Shadowing for Developing EFL Learners’ Bottom-up Listening Skills: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Shadowing is a technique that involves learners listening to spoken language and repeating it at the same time. Recently, there has been growing interest in its potential for developing EFL learners’ phoneme perception and word segmentation skills.  This paper systematically reviewed empirical studies published from the late 1990s up to 2023 to evaluate the effectiveness of shadowing in developing EFL learners’ bottom-up listening skills. The findings indicate that shadowing supported beginners and lower-proficiency learners in perceiving sounds and recognizing words in connected speech. Advanced learners, on the other hand, seemed to benefit less from shadowing, especially when it came to tasks that required higher-level comprehension. Three core themes emerged throughout the review: first, shadowing seemed to enhance phoneme perception and speed up word recognition; second, it was beneficial for learners who struggled with decoding spoken language; and third, it promoted learner engagement and metacognitive awareness. The review also identified several factors influencing its effectiveness such as repetition frequency and listening materials difficulty. The findings suggest that shadowing can be an effective pedagogical tool for improving EFL learners' bottom-up listening skills. However, research gaps remain regarding long-term retention of bottom-up improvements as well as shadowing relevance for advanced learners. Further research is, therefore, required to examine the implementation and effectiveness of this technique across more proficiency levels.