Use of “audio texts” in the teaching of Portuguese as a Mother Tongue: practices, challenges, and opportunities

Abstract

Some studies have shown the relevance of using audiobooks and podcasts (here jointly referred to as “audio texts”) in the teaching and learning of the mother tongue. However, very little is known about the actual practices of using these digital resources in Portugal. Thus, this exploratory study aims to investigate the practices, challenges, and opportunities associated with the use of audio texts in mother tongue education and development, from the perspectives of teachers and students. To this end, a convenience sample consisting of 18 teachers of Portuguese and 11 adult students who studied Portuguese as a Mother Tongue in Portugal responded to an online questionnaire. Regarding practices, several responses from both teachers and students indicate that podcasts and especially audiobooks are rarely used, despite teachers valuing their usefulness. The main difficulties identified by both groups of respondents are the scarcity of available (free) audio texts and the lack of time to search for them. As for the potential of these digital resources, both teachers and learners mainly highlight vocabulary expansion, the development of oral skills, exposure to other language varieties, and motivation.