Shadowing

Shadowing is a technique that offers a systematic approach to improving various linguistic skills through real-time audio mimicry. Its origins can be traced back to a speech recognition and perception experiment conducted by researcher E Colin Cherry in the 50s. However, it wasn’t ‘til the late 90s and early 2000s that the efficacy of the technique was tested and established in a series of classroom-style intervention studies in Japan. 

Defining Shadowing

Shadowing is a language learning technique in which learners listen to a recording in the target language and attempt to speak along with it by repeating verbatim everything that is heard. This method requires the learner to closely imitate the speaker's pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. Translating or understanding isn’t the object. Instead, the task is a more physical one of producing language and imitating the target as closely as possible. 

How it works

1. Selection of Appropriate Audio Material: Choose audio recordings in the target language. Ideal sources include didactic material with one speaker such as podcasts, news reports, audiobooks, and educational videos. Select a voice and accent that you would like to emulate in your own speech. Where possible, try and always use material from the same speaker or from speakers of the same dialect. Avoid material for children or material specifically created for learners. This material often includes learner-directed speech. Not only are the words and syntax in such material simplified, but learner directed speech is also often overenunciated and overintoned. 

2. Initial Passive Listening: Begin by listening to the selected audio without attempting to speak. This phase allows you to passively familiarise yourself with the content's flow and pronunciation patterns.

3. Active Shadowing: Replay the audio and speak along with the recording. You should strive to match the speaker's cadence and articulation as closely as possible without focussing on the meaning of what is said. It’s best to use headphones so that you can focus on the recording. Recording yourself so that you can listen back and evaluate your pronunciation afterwards. 

4. Repetition and Reinforcement: Practise multiple times with the same audio. Think of it as practising a piece of music. Note down particular sections that you find difficult to imitate. You can use recording software to extract these sections and focus on the articulation of specific segments. 

Advantages

1. Pronunciation Refinement: Shadowing is an immediate, iterative practice in mimicking native pronunciation. It views pronunciation improvement as a physical skill that needs to be accrued and built up. If you struggle to pronounce a particular diphthong or series of consonants in your target language, you simply need to get your mouth used to producing these unfamiliar sounds or sound combinations. It’s the equivalent of practising scales on the piano or repeating a particular tennis stroke during a training session. 

2. Increased Fluency & confidence: The word ‘fluency’ is usually used outside of language learning circles to describe someone who simply “can do” a language. Someone who has automatic command of seemingly all vocabulary and can produce and understand language in all contexts without making a concerted effort. In reality, there are no such speakers of any language — it’s all a bit of a myth…

But here I’ll take a slightly narrower view of fluency as meaning someone who can keep going without tripping up too much. If you practise the physical act of speaking in your target language there will be fewer sudden obstacles in your speech. You’ll start to dread a particular sound or word less and less because you will have practised it multiple times in a low pressure environment (namely talking to yourself). Through repeated practice, you’ll develop the ability to produce language spontaneously and fluidly, increasingly aligning yourself to the natural flow of native speech.

Speaking the target language will also simply become less of a big deal. It doesn’t mean it’ll become less enjoyable, but certainly less stressful. You’ll stop thinking “oh my god, here we go” as you enter your Arabic class, or as you linger in the Zoom waiting room for your Irish lesson to begin or when you approach the counter of a shop in Germany. You’ll be ready.

3. Enhanced Auditory Comprehension: Whilst the purpose of shadowing described here has been on its benefits for pronunciation, it has been well-documented as a means of improving auditory comprehension. The technique demands concentrated listening, even if you are simply imitating the sounds you hear without trying to decode the stream of speech. This extended concentration on the auditory input can build up passive familiarity and in time general comprehension and listening skills in the target language. 

Best Practices for Shadowing

1. Start with Manageable Segments: Beginners should focus on short audio segments to build confidence and proficiency before progressing to longer recordings.

2. Maintain Consistency: Regular practice is essential. Incorporating shadowing into a daily routine can yield significant improvements.

3. Use Transcripts: Where available, transcripts can aid comprehension and help learners identify challenging words and phrases.

4. Self-Monitoring: Recording your own voice during shadowing sessions. Listening back allows for self-assessment and highlights areas needing improvement.

5. Engage with Interesting Content: Where possible, select audio materials that align with your interests. This is less important when you’re just starting out and the focus is simply on imitating sounds. But as you move along your language learning journey and become a more proficient speaker and understand more and more of what you’re imitating, it helps to have engaging material.