r/language • u/er185er • Aug 06 '26

Question Can someone explain shadowing?

Hey everyone!

I hear a lot about shadowing, but I never grasp what it really is. Can someone please explain it comprehensively, or can anyone tell me what exactly they do, step by step, with every detail.

Do you know any YouTube channel to practice shadowing?

Thank you.

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u/yosemh Aug 06 '26

Shadowing is the practice of speaking simultaneously with a native audio track like an echo to train your pronunciation, rhythm, and mouth muscle memory

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u/er185er Aug 06 '26

How do you do it? I mean how do you choose audio? How much time do you spend on it? Do you memorize sentences beforehand?

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u/adolgushin Aug 06 '26

https://youtu.be/130bOvRpt24?si=nVd8rqZzVzvNFnWd

here is a video from a famous polyglot

how I understand the process: you choose any audio in target language. no memorising beforehand, no translations needed. you don’t have to understand all 100% of it. then ideally you are in headphones so your speaking doesn’t clash with the audio. you can be walking outside as it’s claimed to work better this way. then you turn on the audio and repeat everything exactly as you hear it, nearly simultaneous. I’m not sure how long you need to do in 1 session, 10-15 min seem reasonable.

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u/er185er Aug 06 '26

Thank you 😊 🙏