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Shadowing: yay or nay? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Rollo the Cat Groupie United States Joined 6033 days ago 77 posts - 90 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Russian, Ancient Greek | Message 9 of 67 29 June 2008 at 2:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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I tried shadowing a few years ago and it didn't work for me. It was tiring, difficult, and gave me a headache. I tried
it again recently and found that I was able to do it not only successfully, but with little effort. In fact, shadowing is actually a fun activity for me now. The difference between successful and unsuccessful attempts at shadowing is in the almost indescribable different mental states that we slip in and out of all the time. You have to identify the mental state you are in during the brief moments when shadowing is working for you. Then you have to learn to reproduce that mental state more and more. Shadowing for me is a way to avoid translating. I listen to the speaker and read the text while I visualize the meanings of the words and phrases. Doing this over and over helps me link images to the foreign language words. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6438 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 10 of 67 29 June 2008 at 3:10pm | IP Logged | ||
No, it would be a good supplement, not a replacement. Conversation and shadowing help improve different parts of your language ability when you're still fairly new to the language, I'd say. Conversation.... gets you conversational, at the cost of grammar and sometimes pronunciation; flow is the most important thing. Shadowing helps correct forms sink in, but doesn't help conversation as much or as directly. Personally, I learn and remember vocabulary a lot faster through shadowing than conversation as well. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| furrykef Senior Member United States furrykef.com/ Joined 6471 days ago 681 posts - 862 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Japanese, Latin, Italian | Message 11 of 67 29 June 2008 at 7:16pm | IP Logged | ||
What video? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6908 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 12 of 67 29 June 2008 at 7:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think it's this one:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3jm9Fvfry8Q 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| CaitO'Ceallaigh Triglot Senior Member United States katiekelly.wordpress Joined 6856 days ago 795 posts - 829 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Russian Studies: Czech, German | Message 14 of 67 29 June 2008 at 10:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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I shadow, and sometimes blind shadow (I guess that's what it's called), but I don't do it in a park or natural setting, as has been recommended.
I do it because it's fun. I like pretending I'm singing along with the sound. I think it helps. I'm shadowing an Uruguayan author now, and my accent is changing. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7145 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 15 of 67 29 June 2008 at 11:11pm | IP Logged | ||
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I voted that I don't shadow, but that is simply because I have never tried it.
I commence my learning by listening to the language and reading it for understanding. I will repeat what I hear or substitute words to make my own sentences and try to imitate the accent and tonation. I have never tried to speak along with the audio. At least, not as a conscious strategy. Sometimes I have spoken along with some of the extreme Russian accents I have heard and "sing" the text along with the speaker. I have always regarded that as playing with the language and never taken it seriously. I have done the same with Italian as I enjoy playing with the accent. Italian and extreme Russian are two accents you can play around with. Actually, shadowing sounds like a good idea. Edited by fanatic on 29 June 2008 at 11:13pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| orion Senior Member United States Joined 7020 days ago 622 posts - 678 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian | Message 16 of 67 30 June 2008 at 12:22am | IP Logged | ||
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I have tried it numerous times with several languages. I did not get that much out of it.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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