International Journal of Language and Literary Studies

Volume 5, Issue 2, 2023

Homepage : http://ijlls.org/index.php/ijlls

Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving

Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School Students in Sudan
Khalid Othman
Department of English and Translation, College of Science and Arts, Ar Rass, Qassim University,
Saudi Arabia
[email protected]
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v5i2.1234

APA Citation: Othman, K. (2023). Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL
Secondary School Students in Sudan. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 5(2), 368–383.
https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v5i2.1234

Received: Abstract:
12/04/2023 This study was carried out with the participation of forty-seven (47) high school
Accepted: students who were required to take English in order to continue their education at
25/06/2023 the university level. The participants were asked to respond to a given
questionnaire composed from (5) axes, each axis has many items, the target was
to explore the effect of watching YouTube on listening skills. Their responses were
Keywords: analyzed statistically, the results showed that some students were aware of the
YouTube Videos, importance of listening skills and few do not have the sufficient perception about
Technology, how these videos can help them. Their ability to interact with the speaker was
Computer-Assisted showed as one of the most required skills, mastering this skill helps the students to
interact with speakers. Students' ability to process information has been boosted
Language
by watching YouTube videos, and most will speak up if the presenter requests it,
Learning (CALL), but many still struggle to come up with an appropriate answer to what was said,
Listening Skills and many more are unable to adapt to differences in delivery style. We recommend
watching the videos in the accompanying table.

1. INTRODUCTION

YouTube's positive effects on students' motivation, engagement, and language skills have
been documented in recent research (Burke & Snyder, 2008; Clifton & Mann, 2011; Jaffar,
2012; Lee & Liang (2012); Orús, et.all, 2016; Styati, 2016). Kelsen (2009) also noted that
YouTube was used as a source of entertaining, relevant, and effective additional content for
university-level English learners.
Benson, (2001), explained that there are two basic situational conditions that can be supported
by the internet, because learners can use a lot of resources that contain authentic material
whenever they want. Recently, technology has been providing a lot of opportunities for
students who want to learn a language, and the internet is full of unlimited resources. An
innovative development in multimedia and social media applications provide EFL learners with
many activities related to real-time conversations found in TV and radio programs (Bahrani &
Sim 2012). For enhanced language learning abilities, technological applications can be used by
students as learning tools, and they have some positive influence on students’ learning process.
This study attempts to enlighten the impact of using YouTube in enhancing English

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 Volume 5, Issue 2, 2023
pronunciation. The investigation of this study is completed using a questionnaire as a data
gathering device, the participants are (47) secondary school students.
This study highlights the influence of YouTube on enhancing listening skills. Numerous
challenges might encounter by learners at the level of improving skills involved in listening to
a second language. As a result, this research has been carried out based on listening sub-skills
with the purpose of obtaining responses to the questionnaire’s items.
The major contribution of this study to the field of learning English as a foreign language
appears as a result of many researches’ findings showed that most of EFL students said that
YouTube helped them improve their English vocabulary, make learning English more
interesting, easily understand the content of YouTube videos, find useful resources for learning
English, better acquire English by writing down the most important points in a diary while
watching videos, improve their speaking and listening skills, and develop their vocabulary. As
a result, this study concludes that there are several positive effects of YouTube use on EFL
learners' English language ability.

2. Literature Review
2.1 YouTube videos as learning media for EFL learners

Now YouTube is available as an application which can be installed whether in

smartphones or computers, and many types of videos containing all sorts of entertainment or
educational contents are shared by users who can upload or download these videos. YouTube
services began in February, 2005. Even if a user hasn't signed up, they can still see and
comment on videos that have been posted. It releases videos online for a variety of reasons,
including entertainment and education. There are long and short films available, each featuring
a plethora of accents from various English varieties. YouTube gives EFL learners an
opportunity to communicate with native and with nonnative speakers, and it also familiarizes
them with different dialects and varieties of English spoken in many countries.
People of all ages use YouTube for an unlimited number of purposes including
language learning, watching news channels and watching movies for entertainment. It provides
EFL learners with resources for developing their language skills and instant access to authentic
language materials in a wide variety of contexts (Wang & Chen, 2020). YouTube videos
promote second language acquisition in general and self-regulated learning of English. Using
YouTube videos improved EFL learners' speaking skills. Both written and video feedback help
students achieve greater linguistic accuracy when speaking in English (Tseng & Yeh, 2019).
EFL-YouTube remix empowers multimodal and computational literacies for EFL purposes
(Eisenlauer, 2020). YouTube video-making helps EFL learners develop language, intercultural
and universal knowledge. Output-focused video-based instruction helps in students’ pragmatic
development (Jernigan, 2012). Reflective YouTube videos developed students’ teamwork
skills, ability to manage stress, technological ability and creativity, delivering information and
enriching knowledge related to English learning and other types of knowledge.
The role of technology in ESL classrooms is very clear and no one can ignore. Rapid
technological advancement and development provide many resources for students to find
online courses live or recorded. It transforms education from its conventional form to more
modern strategies that are engaging, substantive, and fun for pupils. Access to the internet is
crucial for students of English as a foreign language because of the wealth of audio-visual

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Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School
Students in Sudan
resources available on the many websites available to them. YouTube can be regarded as the
most powerful software to use for obtaining success in learning English as a foreign language.
EFL learners can watch YouTube videos to develop various skills such as spoken and written
and to master language areas. It is a tool which is very useful for both teachers and students
because it can be accessed everywhere whenever they want.
Technology offers a great deal of options to the students; it opens a lot of resources for
language learning, these options contain web tools are the most useful innovations to be used
inside classrooms and outside classrooms. Web 2.0 technologies play an important in
enhancing language learning through technology, (Motteram & Sharma, 2009) showed that our
understanding of language education has changed as a result of using technologies. According
to (Tilfarlioglu, 2011), the technology which is used in designing web 2.0 helped in regulating
undergraduate and high school students' perceptions towards learning English using this
technology.
As stated by (Brook, 2011), CALL provides huge resources to learn English language,
this fact is seen on the results which are taken from many researches when they proved that
YouTube videos have positive influence on the learner’s mastery of English language.
YouTube is a tool that can be used to facilitate language learning, expands confidence, affords
materials created by native speakers and also raises the participation of EFL learners. Teachers
who prefer promoting learners’ autonomy, might find YouTube useful. (Sherman, 2003)
indicated that most people spend more time watching videos and they prefer audiovisual
materials which are proved to be interesting for them, when also watching audiovisual
materials, two senses are used at the same time-seeing and hearing-. Authentic materials
included on the channels motivate learners and increase their awareness towards reliable and
accurate native speakers’ use of their language
2.2 Types of YouTube videos

YouTube is full of channels contain two types of videos which show English language
lessons. First, videos show a teacher explaining different types of English lessons. These types
of videos are considered very effective for English language learners. Second, videos including
native English speakers demonstrate various kinds of content, such as blogs, entertainment,
reporting events, etc. Such videos will be very convenient for students who are already in the
grade of advanced learners in learning English (Ghasemi, et al., 2011). Research handled by
(Ofcom,2017) showed that 81% of children aged 8-11 years are intimate with videos found on
YouTube channels. Assuredly, this can be regarded as an advantage for watching of YouTube
videos in acquiring English language skills for both school students and university students.
For pedagogical purposes, a lot of videos are designed and uploaded to YouTube, they
can also as a good an instructor in conveying facts or determining methods in joining the
processes of learning and teaching. They aid and ease the process of learning in order to enable
learners to improve their skills using social networks or other communication strategies which
enable them to exchange knowledge with other EFL learners everywhere. (Tarnopolsky &
Degtiariova, 2003) accepted that YouTube channels afford EFL learner chances to listen, see
and detect how native speakers interact with others, this helps them proceed further on their
abilities to improve their skills, including pronunciation.
Modern researches on watching YouTube videos in language learning such as (Burke
& Snyder, 2008), Clifton & Mann, 2011, Jaffar, 2012, Lee & Liang, 2012, Orús, et.all, 2016,

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 Volume 5, Issue 2, 2023
Styati, 2016), showed positive influence on learners’ motivation when they studied particular
language area, it motivated them to enhance engagement, and to improve language skills and
vocabulary. (Kelsen, 2009) also displayed that YouTube was created to be a source of
attractive, admissible and helpful supplementary contents at advanced level for university
students.
Students need to be guided by an instructor in order to avoid spending unproductive
time and to stop time consuming, this can be achieved by suggesting channels that are made
for teaching the English language (Watkins & Wilkins, 2011). In this case, teachers and parents
must cooperate in choosing and deciding the appropriate material for their students. For a
teacher to effectively incorporate YouTube channels into his English lessons, he must be well-
versed in determining what constitutes proper classroom viewing. The professional and
educational capability of the teacher is an essential requirement if he wants to be good at his
job.

2.3 Listening skills to develop by second (L2) language learners

An EFL learner needs to be familiar with authentic materials in an authentic

environment because he might be either familiar or unfamiliar to that authentic environment.
A frequently experienced and seen something can be regarded as familiar and it is clearly
observed. Besides, something which is unknown or is different can be described as un familiar
(Rustam Shadiev, 2022).
Adams-Goertel, 2013, explained that all EFL learners or non-native speakers must
achieve accurate pronunciation in order to distinguish meanings or to produce intelligible
sentences. It is proved that good ability of pronunciation develops EFL learners’ ability to
produce accurate utterances and to smoothly comprehend spoken language. (Julia, 2002)
showed that spoken language is a result of pronunciation, so if there is no pronunciation there
would be no spoken language and no verbal interaction. This proves that EFL learners need to
master listening skills so as to master speaking skills because they mirror each other. Walker
& Goodith 2017, suggested a list of listening abilities which learners need to develop based on
a combination of experiences in teaching listening; the skills stated below are all needed in
order to comprehend and respond to a spoken message.
a. Awareness.
b. Connecting sounds to language items.
c. Clarifying meaning using knowledge of the world.
d. Working with information.
e. Collaborating with the speaker.
3. Methods
The data were collected in this study using a questionnaire as a data gathering device.
The questionnaire was designed based on the five questions of the study so as to investigate
the impact of using YouTube videos presented by specialists in the field of teaching English as
a foreign language on enhancing English language listening skills. Each item has five degrees
describing participants’ responses starting from (Strongly Disagree) which has given 1 point,
then (Disagree) which has given 2 points, and (Neutral) which has given 3 points, before the

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Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School
Students in Sudan
last (Agree) which has given 4 points and finally (Strongly Agree) has given 5 points. The axes
of the questionnaire contain twenty-four items which represent the sub-skills proposed by
(Walker & Goodith 2017) in a list of listening abilities which learners need to develop based
on a combination of experiences in teaching listening which are needed by EFL learners to
improve their listening skills using YouTube videos.
3.1.Participants

This study was carried out in a public secondary school in Sharq Al Neel province in
Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Forty-seven students between the ages of fourteen and nineteen
were given the questionnaire to participate as a sample to respond to its items. All the students
were males and no females participated in this study. All of the students studied the English
language as a major required course of the Sudan government syllabus of the secondary schools
which qualifies them to enter universities. Participants had at least 4 years of experience surfing
the internet and watching YouTube videos.
3.2.Questionnaire items

The questionnaire was divided into five parts, and each part contains between (4) and
(6) listening skills to be evaluated. The parts are designed according to the questions of the
study as shown in the tables below. The first axis contains (5) items which are designed to
investigate the learners’ perception about using YouTube videos to improve their listening
skills. The second Axis has (6) items designed to check EFL learners’ ability to match sounds
to the language items. The third Axis contains (3) items used to explore the students’ ability in
interpreting meaning using knowledge of the world. The fourth axis has (4) items constructed
to find the students’ ability to deal with information they hear. The fifth axis which is the last
one in the questionnaire has (6) items constructed to check whether the students can interact
with the speaker or not.

4. Results
Firstly, the responses of the students to each axis of the questionnaire are statistically
analysed to find the mean in order to find where the centre value is located and to make
projections about a standard of normalcy within the students who respond to the questionnaire.
Second, the standard deviation of each axis is calculated to find how spread out the data is. It
is a measure of how far each observed value is from the mean in any distribution. Then the
percentages of the items are calculated to find the highest and the lowest so as to set the
directions of the samples and their ranks. Table (1) and chart (1) shows the mean, the standard
Direction
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly

Strongly

Sample
Neutral

Agree
Agree

Mean
Items
NO

SD

2 Discriminating between sounds 3 5 6 18 15 3.8 6.7 75.5 Agree

1 Observing individual sounds 5 6 5 17 14 3.6 5.7 72.3 Agree
Indicating diminished sounds in
3 7 7 11 12 10 3.2 2.3 64.7 Neutral
connected speech.
4 Identifying stressed syllables 8 10 9 11 9 3.1 1.1 61.3 Neutral
5 Identifying changes in intonation 9 11 6 13 8 3 2.7 60 Neutral

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 Volume 5, Issue 2, 2023
deviation, the percentage, the sample direction and the rank of the sample besides the (5)
responses to the items.
4.1 Awareness

(Table 1: Awareness)

Axis One: Perception

80 75.7
72.3
70 64.7
61.3 60
60
50
40
30
18 17
20 1211 13 11
11 9 10 9
6 5 3.86.7 7 7 8
10 3 5 6 5 3.65.7 3.22.3 3 3.11.1 4 6
3 2.7 5
0 1 0 2 0 0 0
0
15 14 10 9 8

Agree Not Sure Disagree

Strongly Disagree Mean Standard Deviation
Percentage Sample Direction Rank

(Chart 1: Awareness)

It appears that the second statement (Discriminating between sounds) has the highest
mean (M=3.8), (75.7%), this shows that students’ responses move towards the sample direction
of the response (Agree) which makes this statement’s rank number one, the SD (6.7) represents
a far distance from the mean as a result of the differences between the statements’ answers.
The first statement (Observing individual sounds) comes second in order, it has the second
mean (M=3.6). The third statement (Indicate diminished sounds in connected speech.)
represents a direction to the response (Neutral) with (M=3.2) mean and (64.7%) of the sample,
but (SD =2.3) shows a far distance difference between the students’ responses. The statement
(Identifying stressed syllables) comes in the fourth rank with (M=3.1) and (61.3%) and its
(SD=1.1) demonstrates that the values gathered around the average.
4.2 Connecting sounds to language items.
Direction
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
Neutral

Sample
Agree

Agree
Mean
Items
NO

SD

2 Identifying individual word boundaries 4 5 5 17 16 3.8 0.17 75.3 Agree

1 Identifying words 4 5 6 17 15 3.7 0.20 74.5 Agree
Building an idea about how the words are
3 4 5 8 16 14 3.7 0.24 73.2 Agree
connected in meaningful units
Pinpointing ‘key’ words that provide an
4 4 5 7 18 13 3.7 0.24 73.2 Agree
idea about the topic
Determining discourse markers which
5 construct and explain attitudes towards 4 4 9 17 13 3.7 0.24 73.2 Agree
speech
6 Inferring the meaning of unknown words 6 7 5 14 15 3.5 1.75 70.6 Agree
(Table 2: Connecting sounds to language items.)

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Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School
Students in Sudan
Axis Two: Matching sounds to language items in an effort to move towards
understanding meaning

80 74.9
69.4
70 66.4

60

50

40

30
19
20 17 17

10 7 7.5 6 6.6 6 7
4 3 3.7
5
3 3.5 4 3.3 5.4 3
1 2
0 0 0
0

Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly Disagree Mean

Standard Deviation Percentage Sample Direction Rank

(Chart 2: Connecting sounds to language items)

In the second part of the questionnaire, it is shown that the responses of students
(Identifying individual word boundaries), (Identifying words), (Building an idea about how the
words are connected in meaningful units), (Pinpointing ‘key’ words that provide an idea about
the topic), (Determining discourse markers which construct and explain attitudes towards
speech) and (Inferring the meaning of unknown words), display means in the area of (Agree)
because all the statements have no significant differences between values. They also represent
their percentages between (70.6%) in the highest score and (75.3%) in the lowest score which
display similarities in their responses. (SD=1.75) and (SD=0.17) which indicate that the values
tend to be the same as the means and not far from them.

4.3 Axis Three: Clarifying meaning using knowledge of the world

Direction
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly

Strongly

Sample
Neutral

Agree

Agree
Mean
Items

SD
NO

Linking groups of words to non-linguistic

2 5 6 6 14 16 3.6 5.18 72.8 Agree
characteristics in the context.
Applying knowledge about the
3 arrangements that appropriate oral 4 6 7 17 13 3.6 5.41 72.3 Agree
interactions frequently take
Practicing awareness of the topic to hunch
1 6 6 5 17 13 3.5 5.32 70.6 Agree
what the speaker will say about it
(Table 3: Clarifying meaning using knowledge of the world)

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Axis Three: Interpreting meaning using knowledge of the world

80 74.9
69.4
70 66.4

60

50

40

30

19
20 17 17

10 7 7.5 6 6.6 6 7
4 3 3.7
5
3 3.5 4 3.3 5.4 3
1 2
0 0 0
0
17 16 13
Agree Not Sure Disagree
Strongly Disagree Mean Standard Deviation
Percentage Sample Direction Rank

(Chart 3: Clarifying meaning using knowledge of the world)

The statements of part three of the questionnaire are designed to evaluate students’
ability to get the meaning using their previous information about the topic. The three items
(Applying knowledge about the arrangement that appropriate oral interactions frequently take),
(Applying knowledge about the arrangements that appropriate oral interactions frequently take)
and (Practicing awareness of the topic to hunch what the speaker will say about it), these three
items’ take the sample direction towards (Agree) because their means (3.6), (3.6) and (3.5),
represent similarities in students’ responses. Their percentages also (72.8%), (72.3) and (70.6)
show similarities. The SDs (5.18), (5.41) and (5.32) indicate that the values tend to be far from
their means.
4.4 Axis Four: Working with information
Direction
Disagree

Sample
Strongly

Disagree

Strongly
Neutral
Items

Mean
Agree

Agree
NO

SD

Deducing information which is not

4 4 4 7 17 15 3.7 6.19 74.9 Agree
clearly mentioned, or not said
2 Realizing the central principle 4 5 8 14 16 3.7 5.37 74 Agree
Getting the overall concept of
1 5 6 6 15 15 3.6 5.13 72.34 Agree
what you hear
3 Comprehending details 6 6 5 16 14 3.6 5.18 71.1 Agree
(Table 4: Working with information)

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Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School
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Axis Three: Interpreting meaning using knowledge of the world

80
74.9
69.4
70 66.4

60

50

40

30

19
20 17 17

10 7 7.5 6.6 7
6 6
4 3 3.7
5
3 3.5 4 3.3 5.4 3
1 2
0 0 0
0

Agree Not Sure Disagree

Strongly Disagree Mean Standard Deviation

Percentage Sample Direction Rank

(Chart 4: Working with information)

Direction
Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Sample
Agree
Agree

Mean
Items
NO

SD

3 Pinpointing the speaker’s attitude 3 4 7 19 14 3.7 7.5 74.9 Agree

2 Observing the speaker’s purpose 3 5 6 17 16 3.5 6.6 69.4 Agree
Anticipating what the speaker will
4 4 7 6 17 13 3.3 5.4 66.4 Neutral
say later
5 Noticing turn-taking signals 5 6 5 18 13 3.3 5.9 66.34 Neutral
Opposing with changes among
1 6 7 4 16 14 3.2 5.3 64.7 Neutral
speakers
Developing a return to what the
6 10 12 7 10 8 2.7 2 54.1 Neutral
speaker has said.
This similarity indicates that the responses gathered in the central part of the
questionnaire, this similarity displays that the direction of the sample moves towards (Agree)
without significant differences in their percentages (74.9), (74), (72.34) and (71.1). All of the
items on this axis have semi-similar means (3.7), (3.7), and (3.6). The values have a tendency
to be somewhat distant from the means as a result of the considerable variations between the
replies, as indicated by the standard deviations of the four items, which are as follows: (6.19),
(5.37), (5.13) and (5.18).

4.5 Axis Five: Collaborating with the speaker

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 Volume 5, Issue 2, 2023

(Table 5: Collaborating with the speaker)

Direction
Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Sample
Agree
Agree

Mean
Items
NO

SD

%
3 Pinpointing the speaker’s attitude 3 4 7 19 14 3.7 7.5 74.9 Agree
2 Observing the speaker’s purpose 3 5 6 17 16 3.5 6.6 69.4 Agree
Anticipating what the speaker will
4 4 7 6 17 13 3.3 5.4 66.4 Neutral
say later
5 Noticing turn-taking signals 5 6 5 18 13 3.3 5.9 66.34 Neutral
Opposing with changes among
1 6 7 4 16 14 3.2 5.3 64.7 Neutral
speakers
Developing a return to what the
6 10 12 7 10 8 2.7 2 54.1 Neutral
speaker has said.
Axis Five: Interacting with the speaker

80 74.9
69.4
70 66.4 66.34
64.7

60
54.1

50

40

30

19 18
20 17 1617 17 16
13 13 14
12
10 10
7 7.5 8 7
10 6 5 6.6 67 5.4 5 6 5 5.9
76
5.3 5 6
4 33.7 33.5 43.3 3 3.3 4 4 3.2 2.72
2
01 0 0 0 0 0
0

Strongly Agree Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly Disagree

Mean Standard Deviation Percentage Sample Direction Rank

(Table 5: Collaborating with the speaker)

In the fifth axis the response to the third item (Identifying the speaker’s mood/attitude)
shows the highest mean (3.7). But it also it displays an odd standard deviation (7.5) which
indicates that the values are far from the central tendencies such as the mean. It has the highest
percentage (74.9%) and it goes towards (Agree) as a sample direction. The second item
(Recognizing the speaker’s intention) displays the second highest mean (3.5), but also it
displays an odd standard deviation (6.6) which indicates that the values are far from the central
tendencies such as the mean. It has the second highest percentage (69.4%) and it goes towards
(Agree) as a sample direction.
Item 4 (Anticipating what the speaker will say later), and item 5 (Noticing turn-taking
signals) and 1 (Pinpointing the speaker’s attitude) show means (3.3), (3.3) and (3.2) which
explain similarities between students’ responses to them, in addition to semi-similar standard

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Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School
Students in Sudan
deviation values (5.4), (5.9) and (5.3) which indicate that the values are far from the central
tendencies. Their percentages are semi-equal (66.4%), (66.3%) and (64.7%), all of them are
found in (Not Sure) sample direction.
The last item (Developing a return to what the speaker has said.) explains the lowest
mean (2.7) which is (Neural), sample direction with percentage (54.1%) tends to be (Disagree).
It has the lowest SD (2.0), which indicates that this value has tended towards the central
tendencies.
5. Discussion
The results of the study showed that (66.80%) of the students are aware of the
importance of listening skills. And they acquired knowledge and experiences about the role of
watching YouTube videos in enhancing their skills. (33.20%) of the students do not have
sufficient perception about how these videos can help them, they need more guidance by
teachers to increase their awareness about these videos, and they also need to be informed about
how video sharing libraries have great roles in enhancing their skills.
(73.33%) of the students can match sounds to language items in an effort to move
towards understanding meaning using when watching YouTube videos, and this percentage is
not ideal. The students need more practice to achieve an appropriate level in their way of
improving listening skills, and this can happen when they watch more videos from native
speakers dedicated to pronunciation.
In investigating the ability to understand and clarify the meaning of a spoken message
using knowledge of the world, (71.90%) of the students are able to do that, but not at the highest
level because (28.10%) cannot interpret the meaning. This indicates that students must be
provided with selected videos which might help them to enhance their ability to interpret the
meaning of what they listen to.
The ability to deal with what students hear is one of the essential skills in listening,
mastering this skill helps the students to communicate with the speaker in an advanced stage
of the most required skill is the ability of the students to deal with what they hear, mastering
this skill helps the students to interact with the speaker in an advanced stage. (73.09%) of the
students said they that watching YouTube videos has improved their ability to deal with
information said by speakers, (26.01%) lack the ability to deal with information in when they
listen to YouTube videos, these students need more practice using other techniques such as
electronic dictionaries in accompany with watching native-speakers’ videos.
According to the results, (56.97%) of the students have the ability to communicate with
speakers, if he requires a reply, they can interact with him freely. (43.03%) of the students do
not have the ability to developing a turn taking techniques to respond to what the speaker has
said, they lack the ability to oppose with changes among speakers, in this level, the students
need to improve their speaking skills because listening mirrors speaking.

6. Conclusion
This study's objectives were to (1) investigate the amount to which English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) secondary school students in Sudan benefit from watching YouTube videos
in order to enhance their listening abilities, and (2) establish the extent to which EFL learners
watch YouTube videos in order to improve their listening skills. Students from forty-seven
different Sudanese secondary schools who are taking English as a foreign language were each
given a questionnaire consisting of four different parts to fill out. According to the results of

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the research, students of English as a foreign language in Sudan hold a variety of opinions
regarding the significance of the role that YouTube plays in enhancing listening abilities. The
outcomes of the study indicate that students may always improve their listening abilities by
viewing videos on YouTube; however, the study also found that students need to make a greater
effort to watch videos that were specifically made for the purpose of language learning. In
conclusion, the research came to the conclusion that students of English as a foreign language
in Sudan should spend a greater amount of time watching videos on YouTube generated by
native speakers in a variety of linguistic genres.
7. Study limitations and future research directions

Few limitations should be stated and showed for more and additional research.
Personality traits of the participants which may have impacts on the results are not measured.
The size of the sample participated in this study was not big, and the activities applied by
students for their learning process learning were short, both of which factors may limit any
broad generalizations being drawn from the results. In my upcoming study, I will address these
limitations. Furthermore, a study on the role of YouTube in improving speaking skills will be
carried out to fill the gap between the two spoken skills (listening and speaking).

Funding: This research is not funded by any institution

Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest on the part of the author.
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Appendix (1): The study Questionnaire

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
(Axis One: Perception) Watching YouTube videos enable me to:
1 Observing individual sounds
2 Discriminating between sounds
3 Indicate diminished sounds in connected speech.
4 Identifying stressed syllables
5 Identifying changes in intonation
(Axis Two: Matching sounds to language items in an effort to move towards
understanding meaning) Watching YouTube videos enable me to:
1 Identifying words
2 Identifying individual word boundaries

3 Building an idea about how the words are

connected in meaningful units
4 Pinpointing ‘key’ words that provide an idea
about the topic
5 Determining discourse markers which construct
and explain attitudes towards speech
6 Inferring the meaning of unknown words
(Axis Three: Interpreting meaning using knowledge of the world) Watching
YouTube videos enable me to:
1 Practicing awareness of the topic to hunch what
the speaker will say about it
2 Linking groups of words to non-linguistic
characteristics in the context.
3 Applying knowledge about the arrangements
that appropriate oral interactions frequently take
(Axis Four: Dealing with information) Watching YouTube videos enable me to:
1 Getting the overall concept of what you hear
2 Realizing the central principle
3 Comprehending details
4 Deducing information which is not clearly
mentioned, or not said
(Axis Five: Interacting with the speaker) Watching YouTube videos enable me
to:
1 Opposing with changes among speakers
2 Observing the speaker’s purpose
3 Pinpointing the speaker’s attitude
4 Anticipating what the speaker will say later
5 Noticing turn-taking signals
6 Developing a return to what the speaker has
said.

Appendix (2): Suggested YouTube videos which will cover many requirements for
improving listening skills.

International Journal of Language and Literary Studies 381

Exploring the Impact of YouTube Videos on Improving Listening Skills for EFL Secondary School
Students in Sudan

1. Perception
Skills Suggested YouTube Videos
1.1 Observing individual sounds a. https://youtu.be/fq0eGA330WI
b. https://youtu.be/495LciokKag
c. https://youtu.be/wBuA589kfMg
1.2 Discriminating between sounds a. https://youtu.be/evSCmCrt9Lg
b. https://youtu.be/J43_0aSDfeQ
c. https://youtu.be/aWG1s-9qMNg
1.3 Indicate diminished sounds in connected a. https://youtu.be/O4BP00INsTs
speech. b. https://youtu.be/6fcdSQEon7E
c. https://youtu.be/k5Rb4gm_Iz0
1.4 a. https://youtu.be/Vu6UVwkUgzc
Identifying stressed syllables b. https://youtu.be/jQ90E0g3JXE
c. https://youtu.be/0R2vTDyoQRk
1.5 a. https://youtu.be/uCLy9Kx6Xew
Identifying changes in intonation b. https://youtu.be/h9rRJ8qupYw
c. https://youtu.be/bSx6Zg9Ibgw
2. Matching sounds to language items in an effort to move towards understanding
2.1 Identifying words a. https://youtu.be/2ohONsBaFsM
b. https://youtu.be/STiQ4BEV8ug
c. https://youtu.be/RKoemwoYTsk
2.2 Identifying individual word boundaries a. https://youtu.be/0l69KEx7GQo
b. https://youtu.be/YMPf77EhONg
c. https://youtu.be/h_GnSOIfWf4
2.3 a. https://youtu.be/RZXoUjLG1io
Building an idea about how the words are
b. https://youtu.be/BsMbQvVQAqQ
connected in meaningful units
c. https://youtu.be/8cmCZJATxTo
2.4 a. https://youtu.be/r6kjt2Mt_4w
Pinpointing ‘key’ words that provide an idea
b. https://youtu.be/lITCDZGepmg
about the topic
c. https://youtu.be/NLwztJnKU0U
2.5 a. https://youtu.be/BwHUObvb_Wo
Determining discourse markers which
b. https://youtu.be/cc5PVfbP4is
construct and explain attitudes towards speech
c. https://youtu.be/XxjEr9m8I_c
2.6 a. https://youtu.be/Wm5d7c0xGt0
Inferring the meaning of unknown words b. https://youtu.be/qEhMYxsI1hw
c. https://youtu.be/XeqrPceA35Q
3. Interpreting meaning using knowledge of the world
3.1 Practicing awareness of the topic to hunch a. https://youtu.be/SHI-i64S50s
what the speaker will say about it b. https://youtu.be/fzOBbRMLJb4
c. https://youtu.be/hnm4-CAKFks
3.2 a. https://youtu.be/4hb-SQ7MjTc
Linking groups of words to non-linguistic
b. https://youtu.be/Ks8My0gyrNM
characteristics in the context.
c. https://youtu.be/1MfLUkVtqyQ
3.3 Applying knowledge about the arrangements a. https://youtu.be/LPV1XRUBY3s
that appropriate oral interactions frequently b. https://youtu.be/CAU2zx2Ri_M
take c. https://youtu.be/iZrJIOZY3XE
4. Dealing with information
4.1 Getting the overall concept of what you hear a. https://youtu.be/GEQhDeNyM8s
b. https://youtu.be/Gaqe2wlsOio
c. https://youtu.be/ZW5SHln8RCQ
4.2 Realizing the central principle a. https://youtu.be/JW9VDll7UVY
b. https://youtu.be/uDVoZ39mONk
c. https://youtu.be/jdtSQKkgHsE
4.3 Comprehending details a. https://youtu.be/GfpOMHkYyeg

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 Volume 5, Issue 2, 2023
b. https://youtu.be/h9dsc9_zLBw
c. https://youtu.be/jpsiJYacLJg
4.4 Deducing information which is not clearly a. https://youtu.be/2NAYPysbFAs
mentioned, or not said b. https://youtu.be/P70CnIpt1Lk
c. https://youtu.be/Iyr0VpBi6BE
5. Interacting with the speaker
5.1 Opposing with changes among speakers a. https://youtu.be/fWcD4wkn0J0
b. https://youtu.be/qCIlFBmXYJU
c. https://youtu.be/fheGDEXIPmM
5.2 Observing the speaker’s purpose a. https://youtu.be/YGhre4op_QE
b. https://youtu.be/oGZ0Alg3JCA
c. https://youtu.be/7wUCyjiyXdg
5.3 Pinpointing the speaker’s attitude a. https://youtu.be/Evr54aIYXEw
b. https://youtu.be/Q7cabHb6xdI
c. https://youtu.be/lqGvYT5CJqs
5.4 a. https://youtu.be/q6QNMT609dU
Anticipating what the speaker will say later b. https://youtu.be/rzsVh8YwZEQ
c. https://youtu.be/t2z9mdX1j4A
5.5 a. https://youtu.be/3SxyUeXUX14
Noticing turn-taking signals b. https://youtu.be/Sm1dl3n5U_U
c. https://youtu.be/mbMUxoWCQao
5.6 Developing a return to what the speaker has a. https://youtu.be/2NAYPysbFAs
said. b. https://youtu.be/P70CnIpt1Lk
c. https://youtu.be/Iyr0VpBi6BE

International Journal of Language and Literary Studies 383