The role of video-based shadowing practices in l2 oral proficiency development

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of shadowing practices on oral proficiency and pronunciation, specifically in terms of comprehensibility, pronunciation, intonation, and speech rate in second language learners. To this end, intact freshmen classes in an English language teaching program were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group carried out 11 shadowing tasks bi-weekly in two academic terms and submitted their shadowing recordings to the learning management system to receive feedback from their instructor. After the intervention, oral rating forms, an activity evaluation survey, and a semi-structured interview were used to investigate the outcomes. The oral assessment forms including pre- and post-treatment oral recordings of the participants were rated online through a 7-point Likert scale by native speakers of English. The ratings of the experimental and control groups were compared through ANOVAs. The descriptive statistics revealed that the experimental group demonstrated a relatively higher but small increase in the oral rating components (comprehensibility, intonation, speech rate) except for the pronunciation of individual sounds. However, the pre- and post-test differences of both groups were not found to be statistically significant in the ANOVA analysis. The 5-point Likert scale activity evaluation questionnaire and the content analysis of the interviews showed that the experimental group participants thought shadowing improves pronunciation and overall, participants had positive attitudes towards the shadowing practice.