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Shadowing: yay or nay? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| lingoleng Senior Member Germany Joined 5297 days ago 605 posts - 1290 votes  | Message 65 of 67 16 April 2013 at 2:26am | IP Logged | ||
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First I would like to agree with Majka: Don't worry if you cannot do it. There are other techniques which may suite you better.
Then I agree with Arekkusu: There must be some time lag between what you hear and what you say; if there is not, then you do something else. A little tip, which may help some and may be useless to others: Silent Shadowing! I do not open my mouth at all and hear in my mind what I want to say. In this way I avoid the conflict between my own voice and the voice of the speaker. If this does not work for you: Whispering also helps in this regard, of course. (An interpreter must develop and practise his skill of simultaneous speaking and listening, we as simple language learners are interested in the time saving aspect of shadowing and in the small gap of input and output, which aids our short-time-memory.) What seems to prevent some people from trying and using shadowing is the idea that only complete phrases/sentences/even short paragraphs can be repeated. But, as a matter of fact, there are much smaller units which can be understood and repeated, without knowing beforehand when and how a sentence will end. But ... as a matter of fact ... there are ... much smaller units ...which ... can ... be understood ... and repeated ...without ... knowing beforehand ... when ... and how ... a sentence (now what?) will end. (ah! I see!). How long is the gap between listening and shadow-speaking (for a text we do not know by heart)? Well, it will vary, but to give a general idea: Maybe something from half a second to two seconds. No gap is something else (or will happen when you are shadowing your simple Assimil lesson for the umpteenth time) and larger gaps will increase the difficulty (again: whom I have in mind is not the professional interpreter who must be able to survive longer gaps without collapsing but the more or less normal enthusiast.) What else? The complete beginner will not be able to shadow a complete novel and profit from it, imo. What I said above about units which can be understood and repeated cannot work at A0, for instance, the idea as I understand it involves a minimum of comprehension and proficiency. (I do know of course that some people recommend shadowing from lesson 1 on. To each his own, de gustibus and so on.) But on the other hand we do it to get better, not because we are already perfect. Chosing material which suits our level and lowering too high expectations can help: A successful walk-through may only be possible after some preparatory stages, in the case of a novel e. g.: First read a page, try to make it as comprehensible as possible, and only then start to shadow, with the goal to convert the passive input into the base of your active output. If you can shadow a page in a way that you have the feeling that it is to a major part you who speaks, with comprehension, or as Arekkusus puts it, "mimicking ... the meaning, the intent and the mood", then you are a step closer to your goal. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gala Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4549 days ago 229 posts - 421 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 66 of 67 16 April 2013 at 2:48am | IP Logged | ||
I was going by Professor Arguelle's definition of the term, which is essentially talking over, as near to simultaneously as possible. Hence the need for a text for any audio that you haven't heard before. I was under the impression that he had invented the technique, and that his definition was the standard one on this forum. I didn't know that the term originally meant what interpreters do. I guess I do shadow then! And I agree that doing so spontaneously, with a focus on the context and meaning of select phrases, feels most effective. When doing this, I do talk over in a sense, in that I don't stop the recording. I talk over whatever is said next, but as I'm not trying to shadow the whole thing sequentially it doesn't matter. I then am silent until I hear the next phrase that appeals to me or seems useful. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5008 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 67 of 67 17 April 2013 at 9:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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I tried shadowing and it is not for me. First, I have the already mentioned trouble with
listening to myself and the original at the same time. Secondly, I find myself stressed about making mistakes. Therefore for me, listening and repeating works much better, especially in the beginnings of studying the target language. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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