The impact of the Shadowing Technique on EFL Learners’ Linguistic Enrichment: A Case Study

Abstract

In today’s world, people are living under the effect of globalization and English became the language of all fields; learning this language is a necessity to excel in any domain. Nevertheless, the process of learning a foreign language can be challenging. One of the most common problems that learners confront is foreign language speaking anxiety. In order to address any issues, teachers are continuously expanding and adapting several techniques such as shadowing which is a recent concept that consists of instant repetition of what is heard. From this point, the aim of this research is to measure the effectiveness of the incorporation of shadowing technique in lowering the learners’ speaking anxiety. This study was conducted at the University of Oran 2 in the department of finance targeting second year students. The data were collected via the utilization of an anxiety scale. The results disclosed that applying this technique reduced learners’ speaking anxiety, strengthened their communication skills, and allowed them to be more comfortable and relaxed. Indeed, it can be understood that the use of this technique has mainly focused on productive skills, even though reading the transcript of the shadowed material is very common. Accordingly, it can lead to the development of reading fluency. It is recommended to investigate the effect of the shadowing technique on receptive skills.