Language Shadowing

Language shadowing, also sometimes referred to as speech shadowing, is a form of exercise that insists that an individual whom is learning a new language should "shadow" a native speaker. To be more clear, language shadowing is the process of trying to speak exactly the same as a native speaker. Through doing this process, it is claimed that it will help second language learners improve their accent very well, and as a result have a more native-like accent.

Recently, I watched a video featuring Alexander Arguelles as he talks about language shadowing. While he has a few videos regarding the technique, this video (which is also embedded underneath this paragraph) offers an explanation of how shadowing can be used, how it can help improve second-language acquisition, etc. I was particularly interested in this video as I, too, am currently learning other languages, and one of my highest priority goals is: to SOUND like a native speaker. I want to reduce my foreign accent as much as possible so that it is easier for me to not only be understood by natives, but also so that I can understand them better as well.

Currently, I feel like it is much easier for me to hear and understand other people who are learning the same language as myself; however, while I want to understand everyone, I mostly want to understand native speakers. Try to think of all of the people you've met whom sounded significantly peculiar  simply because they had an accent. For me, it can be quite a challenge to understand some people as there accents are far more foreign than what I am used to, but I've noticed how people from the same culture as them that also learned English are quite apt in understanding them. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the purpose of having language is to be able to communicate ideas and thoughts to one another; therefore, I believe that accent reduction is very important. I think for most people, their reason for being motivated to learn another language is likely because they want to be able to understand natives, and they also want natives to understand themselves as well.

This is where language shadowing comes in. Through the use of language shadowing, it is believed that second language learners will learn how to properly space out their words, improve their intonation, as well as learn common sentence patterns. It is also important to realize that language shadowing does not only help improve speaking abilities, but also listening abilities too! If you're consistently engaging yourself with shadowing exercises, you obviously have to listen to natives speak. You're training your ears to listen more clearly and focus on all of the sounds that you have likely been filtering out since you were a young child.

The process of language shadowing can be done a few ways, but one of the popular ways of shadowing is to walk and speak at the same time. By walking and speaking at the same time, you're allowing your body to be put out of a comfortable position and to therefore focus more closely on the sounds. You can shadow while sitting, but it is believed that if you desire to shadow wile sitting you should attempt it when you are at a later stage. In this video, Alexander Arguelles shows us an example of him partaking in the exercise by shadowing Chinese.

For those interested, Alexander Arguelles has another video (which roughly about 55 minutes long) that discusses more about the topic of language shadowing.

Language shadowing isn't necessarily for everyone as other people may have different learning styles, but it is very important to know that this particular type of exercise can help people reduce their foreign accents and start becoming understandable.