Psychological Aspects of Shadowing Training

抄録

This study investigated the shadowing technique from a non-traditional perspective. While the mechanism of shadowing and its effectiveness on listening skills have been the subjects of researchers' interest, this study explored learners' psychological factors. Research on both motivation and demotivation emphasizes the importance of self-confidence. To familiarize more learners with shadowing, especially those whose main interest is not English, psychological effects of shadowing need to be examined. In order to explore these aspects, three research questions were set: (1) Will shadowing practice improve learners' listening self-efficacy (LSE)? (2) Is there a correlation between improvement in listening comprehension skills, improvements of LSE, and perceptions of the learning costs of shadowing as a learning method? (3) How do learners perceive shadowing? Training with 32 university students showed that shadowing is effective in improving learners' listening self-efficacy, and there is a negative correlation between improvement of LSE and perceptions of the costs. The perception toward shadowing was also revealed.