The Impact of TED-Ed Videos on Listening Anxiety, Listening Comprehension, Motivation, and Vocabulary Acquisition among Iraqi Undergraduate EFL Learners

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study examined the impacts of TED-Ed video interventions on listening anxiety, listening comprehension enhancement, motivation, and vocabulary acquisition. Employing a pretest-posttest control group design with 60 participants randomly assigned to experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) conditions, the research measured the differential impact of TED-Ed's animated educational content compared to traditional listening instruction methodologies. Results demonstrated statistically significant improvements (p < 0.001) across all measured variables in the experimental group, with particularly robust effect sizes observed for anxiety reduction (d = 1.76) and vocabulary acquisition (d = 1.35). These findings corroborate existing literature on multimedia-assisted language learning and highlight the unique pedagogical advantages of TED-Ed's concise, visually-supported format in addressing well-documented challenges in EFL contexts. The study contributes to the growing body of research on technology-enhanced language learning while offering empirically supported recommendations for curriculum design in under-researched educational settings.