Vietnam has witnessed the boom of English since the initiation of the economic reform known
as Đổi mới in 1986. In the context of economic renovation and the open-door policy, English
has become the dominant foreign language in many enterprises. Due to its significance, many
institutes, centers, and university departments have been established to cater to the needs of
Vietnamese people who want to master four skills, including Speaking, the most difficult skills
to master in English (Li, 2007, as cited in Zhang, 2009) However, students who study English in
Vietnam are given little chance to practice speaking since the emphasis in classroom is usually
on receptive skills, vocabulary, and structural patterns. Teachers in Vietnam do try to employ
communicative method, but the testing is still lexicogrammatically based, thus causing the
mismatch between teaching and testing. To make matter worse, few class contact hours and
material constrains make it harder for every student to practice speaking (Hoang Van Van).
Second-year English majors at HUFLIS are not the exception, they often feel confused when it
comes to speaking English because of insufficient practice and more importantly, lack of
appropriate self-study methods. Shadowing technique is among the effective methods to
practice speaking and its effectiveness has been proved in many countries, especially in Japan.
In Shadowing: What is it? How to use it. Where will it go?, Yo Hamada compared two empirical
of Shadowing and commented that shadowing is effective on the condition that there is a
degree of high proficiency.
Therefore, we think this technique would be a suitable self- study method in practicing for
HUFIS second-year English majors whose English level is supposed to be at intermediate/upper-
intermediate.
That is why – Perception bc all of the learning process always begins with perception.
By investigating the perceptions of second year English majors at HUFLIS towards the use of
Shadowing technique, this research can inform students a method to practice speaking at
home. It can also provide valuable insights for language instructors and curriculum developers
on how to design effective language learning activities that incorporate Shadowing technique to
enhance students’ Speaking skills. Moreover, this study can contribute to the existing literature
on language leanrning strategies and provide practical implications for language teaching and
learning.
Vietnam has experienced a surge in the use of English since the initiation of the economic
reform known as Đổi mới in 1986. As a result of this economic renovation and open-door policy,
English has become the dominant foreign language in many enterprises. To meet the demand
for English proficiency, many institutes, centers, and university departments have been
established to help Vietnamese people master the four skills, including Speaking, which is often
considered the most difficult skill to master in English (Li, 2007, as cited in Zhang, 2009).
However, students studying English in Vietnam are often given little chance to practice speaking
in the classroom, where the focus is typically on receptive skills, vocabulary, and structural
patterns. Although teachers in Vietnam do try to employ communicative methods, the testing is
still lexicogrammatically based, which causes a mismatch between teaching and testing.
Furthermore, few class contact hours and material constraints make it difficult for every student
to practice speaking (Hoang Van Van). Second-year English majors at HUFLIS are no exception;
they often feel confused when it comes to speaking English due to insufficient practice and,
more importantly, a lack of appropriate self-study methods. One effective method for practicing
speaking is shadowing, which has been proven to be effective in many countries, particularly in
Japan.
In the article "Shadowing: What is it? How to use it. Where will it go?", Yo Hamada compared
two empirical studies and concluded that shadowing is most effective when learners have a high
degree of proficiency in the target language. Therefore, we believe that this technique would be
a suitable self-study method for HUFLIS second-year English majors, who are expected to have
an intermediate to upper-intermediate level of English proficiency.
That is why – Perception bc all of the learning process always begins with perception.
By examining the perceptions of second-year English majors at HUFLIS towards the use of the
Shadowing technique, this research can offer students an effective method to practice speaking
English at home. Furthermore, it can provide valuable insights for language instructors and
curriculum developers on how to design language learning activities that incorporate
Shadowing to enhance students' speaking skills. Additionally, this study can contribute to the
existing literature on language learning strategies and offer practical implications for language
teaching and learning. Overall, this research can benefit both students and educators in their
efforts to improve English language proficiency.
By regularly practicing shadowing, students can improve their speaking and listening skills, as
well as their pronunciation and intonation. Overall, shadowing can be a valuable addition to the
language-learning toolkit for students who want to take their English proficiency to the next
level.
