Shadowing Practice: how i learned 7+ languages: tips no one talks about (for some reason) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Most people fail at language learning not because it's hard, but because they ignore the easy stuff that actually works.

Hey kids, it's me.

And I've tried just about every language learning method you can imagine, and after years, years of trial and error, I realized the things that actually work do not get that much attention because they're not very glamorous.

Like sure, putting a bunch of sticky notes around your house with Spanish words on them, it seems like a cool life hack, but it's kind of gimmicky, they all fall on the floor after a couple of days,

like who's cleaning that up?

Not me.

So, here are a few tips that actually changed how I learned languages.

like pronunciation, vocab, staying consistent, all that good stuff.

I'm also going to give you a sneak peek of my language study guide, so let's get into it.

So number one, learn words in chunks.

Do not just memorize them by themselves.

And I want you to think of this method kind of like meal prepping, but more on that later.

When we first learn words in a language, we often take notes or make flash cards with just the word itself out of context.

So for example, llorar in Spanish, to cry.

If you learn a word like this, you have to do a lot more thinking when you actually speak the language apply the grammar rules every single time.

Like, if you want to tell someone "don't cry", you think, "okay, I have to conjugate llorar in the U form

which normally ends with an S but it's a negative command

so that means it switches to an E instead of an A so okay, I got it.

No llores." And that's great, you found it, but that took so much work and the person already started crying, so.

So this is where the meal prepping comparison comes in and yes, I love eating so damn much that I came up with this myself.

With meal prepping, the idea is you cook once up front and then you can eat several

Like you don't have to go shopping and get the ingredients out and wash the damn pot every time.

And language learning works the exact same way. So like

when you learn a chunk of words like "no jores" instead

of just the single isolated word "jorar" you're basically pre -cooking your sentences.

Like you've already done the mental prep work once.

So when it's time to speak you can just grab these like ready -made phrases that you learned and use it.

You don't need to cook the grammar every single time.

So yeah for example don't practice the French words "aller", "marcher" and "je" separately.

Just learn the sentence "je vais au marché".

And practice that.

Like, that's how natives store language in their brains, so why shouldn't you?

Next one.

So whenever you read in your target language, always, always read out loud.

If you don't, you are literally wasting free pronunciation practice.

Instead of just practicing one skill, which is, you know, reading comprehension, you could be practicing pronunciation on top of that.

So I just see it as like a missed opportunity if you don't.

But at least a missed opportunity for what?

I'm so glad you asked.

I think it has a couple of great effects.

When I speak out loud, what I read, I think I connect with the text more I'm not just glazing over the words,

like I'm directly engaging with what I'm reading and producing the sounds.

Another thing, reading out loud is one of the easiest ways to build up speaking confidence, especially if you're still like a beginner and you don't feel like jumping into a conversation yet.

If you're just reading out loud on your own, no one can judge you, yay!

And you can find out what sounds are difficult for you and just get those like micro reps of speaking practice.

I've already done two Jimbro references in this video, I don't even work out.

Like, I find myself not tripping over words so often, and I just feel like a lot more confident speaking.

So, whenever you're reading in your target language, you might as well read it out loud.

Like, it can only help.

Numéro trois: shadowing.

I wasn't sure if this fits within the topic of the video, because I feel like people do talk about this technique.

I have before, but I feel like it's only people that are already in the, like, online language learning zeitgeist community, so...

Like, I still think the average person doesn't know about this method, so I'm including it.

insanely well.

It's when you listen to native speakers and you just repeat what they're saying in real time.

Like you just repeat after them.

You copy their rhythm, their tone, their pronunciation as closely as you can.

And so it trains your mouth and your ear at the same time.

And it forces your brain to like process natural speech speed instead of like textbook pace.

Even just five minutes of shadowing a show

or like YouTube video every day can completely change your accent and your flow in a very short amount of time.

Let's let's do a little demo, shall we?

I have here a French in real time how to do shadowing.

Sound good?

Okay.

Voici l 'école Marie de la Passion tenue par les sœurs.

the maternal and primary, the college and the university and the university.

So that is pretty much the short and long of it.

I kind of just wait until the line is finished, and then I repeat after them.

As close as I can.

as close as I can.

If you want to start shadowing but you don't know what to use, I really really recommend using Lingopie, which is what I was just using.

It's a streaming platform with real tv shows

and movies in your target language so you can actually pick up on how people speak in real life, not just like textbook phrases.

The best part is that it's made for learners without feeling like you know quote unquote study time.

Like they have double subtitles and they're interactive

so you can just like click on a word or a phrase to see what it means, hear how it's pronounced, and even save it as a flashcard.

It's just it's such an easy way to get real input every five seconds to Google something.

Like if you're watching a Spanish show and someone says, ah, no te preocupes, you can click it, see what it means, and just, you know, keep it in mind moving forward.

That's the kind of context that actually makes words stick.

And Lingopay is perfect for shadowing because they have all these tools.

They have speed controls.

You can also make it auto -pause at the end of every sentence.

Very thoughtful and very cool feature.

I love that.

So it's really nice.

You're getting pronunciation practice, listening practice, while just essentially sitting on your butt watching TV.

That's, it's truly the best of both worlds.

You're still relaxing at the same time.

I will drop the link below if you want to try out Lingopie.

There's a free trial and it's just amazing.

It's one of those tools that makes learning not feel like a Can't ask for more.

Now this next one is going to be just like a cluster of tips all relating to consistency

and how to be more consistent in language learning.

Since honestly the question I get the most from you guys is just how the hell do I stay consistent.

My first thought is that you guys might be mistaking what consistency actually is.

Like it does not mean grinding every single day whether you feel like it or not.

It does not mean one specific activity or like a certain amount of time per day or per week.

Because then you just end up with this very narrow definition of what counts as language practice.

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And you just get into this mode of like policing yourself like "have I done enough?

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Have I done enough?" And the second you don't fall within that like very narrow definition of what enough is, You feel bad about yourself,

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duh, which is not motivating and it just makes you more inconsistent because you think, oh, why should I try?

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I already failed.

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So by not being more flexible about what your language practice can look like, you just set yourself up to fail.

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Instead, how about we redefine what consistency is and just talk about some ways to be consistent?

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Consistency to me, it just means having a system

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that works for your schedule and your energy levels and being able to meet yourself wherever you're at.

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But what does that look like practically?

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for like high, medium, and low energy days.

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For example, high energy would be like speaking for 15 minutes and recording it or writing a short essay,

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whereas low energy would be like listening to music in the language or just listening to a podcast while you fold laundry.

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By doing this, you're accepting that you're not always going to wake up the same person, but you're still committed to keeping contact with your target language.

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And by the way, if you want a pre -made energy menu along with like a guide of over 60 fun

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You can try it for free, a little sampler version, I'll leave you a link in the description.

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I originally made this just for myself to spice up my language studies and use it like, you know, a study menu, kind of.

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It makes me so much more consistent because I don't have to think so hard about how to study every day, I just pick an activity and then I do it.

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It's got tons of tips and resources that I put in there so you don't have to look for them, and Lisa recently sent me this very sweet email saying that she loved it, and where can she tell people that she loved it,

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so I'm just gonna put it in this video.

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Link is below, try it for free, it's free.

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Consistency can also look like linking your language practice to specific rituals, like after coffee I do my vocab practice, or on walks I listen to a podcast.

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Which I've been doing this ritual thing a lot recently.

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The effect is, when your brain associates something with language learning, it just becomes automatic.

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There used to be times where I would go like 5 days without even thinking about language learning

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and then I would realize it and be like "Damn, I haven't made time for it." But you don't need to "make time for it"

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if you make it something that's just like interwoven day rituals.

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So like in my case, for example, in the morning when I'm washing up and getting ready for the day, I listen to a podcast in my target language.

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Then I record myself speaking for 10 to 15 minutes after I make myself breakfast

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and I eat it while I watch the video back and I take notes on what I could do better.

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So my daily language practice is like very interwoven into my morning routine and it's so nice for a couple of reasons.

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One, I've accepted that I need to do my main language practice in the morning

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because I know I'm not going to do it if I wait for the

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And since this routine combines two things like my regular morning care and my language learning, there's kind of like a tandem accountability where I make sure

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that I get both things done

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because I have struggled in the past with things like consistently eating a good breakfast in the morning.

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So, yeah, I take care of myself and I also get to be consistent with my languages.

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There is like a psychological link between these activities for me.

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Now, another thing

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that helps me be a lot more consistent with my language learning is having designated days for different skills or languages.

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What do I do today?

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What do I practice today?

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And it just gets rid of that like decision fatigue.

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For me, I study French Monday and Tuesday.

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So there's that.

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Those are my French days and I know what to expect.

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And on Monday I do input.

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So that's listening or reading sometimes some flashcards as well.

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And on Tuesday I do output.

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So speaking or writing.

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So because I'm so specific about what I do on

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which days I have a lot clearer path to actually getting my language practice in for the day.

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But all in all, the thing that really defines consistency, I can't say that word anymore.

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Consistency the most for me is just doing something rather than nothing.

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Like whatever you do, no matter how little, it's always the better decision than just avoiding it and procrastinating it

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because you're anxious and you already fell off for two days.

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So what's the point?

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I've played that game and it's not fun and it's a lot more fulfilling to just do something.

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So if you can't do 30 minutes of listening practice, just do five.

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If you can't find the time for a speaking class this week, just review your notes from last week and, you know, write some practice sentences.

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Consistency is not about never missing a day.

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that's realistic enough that you do not have to quit and crumble to a million pieces every time life gets messy, which it will.

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Thank you for watching this video, I hope it was helpful, and let me know what languages you're learning down in the comments below.

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And seriously, check out my Polyglot Playbook, you can get a sampler version of it for free, I've gotten a ton of rave reviews on it, and it's like all the things that you need to learn a language on a plate.

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Again, thanks for watching, and à la prochaine!

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See you next week, bye!

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¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →

Shadowing Practice: how i learned 7+ languages: tips no one talks about (for some reason) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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