Today I’m going to talk about something that I’ve been planning to show you for a while because it tremendously helped me to sound more fluent when I was learning English. And this is the shadowing technique. It’s also called imitation. To be honest, I’d never heard of shadowing as a technique for learning a language before I started doing it. I just did it because I always liked imitating people.
The original version of this post is in a video form. Because it involves listening and pronunciation practice, I suggest that you watch the video first. By the way, speaking of videos, have you subscribed to my YouTube channel Lingo Adventure? If you haven’t yet, what are you waiting for?! 😀. You are going to get many tips about learning English and life in the US.
Shadowing technique
When I was a child in Bulgaria, I’d often make my classmates and friends laugh just by imitating a particular teacher or a neighbor. I was able to pick on some unique aspect of a particular person’s voice or way of speaking and tried to repeat it. So, when I left Bulgaria and went to Poland, I started learning Polish by repeating what I’d heard on TV. And later, when I came to the US, I did the same thing. It just felt natural to me.
Mind you, back in the days there was no YouTube or other social media. I couldn’t just pause the TV and go back and forth, so I was repeating short phrases or as much as I could remember after I heard it.
But the focus of shadowing or imitation shouldn’t be on saying a lot anyway. The point is to try to hear different nuances such as intonation, the words that are used, how the separate words are blended together, how long vowels in given words are, and all the other details that you can notice.
Choosing a speaker
So now I’m going to show you how I do it. First, I have to choose the speaker. Again, back in the days when there was no social media, I didn’t have the luxury of choosing the speaker. I just repeated after whoever was speaking at the time on TV. But now, with so many videos on YouTube, you can try to find a person who you’d like to imitate.
I usually try to choose a speaker whose voice I like or is a little similar to mine. So, most of the time I wouldn’t choose a male speaker, although sometimes I do if I like the way he speaks. I usually go with female speakers with a little lower voice timbre.
Shadowing session with Maria Menounos
Today, I’ve chosen a woman who I have been following for a while. Her name is Maria Menounos, and she is a Greek-American TV presenter, who now has a podcast called Heal Squad.
In this episode of her podcast, she is interviewing Emily Ford, an entrepreneur who has built a successful business without having a formal business education.
I chose a 22-second-long fragment from the interview. Let’s look at it first:
We always wanna be perfect at everything
to go out and do it.
And… that’s what stops us from doing things.
So, I feel like that’s a really good place to kind of start
because you did it without it,
and you built a nine-figure business,
maybe more — I don’t know now — but uhm…
You built a business that’s thriving and…
and so huge — without it.
Now, I am going to break it down into parts and analyze it line by line.
1. We always wanna be perfect at everything
We always wanna be perfect at everything
wiː ˈɒːlˌweɪz ˈwɑː.nə biː ˈpʰɜɹˌfɪkt æt ˈɛv.ɹiˌθɪŋ
- She is reducing want to [ˈwɑːnt tʊ] to wanna [ˈwɑː.nə].
- She is aspirating the first sound p [pʰ] in the word perfect [ˈpʰɜɹˌfɪkt] – puffig a little bit of air with that p. Usually when we have a voiceless stop (/p/, /t/, /k/) at the beginning of a word or a stressed syllable, we aspirate it ([pʰ], [tʰ]], [kʰ]). Otherwise, it may sound like the corresponding voiced stop ([b], [d], [g]).
- Her intonation is going up, which indicates that she is not done with the sentence and that more is coming.
2. to go out and do it.
to go out and do it.
təˈɡoʊ ˌaʊɾ.ənˈduː.ɪt̚
- She is reducing the vowel in the word to to a schwa /ə/: [tə].
- We have another vowel reduction and dropped final /d/ in the word and /ænd/: [ən]. The next word do [duː] starts with the same consonant /d/, so she’s merging/fusing the two Ds into one sound.
- Notice the flap t [ɾ] in out and [ˌaʊɾ.ən]. When a /t/ or /d/ comes in between two vowels, it can be pronounced as a fast flap t sound.
- We have a held t [t̚] in the word it /ɪt/: [ɪt̚]. This final t is not released. She’s still putting the tongue behind the upper teeth for the t sound but she’s not releasing the air.
3. And… that’s what stops us from doing things.
And… that’s what stops us from doing things.
ænt ðæts wɑːt stɑːps ʌs fɹʌm ˈduːɪŋ θɪŋz
- Notice the elongated and /ænd/ with devoiced final consonant: [ænt]. As opposed to the and in part 2, she is not reducing the vowel /æ/ and she doesn’t drop the final consonant (she is devoicing it, though).
- Her intonation is going down, which indicates the end of the sentence. Her tone is going almost to a vocal fry. When you go so low with your voice that it is cracking, this is the vocal fry.
4. So, I feel like that’s a really good place to kind of start
So, I feel like that’s a really good place to kind of start
soʊ aɪ ˈfiːˌlaɪk ˈðæts.ə ˈɹɪ.li ɡʊd pleɪs təˈkaɪn.də stɑːɹt
- Here we have another example of blending two identical consonants into one. The two Ls in feel like are blended into one L: [ˈfiːˌlaɪk].
- She is using a filler word kind of /kaɪnd əv/ but reduced to kinda [ˈkaɪn.də].
- She’s speaking very fast and then she’s slowing down with the word start [stɑːɹt]. Few words blended together might sound shorter than this last word start. It’s very rhythmic.
5. because you did it without it,
because you did it without it,
bɪˈkʌʒ.juː dɪɾ.ɪt̚ wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt̚
- See how she is substituting the /z/ sound (followed by /j/) in because you /bɪˈkʌz juː/ by [ʒ] (/zj/ ➔ [ʒj]): [bɪˈkʌʒ.juː].
- She is pronouncing the second /d/ in did it /dɪd ɪt/ as a flap t [ɾ]: [dɪɾ.ɪt̚]
- We have another flap t [ɾ] converted from the first /t/ in without it /wɪˈðaʊt ɪt/: [wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt̚]
- We have two held Ts [t̚]; at the end of did it [dɪɾ.ɪt̚], and at the end of without it [wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt̚]
- Notice how she is saying did it [dɪɾ.ɪt̚] and without it [wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt̚] with the same type of intonation – raising her voice a little bit on the stressed syllables. It’s very rhythmic again.
6. and you built a nine-figure business,
and you built a nine-figure business,
ˈænˌjuː ˈbɪlt.ə naɪn ˈfɪ.ɡjɚ ˈbɪz.nəs
- She is dropping the /d/ in the word and /ænd/: [æn].
- She is raising her intonation at the first syllable of the word business [ˈbɪz.nəs].
7. maybe more — I don’t know now — but uhm…
maybe more — I don’t know now — but uhm…
ˈmeɪ.bi mɔːɹ aɪˌɾoʊˈnoʊ naʊ bʌt ʌm
- This is a continuation of the previous part but she’s saying it as “a matter of fact.” She’s keeping her intonation very flat.
- We have another flap t [ɾ] in I don’t know [aɪˌɾoʊˈnoʊ].
- Notice how she’s always keeping her voice here and blending all the words together.
8. You built a business that’s thriving and…
You built a business that’s thriving and…
juː ˈbɪlt.ə ˈbɪz.nəs ðæts ˈθɹaɪ.vɪŋ æn
- She is dropping the final /d/ in the word and /ænd/: [æn].
9. and so huge
and so huge
ˈæntˌsoʊ hjuːʤ
- She is repeating and, which indicates that she is looking for the next word.
- She is devoicing /d/ in and so /ænd soʊ/ to [t] because the next consonant /s/ is voiceless: [ˈæntˌsoʊ].
- Check the video, where I play this part in slow motion.
- She is stressing and elongating the last word huge [hjuːʤ] – playing again with her intonation.
10. without it.
without it.
wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt
- She is adding (as “a matter of fact”) this important piece of information stressing on the fact that Emily doesn’t have a formal business background.
- We have the voiced th sound /ð/ in without it [wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt].
- And we have another flap t [ɾ] at the end of without in without it [wɪˈðaʊɾ.ɪt].
- Notice that this time, in contrast to the previous cases, she is pronouncing the final /t/ in it [ɪt].
★
Watch the video where I say the full text together with Maria and practice with me.
I hope you enjoyed this imitation/shadowing practice. It definitely helped me a lot with improving not only my English but also hearing the different nuances of the language when it comes to rhythm and intonation and all the connected speech.
Did you find this article helpful? If yes, share it with the world. Of course, I mean social media as this is the new world we live in 😉. You can smash one (or all) of the sharing buttons below the text.
Tired of drilling grammar exercises and memorizing words that you never use? Join our Speaking Club, where you will have the chance to actually use all the knowledge that you’ve worked so hard to acquire. Come and develop your spoken English skills while having fun with other awesome people from all over the globe.
Share this page:
