This quasi-experimental study examined whether TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks could improve the listening skills of Iranian EFL learners. The study also explored whether the different media of instruction could have differing impacts on the students’ learning. Sixty intermediate level male learners aged between 18 and 20 in three intact classes (n1=n2=n3=20) were the participants selected through convenience sampling. The groups were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group after ensuring that they were at the same level of language proficiency. One of the experimental groups watched TED talks via mobile devices, another group watched them through laptops, and the control group practiced listening through DVDs and CDs of the course textbook (American File 2) for ten sessions. It is worth mentioning that the mobile group watched the videos outside of the class, whereas the laptop and control groups practiced listening in the class. Every session, the participants answered some comprehension questions to enable the researchers to measure their development. The repeated measures ANOVA showed the improvement of the listening skills of all participants in the three groups during the treatment. The results of the one-way ANOVA and post hoc comparison revealed statistically significant differences between the mobile group watching the TED talks and the control group, but no differences were found between the mobile group and the laptop group or between the control and the laptop groups. The researchers inferred that the observed difference was due to using TED talks via mobile devices in the study. They could also conclude that TED talks are useful sources of practicing listening skills. The study shows the efficacy of self-directed learning via mobile devices and has implications for teachers and practitioners who are seeking ways to extend language learning beyond the confinements of the classroom.

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通过TED演讲探索伊朗EFL学习者的听力技能：媒介会有所作为吗？

这项准实验研究调查了TED（技术，娱乐，设计）讲座是否可以提高伊朗EFL学习者的听力水平。该研究还探讨了不同的教学媒体是否会对学生的学习产生不同的影响。通过便捷抽样选择了60个年龄在18至20岁之间的三个完整班级（n1 = n2 = n3 = 20）的中级男性学习者。在确保他们具有相同的语言水平后，将这些组随机分为两个实验组和一个对照组。一个实验小组通过移动设备观看了TED演讲，另一小组通过笔记本电脑观看了TED演讲，而对照组则通过课程教科书（美国档案2）的DVD和CD进行了十次练习。值得一提的是，移动小组在课堂以外观看视频，而笔记本电脑和对照组在课堂上练习收听。每节课，参与者回答一些理解性问题，以使研究人员能够衡量他们的发展。重复测量方差分析表明，在治疗过程中，三组所有参与者的听力均得到了改善。单向方差分析和事后比较的结果表明，观看TED演讲的移动组与对照组之间在统计学上有显着差异，但移动组与笔记本电脑组之间或对照组与笔记本电脑组之间没有发现差异。研究人员推断，观察到的差异是由于研究中通过移动设备使用了TED演讲。他们还可以得出结论，TED演讲是练习听力技能的有用资源。这项研究显示了通过移动设备进行自我指导学习的功效，并对正在寻求将语言学习扩展到教室范围之外的方法的教师和从业人员产生了影响。