Shadowing Technique: The Ultimate Pronunciation Method

[jrineakter]

Do you want to improve your oral expression in French ? Do you want to develop a pronunciation close to native speakers? Then, the shadowing technique is what you need!

Popularized in the 2000s, this method of repetition and imitation has helped more than one learner master several foreign languages . Many polyglots practice it and recommend it.

Find out in this article what it consists of and how to apply it in your learning of the French language .

What is shadowing?
Shadowing

The word "shadow" comes from English and means "shadow" in French. In the context of language learning, shadowing consists of listening to audio content and repeating out loud what you hear, word for word, with as little delay as possible. The goal is to imitate the speaker, as if you were their shadow.

This technique became popular in the 2000s thanks to the linguist and polyglot Alexander Arguelles . He also created a series of YouTube videos dedicated to the shadowing method that I invite you to consult. (Warning, the content is a little dated and is in English.)

Why practice shadowing to improve your spoken French?
1. Focus on the sounds of the French language
When you practice French with someone, you have to think about a lot of things at the same time. You have to formulate your ideas, find the right words, think about the structure of the sentence, etc. Result: you don't pay attention to your pronunciation.

If you want to work on your diction, I recommend you try the shadowing exercise. It is the perfect technique to focus only on the sounds of the language and thus work on your pronunciation.

2. Train your muscles to produce French sounds
Our ability to reproduce certain sounds depends malaysia whatsapp number data on articulation, that is, on the way our mouth, lips and tongue move. However, many sounds in French do not exist in your native language. I am thinking for example of the consonant "r" or the vowel "u". This means that your muscles are not used to reproducing these sounds.

Now, the shadowing technique allows you to train your facial muscles to form the sounds you want to pronounce. And the more you practice, the better you will get! Ultimately, shadowing is similar to a gym session, except that instead of strengthening your arms or legs, you strengthen your mouth joints.

3. Learn to connect words
When words are linked together, they are pronounced differently than if they were alone. There are theoretical rules such as assimilation or chaining that explain this, but it is not always easy to understand these concepts. You can also simply remember by heart that "je ne sais pas" is pronounced "j'sais pas" for example.

But the best way to improve your oral expression is to train your mouth to connect words in French in a natural way. And for that, shadowing is very useful. You will learn to connect words without having to think about phonetic rules.