Shadowing Practice: How To Improve Your Listening Skills - Learn English Speaking with Video

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remember you need repetition and novelty after a  while if you're listening to the same thing over and over again the brain is picking up less  and less and less hi there steve kaufman here
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today i want to talk about listening skills  listening skills how to get better at listening how to use listening to learn a language remember  if you enjoy these videos please subscribe click
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on the bell for notifications so as you know i  consider input listening and reading to being to be the keys to learning a language you have  to get the language into you it has to come from
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outside you have to get your brain used to a new  language this is best achieved through listening and reading reading helps you acquire more words  but listening gets your brain used to the language
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and of course listening comprehension is a  tremendously important skill because if you're
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speaking to someone and we all want to speak  in the language if you can't understand what they're saying what the other person is saying  then it's very uncomfortable and you can't have a very meaningful conversation so how do you  use listening to get better in the language and
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what are the tips to get better  at listening first of all
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it depends on each each person but i cannot  sit down and just listen if i were to sit and i've tried it so i have whatever lesson i'm  listening to and i sit down in a comfortable chair
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and i say i'm going to spend half an hour  listening to this podcast or whatever it might be i'm incapable of doing that my  mind mind wanders so i can't concentrate
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if i have dedicated study time then i'm going to  read or i'm going to work on my ipad with link
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so where does the listing  come in listening has the tremendous advantage that we can do it wherever  we are i don't have my air pods handy but
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i have my airpods and i recently bought a new  kind of airpod that sits outside the ear and they work really well i went jogging yesterday  and i could hear very well and i don't have
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these things actually plugged into my ear but  i can listen first thing in the morning i get up i have a little seven minute exercise routine  i listen i make breakfast i listen if i exercise
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during the day i listen if i'm in the car i listen  so you've got all this time to listen all right
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so then people say well when you're listening do  you always focus all right it is impossible to 100 focus while listening you have to like so much in  language learning you have to accept imperfection
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so when you speak you're going to make mistakes  when you listen there's going to be lots of areas you don't understand there are also going to  be moments when you are not focused on what you're listening to you lose track you your mind  wanders off somewhere else that's fine as long as
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you come back and so let's say for a period of 30  minutes that i'm in the car listening to something maybe i'm only focused on what i'm listening to  for half that time or i don't know what the number
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is because i don't worry about it but i know it's  not a hundred percent of the time but for whatever percentage of the time i'm listening i'm exposing  my brain to the language and i am getting used to
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the language now one of the things that's very  important is you cannot continue to listen to
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your target language and not understand anything  or only understand five percent that is very inefficient in my experience so if i listen to  something obviously at the early stages in the
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language i don't understand anything but then i  will read it i will look up the words i'll review them in link read it again then i'll listen and  i still don't understand even though i understood
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kind of when i was reading and looking up words  when i go to listen i don't understand but that doesn't bother me i know that from personal  experience that in time what initially is just
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noise for me by a process of reading and listening  and going back and reading again and looking up words again and listening again eventually  more and more of this becomes comprehensible
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don't listen to the same lesson over and over  and over again at one sitting in other words
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the brain as i've said many times requires  repetition and novelty so you can listen to an item a few times then move on to the  next item even if you don't fully understand
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the first so you have lesson one and you listen  and you listen and you read it then you listen again and you understand twenty thirty percent  move on to the next one don't try to you know
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master any particular lesson or content item it's  all exposure it's all helping the brain get used to the language remember you need repetition  and novelty after a while if you're listening
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to the same thing over and over again the  brain is picking up less and less and less
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so you have to move to the next lesson and to  the next lesson so keep pushing yourself forward maintain that balance between repetition and  novelty and there's all kinds of research into
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how the brain learns that sort of block learning  that third fourth fifth time we read something or we listen to something we are in fact learning  less and less so you have to keep moving forward
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now so don't worry about losing focus  don't worry about what you don't understand
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keep challenging or rewarding your brain with  new material but do have enough repetition so that you start to notice certain things  that you didn't notice the first time
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and this is the next point about listening i  can listen to a mini story that i've listened to 30 40 times before so i know the mini story and  yet i will suddenly notice a structure a verb
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pattern verb form that i hadn't really noticed  before even though i knew the rule vaguely but
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the 31st time that i listened to that i notice it  in a different way so give yourself a chance to notice things when you go back for that additional  pass through the same material so you're again
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you're maintaining that repetition and novelty but  when you're on your in your repetition activity allow yourself to notice certain things you don't  have to notice everything you can lose focus but
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there will be times when you notice certain  things in there that will help you in your gradual acquisition of the language and remember  that listening comprehension here is the goal
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it's not going to be perfect but it will  gradually improve and the better your listening comprehension the better your ability to have  conversations but again give yourself you know
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a variety between repetition repetitious material  and new challenging material combine reading with listening try to focus in on certain aspects of  pronunciation that you maybe didn't notice before
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be aware that some of the things that  you didn't notice on the first time
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listening or the second or the fifth or the tenth  time you may notice the 20th time you listen so the the process of acquisition of a language is  gradual so if you listen and you don't understand
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don't get frustrated if you listen and read  and listen and read and still don't understand don't get frustrated that's normal and at least  in my own case i prefer to be listening and doing
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something else cleaning up the garage whatever it  might be listening fading out focusing in again
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that works better for me than trying to sit  down and say okay for the next half hour i'm to listen to this all right  the exception of that of course
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is if you're watching a movie which is a form of  listening but you're watching and listening at the same time and it's rewarding because it's fun  to watch a movie and you can see the people you
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can almost feel as if you're participating with  this family that's why series you know on netflix are so great if it's if it's the same group of  people interacting all the time in the series
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and you watch them and you feel you're a part of  them and you're getting that sense of being in that cultural you know uh sphere um all of that  is good but i wouldn't you know i consider the
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the sort of video movies tv series that's more  of a reward that's fun you have to develop the ability to be able to listen without seeing what's  going on uh initially sort of repetitious material
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like the many stories eventually audiobooks where  just hearing the words conjures up meaning for you so that you're automatically converting you  know words in the target language into meaning
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and so as you build up to that level of of  listening comprehension you are preparing yourself to become fluent in the language so that's my  advice treat listening and listening comprehension
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not only as a primary goal in language learning  but as an important way of helping your brain become accustomed to the language so i hope  that was helpful thank you for listening

Context & Background

In the video titled "How To Improve Your Listening Skills," language expert Steve Kaufman emphasizes the crucial role that listening plays in learning a new language. He explains that effective listening not only helps learners acquire vocabulary but also allows them to get accustomed to the rhythm and sounds of the language. By integrating listening into daily routines—whether jogging, cooking, or driving—learners can maximize their exposure without the need for extended periods of focused study. Kaufman discusses how maintaining a balance between repetition and novelty is key to effective language acquisition, indicating that comprehension improves over time, even if initial efforts feel challenging.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "I don't understand yet." - A helpful phrase for when you're practicing and need clarification.
  • "Can you repeat that, please?" - Use this to encourage others to speak more clearly, aiding your learning process.
  • "What does this word mean?" - Asking questions fosters deeper engagement and assists in vocabulary acquisition.
  • "Let's listen to something together." - Promotes collaborative listening practice, a fun way to learn.
  • "This is challenging but rewarding." - A positive affirmation to motivate yourself during difficult listening tasks.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively utilize the shadowing technique for improving English pronunciation and comprehension, follow these steps based on insights from Kaufman's video:

  1. Select your audio: Choose a podcast, audiobook, or video that matches your current skill level. Make sure it includes engaging content.
  2. Listen actively: Play the audio while doing light activities, allowing your mind to focus on the language without overwhelming yourself.
  3. Repeat and shadow: After listening, try to shadow speak along with the audio. Mimic the speaker's intonation and rhythm, which helps improve both your pronunciation and listening skills.
  4. Combine with reading: If available, find a transcript of the audio. Read along while listening to reinforce your understanding and vocabulary.
  5. Balance complexity: Avoid listening to the same material repeatedly; instead, hydrate your practice with varied content. This keeps your brain engaged and enhances your ability to comprehend and produce language.

Implementing these steps regularly will significantly enhance your IELTS speaking practice and overall language fluency, empowering you to communicate more confidently in your daily life.

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.