If you want to improve your pronunciation and speaking skills, then try the shadowing practice.
What is shadowing?
Shadowing is a language learning technique where you repeat an audio just after you hear it. You’re acting like an “echo” or a “shadow” (hence the name “shadowing). You listen to the words and then say them back out loud.
Essentially, you’ve got a native-speaker dialogue playing through your earphones and as you hear it, even if you don’t understand a word of it, you’re repeating the sounds at the same time and using transcriptions for meaning and clarity. 
Remember that you’re not listening to the audio, stopping it, and then repeating it. You’re repeating it as you’re listening. The shadowing technique is to improve your pronunciation and you will not necessarily be focusing on the grammar points of the audio/video content.
With shadowing you basically learn another language in a way that’s similar to how you learned your first language – repeating sounds exactly as you hear them.
Here’s the Verbalists Language Network’s simple guide:
- Find an audio – you can really use any audio: audiobooks, Netflix, YouTube videos, or even radio shows.
- Listen to the audio first. Shadowing is most effective when you understand the content before you repeat it. So give it a listen first, so you understand it. Check that you understand all the key vocabulary.
- Shadow the audio with a transcript. This is the easier version of shadowing: speaking with the audio while also reading a transcript. This helps you to see the words as you’re repeating them. If you’re a beginner or lower-intermediate English learner, this is a great option for you (Leonardo English even provides transcripts for all episodes to members).
- Shadow without a transcript. If you’re a bit more advanced, you can skip straight to this step and do shadowing without the transcript. The focus here is on simply listening and then mimicking what you hear. Your focus is on mimicking the sounds; it’s not so much on what is being said.
We have also prepared a piece of material for you to try the shadowing practice:
It is not necessary that you understand every part of one audio/podcast, especially when you have just began to learn English, still much can be understood through the context. You will be able to develop a better understanding over the time. You may use podcasts with the topics of your interest. For lower English levels, cartoons are a good source of speech shadowing. The cartoons have slower audio speed and easier wordings. Switch to the movies once you feel you are getting hold over the English language.
The speech shadowing technique can be used to learn any language. It’s the best way not only to master colloquial speech, but accent and intonation as well. Happy English shadowing! 🙂
The best way to learn a foreign language is with private lessons; contact us here for a free language learning consultation or to book your lessons today! Students, teachers and parents worldwide choose the internationally accredited Verbalists Language Network as their trusted guide for the finest in educational services and language travel.
For the latest news and interesting stories about education and languages we recommend Verbalists Education Beyond Borders. This podcast has quickly become popular among both education professionals and students.
Stay on top of the most important education news and events, as well as scholarship offers! Subscribe for free:
Discover more from Verbalists Education & Language Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
This is a great, straightforward guide to the shadowing technique. I appreciate the clear distinction you make between simply repeating a phrase and true shadowing—acting as an “echo” that follows the speaker in real-time. This is a crucial detail for anyone new to the method. I initially learned about shadowing through Alexander Argüelles’s work, and your assertions are very consistent with his.
I have a couple of questions for you.
First, I often see what we’re calling “shadowing” here referred to by others as “chorusing,” which is described as a more simultaneous repetition. Do you think this nuanced comparison has much utility for the average language learner, or is the core technique of trying to immediately mimic the speaker the most important part, regardless of the label?
Second, I’ve found that modern, immersive content platforms have made shadowing easier than ever. Tools like ReadLang, LingQ, and others offer features like playback speed controls, bilingual side-by-side translations, and hide/reveal controls. Do you agree that these additional tools provide significant help and make the shadowing method even more effective?
Thanks again for sharing this valuable information!
Hi Rob,
Thank you for your thoughtful message and kind words about our shadowing guide. We are glad you found it useful, especially the distinction between simple repetition and true real-time shadowing…something many learners overlook.
To your first question: while some may call it “chorusing” and others “shadowing,” we feel the label is less important than the actual practice. For the average learner, the goal should be to quickly and clearly echo the speaker, improving pronunciation, rhythm, and listening. Whether the repetition is split-second or fully simultaneous is a fine detail that might matter to linguists, but not so much to someone just trying to speak better.
As for the second point, we completely agree. Platforms like ReadLang, LingQ, and similar tools have made shadowing more accessible than ever. Features like playback speed control and translations make it easier to stay engaged and better understand the content, especially for beginners or intermediate learners. These tools can definitely enhance the method and help keep learners motivated.
Thanks again for reaching out and sharing your experience. It is great to connect with others who appreciate the value of this technique.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write back. Your point that the practical goal of echoing the speaker (as best possible) is more important than the linguistic label is very well-taken and clarifies it perfectly.
I’m glad you also see the value in how tools like ReadLang can enhance the process and I appreciate the exchange and the excellent guide you’ve put together!