Facilitating acquisition of English sound linking with script-enhanced shadowing

Abstract

This experimental study aimed to explore the effects of script-enhanced shadowing on consonant-vowel linking acquisition among EFL learners. Two groups of twenty-four Vietnamese EFL learners volunteered to participate in the study, with twelve for the experimental group (EG) and twelve for the comparison group (CG). While the EG was instructed to shadow the linking with an enhanced script, the CG used script shadowing to practise phoneme linking. Both were conducted online via Google Meet. A pre-test and a post-test were employed to collect quantitative data on the learners’ recognition and production of linking. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews were employed to explore their perceptions towards issues associated with shadowing online to explain the effects. Findings showed that script-enhanced shadowing outweighed script shadowing in effect on the learners’ perception of consonant-vowel linking. For production, the EG gained an improvement while the CG remained unchanged. But group comparison revealed no statistically significant difference in terms of this aspect. The results offer useful implications for using shadowing to facilitate the acquisition of phonological features and future research that employs script enhancement for shadowing.