to explore the possibility of integrating this application in the students’ education process and examine if there were any problems in using this software. This study was carried out on sophomores of the English Department of the University of Foreign Languages Studies (UFL) – University of Danang (UDN), Vietnam. The study also considers the impact of the use of the application on the sophomores’ listening skills.