Shadowing
noun
the act of following, observing, or closely mimicking someone or something.
The concept of shadowing is known as an excellent method for training new employees in many workplaces. Recently, I came across shadowing as a method to practice the audio components of English language learning: listening and speaking.
I’ve been using this tool for students who are preparing for tests, but I think it’s useful for any language learner at most levels. What’s cool is you can do it for even just 10-15 minutes a day and you will see improvement in your fluency.
How it works:
- Pick an audio from a native English speaker – start with ones that have subtitles.
- Listen to 1 or 2 sentences at a time. Some websites have nice short audios.
- Shadow – speak along with the audio on playback.
- Record yourself saying the sentence and compare the rhythm and intonation to the audio.
I’m including some links here that you could use to start with – or maybe you’ll find your own. Good luck.
https://parroto.app/topics#google_vignette
https://www.esl-lab.com/#google_vignette
https://www.listeninenglish.com
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlZ0dlSbrSXjIckuX0RfJKtRCr0FXfzG7