Shadowing exercises for beginners

How to start shadowing as a beginner

1. Open an exercise from this guide. Choose a captioned video for this guide’s topic and a line whose meaning you understand.
2. Listen and read the caption, then say the line after the speaker in Repeat mode (the After the speaker button).
3. Try saying the line with the speaker in Shadow mode (the With the speaker button), following the rhythm and pauses.
4. Record a take, then open Compare and play your recording and the original. Review words and timing; Sada does not grade individual sounds.
5. Repeat the line while focusing on one difference you heard, then move to another line.

New to the method? Read what shadowing is. Want each day’s lines chosen for you? The 30-day shadowing challenge starts with a slow beginner line and gives you five short lines a day. Teaching a child? See shadowing English for kids, with short Sesame Street lines.

Shadowing for A1 and A2: five very short lines

At A1 or A2, start with lines you can hold in your head in one go. Each of these is under three seconds, from an English-teaching channel, and opens in Sada in Repeat mode (the After the speaker button): hear the line to the end, say it after the speaker, record and play your take beside the original.

1. 2:36 Do you like ice cream?

   BBC Learning English

2. 2:38 Yes, I really love ice cream.

   BBC Learning English

3. 19:51 Where are you going?

   VOA Learning English

4. 5:17 I really like your plan.

   VOA Learning English

5. 6:18 Do you want to join me?

   Twominute English

Say each line three times before moving on. When all five feel easy, go on to the slow podcasts below, then to real talks.

A1–A2: slow and clear

Podcasts made for shadowing: short sentences, everyday topics, slow speech. Each one opens on a short line in Repeat mode, past the channel’s introduction. Say it after the speaker and compare; then Next sentence from the guide opens the next podcast’s line in one tap.

Slow Listening & Shadowing: Motivation (A1–A2)First line: “Even small steps are good steps.” · English Unleashed 5 Minutes Shadowing Practice (A2–B1)First line: “Small things can create big change.” · English Unleashed

B1: real talks at a calm pace

When the podcasts feel easy, move to real speakers. These are the calmest of the famous talks, each with its own practice notes:

• Matt Cutts — Try Something New for 30 Days (three and a half minutes, short sentences)
• Carol Dweck — The Power of Yet (slow and clear)
• Angela Lee Duckworth — Grit (six minutes, clear and steady)
• Josh Kaufman — The First 20 Hours (friendly and slow)
• Robert Waldinger — What Makes a Good Life (measured, clear questions)

Ready for more? See all B1 talks sorted by speed.