Reception before production

I was "chatting" to my old friend Simon on Skype yesterday who contacted me to send a very useful handout on phonology and pronunciation he uses with his students in the Czech Republic. Simon said that he always starts with work on recognising sounds - reception and then production. I agree that this made sense. Later I was thinking that in one to one (121)situation, though,when you give the instruction: "Say after me" there is reception before production.