Gölgeleme eğitminin Azerbaycanlı öğrencilerin İngilizce konuşmada açıklılık, anlaşılabilirlik, akıcılık ve aksanlık üzerine etkisinin incelenmesi

This mixed-methods study with a quasi-experimental design investigates the influence of the shadowing technique on university students' intelligibility, comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness in oral discourse. The study was conducted with the participation of 15 students (aged 17-18) studying at Azerbaijan University of Languages, selected using the convenience sampling method. Quantitative data came from pre- and post- test scores of two tasks (a shadowing task and a picture narration task), and qualitative data came from semi- structured interviews. The pre-test was evaluated in terms of intelligibility, comprehensibility, oral fluency, and accentedness by a native speaker of American English, an expert in linguistics. After two hours of training on the shadowing technique, the participants practiced shadowing speeches and dialogues from popular American TV series, such as New Girl, Friends, Raising Hope, Christmas Comes Twice, and How I Met Your Mother, once a week for five weeks. They posted recordings of their renditions on a learning management system (LMS). After a five- week-long intervention, the same pre-test was administered as the post-test, evaluated by the same rater in terms of intelligibility, comprehensibility, oral fluency, and accentedness. To collect qualitative data, the study employed semi-structured interviews that focused on the students' experiences with shadowing and its influence on their language skills. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key patterns and themes in the interview data, leading to several significant findings. The results show that shadowing, particularly when tied to engaging and relevant media content, significantly improved students' English fluency. Participants reported enhanced speech fluency, a better understanding of native speakers' pronunciation, and a reduction in their accents, contributing to more natural and intelligible speech. Furthermore, the study found that the context provided by the video clips enhanced students' grasp of language rhythm, stress, and intonation, which are crucial elements of connected speech. This study contributes to the growing body of research on pronunciation pedagogy by demonstrating the effectiveness of shadowing in improving speaking skills. It also highlights the importance of incorporating mainstream media into language learning, offering learners authentic, real-world experiences.