A Comprehensive Study of Exposure, Shadowing, and Explicit Instructions on Enhancing Listening Comprehension of Diverse English Accents

English often serves as a lingua franca among native and non-native speakers in a globalized world. This confluence of linguistic and cultural diversity makes it likely for users to encounter diverse English accents. Unfamiliar accents could potentially lead to listening barriers and miscommunication. Previous studies explored techniques such as exposure, shadowing, and explicit instruction on phonological features to enhance listening comprehension. However, research of these techniques on listen comprehension of accents in Kachru’s three concentric circles remains scarce, particularly in Taiwan. This study introduced the three aforementioned techniques to students in three Freshman English courses at a university in northern Taiwan. Participants were divided into three groups: exposure (n=40), shadowing (n=42), and explicit phonological instruction (n=43). All participants listened to American, British, Singaporean, and Japanese English with additional teaching intervention. Pre- and post-listening comprehension tests revealed significant improvement across all groups, with the shadowing group leading the way, while the explicit phonological instruction group outperforming the exposure group. Ten semi-structured interviews further exposed participants’ challenges during the intervention and their strategies for overcoming learning difficulties. This mixed-method study provided great insights into the effectiveness of these teaching techniques from a Global Englishes perspective in a classroom setting.