Shadowing Practice: Do THIS to Shadow English Properly & Improve Your Speaking (B1 to C2) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
C2
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Most people practice shadowing by choosing a long video and trying to copy every single word.
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Most people practice shadowing by choosing a long video and trying to copy every single word.
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But after seven years of teaching English, I've noticed one common shadowing mistake that leaves students speaking level at A2,
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even when they can understand English at C1 or C2 level.
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So in this video, I'll show you the right way to shadow, the three levels of shadowing, and how to choose the right one for your speaking level.
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So for those of you that don't know, shadowing is when you repeat after a native speaker in real time.
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So you're basically acting as if you're their echo.
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The idea is that if you copy the speaker exactly, you'll be able to absorb their way of speaking.
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their accent, their pronunciation, tone, rhythm, which is very useful.
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But I've noticed that many people are actually missing something when they do shadowing.
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And I haven't really heard anyone else talk about this.
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So before I show you this method, let's do a quick test.
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You're going to hear one sentence.
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Listen once, play it again, and then speak with me.
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To be honest, I had no idea where we were going when we got in the car.
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Okay, now we're going to play it again and just copy me.
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To be honest, I had no idea where we were going when we got in the car.
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Okay, so that may have felt quite easy because you could hear every word whilst you were saying it.
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But now the audio is gone and without looking at the sentence, can you tell me about a time where you didn't know where you were going in five seconds.
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Four, three, two, one.
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Did the sentence come out easily?
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It's okay if it was a bit difficult.
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This is one of the main problems with shadowing.
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You can understand a video, follow the subtitles, copy the speaker, and then when somebody asks you a simple question,
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you might struggle to get the words out.
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I just want you to know that you don't have an English problem.
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It's just that you haven't trained your speaking muscle enough yet.
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All those years that you've done of listening and studying have built the English that you understand now.
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The only thing is that your speaking muscle hasn't really been trained
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and it needs to catch up with all of that other practice that you've done.
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Okay so let me show you the three stages of shadowing and I call this the shadowing ladder.
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And the first step here is pause.
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So the first mistake people make when shadowing is that they choose an audio that's much too long.
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They start a 10-minute podcast, fall behind after just a few sentences, and then spend the rest of the exercise just trying to keep up,
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when they should be carefully copying the pronunciation of every single word.
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So let's start off by taking one useful sentence, breaking it up into short pieces that you can say each in one breath.
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Okay, so let's just listen to the very first part, to be honest.
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To be honest. To be honest.
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Now you copy it.
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To be honest.
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Okay, and now copy it again, but try to copy the exact rhythm and tone.
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To be honest.
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To be honest.
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To be honest.
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And then try to do the same thing with each separate piece until you can join them together.
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To be honest, I had no idea where we were going when we got in the car.
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To be honest, I had no idea where we were going when we got in the car.
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So yeah, try to copy the exact speed and the way that my voice moves.
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And then do the same thing with each piece until you can join the whole sentence together.
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So at this level, it's best if you can understand the sentence before you copy it.
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And before you start, check any words that are unclear.
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And also you should try to use material
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that would be useful in your real life because there's no point in training a sentence that you're never going to say.
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Also make sure you record yourself when you do this because you need to hear yourself again later.
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The reason for this is that making progress in speaking is difficult to notice from inside your own head.
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So if you record yourself
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and then after a practicing session record yourself again You'll be able to hear the difference between the two recordings
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and you'll be able to notice your progress Okay, so you might be thinking is this really shadowing
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if i'm pausing the audio all the time
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But this is just the preparation stage So
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when you can copy each piece clearly then you're ready for the next step
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which is following the speaker without stopping So the thing is, words sound clear when they're slow and separate, but real conversation keeps moving,
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which takes us to the next step.
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Follow.
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At the second step, many learners can pronounce every word, but the sentence still feels flat.
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People sometimes give every word the same strength or they stop in a place where a native speaker would continue.
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So now we're going to stop concentrating on every single sound
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and we're going to start concentrating on the words that carry the rhythm of the sentence.
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Okay, so now we're going to try a new sentence and it's this one.
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In other words, we're over budget and behind on the schedule.
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In other words, we're over budget and behind on the schedule.
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Okay, so the strongest words in that clip are words over budget behind schedule.
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So I want you to say those strong words with me first.
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Words over budget behind schedule.
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Now you can put the smaller words back in between these strong words.
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This time if you can, start speaking just after me and keep following without pausing.
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In other words, we're over budget and behind on the schedule.
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Okay, so a good exercise is to do that three times.
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On the first try, just copy the timing.
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On the second try, copy the strong and the weak words.
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And on the third, copy the pauses and the feeling behind the sentence don't need to change your accent,
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just copying the rhythm makes you easier to follow and understand.
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And it just helps phrases to come out as one complete piece instead of separate words.
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But even when you can follow the recording perfectly, the speaker is still choosing the sentence for you.
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So to make shadowing improve real conversations, you have to remove the speaker.
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And that's why step three is called recall.
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This is the step that most shadowing routines leave out.
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Finish the video feeling fluent because you kept up with the speaker, but then when a real conversation begins, there's no audio to follow and your mind just goes blank again.
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So at the recall step, you shadow the sentence first, then you remove the model, and then you finally use the language yourself.
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So let's try now with something a little bit more difficult.
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Okay, Okay
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so I'm gonna put it on the screen here just in
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case just in case you can't really see the phone I'm just gonna put it on the screen here
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but here's the next sentence.
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If it hadn't been for that delayed train I would have never met my wife.
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If it hadn't been for that delayed train I would have never met him wife.
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If it hadn't been for that delayed train I would have never met my wife.
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Okay I want you to shadow it with me once.
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If it hadn't been for
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that delayed train I would have never met my wife remove the audio and say it from memory.
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But finally I want you to keep the shape of the sentence
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but change a couple of the details so that this becomes true for you.
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For example, if it hadn't been for blank I would have never blank.
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So for example you could talk about your job, a journey, a friend, a decision.
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Take five seconds and make your own sentence now.
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Okay, so my sentence is, if it hadn't been for cycling, I would never have gotten so fit.
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If it hadn't been for cycling, I would never have gotten so fit.
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Now, trying that final change is really important
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because now your brain has to find that language and connect it to your own idea.
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So the model sentence gives you a safe structure, but you're choosing what to say.
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Okay, so now your routine at this stage is quite simple.
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You need to shadow the model sentence three times, hide the words, repeat it from memory,
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and then change one detail to make it yours, and then record your final version.
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And then once individual sentences like this start to feel easier, you can start moving on to shadowing short stories.
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Okay, so now go back to the first sentence from the very start of this video.
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I want you to listen to it once and then I want you to record your answer to this question again.
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Tell me about a time when you didn't know where you were going.
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So that recording is your proof.
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Hopefully you've moved from just copying the sentence to using the language inside it.
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And now I can reveal to you that all of the audio
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that we've used in today's lesson has come from day one in my seven day speaking challenge.
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On day one of the challenge you get over 200 every
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day useful sentences just like the ones from today's lesson
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and then once you've learned these
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and shadowed all of these you can move on to day two of the challenge
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which is shadowing short stories instead of individual sentences.
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Across the full seven day speaking challenge I'll guide you to build confidence in social, professional and public speaking situations.
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You'll create new daily habits that you need in order to transform your speaking into one of your main strengths. So
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if you've been stuck at the intermediate level for a long
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time this might be exactly what you need to get you to a bit more of an advanced level
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and I've already had lots of lovely reviews from students who it's helped.
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You'll also get lifetime access to the challenge and a seven-day money-back guarantee.
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So if you don't like it, you can get a refund.
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So the seven-day speaking gym challenge is linked below in the description if you're interested.
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And just thank you so much for supporting me.
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Okay, so at the beginning, when the audio stopped playing, perhaps your speaking stopped too.
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But now you know how to remove that support gradually until the words are coming from you.
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But your next problem is getting enough English around you every day.
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So watch this video next, and I'll show you how to build English immersion at home, even if nobody around you speaks English.
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Who Is This Video For?
This video is a game-changer for English learners at B1 to C2 levels aiming to bridge the gap between understanding and speaking. If you can follow complex conversations but struggle to articulate your thoughts smoothly—even in simple situations like describing a personal experience—this method will help. It’s especially valuable for those prepping for exams like IELTS speaking practice, where natural rhythm and fluency are key.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
The dialogue features practical phrases that boost everyday communication. "To be honest" is a versatile opener that softens statements, while "had no idea" succinctly conveys confusion. These aren’t just words—they’re tools to sound more native. Steal them, practice them, and watch your speech become more natural. Even advanced learners can benefit from refining how they use such common expressions.
How to Get the Accent Right
Forget shadowing long videos—start with the "shadowing ladder" method. Begin with pause shadowing: take one sentence, break it into short, breath-sized chunks (e.g., "To be honest" or "I had no idea"), and repeat each until you match the speaker’s tone, rhythm, and pronunciation. Use a shadowing app to loop segments if needed. This trains your "speaking muscle" to mimic native patterns. Once you master chunks, join them to form the full sentence. For IELTS speaking practice, focus on copying the speed and intonation of the speaker—this is how you move from "shadow speech" to natural, confident communication. Remember: it’s not about copying every word, but absorbing the feel of how English is spoken. Whether you call it shadow speak, shadowspeak, or simply shadowing, this step-by-step approach ensures you don’t just repeat—you internalize.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.