Shadowing authentic speech: a theoretically grounded lesson unit for prosodic awareness and oral fluency in any Italian upper secondary school

In the Italian secondary school system, oral proficiency in English is frequently marginalised in favour of grammatical accuracy and written comprehension (Della Valle, 2023). The present dissertation addresses this imbalance by proposing a shadowing-based didactic unit designed for a fifth-year class at a technical institute (Istituto Tecnico Tecnologico), targeting a CEFR B1-B2 level. Shadowing is a cognitive-linguistic technique requiring the near-simultaneous imitation of auditory input; unlike mechanical repetition, it promotes the automatisation of speech production processes and facilitates a more natural transition from listening to speaking (Shiki et al., 2010). The theoretical framework integrates research on oral fluency and speech automatisation (Segalowitz, 2010; Kormos, 2006), suprasegmental production (Roach, 2000; Derwing & Munro, 2005), and second language motivation through the Ideal L2 Self (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009). The selection of authentic material is further informed by sociolinguistic theories of prestige and by an intercultural perspective. The central analytical component consists of a multimodal phasal analysis (Baldry & Thibault, 2006) applied to two authentic video interviews featuring Emma Watson and Zendaya, selected as exemplars of Received Pronunciation and General American English respectively. The analysis identifies, within each interview, the segment offering the greatest phonological and communicative productivity for shadowing practice. These findings directly inform the final part of the thesis, which presents a two-lesson unit structured according to the gestalt phases of the Unità di Apprendimento (Learning Unit) model (Balboni, 2023) and Argüelles’s (2009) five-stage shadowing protocol. The unit aims to develop oral fluency, phonological control of suprasegmental features, and pragmatic competence through authentic discourse, while offering students a replicable method for autonomous practice beyond the classroom.