Updated 21 October 2026

Written and checked by The Sada Team · How we check

30-day shadowing challenge: five lines a day

The daily path in Sada is a ready-made 30-day shadowing plan: 5 short lines from real talks each day, about five minutes, starting with slow, easy speakers and ending with fast ones. You type a line, say it, or both, and the path keeps count. Nothing is locked, a missed day is simply continued, and it is free with no account.

Start the path

Open the 30-day path

The path shows today’s 5 lines and every other day one tap away. Day 1 starts with “You don't need to speak fast.”, a slow line from a beginner shadowing lesson; open it straight away.

Free, with no account and no paid plan. Recordings and progress stay on your device.

To print: the 30-day plan as a PDF, all 30 days with a QR code that opens each day and a box to tick for every line (A4 or Letter).

How a day works

Open today. The path opens on the first day you have not finished, with its 5 lines listed, short ones first.
Take the first line. It opens in the practice screen, marked “Day 1 · line 1 of 5”. Listen to it, at 0.75× if you like.
Type it, then say it. Choose Type it to write what you hear and check it word by word (how the check works), then Record this line. Or skip typing and record With the speaker or After the speaker.
Compare. Play your take beside the speaker and see which of your words were recognised and how your timing compares.
Next path line. Once the line is done, a button takes you to the next line of the path, and so on to the end of the day.

That is 5 lines of 3 to 14 words each, which is why a day takes about five minutes. Stay longer on a line if you want; the path does not time you.

What counts, and what the path keeps

A line is done once you have recorded a take of it or typed and checked it.
A day is done once all 5 of its lines are.
Three counts: days done, lines said (lines you have recorded, so typing alone does not add to it) and days in a row.
Your pace, not the calendar. The day to work on is always the first one not finished. Do two days in one evening, or miss a week: the path picks up where you are. Every day can be opened at any time.

Day 1, line by line

Each opens in the practice screen as a line of the path, so it is ticked off when you finish it.

“You don't need to speak fast.” · English Unleashed · A1–A2 · Open this line
“The power of yet.” · Carol Dweck · B1 · Open this line
“It gives you a path into the future.” · Carol Dweck · B1 · Open this line
“They had what I call a growth mindset.” · Carol Dweck · B1 · Open this line
“I received a letter recently from a 13-year-old boy.” · Carol Dweck · B1 · Open this line

How the 30 days get harder

All 150 lines come from real talks and speeches in Sada’s library. The plan starts with the slowest, clearest speakers and moves to faster ones: within each level, speakers go from the slowest to the fastest. Every line is one whole sentence of 3 to 14 words, with no fillers or stammers to type, and every range was checked against the captions.

Days 1 to 10: B1
Days 11 to 17: B1–B2
Days 18 to 25: B2
Days 26 to 29: B2–C1
Day 30: C1

The levels are a guide to choosing, not a test. If Day 1 feels easy, open a later day; if a day is hard, repeat it before moving on. For more talks at each level, see B1 talks, B2 talks and advanced talks.

All 30 days

Day	Theme	Lines from	Level
1	A first slow line, and “not yet”	English Unleashed, Carol Dweck	B1
2	Yes, you can draw	Graham Shaw	B1
3	Learning something new	Josh Kaufman	B1
4	A friendly start to a talk	Sir Ken Robinson	B1
5	Thank you, and a mission	Denzel Washington	B1
6	A little secret	Oprah Winfrey	B1
7	A teacher’s story	Angela Lee Duckworth	B1
8	Short replies, British style	Sir Ken Robinson	B1
9	Everyone needs a coach	Bill Gates	B1
10	Practise, and don’t give up	Ivan Joseph	B1
11	Big feelings, short lines	Oprah Winfrey	B1–B2
12	Questions about stress	Kelly McGonigal	B1–B2
13	Talking to an audience	Arthur Benjamin	B1–B2
14	A conversation, told again	Adam Grant	B1–B2
15	Asking for something	Derek Sivers	B1–B2
16	Ten quiet minutes	Andy Puddicombe	B1–B2
17	The human voice	Julian Treasure	B1–B2
18	Empathy in a few words	Brené Brown	B2
19	Telling a story	Brené Brown	B2
20	A confession	Dan Pink	B2
21	Stories from a life	Brené Brown, Steve Jobs	B2
22	Humour and timing	Sir Ken Robinson	B2
23	Asking why	Simon Sinek	B2
24	Your body language	Amy Cuddy	B2
25	Why so many mysteries?	J.J. Abrams	B2
26	Faster speakers begin	Robert Waldinger, Adam Grant	B2–C1
27	Old stories, new thinking	Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant	B2–C1
28	A conversation at speed	Derek Sivers	B2–C1
29	Quick, lively stories	Elizabeth Gilbert, Shawn Achor	B2–C1
30	Hard questions, to finish	Dan Gilbert, Adam Grant	C1

Why five lines a day

A daily challenge only works if a day still fits on a busy day. Five short lines is small enough to do on the bus, and it still means you say real English out loud every day, hear yourself beside a real speaker and fix one thing. If you have more time, stay on today’s lines and record them again: saying the same line three or four times teaches more than saying twenty lines once. The method itself is explained in what is shadowing, and the rest of a solo routine in how to practise speaking alone.

Honest limits

The path’s progress is kept in this browser on this device, so it does not follow you to another phone or computer, and clearing the browser’s site data starts the path again.
Saying a line needs a microphone. Typing a line does not, and it counts as done too.
Sada shows recognised words and timing; it does not grade individual sounds or tell you your level.
The path is the same 150 lines for everyone. To practise a video of your own choice, paste any captioned YouTube link in the app.

After day 30

Go back to any day and say its lines again: you will hear how much closer you are. Then move on to whole talks from the talk library, or shadow any YouTube video. New to shadowing? Start with shadowing for beginners.

Related guides

Questions people ask

How long does the 30-day shadowing challenge take each day?

About five minutes: 5 lines of 3 to 14 words. You can stay longer on any line.

What happens if I miss a day?

Nothing. The path follows your pace, not the calendar: the day to work on is always the first one you have not finished, so you just continue.

Is it free?

Yes. Sada is free, with no account and no paid plan.

Do I have to type every line?

No. A line counts as done when you record it or when you type and check it. Typing first helps you hear every word before you say it.

Where is my progress saved?

The daily path’s progress stays in your browser on this device and is not synced. A free, optional account (Google or email) keeps your practice history on every device.

Is it for beginners?

Day 1 starts with a slow beginner line and talks around B1. The later days reach fast B2–C1 speakers, so you can also start at a later day.

Start practising