I respectfully disagree, if you have good basic vocabulary and grammar in the language you're learning it's better to throw yourself in a conversation with a native through skype or any avenue that you can find to make international friends. It's faster, it encourages the understanding of subtle nuances in the language and it's way more fun. Btw, English is not my native language and I'm very comfortable with it in written and spoken form. I have read a ridiculous amount of books and that helped me perfect my grammar and spelling but in terms of speaking it took me only a few weeks of chatting with a native speaker. Your mouth catches up with your brain pretty easily if you're already at an advanced stage in the target language.

I think both shadowing and real time conversation have their own pros and cons. With shadowing, you can do it anytime you want without having to set a common time. (But of course, you can post your voice recordings on HelloTalk or the like) With real time conversation, you are forced to make your OWN sentences, which I think is the end goal of speaking. The downside of real time conversation is that the topics will be very limited due to vocabulary and grammar limitation, and that the native speaker may not have the patience to listen. (Unless that person is paid to do it. Well, if you've got the money to spend, why not?)

Agree.

SoulGuitarMetal Hi! This comment is 2 years old, I would like to know if after this comment you continued improving your accent and pronunciation by shadowing? I'm an English learner too and I want to have an American Accent and I would like know if you recommend shadowing for improving my accent and pronunciation. Thank You, I hope you answer.

@@boohyaah9339 I used to shadow the standard American accent at 2x on KZfaq every night until I fall asleep, improvement is quite subtle initially and then one day you just stop trying to speak correctly, words just come outta your mouth automatically. People stop complimenting ya cuz you're so natural innit.

lmao

I ALWAYS have to be walking or doing some kind of exercise while doing Pimsleur or it knocks me out halfway through a lesson, too. I got so annoyed at one point that I kept only getting partway through a lesson and I’d end up repeating the same one for days until I finally got through the whole thing.

That is because it is a workout for the brain. When I first started about 14 years ago, I could not simply get through a whole lesson because it was way too much to take in, so I had to stop half way through and process. Practice or Immersion would always make me sleepy, but I learned Spanish very quickly by doing a Pimsleur style course until I was sleepy. I would sleep for a few hours, if it was day, or for the night and go right back to it studying non stop. At first, I could not watch tv in my target language with focus and intent for more than 5 minutes without getting extremely drowsy. Later it was 15minutes. Then there were these stages little by little the rhythms would become a bit more clear. Watching TV in my target language still makes me very sleepy if I spend time focusing, but the more I do, the stronger my mind becomes. The brain is a muscle and the reason you get sleepy is because the brain is reworking and repairing itself.

shan li stick to whatever you enjoy

Oh my friend, with me it is the exact opposite, when learning korean in the stage i am now I can’t find too much of listening content that is comprehensible. However, there is a lot - or at least some- content good for my level and interesting regarding the reading, so i hope that, while i practice my reading, my comprehensible grows to a point that i can understand more the listening part. It’s not a crazy idea because i did the same with english and it worked very well. Just for comparison, Two months ago i could find some materials that were very funny to watch but now that my level has improved these materials became kinda boring, that’s why im focusing in reading now. I don’t see this as problem and i think even if you don’t find anything in your level now just keep going, somehow you will find something or little by little you will get enough input to just find new ones which seems difficult now.

I would love you to please guide me to where I can find out. Thank you

grimslider75 I don't really understand why I should change the way I learn languages. I enjoy what I do. I enjoy just reading and listening and acquiring words and learning about other cultures. Along the way I pick up the language. I enjoy the process. I am not interested in adding tools to my box. Others enjoy others processes. To me language learning is about discovery and enjoyment, not about utilitarian learning tasks.

Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve I apologize for knocking you Steve, because in the end, my interest in language learning stems from my interest in variety and experimentation. I just recently heard of shadowing from Alexander Arguelles, so, being subscribed to you 1st, decided to see your thoughts on the topic. After discovering that you don't favor this method as much as I do, merely points to that fact that our interests differ. I'm sorry, I wish I had worded my original post differently. I'm learning Korean, my 1st foreign language at the moment, so I was glad to learn about another method or tool to try out. I too am interested in the discovery and enjoyment of Korean, but I differ slightly in that I enjoy connecting with others moreso than learning the language. To me, learning languages is just a means to that end.

Yes, I actually started shadowing Mandarin a few years ago for a month as a beginner and even though I only has a small amount of vocabulary, I was told by a Chinese man on the street that my grammar was really good 😁😁😁

How so?

@@bigbobabc123 how easy it is to learn a language online.

@@smejes1 what do you think the best way to learn a European (eg Spanish) language is? If you’re a native English speaker.

@@bigbobabc123 I am currently learning spanish as a native english speaker myself. I think the best way to learn is subjective. I use apps and speak to native spanish speakers. You?

thought2007 doesn't have to be done at the SAME time....there should be a short pause so that the learner can hear himself.

Maybe next but I have a lot on my plate. Not at present.

He didn't mean they are similar methods. Your observation is completely out of context.

Juan Gonzalez Do I said he did mean they are similar? No. Please read again my msg.

Shadowing is like Pimsleur only in the sense that these are methods that many people like and swear by, and I don't like and don't do, since I enjoy learning by listening to and reading interesting things.

Ok, I got it. But to say that you made some occasionally Shadowing in your car said to me that you made it without headphones and this is a critical part of the method. Without headphones your own voice trouble you.

Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve I'm like you: I can't bear it if I'm not interested. However, in my case I enjoy Pimsleur, because I clearly see myself improving in an effortless way. Maybe Pimsleur is more appealing to more amateurs in language learning. Thanks for being plain honest about it Steve! You're an inspiration.

I am not interested in walking around talking to myself. I learn for fun, and that means focusing on content of interest to me, reading and listening.

Well that's exactly what shadowing is, listening and reading; and you're not required to walk around haha. Shadowing can be done with an audiobook and the physical book or a podcast and transcript. All you do is listen to it and read it at the same time while reading aloud, once you're able to do this well you will be able to do it without the text. It's highly effective if you actually try it. Alexander Arguelles is far more accomplished than any other living polyglot I've read about or heard of. Therefore, I trust that his methods are effective and I try to use them.

I don't read out loud. I read for interest and study languages for interest.

Well, he's not a bore unlike your "god" and he doesn't speak like a robot either.

Fronika that's irrelevant. One might be boring and very intelligent in some other ways.

***** no, that's called a metaphor. Google it.

***** ahahaha

Arguelles is made out of wood.

Wrong. It has been proved that shadowing is a good way to be more fluent

When you shadow, you will likely not be able to follow every words, that's the word you don't know or you don't know real sound. So shadowing works for listening. But you can get listening ability by just careful listening too. Some interpreters say I shadow until I completely memorize. It definitely works, but in that case, repeating until you memorize is much better. You can memorize phases with right intonation and pitch accent. But this is matter of preference. I don't shadow unless when I want to exercise mouth muscle. When it comes to pronunciation, It's not good. You need to watch pronunciation video and listen explanation and practice each sound. And you need to practice making sentences for speaking skill.

Go for it! To each his own.

boya kkey Unnecesary rude comment.

Claudia Ferrero I respect Steve. I've been watching his videos for about 8 years. I like them and learned lots of things from him. I don't believe I'm rude or offensive.