Liyanage, T2026-01-072025-10-10978-624-6010-10-22783 – 8862https://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/4428Shadowing is an advanced language learning technique that learners can use independently to improve their intonation and pronunciation. Through this technique, the learners are allowed to listen to a model (i.e., a video or audio of someone speaking) and repeat what is said in real-time. Unlike in the listenpause- repeat method of yesteryear, here one precisely repeats every utterance, sound by sound, wordby word, immediately after they are heard. Based on an experiment involving shadowing, this study examines the impact of shadowing on enhancing listening comprehension among a group of undergraduate English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Kelaniya. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data through pre- and post-tests and structured interviews to evaluate the efficacy of shadowing in enhancing learners’ listening comprehension skills, while also documenting their perceptions of shadowing as a listening technique. The quantitative findings from the independent sample t-tests indicated a substantial enhancement of the listening comprehension scores during the post-test, with mean scores of 8.10 for the experimental group and 5.50 for the control group. The statistical study validated the importance of these techniques (p = 0.000). The qualitative results gathered from interviews highlighted the students’ initial scepticism and curiosity, increased focus and active engagement in listening, improvement in listening speed and word recognition, enhancement of their pronunciation and intonation, and the positive impact shadowing had on their listening comprehension test performance as the emerging themes. These results underscore the pedagogical value of shadowing as a listening technique under an interactive and cognitively engaging approach to ESL listening instruction. Hence, this study adds to the existing literature on listening instruction and provides practical implications for ESL instructors seeking to integrate the shadowing technique into their teaching practices.enESL learnersListening comprehensionShadowing listening techniqueMixed methods approachArticlehttps://doi.org/10.54389/NUOW8753