ABSTRACT
Shadowing has usually been considered a technique for improving listening ability in second language (L2), wherein learners track the heard speech and repeat it back verbally in as exact a manner as possible while continuing to listen attentively to incoming messages. Shadowing was originally used as an experimental method in phonetics, particularly auditory phonetics on “selective attention,” to explore the mechanism underlying perception of human speech sounds. There are several L2 learning tasks related to shadowing. Repeating, like shadowing, is an oral repetition task often used in L2 learning classrooms; it involves having learners first listen to a message and then repeat it back during a sufficient pause. Given the highly complex, dual-task nature of parallel reading, one might think it too difficult to actually perform. Processing should be “switched off” for the unattended input automatically during a parallel reading task. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
