Literary audiobook as a learning resource in PFL: a exploratory study with Chinese learners

Abstract

With the growing accessibility of literary texts in digital audiobook format, it is necessary to reflect on their role in learning a foreign language, particularly Portuguese. There have already been several reflections on the advantages of these resources and some empirical studies that prove their benefits in concrete situations. However, there still needs to be more known about foreign language learners' actual use of literary audiobooks. So, this study, based on a micro-reality of teaching and learning Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) in China, aims to contribute (i) to the knowledge about the use of literary audiobooks as a resource for learning a foreign language by learners and (ii) to a reflection on the sensitization needed so that learners and teachers make better use of this resource. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to 52 Chinese students of PFL. The main results show that the preferred reading formats are digital and printed books, with little experience using digital audiobooks. However, learners are aware of the advantages of these tools. The conclusions reached allow us to reflect on the need to sensitize learners to digital audiobooks as a means of learning.