Maybe you’ve heard of “shadowing” or “echoing” as a language study method before, but you’re not sure what the point of this method is.
You might have questions such as, what is shadowing? How do you do it? How long should you do it? Is it effective for learning English? What materials should I use for shadowing?
Well, if you’re curious, you’re in the right spot.
“Shadowing” is an overlooked study method that can be quite effective when used well and intentionally.
Let’s dive into it.
What is shadowing (echoing)?
Simply put, shadowing (also known as echoing) is a study method where you repeat out loud something you’re listening to.
It’s a great way to practice listening and speaking, creating connections in the brain and positively improving your learning experience.
And what’s more, it’s a terrific method of naturally obtaining a language as you mimic native speakers’ voices and words.
Textbook English and native conversational English are vastly different, and it can be hard to adapt to conversational English unless you expose yourself to native speakers’ speech.
The repetition, repeating a phrase over and over again, allows you to say a phrase or sentence until it feels right to you.
However, there are many ways you can do shadowing.
How do you practice shadowing?
There are two simple ways to do shadowing.
The first is to listen to what’s said and repeat it simultaneously.
The second is a slight variation where you repeat a sentence after listening to the whole sentence.
For both of these, you can repeat the sentences as much as you like for the desired effect.
There are some alternative methods to shadowing you can incorporate:
- Listen without the script first to familiarize yourself with the content.
- Mumbling: focus on the sounds of the words rather than the words themselves
- Focus on the difficult parts: notice which parts are tricky to pronounce and repeat them.
We asked our CEO, Jay, what his method is for shadowing on the English listening app, RedKiwi.
Here’s his response:
Step 1:
I listen to a sentence several times first. Then, I begin solving the quiz.
I like to listen to it (the sentence) before solving the quiz to check how much I can understand at first.
While I'm solving the listening quiz, I get stuck at some point. When that happens, I keep listening to it until I can decipher what it is.
Step 2:
Then, I repeat the sentence until I mimic the sound exactly like the speaker.
Usually, repeating multiple times lets me become familiar with the sound.
Just to note, RedKiwi is one of the only tools that lets you repeat a sentence without manually rewinding it every time.
Step 3:
Once I get used to each sentence, I usually practice shadowing from the beginning to the end of the content until I can follow along confidently.
How many minutes per day should you practice shadowing?
For effective learning, it’s crucial to find your sweet spot. Not too long and not too little.
Spending too much time shadowing could leave you feeling discouraged if you don't see significant improvement during that period.
On the other hand, if the session is too short, you might not fully benefit from its advantages.
We recommend around 5-20 minutes as an appropriate practicing time.
If you measure it per sentence, you could try repeating the sentence 3-6 times or as you see comfortable.
Is shadowing or reading aloud more effective?
Shadowing and reading aloud have different effects.
When you read, there’s something called a “reading voice,” which is different from your natural tone when speaking.
So, when you learn just from reading, it might sound unnatural.
Whereas with shadowing, you are listening to native speakers talk, so it’ll sound more natural.
In that sense, shadowing is more effective than reading aloud for conversational English.