How to Improve English Speaking Skills with Shadowing method.
Shadowing method is an amazing method for learning english. First of all, what does shadowing mean?
Shadowing means to cover something with a shadow. In English learning, it means imitating someone’s speech and trying to copy the intonation, stress, and mouth movements.
Shadowing method is the best-ever technique, called the listen-and-repeat method. First, you listen to a small part of the audio, then you try to repeat exactly what you heard. This method is suggested to improve word pronunciation, intonation, word stress, accent, and speaking fluency. It has many advantages that, once you know them, will make you love it and stick with it all day! Here, I am going to tell you about it in this post.
WHY SHADOWING?
In response. I ask you Why not shadowing? Some people think that Shadowing method is a time-wasting technique that can’t really help them. I request that they try once. I’ll share the benefits of the shadowing technique:
LEARNING STRESS of words:
Stress means emphasizing a particular part of a word or certain words in a sentence. That leads to a change in the meaning of the words or sentences.
All languages have their own specific kind of stress.
Learning stress is challenging because it differs completely from other English skills, such as vocabulary, grammar, and phrasal verbs. So there is no magic way to learn stress, but to listen, listen, listen.
Shadowing is a complete method for learning stress patterns in English. You will gradually learn how to express your meaning with stress on the words and sentences like a native speaker. The main way to reach that level is through listening and practicing.
MUSCLE MEMORY:
In every language, some specific sounds do not exist in that language. To make those sounds, you need to move your lips, face, and tongue in different ways.
Shadowing method is a special way to learn how to move them correctly. You need to practice to make that sound. The more you practice it, the easier it gets. It just takes some time.
To make new sounds, the same thing happens: you need to practice moving the muscles of your face, lips, and tongue in the correct way to make the sounds correctly.
REDUCTION OF YOUR native ACCENT:
Speaking English with your natural accent is common. But if you speak English with a strong, natural accent, it may be hard to understand what you are saying.
As the sounds are pronounced completely differently from native English, understanding what you said is a hard job. Because the words sound different, just by copying the right accent, you will speak with a native accent.
Where TO GET STARTED WITH SHADOWING!
>Now that you know what the shadowing method is and its advantages, it’s time to tell you where to start.
The first thing is to choose your favorite accent: British or American. The next step is to choose an audio or video file corresponding to the chosen accent.
Any audio file you like can be used for practicing. Such as:
Podcasts
Radio
TV shows
Movies
Audiobooks
Music
The main point is just to choose whatever you like the most. The audio file must include a transcript or subtitles so you can repeat the sentence you hear.
After choosing the audio file with your favorite accent that matches your interests, start this magic method.
Step 1: Listen to the audio actively. Try to pay close attention to the stress of words, pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and the way of movement of the lips and tongue of the speaker. In this step, you have to take a look at the transcription of every word.
STEP 2:
Listen to the whole thing without stopping until the end while reading its transcript. If you don’t understand whatever you hear, don’t worry about it. The opposite of that is unnatural. In this step, you listen to the audio you will copy in the next step. In general, this step is called the listening step.
Step 3: Repeat.
>Listen to every sentence, pause, and try to repeat the words you heard. Every sentence needs to be practiced 3-5 times.
Keep focus on pronouncing the sounds of every word and the stress of the sounds exactly like the audio. Try to speak like a native speaker at the same pace and with the same intonation, and mimic his pronunciation.
Step 4: Record your speech. After repeating 3 to 5 times, check your speech by recording. You may record yourself multiple times to make sure your speech matches the audio as closely as possible. Moreover, you can compare your speech with an audio file. This is a self-assessment tool. If you make any mistakes in your speech, record yourself again until it becomes PERFECT!
Make shadowing a regular part of your daily life. The more you practice shadowing, the more you’ll improve in your pronunciation and fluency.
Shadowing is the best technique for improving your English language proficiency and speaking more like a native speaker. Now I’m pretty sure all of you know the significance of shadowing, and keep practicing it consistently! The key is
You have to make this process enjoyable by choosing attractive video content. Then you can have fun with shadowing process.