Shadowing Practice: You don't need the approval of native speakers - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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If English is not your first language and especially if you are learning English with your children at home and you are a non-native speaker of English, this video today is going to help you. What is this video going to help you with? Um, as an English teacher, I get a lot of questions about accent. How can I improve my accent? How can I improve my child's accent in English? There is something deeper here that I want to talk about in today's video that I think is really, really important. And if you are having any trouble…
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If English is not your first language and  especially if you are learning English with your children at home and you are a non-native  speaker of English, this video today is going to help you. What is this video going to  help you with? Um, as an English teacher, I get a lot of questions about accent. How can I  improve my accent? How can I improve my child's accent in English? There is something deeper here  that I want to talk about in today's video that I think is really, really important. And if  you are having any trouble with your accent, if you have any questions about improving your  accent in English, I want you to watch today's video first because I think it's going to help  you a lot and not in the way that you think. So, if we don't already know each other, my name is  Brittany. I am an English teacher. I have a program where I help parents who do not speak English as  a first language teach English to their children at home. So, you know, parents who have babies  at home, toddlers, preschoolers. I help parents teach English to their kids at home while their  kids are still little before they start school.
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And a lot of parents ask me about their children's  accent. So, I get questions like, "Will I pass my accent on to my children? Will my children have  the same accent as me in English?" Or sometimes um they take it one step further and they say,  "I don't want my children to have the same accent as me. How do I teach my children English um  with an American accent, with a British accent, with a Canadian accent?" And this this is really  what I want to talk about today because I think there's something here that's really important  that will help us all become better English speakers and better communicators and better human  beings. First, I'm going to show you this comment on the screen. This is a comment that I received  on this YouTube channel from uh somebody. This comment says, "Please don't talk to your child in  a language that you are not a native speaker in.
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You're teaching your kid mistakes. Always only  speak to your kid in your native language.
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Find other ways for your little one to  learn other languages." Uh, so first of all, I disagree strongly with this person. Um there  are thousands if not more examples cases of people around the world who are teaching their children  languages that they are not a native speaker of.
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A lot of families who are raising their kids  in their nonnative language or with additional languages at home don't talk about it. So we don't  hear about it that much. However, there are some well doumented cases. One of them is by a man  named George Saunders, I believe his name is, who was a native English speaker who raised his  children completely in German. So, he improved his German and his wife learned German, too. And  together, they spoke to and raised their children in German and their children became speakers of  German at home and speakers of English in the wider greater community. Now, I don't know all  of the details of the Saunders family's case, but you get the idea. This can be done and this  has been done before, but I want to respond to this comment in a deeper way because I think this  is something that many many people believe and think. I think a lot of people believe this way  or that a lot of people have this fear as parents that they cannot speak English because then they  will pass on mistakes or they will pass on their accent to their children. This is really hard  to talk about cuz it's it's a lot. It's deep.
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My son is four years old and he speaks English  with me and his father has always spoken to him in French. His dad speaks to him in French. And we  live in an English-speaking place. All around us, my son hears English. Even though my son has  been hearing French since the day he was born, it's very likely, it's very probable that my son  will have an English accent when he speaks French, an anglicized accent when he speaks French,  even though he will probably speak French very fluently, he's probably going to speak French in a  different way than a person who is growing up in a majority Frenchspeaking place and that is totally  normal. I am sure that many people in his life will comment on the fact that he has an accent or  whatever he says words differently when he speaks French. He is growing up in an English-speaking  country and so of course he is not going to speak French exactly how a French person would or  exactly how a kid in Montreal would speak French.
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Of course, because that's not his identity. So why  should he pretend like he is from France when he's not from France? The languages that we speak and  the way that we speak them are very much tied to our identity, to who we are. And so when you speak  English with the accent of your first language, perhaps this shows your identity. This shows  where you're from. And what's wrong with that?
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That is a true story that tells your history  of who you are. It shows that you are brave, that you are speaking a language that is not  your first language, that you have worked hard to learn this language. And why would we want to  cover that up? Why would we want to hide this?
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Why would we want to pretend that English is our  first language when it's not? I hope that this is making sense. What I'm trying to say is that our  languages that we speak and the accents that we use are reflective of where we come from. And  that's okay. That's nothing to be ashamed of.
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That's nothing to hide. And I think it's important  for our children, too, to see that it's okay that they speak with an accent. It's okay if they make  mistakes as they're learning another language.
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That's normal. It's actually necessary if we want  to become fluent speakers of another language. We have to make a lot of mistakes. My four-year-old  is a native speaker of English and he still makes hundreds of mistakes all the time. All day long,  he makes mistakes in English. Grammar mistakes, vocabulary mistakes. And that's normal. When we  are so concentrated on our fears about making mistakes in English or whatever language, when we  are so concentrated on our fear of making mistakes and h is my accent good enough, our children can  see that and our children copy us and our children look to us for building their own sense of  identity and their own confidence. And so the thing that I always say to the parents in my  program is that we really need to work on our own ability to embrace our accents to embrace the fact  that making mistakes is normal and necessary. This is about connecting with other people. Learning  a language and speaking a language is about our expressing ourselves and connecting with another  person. It's not about how perfect you can be and giving a performance and pretending to be from  somewhere or to pretending to be someone that we are not. One of my favorite stories that I know  I have told at some point on this channel before is about one of my close friends who learned  English as an adult and she was getting some mean comments. Some people were commenting on the way  that she spoke English. And I remember asking her, "Does that bother you? Does that bother you  when people make comments about your accent?" And she very confidently and very proudly told me,  "No, absolutely not." She said, "I am proud of my accent. I love my accent because my accent is my  history. My accent represents where I come from.
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My accent is part of me. I love my accent when  I speak English, and that has always stuck with me. This is what I want for my own son as he's  learning his languages. And this is what I want for you and for your family as well. Please go out  and be playful with English today. Just like you can practice soccer or play dolls with your child,  you can also play and practice English together.
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Let me know if this was helpful in the comments  down below. And if you need more help teaching English to your little one at home, I suggest that  you watch this video next. I will see you very
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Context & Background

In the video titled "You don't need the approval of native speakers," Brittany, an English teacher, addresses the concerns many non-native speakers have regarding accents and teaching their children English. She emphasizes that the fear of accent and mistakes shouldn't deter individuals from learning or using English. Brittany encourages parents to embrace their accents, which reflect their identity and history. This discussion is particularly relevant for non-native speakers seeking to support their children's bilingual education while fostering a positive attitude toward language learning.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • “It’s okay if they make mistakes.” - Emphasizing that making errors is a natural part of learning.
  • “My accent is part of my history.” - A proud acknowledgment of one’s cultural background through language.
  • “Learning a language is about connection.” - Highlighting the importance of communication over perfection.
  • “Be playful with English.” - Encouraging a fun and relaxed approach in language practice.
  • “Mistakes are normal and necessary.” - Reiterating that errors are essential for mastery in any language.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively use the shadowing technique as demonstrated in Brittany's video, follow these steps to tackle the material and improve your speaking skills:

  1. Select a Segment: Choose a short segment of the video that resonates with you—perhaps one where Brittany discusses accents or the importance of communication.
  2. Listen Actively: Play the segment, focusing on Brittany’s pronunciation and intonation. Pay attention to how she expresses her thoughts and emotions.
  3. Rewind and Repeat: Listen to the same segment multiple times. Repeat the sentences out loud, mimicking the rhythm and tone. This is often referred to as shadowspeak.
  4. Record Yourself: Record your attempts while shadowing. Compare your pronunciation to the original speaker’s to identify areas of improvement.
  5. Practice Regularly: Incorporate this shadowing practice into your routine, perhaps setting aside time for IELTS speaking practice or using it as a method to enhance your conversational abilities.

By utilizing a shadowing site or even DIY recording tools, you can create a feedback loop that bolsters both your confidence and fluency in English.

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.

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