Bridging Theory and Practice: Podcast-Based Extensive Listening Embedded in GBA and CAR Cycles in EFL Context

Abstract

This study examines the implementation of podcast-based collaborative extensive listening embedded in a Genre-Based Approach (GBA) and Classroom Action Research (CAR) cycles in a junior secondary EFL classroom in Indonesia. The study was conducted with Grade VIII learners and employed a qualitative CAR design consisting of five iterative cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Each session used narrative podcasts and was organized through pre-, while-, and post-listening activities aligned with the GBA stages of building knowledge, modelling, joint construction, and independent construction. The study was informed by sociocultural theory, particularly peer scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as well as the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). Data were collected through classroom observations, reflective journals, student learning artefacts, and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that podcast-based collaborative listening supported students’ motivation, narrative comprehension, vocabulary awareness, and classroom participation. Students valued peer interaction, genre-oriented scaffolding, and authentic audio materials, although challenges related to audio clarity, classroom noise, fast speech, and lexical load remained evident. These challenges were addressed through instructional adjustments across the CAR cycles. The study contributes a classroom-based model for integrating digital audio, collaborative learning, and genre-based scaffolding in junior secondary EFL listening pedagogy.