Shadowing Practice: Don't Shadow English, Do THIS Instead - Learn English Speaking with Video
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If you want to sound more natural when you speak English, you've probably been told to try shadowing.
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You listen to a native speaker, you copy what they say, and the more you do it, the more natural you sound.
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But if all you do is copy the speaker,
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you could spend months shadowing and still sound a little bit stiff and robotic when it's your turn to speak by yourself.
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So today I'm going to show you my four -step routine to help you make faster progress
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and speak English much more smoothly and naturally, including one final step that most learners miss.
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Okay, let's begin.
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The first step is humming.
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First, you need a short piece of audio.
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Today, we're going to use this sentence from day one of my seven -day speaking challenge.
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If you'd like to try the challenge yourself, the link is in the description.
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Here's the sentence.
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it gets any worse.
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Okay so your first job is to listen to each short part, pause the recording and then hum what you hear.
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So you're not supposed to be saying the words yet,
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you're just supposed to be copying the tune of English and you can just hum like this.
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Let's try it together.
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Listen to each short part then copy the sound without saying the words.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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So what you're listening for here is the melody of the sentence.
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Which parts are quicker or slower?
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Which parts are louder?
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Or where does my voice rise or fall?
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By leaving out the words, you can give your full attention to the sounds.
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You don't have to think about how to pronounce certain words
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and you don't have to remember all the words in the sentence at the same time.
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This exercise is quite useful because sometimes learners give every word the same amount of stress.
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If I were you I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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It could be quite an unnatural thing for you to try
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because I don't think every language has intonation and tone changes exactly like English.
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So I definitely think it's a useful exercise to try.
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Okay let's try the whole sentence now.
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We're going to listen to it first and then I want you to hum it yourself.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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Okay, now your turn.
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If it helps, you can even close your eyes whilst you're listening and humming.
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It could even be helpful to try doing this without reading the sentence.
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That way you're just totally focused on the sound.
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Okay, once you start getting used to that rhythm, we're going to start bringing the words in and you're going to try
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and keep the music of the sentence like we just practiced.
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Okay, step two is imitating.
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This time you're going to listen, pause and repeat the actual words.
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I want you to try and copy the way I say them as closely as you can.
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You're still paying attention to the rhythm, the stress and the intonation, but now we're just going to add the words back into the sentence.
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So for this first attempt, just focus on what you can hear.
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You don't really need to be worrying about the meaning of the sentence at this point.
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Let's use the same three parts.
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I'll say each one, leave a space for you, and then I'll say it again so you can compare.
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Ready?
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Three, two, one.
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If I were you, if I were you,
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I'd apologize to him, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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Before it gets any worse.
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Notice how the words run together.
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I didn't say I'd apologize to him.
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I'm saying I'd apologize to him.
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I'd apologize to him.
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Try to copy that whole group of sounds, including the quieter words between the stressed parts.
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Now let's try putting that sentence together.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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Okay, your turn.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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So we started by humming the sentence and now we've brought back in the words whilst trying to keep the same rhythm.
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Okay, so now before we move on, make sure you understand what the sentence means.
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The meaning matters because it can affect which words you stress and how you say them.
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In this imaginary example, maybe your friend has upset someone and you think they should say sorry soon.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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So when you're practicing with the other recordings, make sure you can understand the meaning before you go to the next step.
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Step three is shadowing.
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So now we're finally ready to shadow.
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The main difference between shadowing and imitating is when you speak.
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When you imitate, you listen.
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then you stop the recording and then you repeat.
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When you shadow, the recording keeps playing and you're speaking along with it.
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You'll usually be just a little bit behind the speaker so you can hear the sounds and follow along with them.
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Okay, so now we're putting together what we've learned in step one and step two, but we're following along with the speaker's timing.
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So let me show you.
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Ready?
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Three, two, one.
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If I were you, I'd apologise to him before it gets any worse.
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You can hear that I'm speaking while the recording is still playing, so I'm not waiting for it to finish first.
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Now you try.
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I want you to follow my voice through the sentence without pausing for any parts.
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Ready?
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Three, two, one.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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Okay, let's try that one more time.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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Okay, good job.
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Try to follow the rhythm as well as the words and if you lose your place and it's too fast,
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just listen again and have another go.
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If one part is giving you trouble, maybe just pause it, imitate it a few times and then try again to shadow the whole complete sentence.
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One thing is that you should always try to shadow sentences at natural speed without slowing them down
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because this is how sentences are formed by native speakers and you need to practice forming these sounds at this natural speed.
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Okay, step four, the final step is retrieval.
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Now we're going to stop using the audio and we're going to see if you can use the sentence yourself.
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So you've practiced copying it, but this time we're going to change a few words in the sentence so that it means something personal to you.
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Let's look at the original sentence again.
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If I were you, I'd apologize to him before it gets any worse.
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So let's keep the beginning.
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If I were you, I'd.
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But think of someone you know
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and try to think of some advice you could give them that would change the meaning of this sentence.
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For example, maybe someone in your family has a problem with their car.
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You could change the sentence to, if I were you, I'd get the car checked before it breaks down.
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The structure of the sentence stays the same, but because you're changing the meaning to something personal to you, it makes it much easier to remember.
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Okay, so now it's your turn.
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So try to think of your own situation and what you could change the sentence to.
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Maybe try and think of who you're speaking to, what's the situation and what you would do if you were them.
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Okay, so now pause the video and say your sentence out loud starting with, if I were you, I'd...
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Okay, if you did it, good job
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and you can put your sentence in the comments below because I want to see how creative everybody was.
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Okay, one more tip is that you should record yourself whenever you can
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because it's quite hard to actually hear how you sound whilst you're speaking.
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But if you do record yourself and then listen to it back,
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you can hear where you sound different and what you might need to work on next.
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And you can do this very easily with the recordings in my seven day speaking challenge, which is where today's example came from.
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Day one from the seven day challenge has over 200 short example sentences like the one we used in today's lesson.
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Every exercise on every day of the challenge has recordings of my British voice
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and a space for you to upload your own recording where you can compare the two directly.
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The other six days give you different speaking exercises to help you build your confidence and your fluency.
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There's also a progress tracker that fills up as you complete the week.
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It's aimed at B1 and B2 intermediate learners but even
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if you're C1 or C2 you're going to learn something new and improve your speaking.
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And I've had lots of lovely reviews from all the people who've already tried my seven day speaking challenge.
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So thank you so much for supporting me and if you'd like to join them the link is in the description.
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Okay and you'll also find the free pdf for today's lesson down below as well.
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And if you enjoyed this video about outshadowing
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and you'd like to go a bit deeper into the techniques that I've taught you today, then watch this video next.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Don't Shadow English, Do THIS Instead”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sentence, apologize, word, worse, sound. This video has 130 sentences and 1625 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:09. The speaker talks at a natural 178 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| apologize verb | /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ | To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| pause noun | /pɔːz/ | A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation. |
| rhythm noun | /ˈɹɪð.əm/ | The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter. |
| whilst adverb | /waɪlst/ | Often preceded by the: During the time; meanwhile. |
| distress noun | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. |
| hum verb | /ˈhʌm/ | To make a sound from the vocal cords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed. |
| audio adjective | /ˈɔ.di.oʊ/ | Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| tone noun | /ˈtəʊn/ | A specific pitch. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| break down verb | To stop functioning. |
| fill up verb | To make (something) completely full. |
| leave out verb | To omit, to not include, to neglect to mention. |
| put together verb | To assemble, construct, build, or formulate. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- That way you're just totally focused on the sound.
- Let's use the same three parts.
- I didn't say I'd apologize to him.
- I'm saying I'd apologize to him.
- Let's look at the original sentence again.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If I were you, I'd apologize · If I were you I'd apologize · If I were you, I'd apologise |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've probably been told · we've brought · we've learned |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been told · are formed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 67 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'd, you're, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/, imaginary /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪˌn(ɛ)ɹi/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like apologize, shadow, pause.
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.