Shadowing a novel (Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies) Language Learning Forum

Shadowing a novel
Tags: Activating a Language \| Shadowing \| Audiobook \| Vocabulary learning
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Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies

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lingoleng
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Germany
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Message 17 of 46

08 March 2014 at 6:28pm | IP Logged

James29 wrote:

I am thinking of shadowing Atlas Shrugged. The issue is that the regular audio is 60 hours and I would probably have to play it at 50% speed in order to shadow it and properly pronounce the words. That means it would be about 120 hours of audio. I only have about 40-60 minutes a day to dedicate to Spanish so 120 hours would be a four month committment.

There must be some problem you should solve. If 50% is all you can do now, then most of all you should work on that and ignore anything else. Try to get your speed up to at least 80% and then think about what else to do. Some few hours should be enough to get into it and solve the problem. Only then make further plans. Or come back and report what exactly does not work and makes you so slow. Seems like the most important thing and the one that will give the most immediate benefit, imo.
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James29
Diglot
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United States
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Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: French

Message 18 of 46

08 March 2014 at 6:33pm | IP Logged

My problem is that I am a technology idiot. I have the audio book in my audible account and it only has full speed and 50%. Full speed is too fast. I could probably do 75% or even 80% if those were options.

Edited by James29 on 08 March 2014 at 6:34pm
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lingoleng
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Germany
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Message 19 of 46

08 March 2014 at 6:43pm | IP Logged

James29 wrote:

I see. Going through a lengthy book at 50% is more en exercise in awkwardness, I guess. I don't really know what to suggest, frankly speaking. If you are something like B2-ish, like you say, you should be able to process natural speed. So maybe you can work on the first 10 minutes and bring them up to speed. 10 or 20 repetitions are not much of a time investment, and once you have made it it may help you a lot in general. (Speak with a low voice at first, makes it easier.)

Edited by lingoleng on 08 March 2014 at 6:45pm
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montmorency
Diglot
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United Kingdom
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Studies: Danish, Welsh

Message 20 of 46

08 March 2014 at 7:11pm | IP Logged

Serpent wrote:

Where did I say it's only about the pronunciation? Of course it isn't.
This still doesn't mean that shadowing an entire audiobook is somehow better than
shadowing only some parts. Just like reading an entire book aloud, it's a daunting
project, and it's much better to know this from the beginning.

Also, quote an objective reason for shadowing an entire novel. Or heck, for reading an
entire novel from cover to cover, and-what-to-read">rather than treating it the way people treat TV and get their watching
"done". Developing your patience is useful, but I'm looking for reasons directly
related to language learning. I don't see any.

That thread talks about "boring" TV channels, and equating watching them ~(or not) to
reading "boring books" (or not) in the same way. Well, not everyone watches TV like
that - the few programmes I watch I select in advance, watch them, then turn off the
TV. It's not a question of being "bored". Choosing books is similar, but the process of
choosing the book means quickly skimming though part of it to see if I like it, or I
may want to read it because of the author, reviews, or other reasons.

Anyway, from previous posts, I think we can take it that James has a particular
interest in this book, and getting bored by it almost certainly won't come into it.
The main question (which you rightly raise) is what linguistic value he gets out of it.
Quite a lot I'd think.

Another question though is what is the opportunity-cost, of reading (shadowing) only
one book for about 4 months?

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montmorency
Diglot
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United Kingdom
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Studies: Danish, Welsh

Message 21 of 46

08 March 2014 at 7:15pm | IP Logged

James29 wrote:

My problem is that I am a technology idiot. I have the audio book in my
audible account and it only has full speed and 50%. Full speed is too fast. I could
probably do 75% or even 80% if those were options.

In that case I'd start with small sections, but at full speed. I really think your speed
will increase when you get into it. But break yourself in gently.

Or is there some other text with audio source that may be slightly easier, and with which
you can train yourself, before embarking on the bigger challenge of that book?
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Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
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Message 22 of 46

08 March 2014 at 7:52pm | IP Logged

montmorency wrote:

Me too. And when I do stuff chaotically, I still aim to "finish" it (if I like it enough). I didn't say anything about my own routine, mind you. Just that the reasons why we tend to read books in their entirety are purely subjective, and there's no need to carry that over onto shadowing. (It's quite similar to scriptorium, really. Would you do scriptorium with an entire book?)

And I definitely agree about the opportunity cost. Not being able to shadow is not necessarily a problem. In our native language we tend to use the words from books in writing first, and maybe sometimes later we happen to use them in our speech. So I think that writing (and speaking, of course, and listening too) is more relevant for the OP than shadowing.

Edited by Serpent on 08 March 2014 at 8:02pm
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luke
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6990 days ago
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Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Esperanto, French

Message 23 of 46

08 March 2014 at 11:15pm | IP Logged

James29 wrote:

My problem is that I am a technology idiot. I have the audio book in my audible account
and it only has full speed and 50%. Full speed is too fast. I could probably do 75% or even 80% if those
were options.

I slowed down Don Quixote to 80%, but found that it seemed to change the way the speaker spoke. Going
down to 50% would not sound the same as if the speaker was just speaking slowly.

In a case like this, I would get what I could out of the book, which may be just listening practice and a
shadowed sentence now and then. For shadowing, it really helps to have something at an appropriate
speed.
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luke
Diglot
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United States
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Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Esperanto, French

Message 24 of 46

09 March 2014 at 3:17am | IP Logged

i also slowed Assimil Business French down to 90% of the original speed . That wasn't too bad, but does
sound a little less natural.

For Spanish, I'd suggest finding a speaker who naturally talks more slowly and perhaps uses a bit longer
pauses. One is http://albalearning.com.

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