6 steps to practice the Shadowing technique to Improve Speaking Skills in 2 months

You want to speak English fluently at a native speaker's speed. You want to master natural pauses and breaks, even the filler words like "ah, uh...". You want to pronounce each word correctly, including the final sound, stress, and connected speech. You want to have a natural pronunciation, correct rhythm, intonation, assimilation, smooth speech, and emphasis. You want your accent to be less influenced by your mother tongue or, even better, you can "adopt" either a British or American accent.
To master the above skills, you need to become familiar with the Shadowing technique in English. Let's explore the 6 steps to practice the Shadowing method that will help you train yourself to speak standard English in 2 months with PREP!

I. What is the Shadowing technique?

The Shadowing technique is simply "imitating" the voice of the speaker. When we talk about "imitating," many people may think of it as a childish habit, but the Shadowing technique is different from ordinary imitation. With ordinary imitation, the speaker finishes the sentence before the imitator repeats it. However, the Shadowing method requires the imitator to follow the speaker immediately, with just a slight delay (1-2 seconds). Why is that?

The key to the matter is to eliminate the thinking process - analysis and direct training - the conscious mind. When you "shadow" their words as they speak, the speaker's voice will undoubtedly enter your ears and pass through your brain in a very short period, not enough for you to think and analyze anything. The less you think, the better! Your mouth will then reflexively form the shapes of the sounds and continuously adapt, which is the necessary reaction to prepare you for a higher level of Speaking.

If you persist in practicing the Shadowing technique for 2 months, you will notice fundamental changes in your pronunciation. This 2-month period is enough for you to "ditch" old pronunciation habits and patterns while "adopting" new ones.

After 2 months of practicing the Shadowing technique, your pronunciation will be significantly different, undoubtedly more "Western" and "melodic" - in a natural way like a native speaker. Your mouth will move faster, you will be able to pause naturally and pronounce more accurately, including basic elements like final sounds, connected speech with rhythm, intonation, assimilation, and emphasis.

II. Preparation for the Shadowing technique in English

For those 2 months, you'll be practicing with the person you pick. So, choose someone you find super cool! If you want to work on a US accent, maybe go for Jennifer Lawrence. If you prefer a UK accent, Emma Watson could be a good pick. You can also find lots of famous vloggers from both the US and UK on YouTube. Personally, I'm a big fan of Rory Sutherland, he's a great speaker with lots of videos on YouTube and TED.

After that, search on Google/YouTube and play all the talks, and talk shows of these individuals to practice along with them. Dedicate 30 minutes every day to practice the Shadowing method, and you will make unexpected progress in just 2 months. You should practice around 5-10 talks from the person you choose, and practice each talk continuously for about 3-5 days.

III. 6 steps to practice the Shadowing technique

Step 1: Familiarize yourself with the transcript

In the transcript, you need to identify all the words whose pronunciation you're not familiar with and look up their pronunciation before reading each word. You should use a dictionary that provides audio samples, following either the British or American standard for you to imitate. In other words, before moving on to the next steps, you should already know the pronunciation of 100% of the words in the passage.

Step 2: Active Listening - Getting acquainted with the voice in the entire clip

Start playing the clip and listen from the beginning. Now, listen actively and try to get acquainted with how the speaker pronounces each word and phrase. Some words may be simple, but when spoken quickly, they can create a different feeling, especially when the speaker connects and blends sounds. Additionally, during speech, phrases are influenced by rhythm and intonation.

Step 3: Listen + Read along with the transcript - Slow speed

This time, replay the clip from the beginning and slow it down to 0.75 speed. At this speed, the speech is still easy to hear and won't be distorted. Here, you should listen and read along with the transcript - this is the most basic level of the Shadowing technique. Remember these three things:

• Speak along with the audio, matching the timing as closely as possible. The slower the delay, the better.
• Pronounce each word accurately based on what you hear in the audio.
• Imitate the intonation and stress patterns of the audio.

Step 4: Listen + Read along with the transcript - Normal speed

After completing step 3, you need to do the same but choose the normal speed (1.0) to listen and speak along with the transcript.

Step 5: No Transcript: Listen + Speak along with the same speed as the Audio - Slow speed

After repeating steps 3 and 4 multiple times and feeling relatively comfortable with the content, you're ready for step 5: remove the transcript! Turn off the subtitles and speak again exactly as before. If you still find it difficult, you can continue practicing step 4 until you're familiar with the content. Success in this step means you've taken a big step forward in practicing the shadowing technique.

Step 6: No Transcript: Listen + Speak along at the same speed as the Audio - Normal speed

After step 5, you're ready for a faster speed without subtitles. In this step, you will "master" the fast, concise, and light shadowing method.

You can refer to how Mr. Tú Phạm - the CEO of prepedu.com - practices this technique in the video below.

IV. Basic notes for practicing the Shadowing technique

Keep practicing this method with different conversations, and after two months, you'll start sounding "almost like" the people you've been imitating. Your speech will become more Western, and refined, with your rhythm, tone, and how you link sounds together getting closer to how native speakers talk. Plus, even without hitting the books hard, you'll also be:

• Training your ear: Your listening skills will naturally improve after these 2 months, and your reflexes with sounds will also become much better.
• Vocabulary and expression: Vocabulary related to specific topics, especially natural expressions, will automatically be "uploaded" to you.

By following the 6 steps of practicing the Shadowing technique, you've gained a versatile tool that serves multiple purposes, right? Moreover, mastering this Shadowing technique can elevate your IELTS Speaking score to a band 7 or higher. So, PREP hopes you find success in mastering the IELTS Speaking test with this skill. If you have any questions about the Shadowing method or our courses, don't hesitate to reach out for detailed advice!