Listening as a receptive skill in language teaching and learning has long been neglected in the schools and universities of Kosovo mainly because of the problems with basic infrastructure (old classrooms, overloaded classes with students and moreover, lack of technology).

While working as lecturers at the University of Gjakova and University of Prishtina and having a long experience in delivering courses of English Language, which are mainly practice-based courses aiming at improving the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, TED talks have been introduced as a listening activity for the students whose native language is not English. By using this strategy, a positive classroom atmosphere has been perceived and students’ interest and motivation on listening and comprehending these talks has been increased as well.

Well-planned selection of topics from TED Talks related to students’ interests would arouse their motivation in attentive listening. Well-organised and coherent stories, especially those personal, sincere, funny and sad ones told in a TED auditorium arouse students’ attention who listened breathlessly until the final minute of the talk.

Usually short talks from 8 to 15 minutes, rated as funny, persuasive, inspiring and motivational by the TED audience were chosen to be used as listening comprehension tests. The longer talks purposefully were used with subtitles and shorter ones without them. Students listened to them only once, answered the comprehension questions and filled in the questionnaires as well as gave feedback on these talks. All the qualitative and quantitative data from the tests and questionnaires will be presented and given in further details.

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