Alexander Arguelles presents a discussion and commentary of his technique of "shadowing" foreign languages. For more information, please refer to www.foreignlang...
I had almost forgot how good this video is. Truly priceless. Arguelles is not just one of the greatest polyglots alive; he makes the best videos on language learning. His videos have so much content that I should watch them taking notes.
I've taken notes on almost all of his videos. It's totally worth it for when you need to quickly look something up. Or don't have an internet connection. Do it!
IkarusKommt If he is not monetizing his claims, he is not scamming. And I have heard him speak Russian and Dutch spontaneously, he is very good in both. Also, the texts he reads are not A1-A2 level texts, they are literature.
I've been studying Russian for two years now, and my vocabulary and speech is between an indermediate and advanced level. I've been stuck for some time now and haven't been able to improve much. Since I've started applying this technique, I'm starting to find some improvement. Thanks for sharing this video with us.
In this example, he's using an Assimil German/Greek book. He already knows German (L1) and is learning Greek (L2). 20:02 First procedure in shadowing - blind shadowing (don't use book yet), listen carefully & repeat without book, focus on making the sounds of the language 22:43 How long to continue blind shadowing 24:40 Shadow while looking at the teaching language. Listen to L2, Speak L2, Read L1. 27:27 Read with your thumbs under corresponding L1-L2 sentences. Remained focused on the L1 but start looking over at the L2. 29:36 Read with your thumbs under corresponding L1-L2 sentences. Focus more on the L2 but use L1 as a crutch for understanding what the L2 means. 30:34 Shadow while walking. Hear, speak, and read L2. Focus on L2 only, even if your understanding of something is slightly fuzzy. 31:45 Keep your mind in L2. Before each shadowing session, allow yourself to think only in L2 for 30 sec - 1 min. Play the sentences you've been learning back in your head. (self-talk/self-think). 33:28 Comparative analysis of the L1/L2. Which word means what? 34:44 Read the L2 text aloud with fluidity (without hesistating, without stumbling). 35:15 Write down the L2 text by hand. 36:06 All previous stuff at 1 lesson/day (simultaneously) in 30 minute chunks. 38:00 What to do in your first 30-minute chunk. Cycle through the various steps. For example, if you're on lesson 38 of Assimil, then review Lessons 28/29 completely in L2. For lessons 30/31 focus on both sides of page but more focused on L2. For lessons 32/33/34, focus on both sides of page but more focused on L1. For lessons 35/36/37, listen and speak L2 but read only L1. Lesson 38, blind shadow. 40:50 If you have time for more than one 30-minute session, then review. Review is very important to internalize the material. Lesson 27, comparative analysis. Lesson 26/25, read aloud with fluidity, lesson 25/24, write out by hand. 42:40 After you've worked through the whole book. Type out the whole book. Compare to original, make corrections. Print out double-spaced, read it, create your own interlinear text only writing in definitions of words you're uncertain of. Then read silently this interlinear text. Print it out another time and once again write in unknown words. 45:00 During previous interlinear stage, you can also simply play and listen to the audio in the background. 46:45 Supplemental materials and exercises. Grammar, thinking to self in L2, play back lesson in your head. "Shadowing march". 49:23 This is what works best for me after lots of experimentation.
Thanks man, below a copy of my post above, please add your comments there if u wanna help me make sense of this. SUMMARY OF WHAT HE SAID (please help me with my question at the end) Definition of Shadowing: speaking right on top of what you're hearing. He talks about his process of studying using this shadowing technique applied to the Assimil method, which fits best this purpose. STEPS OF LEARNING: 1) Blind Shadowing: do shadowing before even getting to the book. 2) Shadowing Anchored Exclusively on Right Page 3) Shadowing Anchored on Right Page but Start Looking at Left Page 4) Shadowing Anchored on Left Page but Referencing to Right Page 5) Shadowing Walking, Anchored Exclusively on Left Page (starting to “think” in the target language) 6) Read Aloud and Fluidly 7) Write it Down (by hand) He describes the steps above and I suppose he means I should do my daily lesson going from (1) to (7), which I imagine would take at least 30min, since blind shadowing alone requires several repetitions. I'm still unclear about how many times I should do the other steps. REVIEWING LESSONS: Finally, starting at 38:00, he talks about taking a 30min chunk of your day and using it to review your 10 last lessons, starting at the earliest (if I'm currently at lesson 38 I'll start from 28) and going through the shadowing steps in reverse order, which would look something like: Lessons 28/29: Step 5 - Left Page exclusive shadowing Lessons 30/31: Step 4 - Left page anchored shadowing, referencing to Right page Lessons 32/33/34: Step 3 - Right page anchored shadowing, referencing to Left page Lessons 35/36/37: Step 4 - Right page exclusive shadowing Daily Lesson - 38: Step 1 - Blind Shadowing (Then I stop at the blind shadowing? Wouldn't I need to study more my current lesson??) At 40:50 he sais that if we have more than 30min, we should focus on review. Question: This “review” would be the backwards process described right above this paragraph? So if we only have 30 minutes, we should just take the lesson of the day and do it through steps 1 to 7?
J'ai commencé cette technique récemment après avoir regardé vos vidéos d'explication à son sujet et je suis enchantée ! Je trouve que c'est un excellent exercice, je sens déjà des progrès et c'est devenu un de mes exercices quotidiens. Merci beaucoup pour votre présentation !
Wow. At 33 minutes into this video when you talk about converting all your internal dialogue to the target language, I started translating everything you said into Spanish, my target language. WHAT AN AMAZING experience. Thanks!
I've tailored this technique to my own needs and I find it very useful in the early stages of learning a language. Mine varies in that I juggle a comfortable 3 ball pattern whilst repeating or answering the recorded dialogue. Doing something that my muscle-memory can perform with little to no effort means that my hands are occupied and therefore free from distraction. The movement also helps to alleviate the classroom-feel associated with learning, thus allowing the info to sink in naturally...
It would seem that there are many youtubers out there who are attempting to teach students the shadowing method. One thing I've noticed is that most are going about it in such a way as to skew the original method and often leave out key steps that assist learners in grasping the intention of the method. I am glad that you have outlined the technique in great detail and look forward to giving it a shot in the near future. Thank you.
I honestly took notes, thank you so much for this. I was just feeling like I’ve plateaued in my target language and had no clue what to do when I stumbled across a video which linked me to this particular video, and it gave me a systematic plan to move forward and fresh goals to work towards- which is something I desperately need right now. Thank you so much!
You're so very welcome. I am glad that my older videos have proven to be lasting resources and that the notes you took from this will serve you well in your studies. I hope you are aware that I have recently revived my channel and posted some newer ones as well. These may also be useful to you, so please have a look.
It's amazing. That's all what people need to know how to learn a foreign languages to be able to speak and to understand. I found that approach intuitively many years ago. And now in that video it was so clearly described as a system. Thank you a lot!
@@ProfASAr Thank you very much for all what you are doing. It’s so important for a lot of people, especially now when they have to move to other countries and adapt so fast. I’m from Ukraine and I feel how it’s important. I’m going to learn German with that technique. Thank you again! 🤗💜
People complaining his teaching by saying "those who can't do can't teach" are laughable. He is a university professor for crying out loud, lectures in university are often about 1 hr 30 mins to 2 hrs. Often times professors can't finish so many salient points in time and they have to schedule the planned points for the next lecture. In this video he talked about what shadowing is, what shadowing is not, the important techniques of shadowing and some results you see from shadowing. All these crucial features of a relatively new concept are succinctly packed into less than an hour video. You don't need him to condense the video further, you need to garner the virtue of patience.
you are so blind! do you know who he is? how many languages he speaks? his works on korean? if u knew who he is you'd listen everything shutting your f*cking mouth up!. if you are in a rush go to duolingo, busuu or any other stupid site for people like you..
this is interesting because, i discovered this method on my own when i was frustrated with french pronunciation however i did it with audio books. however, what did was read ahead of the narrator, then listened to how she or he read it. it helped me alot with understand the pronunciations and the many discrepancies that exist in french spelling and change in phonetic. i did notice that it did augment my vocabulary. it did cause me to utilize different muscles in my mouth for pronunciation.
Professor, thank you for uploading amazing videos for language learning. I will definitely religiously follow this technique. Praying that you will always be in good health.
I speak efficiently 7 languages. I have never heard of this technique. I'm going to give it a try, as it sounds promising. More importantly, I can use the method outside, when walking, and so I can add another study hour to my study day, using the time which previously was idle (walking outside; in fact during walking, I think a lot in the language I am currently studying, so that time is not quite idle). As it comes from the person who is proficient in many languages, the method must be efficient.
continuing my last post. 10 lessons tends to be about 10 minutes. I'll go through it 3 times a day. Step one (no book), I do for 3 days. Right page, for 2 days, dual pages for 1 day (progressive switching from right to left on each of the 3 run-throughs), left page for 2 days, reading w/o audio 1 day, writing for 1 day.
Quite innovative and seemingly effective. The gems that I took note of: Stay physically active - walk while shadowing so your mind will work better Play with the material in several ways : Shadow blindly, then focus on the words, phrases . Schedule "English only time"
@@ProfASAr It would be wonderful if someone experienced like you could write on the topic of learning English effectively. As a teacher of that very subject I can say that students will immensely benefit from your advice. Thank you in advance Mr. Alexander!
I would just like to take a moment to thank you for your informative videos. I learned a lot by watching them. While I may not agree entirely with you methods, I have found your reviews of language learning materials to be very helpful. I've not seen the same depth of information elsewhere so far on the Internet.
It's a very interesting technique, and funnily enough I've used shadowing when I was memorising verses of the Quran. I'd first listen to a reciter recite the verses while I read them and I'd silently mouth along. And whenever I listened to the same verses after doing that initial step I'd mouth along. And then when I was alone I'd recite directly along with the reciter, as I felt it made my pronounciation sound much better since the sound in your ears drowns out your own pronounciation but it gets you 95% of the way their with regards to correct pronounciation and pacing. After that you need to recite without help from something playing in your ears to hear your own raw voice so you can tweak things as needed.
I just thought of a simple way to prove that this is possible... While watching this you mentioned that people thought it would be hard or nearly impossible to speak on top of someone else and repeat verbatim what they are saying. If you want to prove to yourself this is possible, just speak on top of him in English. As soon as you hear a word say it back. I knew I'd be able to copy him but it's amazing how you can repeat a word without consciously hearing it. It becomes like an echo.
I believe and hope that you will find this works much better. What you were doing before was not "shadowing." Please watch some of my more recent videos about the technique as well. Good luck to you!
Not necessarily slow, but language grouped into chunks. With each group speak, as a unit of sound. If you have a teacher the teacher can do this, reducing the space between chunks over time.
3:32 "when you know what's coming" should i be repeating the same shadow material i have used, pre-read and understood already? I feel like then I'm just memorizing and no longer listening as intently. I wonder what would you say is more effective for a speaker who already fully understands and speaks the language but trying to learn a different accent of the same language. 1. Changing source material every time to ensure that I'm forced listening to the speaker and not memorize or 2. memorizing speech beforehand and saying it at the same time to hear the dissonance in my speech (as you've said) & if you happen to recommend both which should i focus on first?
its funny because, i discovered it because i was desperate to perfect my pronunciation which is not perfect however, its HUGELY better. it didn't know it was already being used by someone else until i saw this video. however, for french i had alot of audio books, so i read a lot of audio books. its method that i was going to use. one thing i did for my french however was before every chapter. i would find every word i didn't know and look it up then start the chapter. that was my prep stage.
لقد احببت ان اضيف التعليق في اللغة العربية بما انك تعلمتها استاذي الكريم شكرا جزيلا لك بحثت عن طريقة او اسلوب اتبعه لتعلم اللغات ووجدت هذا الفيديو سوف استخدم هذة الطريقة او الاسلوب منذ هذة اللحظة شكرا لك مرة اخرى
I think these are the other two videos he says you should watch before watching this one: ua-cam.com/video/VdheWK7u11w/v-deo.html (1 minute long) ua-cam.com/video/xHYDBYHi2bc/v-deo.html (13 minutes)
I have a question... Would this variation of your method work? 1. Listen to assimil lesson 2 times... 2. open book and listen to lesson looking at TL.... 3. Listen to target language while looking at L1... 4. Start "shadowing" by reading along with TL trying not to refer back to the L1. I have another question... Is it wrong to read along with the recording, instead of repeat after the recording?
Hey guys, someone here interested in a language exchange? My mother langue is Spanish, I'm willing to speak English with someone. We can speak half an hour in each language. Hope you're doing great! Soy mexicana, estoy interesada en un@ compañer@ a largo plazo para practicar idiomas. I also speak a little bit of french. Podríamos también intercambiar inglés-francés-español. Tengo bastante tiempo libre, siéntanse libres de contactarme :)
I cant remember spelling and dictation for the life of me but i can spit a type of tongue emulating the sounds i hear. particularly Russian, and i find that i do accents very well. Although I'm not under the impression its the holy ghost.
your life sounds so interesting. thank you for sharing your expertise, i hope to be more or less fluent in spanish in the next year or. i will definitely implement the techniques i have seen you outline in many of your videos.
Hello professor, Two questions: I don't see any video replies. I know it is years past the one week you offered for people to post video replies, but are you still accepting them? Second Question: Do you recommend noise canceling earbuds? I use them when shadowing and I can't hear myself speaking, but I can hear the sound in my head that is made when I speak and it sort of drowns out the sounds coming from my earbuds, thus forcing me to speak softly. Thank you so much for your help!
I don't know if he's going to answer me, however I'd like to ask a question. I enjoyed learning throughout all the lessons of Assimil French. I did all the lessons, I wrote them down and used a similar method of shadowing, also I used anki to all sentences. It's been more than 8 months that I finished the book and I had a pretty good level of French, however I stopped due to many, many personal problems. Today I can understand quite a little of french, still. For example, I can get the general sense of some podcasts, I'd say. I'm planning to use the Assimil book all over again, one lesson per day, do you think this would help or am I wasting time review one lesson per day all again? I'm also planning to buy the Business and Advanced.
I like the term shadowing more than echoing because, if you are trying to speak simultaneously with the speaker your are acting more like a shadow than an echo. While I agree shadowing is a useful technique, Keeping in mind that our time is limited,
If one has a foothold in the language, do you think it would still be profitable to make use of shadowing? Or would it be better to simply read native-level texts for hours on end?
please can you give me the links to the first and second videos before this one you have already made about shadowing because I'm very keen to know anything about this technique.
Hi there. I'm not exactly sure if I get the gist of the shadowing correctly. When is it time to seat down and start writing, use scriptorium and read the text without listening? First time I go through the book I limit myself to reading and understand while listening and AFTER I've done it (100 units more or less) I proceed to writing? Or maybe my schedule should, for instance, look like this below: Lesson 1 - Typing from head Lesson 2 - scriptorium Lesson 3 - reading aloud without listening Lesson 4 - listen to target, read target Lesson 5 - listen to target, focus on reading target, but allowing myself to look at other side if uncertainty occurs Lesson 6 - listen to target, focus more on known Lesson 7 - listen to target, read known, get the global understanding Lesson 8 - 13 blind shadowing Thanks
I think you should balance the reading-writing-listening as it suits you, but remember that the core of the technique is to ACTIVELY shadow, and to avoid passively listening when sat down at a desk, or speaking from reading without the audio playing as a guide.
Hi, this is an old post, but perhaps my reply will help others who have the same question. I do it this way: find an interview whose subject I like and for which I can get a transcript from here : www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/alltagsdeutsch/s-9214 (I'm learning German). Then I paste that transcript into google translate so that I can get something close to an English translation. I print out both. I put the MP3 on a USB key. I listen on the way to work. Before I start out, I look at a paragraph or two and then I listen to that paragraph or two on the way to work to see if I can understand the words that I saw on the paper. I NEVER go to the end of the recording. Instead, I concentrate on only on the paragraphs I am currently working on. So I'm using my rewind button. After a couple of weeks, I'll have the natural inclination to start trying to echo the speakers. This helps me concentrate even more closely on the way the words are pronounced. It is normal to only be able to pronounce one out of 8 words at first. It takes me 2 to 3 months to work through an 8-minute recording. Don't worry about understanding every word. Depending on the speaker, you may only get 80% during the first 6 months. Full 100% comprehension requires your ears to adapt to this new language and that takes time. I find it to be a lot of fun, like singing along to a great song on the radio. And I can fit it into my daily schedule. When I first started shadowing, I found that it took 18 to 20 minutes for my brain to switch over from English to French, but now, since I live in France, the switch is immediate. So I recommend that you try a week of 20 to 25 minute sessions. Longer sessions may not be more helpful, I do not know. If you try this in the car, do NOT read in the car or take your eyes off of the road. It would be a shame to end up in the hospital or to run over someone. I always wait until I get to the parking lot at work to look at the words I was wondering about when I was at the wheel. Have fun!
So many polyglots swear by Assimil, it's nearly impossible to get in U.S. I was gonna order online but the price was high and I'm now already at A2. Maybe I'll use it to move forward, ordered from Europe.
@@ProfASAr Oh fascinating, yes unfortunate as if they were on Amazon, I think they'd do fine. But yes the big book publishers like Magraw-Hill (?) are very dominant.... You, Luca L. and someone else very well known also recommends them.
@chc981012 It's more of an overlapping technique. If you're blind shadowing lesson 14-15, you are shadowing + reading teaching language 9-13, reading + shadowing both 5-8, reading + shadowing new language 2-4, and rewriting lesson 1. I'm starting to shadow Mandarin. It worked well for German.
I know your post is an old one. I was confused. When you are blind shadowing lesson 14-15, do you mean 14 to 15 times/repititons? Or are you referring to the lesson numbers? Thank you for any response.
I'm going to try this For the 2 last steps, speaking and reading L2, and speaking and reading L2 while taking a glance at L1, are we supposed to strictly shadow the audio and then read? I get the reflex to read the text at the same time when the audio speaks instead of shadowing
Did you modify the method, or you could finally got adapted to it? I'm not able to shadow and read the L1 translation at the same time, is absolutely confusing. It's even difficult to shadow by itself (I'm using the old Assimil German Without Toil) because some passages are too fast (I'm around the 40-45 Lektion), even after days of practising them.
Would it be fair to say that Shadowing compares in some way to TPR ( Total Physical Response). I am no expert but from what I've read it seems there are some similarities .. Both use physical activity to learn? just an observation. FYI .. I am presently learning Arabic and am looking for any aid that will assist me. Thank you.
I understand the point is that shadowing is supposed to provide a corrective device that simple repetition does not, but how is it different than just simply repeating the phrase a few times until it is correct? Speaking for myself, I usually can hear the sounds correctly when they're said, but the stumbling block may be a difficult sound within a sentence, which prolongs the time required for me to say it (because I'm focused on that sound, not necessarily the whole phrase).
Though some what obsessive in approach, in my experience many of the points raised here are very advantageous for acquiring ability in a target language to be spoken. . I tend to be more free range as regards materials. looking at transcriptions and translations of audio news clips.
This guy is a PhD. Do you know how much it would cost to sit in a lecture hall and listen to him ramble on about applied linguistics? I'll listen (for free mind you) as long as he's willing to talk.
I must admit I was confused at first about this method, because of misunderstanding the terminology of repeating "immediately" or "simultaneously", which of course is impossible to do the first time without some form of psychic ability! Anyway, thank you for your new video. I always feel extremely motivated to achieve my goals after watching your videos, despite rarely talking to you directly. Thank you for all your efforts.
Hi Lucas, I recommend 20 -minute sessions based off my experience back when I started shadowing in 1994 or so. I say this because it seemed to me to take 18 to 20 minutes for my brain to really switch over into the target language. That said, you don't have to do it every day to get the benefit. 2 or 3 times per week is plenty, in my experience.
thanks for sharing. can i ask if i wanna improve my English fluency within 1 months, is that possible? in my case, i'm have been watched tons of youtube videos like with english subtitles or without subtitles by comprehensive input method. i'm totally understand most of youtube vedeos without subtitles,and also can read english book right now (listening and reading is good). but the problem is, i found my speaking skill stuck in conversation, not fluent and have a lot grammar mistake. i know repeating after words or shadowing is a good way to improve my speaking fluency, but i'm currently use a wrong way to practise,which is i open subtitles of native speaker youtube videos, and watched sentence and imitate ecite the script. in my free time(almost 1 hour per day) i dont know is that works for me? so im wondering if i use your method to practice in everyday (3h per day) during a month, it would help for me? in my learning English journey, i also found the speed of material is really important, can i use Ted talk daily of podcast or something like that in spotify to practice? or what your recommend some materials to me? anything advice will be appreciate! thank you
I recommend audiobooks with a good narrator over the kinds of things you mention. If you were to shadow correctly for 3 hours a day for a month, I can't see how you would not make progress - but you must shadow correctly, and many people do not.
@@ProfASAr thank your replying, and did u think after bilnd shadowing, skip other step and reciting will works for me? because most of materials i already have understanded and acquired, so i think blind shadowing and recite is a good way
Does this technique do anything to improve speaking ability? Aside from the pronunciation benefits. Are you more likely to speak using the sentence structure of your L2 and recall words more effectively?
+ProfASAr I don't understand the stage where you shadowing while you read with your thumbs and both side can you explaine me this stage because I don't understand the principle of the stage please ?
Please note, I can barely hear your video despite my laptop volume being turned on the way up. This occurs when using headphones. However, that being said, when not using the headphones, I can hear it more clearly. I will need to look into this. Note: Great videos.
Even if I'm already advanced in a certain language, and I don't have any teaching language other than my native language, should I use it (translation) to practice shadowing anyways, or should I try something else? My point is, should I see the translation of the material I'm studying even when I'm advanced in a language?
Thanks for sharing. Can i ask if i want to improve my English fluency within 2 months, is that possible? Do you have a systematic way? I have 2 hours each day. Thanks in advance. And i would like to learn french after improve my English fluency. But my goal right now is to improve my english fluency.
Personal quesiton Prof. What is your IQ? I read on a message board that you were one of the top 10 most intelligent people in the world. I have no idea how the ranking system for that works by the way. Again personal question you definitely dont have to answer.
so what should i do, use blind shadowing then shadowing with the teaching laguage ect. for 1 chapter then move to the next one or blind shadow the whole book then shadow in the teaching language the whole book?
"I have used this methodology and the results are incredible. " Could you please do me a favor and elaborate a bit? It helps you what? Learn faster to speak? Compared to what you were doing before?
I have a question concerning language learning and age. You have learned many languages so I'm assuming you've done so over the course of at least ten years. Is there any noticable decline in speed or efficiency of study between, say, 20, and your own age?
So just a simple question, I am nearing the end of the first stage of the process but soon I will need to type out the lesson. Is the idea here to translate the L2 into L1?
Great video and method, but I can't follow it. Even the ¿second? step is impossible for me to practice, the one in which you shadow and read the translation on the teaching language page at the same time. Can't do it even after many days just shadowing the same lesson (not talking about perfection, just following more o less). I'm using the old Assimil German Without Toil. If I switch my attention from the sounds to the translated text, I cannot shadow anymore. Although the method is well explained in the video, when you start doing it, you find problems that you need to discuss with someone experienced to find the solutions. Or you can just take whatever you find usefull and modify the method to make it suitable for you, although you wish you could have used it as prescribed, and as a measure to compare with other methods, as Prof. Arguelles suggests.
Professor Arguelles, I really want to follow your shadowing system to learn Korean but I once heard from Steve Kaufman that the Assimil course for Korean was not good at all. Do you have any idea why he might have said that? Does your opinion differ? I'd appreciate it if you should reply. This is very important to me. Thanks.
ProfASAr, On a different forum this person, Carl dundas is saying both of you are currently discussing the possibility of a future collaboration. Just want you to confirm or deny, since this person seems to be making alot of language statements which are hard to confirm
So is it like that I have to apply all stages on a lesson then start the next lesson after that???? Your video is absolutely fantastic and useful, too bad I didn't see it earlier. I'm a Chinese student in California, English is my third language. I learned Taiwanese by hearing people and observing people's motion, which is kind of similar to you method. Thank you for this amazing video.
I wish I could hear what you're saying. I have max volume on my computer, but I still don't hear you. Btw, is there a brief explanation anywhere, of this "shadowing" thing?
anyone knows a good programme to process assimil audio? as far as, for instance, german or french are conserned its ok, but these pauses in chinese audio are frustrating
Indeed. And it should be equally against YT regulation for people to be so critical and hateful towards such a polite and linguistically talented gentleman such as this.
1st Step (Blind Shadowing): 20:00
2nd Step (Shadowing + Book right side): 24:45
3rd Step (Shadowing + Book thumb): 27:25
4th Step (Shadowing + Book both sides): 29:05
5th Step (Shadowing + Book left side): 30:39
thank you
로긴함
danke
Merci
спасибо
I had almost forgot how good this video is. Truly priceless.
Arguelles is not just one of the greatest polyglots alive; he makes the best videos on language learning. His videos have so much content that I should watch them taking notes.
I've taken notes on almost all of his videos. It's totally worth it for when you need to quickly look something up. Or don't have an internet connection. Do it!
IkarusKommt What do you mean?
IkarusKommt But in order to be a scammer, he would need to be monetizing his claims in some way. This is not the case.
IkarusKommt If he is not monetizing his claims, he is not scamming. And I have heard him speak Russian and Dutch spontaneously, he is very good in both. Also, the texts he reads are not A1-A2 level texts, they are literature.
Thanks for the support!
I've been studying Russian for two years now, and my vocabulary and speech is between an indermediate and advanced level. I've been stuck for some time now and haven't been able to improve much. Since I've started applying this technique, I'm starting to find some improvement. Thanks for sharing this video with us.
Как твой русский сейчас?
Thanks for commenting.
In this example, he's using an Assimil German/Greek book. He already knows German (L1) and is learning Greek (L2).
20:02 First procedure in shadowing - blind shadowing (don't use book yet), listen carefully & repeat without book, focus on making the sounds of the language
22:43 How long to continue blind shadowing
24:40 Shadow while looking at the teaching language. Listen to L2, Speak L2, Read L1.
27:27 Read with your thumbs under corresponding L1-L2 sentences. Remained focused on the L1 but start looking over at the L2.
29:36 Read with your thumbs under corresponding L1-L2 sentences. Focus more on the L2 but use L1 as a crutch for understanding what the L2 means.
30:34 Shadow while walking. Hear, speak, and read L2. Focus on L2 only, even if your understanding of something is slightly fuzzy.
31:45 Keep your mind in L2. Before each shadowing session, allow yourself to think only in L2 for 30 sec - 1 min. Play the sentences you've been learning back in your head. (self-talk/self-think).
33:28 Comparative analysis of the L1/L2. Which word means what?
34:44 Read the L2 text aloud with fluidity (without hesistating, without stumbling).
35:15 Write down the L2 text by hand.
36:06 All previous stuff at 1 lesson/day (simultaneously) in 30 minute chunks.
38:00 What to do in your first 30-minute chunk. Cycle through the various steps. For example, if you're on lesson 38 of Assimil, then review Lessons 28/29 completely in L2. For lessons 30/31 focus on both sides of page but more focused on L2. For lessons 32/33/34, focus on both sides of page but more focused on L1. For lessons 35/36/37, listen and speak L2 but read only L1. Lesson 38, blind shadow.
40:50 If you have time for more than one 30-minute session, then review. Review is very important to internalize the material. Lesson 27, comparative analysis. Lesson 26/25, read aloud with fluidity, lesson 25/24, write out by hand.
42:40 After you've worked through the whole book. Type out the whole book. Compare to original, make corrections. Print out double-spaced, read it, create your own interlinear text only writing in definitions of words you're uncertain of. Then read silently this interlinear text. Print it out another time and once again write in unknown words.
45:00 During previous interlinear stage, you can also simply play and listen to the audio in the background.
46:45 Supplemental materials and exercises. Grammar, thinking to self in L2, play back lesson in your head. "Shadowing march".
49:23 This is what works best for me after lots of experimentation.
thank you for posting this comment
Thanks a lot!
Thanks man, below a copy of my post above, please add your comments there if u wanna help me make sense of this.
SUMMARY OF WHAT HE SAID
(please help me with my question at the end)
Definition of Shadowing: speaking right on top of what you're hearing.
He talks about his process of studying using this shadowing technique applied to the Assimil method, which fits best this purpose.
STEPS OF LEARNING:
1) Blind Shadowing: do shadowing before even getting to the book.
2) Shadowing Anchored Exclusively on Right Page
3) Shadowing Anchored on Right Page but Start Looking at Left Page
4) Shadowing Anchored on Left Page but Referencing to Right Page
5) Shadowing Walking, Anchored Exclusively on Left Page (starting to “think” in the target language)
6) Read Aloud and Fluidly
7) Write it Down (by hand)
He describes the steps above and I suppose he means I should do my daily lesson going from (1) to (7), which I imagine would take at least 30min, since blind shadowing alone requires several repetitions. I'm still unclear about how many times I should do the other steps.
REVIEWING LESSONS:
Finally, starting at 38:00, he talks about taking a 30min chunk of your day and using it to review your 10 last lessons, starting at the earliest (if I'm currently at lesson 38 I'll start from 28) and going through the shadowing steps in reverse order, which would look something like:
Lessons 28/29: Step 5 - Left Page exclusive shadowing
Lessons 30/31: Step 4 - Left page anchored shadowing, referencing to Right page
Lessons 32/33/34: Step 3 - Right page anchored shadowing, referencing to Left page
Lessons 35/36/37: Step 4 - Right page exclusive shadowing
Daily Lesson - 38: Step 1 - Blind Shadowing (Then I stop at the blind shadowing? Wouldn't I need to study more my current lesson??)
At 40:50 he sais that if we have more than 30min, we should focus on review. Question: This “review” would be the backwards process described right above this paragraph? So if we only have 30 minutes, we should just take the lesson of the day and do it through steps 1 to 7?
You are a saint! Thank you!!!!!
up
J'ai commencé cette technique récemment après avoir regardé vos vidéos d'explication à son sujet et je suis enchantée ! Je trouve que c'est un excellent exercice, je sens déjà des progrès et c'est devenu un de mes exercices quotidiens. Merci beaucoup pour votre présentation !
Thanks for commenting.
12:33 he was trying to finish the sentence and got mixed up between the 70 languages he knows
Come on! He only knows 35 languages. Nothing impressive!
Thanks for commenting.
Wow.
At 33 minutes into this video when you talk about converting all your internal dialogue to the target language, I started translating everything you said into Spanish, my target language.
WHAT AN AMAZING experience. Thanks!
Thanks for commenting.
I've tailored this technique to my own needs and I find it very useful in the early stages of learning a language. Mine varies in that I juggle a comfortable 3 ball pattern whilst repeating or answering the recorded dialogue. Doing something that my muscle-memory can perform with little to no effort means that my hands are occupied and therefore free from distraction. The movement also helps to alleviate the classroom-feel associated with learning, thus allowing the info to sink in naturally...
Thanks for commenting.
It would seem that there are many youtubers out there who are attempting to teach students the shadowing method. One thing I've noticed is that most are going about it in such a way as to skew the original method and often leave out key steps that assist learners in grasping the intention of the method. I am glad that you have outlined the technique in great detail and look forward to giving it a shot in the near future. Thank you.
Thanks for commenting.
I honestly took notes, thank you so much for this. I was just feeling like I’ve plateaued in my target language and had no clue what to do when I stumbled across a video which linked me to this particular video, and it gave me a systematic plan to move forward and fresh goals to work towards- which is something I desperately need right now. Thank you so much!
You're so very welcome. I am glad that my older videos have proven to be lasting resources and that the notes you took from this will serve you well in your studies. I hope you are aware that I have recently revived my channel and posted some newer ones as well. These may also be useful to you, so please have a look.
It's amazing. That's all what people need to know how to learn a foreign languages to be able to speak and to understand. I found that approach intuitively many years ago. And now in that video it was so clearly described as a system. Thank you a lot!
How wonderful to get confirmation from others that this method is a) intuitive and b) that it works!
@@ProfASAr Thank you very much for all what you are doing. It’s so important for a lot of people, especially now when they have to move to other countries and adapt so fast. I’m from Ukraine and I feel how it’s important. I’m going to learn German with that technique. Thank you again! 🤗💜
@@ekasnow You are so very welcome! If you ever need any specific advice, please feel free to ask.
@@ProfASAr Thank you!
People complaining his teaching by saying "those who can't do can't teach" are laughable. He is a university professor for crying out loud, lectures in university are often about 1 hr 30 mins to 2 hrs. Often times professors can't finish so many salient points in time and they have to schedule the planned points for the next lecture.
In this video he talked about what shadowing is, what shadowing is not, the important techniques of shadowing and some results you see from shadowing. All these crucial features of a relatively new concept are succinctly packed into less than an hour video.
You don't need him to condense the video further, you need to garner the virtue of patience.
you are so blind! do you know who he is? how many languages he speaks? his works on korean? if u knew who he is you'd listen everything shutting your f*cking mouth up!. if you are in a rush go to duolingo, busuu or any other stupid site for people like you..
poor little thing.. in his channel there's a short version. dont forget busuu and duolingo ;)
@@betavulgaris7888 wtf is your problem go get treatment
Thanks for the support!
this is interesting because, i discovered this method on my own when i was frustrated with french pronunciation however i did it with audio books. however, what did was read ahead of the narrator, then listened to how she or he read it. it helped me alot with understand the pronunciations and the many discrepancies that exist in french spelling and change in phonetic. i did notice that it did augment my vocabulary. it did cause me to utilize different muscles in my mouth for pronunciation.
Thanks for commenting.
Professor, thank you for uploading amazing videos for language learning. I will definitely religiously follow this technique. Praying that you will always be in good health.
Thanks for commenting.
Prof. You are the best professor that i have ever meet. Muchas gracias por su gran aporte.
Gracias!
I speak efficiently 7 languages. I have never heard of this technique. I'm going to give it a try, as it sounds promising. More importantly, I can use the method outside, when walking, and so I can add another study hour to my study day, using the time which previously was idle (walking outside; in fact during walking, I think a lot in the language I am currently studying, so that time is not quite idle). As it comes from the person who is proficient in many languages, the method must be efficient.
Thanks for commenting.
continuing my last post. 10 lessons tends to be about 10 minutes. I'll go through it 3 times a day. Step one (no book), I do for 3 days. Right page, for 2 days, dual pages for 1 day (progressive switching from right to left on each of the 3 run-throughs), left page for 2 days, reading w/o audio 1 day, writing for 1 day.
Thanks for commenting.
Quite innovative and seemingly effective.
The gems that I took note of:
Stay physically active - walk while shadowing so your mind will work better
Play with the material in several ways :
Shadow blindly, then focus on the words, phrases .
Schedule "English only time"
I am pleased this video is still being profitably viewed after all these years.
@@ProfASAr It would be wonderful if someone experienced like you could write on the topic of learning English effectively. As a teacher of that very subject I can say that students will immensely benefit from your advice.
Thank you in advance Mr. Alexander!
I would just like to take a moment to thank you for your informative videos. I learned a lot by watching them. While I may not agree entirely with you methods, I have found your reviews of language learning materials to be very helpful. I've not seen the same depth of information elsewhere so far on the Internet.
Thanks for commenting.
Oh my god. This method is so powerful! Thank you so much!
Thanks for commenting.
I was honored to be your student at RELC! You are an expert in teaching foreign languages. Best wishes
Thank you, Trung Trinh Tran, I hope you are doing well.
It's a very interesting technique, and funnily enough I've used shadowing when I was memorising verses of the Quran. I'd first listen to a reciter recite the verses while I read them and I'd silently mouth along. And whenever I listened to the same verses after doing that initial step I'd mouth along. And then when I was alone I'd recite directly along with the reciter, as I felt it made my pronounciation sound much better since the sound in your ears drowns out your own pronounciation but it gets you 95% of the way their with regards to correct pronounciation and pacing. After that you need to recite without help from something playing in your ears to hear your own raw voice so you can tweak things as needed.
Thanks for commenting.
I've just started using this technique in my thai learning and I already feel how powerful it is. It will help me a lot to deal with thai tones.
Best of luck to you with your studies!
Which material are you using for thai? I am looking to start.
I just thought of a simple way to prove that this is possible...
While watching this you mentioned that people thought it would be hard or nearly impossible to speak on top of someone else and repeat verbatim what they are saying.
If you want to prove to yourself this is possible, just speak on top of him in English. As soon as you hear a word say it back.
I knew I'd be able to copy him but it's amazing how you can repeat a word without consciously hearing it. It becomes like an echo.
I couldn't do it
Thanks for commenting.
This video is a really good shadowing material.. you can keep showing him for 55 mins.
Thanks for commenting.
Watching 2023, wonderful instructions
I am always glad to hear that my videos have lasting value.
I've been doing shadowing wrong this whole time. I edit audios to add gaps so I can repeat. Changing that from now on.
I believe and hope that you will find this works much better. What you were doing before was not "shadowing." Please watch some of my more recent videos about the technique as well. Good luck to you!
up the video speed to 1.5
actually go all the way to 2x
i found 1.25 to be perfect for me!
thanks for the tip
2X
Thanks for commenting.
Not necessarily slow, but language grouped into chunks. With each group speak, as a unit of sound. If you have a teacher the teacher can do this, reducing the space between chunks over time.
Thanks for commenting.
3:32 "when you know what's coming" should i be repeating the same shadow material i have used, pre-read and understood already? I feel like then I'm just memorizing and no longer listening as intently. I wonder what would you say is more effective for a speaker who already fully understands and speaks the language but trying to learn a different accent of the same language.
1. Changing source material every time to ensure that I'm forced listening to the speaker and not memorize
or
2. memorizing speech beforehand and saying it at the same time to hear the dissonance in my speech (as you've said)
& if you happen to recommend both which should i focus on first?
its funny because, i discovered it because i was desperate to perfect my pronunciation which is not perfect however, its HUGELY better. it didn't know it was already being used by someone else until i saw this video. however, for french i had alot of audio books, so i read a lot of audio books. its method that i was going to use. one thing i did for my french however was before every chapter. i would find every word i didn't know and look it up then start the chapter. that was my prep stage.
Thanks for commenting.
لقد احببت ان اضيف التعليق في اللغة العربية بما انك تعلمتها استاذي الكريم شكرا جزيلا لك بحثت عن طريقة او اسلوب اتبعه لتعلم اللغات ووجدت هذا الفيديو سوف استخدم هذة الطريقة او الاسلوب منذ هذة اللحظة شكرا لك مرة اخرى
وآمل أن يعمل هذا الأسلوب بشكل جيد بالنسبة لك
I think these are the other two videos he says you should watch before watching this one:
ua-cam.com/video/VdheWK7u11w/v-deo.html (1 minute long)
ua-cam.com/video/xHYDBYHi2bc/v-deo.html (13 minutes)
Thanks for giving the links.
Very very interesting !!! I have some part of this method without knowing that it's a particular method
Thanks for commenting.
If you do develop a course, please do so like the earlier Assimil. Where the texts/lessons are the same no matter which language you pick up.
Thanks for commenting.
I have a question... Would this variation of your method work? 1. Listen to assimil lesson 2 times... 2. open book and listen to lesson looking at TL.... 3. Listen to target language while looking at L1... 4. Start "shadowing" by reading along with TL trying not to refer back to the L1.
I have another question... Is it wrong to read along with the recording, instead of repeat after the recording?
Thanks for commenting.
Watching 2020 September
January 2021 😁
January 2021, ready for a new year of language learning ✌
He could have made a career out of UA-cam.
Hey guys, someone here interested in a language exchange? My mother langue is Spanish, I'm willing to speak English with someone. We can speak half an hour in each language. Hope you're doing great! Soy mexicana, estoy interesada en un@ compañer@ a largo plazo para practicar idiomas. I also speak a little bit of french. Podríamos también intercambiar inglés-francés-español. Tengo bastante tiempo libre, siéntanse libres de contactarme :)
@@nictegki i dont know english and spanish.
I love this guy
what a genius
Thanks for commenting.
I look at the sentence, repeat it until I have it in my mind, and then write it out without looking back at the original. Hope this helps.
Thanks for commenting.
He is a professor, so its the law. They have to go on tangents.
Thanks for commenting.
I cant remember spelling and dictation for the life of me but i can spit a type of tongue emulating the sounds i hear. particularly Russian, and i find that i do accents very well. Although I'm not under the impression its the holy ghost.
Thanks for commenting.
your life sounds so interesting. thank you for sharing your expertise, i hope to be more or less fluent in spanish in the next year or. i will definitely implement the techniques i have seen you outline in many of your videos.
Spending 9+ hours per day? That's the best excuse to opt out of being a husband and a wife. I wonder how his wife puts up with it.
Thanks for commenting.
15 years ago? This is like ancient knowledge
Ah youth...
Hello professor, Two questions: I don't see any video replies. I know it is years past the one week you offered for people to post video replies, but are you still accepting them?
Second Question: Do you recommend noise canceling earbuds? I use them when shadowing and I can't hear myself speaking, but I can hear the sound in my head that is made when I speak and it sort of drowns out the sounds coming from my earbuds, thus forcing me to speak softly. Thank you so much for your help!
Thanks for commenting.
Master, what are your best tips about learning "writing/composition skills"? How to develop a really creative writing in a foreign language?
I'd have to make a separate video about that.
I don't know if he's going to answer me, however I'd like to ask a question.
I enjoyed learning throughout all the lessons of Assimil French. I did all the lessons, I wrote them down and used a similar method of shadowing, also I used anki to all sentences.
It's been more than 8 months that I finished the book and I had a pretty good level of French, however I stopped due to many, many personal problems. Today I can understand quite a little of french, still. For example, I can get the general sense of some podcasts, I'd say. I'm planning to use the Assimil book all over again, one lesson per day, do you think this would help or am I wasting time review one lesson per day all again? I'm also planning to buy the Business and Advanced.
When reviewing, you should be able to go at a much faster pace than when learning, no need to stick to one lesson per day.
I like the term shadowing more than echoing because, if you are trying to speak simultaneously with the speaker your are acting more like a shadow than an echo.
While I agree shadowing is a useful technique, Keeping in mind that our time is limited,
Thanks for commenting.
woooooooooooooooooooow So amazing! I was shadowing you all the time, master.... I think I Improved!
Thanks for commenting.
If one has a foothold in the language, do you think it would still be profitable to make use of shadowing? Or would it be better to simply read native-level texts for hours on end?
Thanks for commenting.
please can you give me the links to the first and second videos before this one you have already made about shadowing because I'm very keen to know anything about this technique.
Greetings. If you go to my channel and look at the playlists, you will find all the shadowing videos in the one for "methodology."
Do you think that I would be able to use german and slovak radio material for this or would you recommend some other type of material?
Thanks for commenting.
Hi there.
I'm not exactly sure if I get the gist of the shadowing correctly. When is it time to seat down and start writing, use scriptorium and read the text without listening? First time I go through the book I limit myself to reading and understand while listening and AFTER I've done it (100 units more or less) I proceed to writing? Or maybe my schedule should, for instance, look like this below:
Lesson 1 - Typing from head
Lesson 2 - scriptorium
Lesson 3 - reading aloud without listening
Lesson 4 - listen to target, read target
Lesson 5 - listen to target, focus on reading target, but allowing myself to look at other side if uncertainty occurs
Lesson 6 - listen to target, focus more on known
Lesson 7 - listen to target, read known, get the global understanding
Lesson 8 - 13 blind shadowing
Thanks
I think you should balance the reading-writing-listening as it suits you, but remember that the core of the technique is to ACTIVELY shadow, and to avoid passively listening when sat down at a desk, or speaking from reading without the audio playing as a guide.
Hi, this is an old post, but perhaps my reply will help others who have the same question. I do it this way: find an interview whose subject I like and for which I can get a transcript from here : www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/alltagsdeutsch/s-9214 (I'm learning German). Then I paste that transcript into google translate so that I can get something close to an English translation. I print out both. I put the MP3 on a USB key. I listen on the way to work. Before I start out, I look at a paragraph or two and then I listen to that paragraph or two on the way to work to see if I can understand the words that I saw on the paper. I NEVER go to the end of the recording. Instead, I concentrate on only on the paragraphs I am currently working on. So I'm using my rewind button. After a couple of weeks, I'll have the natural inclination to start trying to echo the speakers. This helps me concentrate even more closely on the way the words are pronounced. It is normal to only be able to pronounce one out of 8 words at first. It takes me 2 to 3 months to work through an 8-minute recording. Don't worry about understanding every word. Depending on the speaker, you may only get 80% during the first 6 months. Full 100% comprehension requires your ears to adapt to this new language and that takes time. I find it to be a lot of fun, like singing along to a great song on the radio. And I can fit it into my daily schedule. When I first started shadowing, I found that it took 18 to 20 minutes for my brain to switch over from English to French, but now, since I live in France, the switch is immediate. So I recommend that you try a week of 20 to 25 minute sessions. Longer sessions may not be more helpful, I do not know. If you try this in the car, do NOT read in the car or take your eyes off of the road. It would be a shame to end up in the hospital or to run over someone. I always wait until I get to the parking lot at work to look at the words I was wondering about when I was at the wheel. Have fun!
Thanks for commenting.
So many polyglots swear by Assimil, it's nearly impossible to get in U.S. I was gonna order online but the price was high and I'm now already at A2. Maybe I'll use it to move forward, ordered from Europe.
They have, unfortunately, judged themselves to be unable to compete in the American market.
@@ProfASAr Oh fascinating, yes unfortunate as if they were on Amazon, I think they'd do fine. But yes the big book publishers like Magraw-Hill (?) are very dominant....
You, Luca L. and someone else very well known also recommends them.
2022, February. It is still interesting.
Thank you, that is good to hear!
@chc981012 It's more of an overlapping technique. If you're blind shadowing lesson 14-15, you are shadowing + reading teaching language 9-13, reading + shadowing both 5-8, reading + shadowing new language 2-4, and rewriting lesson 1. I'm starting to shadow Mandarin. It worked well for German.
I know your post is an old one.
I was confused. When you are blind shadowing lesson 14-15, do you mean 14 to 15 times/repititons? Or are you referring to the lesson numbers?
Thank you for any response.
@@RTMoney I believe they're referring to lesson numbers.
Thanks for commenting.
I'm going to try this
For the 2 last steps, speaking and reading L2, and speaking and reading L2 while taking a glance at L1, are we supposed to strictly shadow the audio and then read? I get the reflex to read the text at the same time when the audio speaks instead of shadowing
Did you modify the method, or you could finally got adapted to it? I'm not able to shadow and read the L1 translation at the same time, is absolutely confusing. It's even difficult to shadow by itself (I'm using the old Assimil German Without Toil) because some passages are too fast (I'm around the 40-45 Lektion), even after days of practising them.
Thank you for commenting.
Would it be fair to say that Shadowing compares in some way to TPR ( Total Physical Response). I am no expert but from what I've read it seems there are some similarities .. Both use physical activity to learn? just an observation.
FYI .. I am presently learning Arabic and am looking for any aid that will assist me. Thank you.
Thanks for commenting.
I understand the point is that shadowing is supposed to provide a corrective device that simple repetition does not, but how is it different than just simply repeating the phrase a few times until it is correct? Speaking for myself, I usually can hear the sounds correctly when they're said, but the stumbling block may be a difficult sound within a sentence, which prolongs the time required for me to say it (because I'm focused on that sound, not necessarily the whole phrase).
Thanks for commenting.
You missed the 'm' in your website URL in the information side box.
Thanks for the video. This really cleared it up.
Thanks for commenting.
Though some what obsessive in approach, in my experience many of the points raised here are very advantageous for acquiring ability in a target language to be spoken. . I tend to be more free range as regards materials. looking at transcriptions and translations of audio news clips.
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This guy is a PhD.
Do you know how much it would cost to sit in a lecture hall and listen to him ramble on about applied linguistics? I'll listen (for free mind you) as long as he's willing to talk.
Thanks for commenting.
@kanadanoarekkusu It's purely coincidence. The language is Mbabaram I believe and yes the word is "dog" and it was before settlers.
Thanks for commenting.
I must admit I was confused at first about this method, because of misunderstanding the terminology of repeating "immediately" or "simultaneously", which of course is impossible to do the first time without some form of psychic ability!
Anyway, thank you for your new video. I always feel extremely motivated to achieve my goals after watching your videos, despite rarely talking to you directly. Thank you for all your efforts.
Thanks for commenting.
Should I star using this method from the beginning or after I reach a decent level in the language?
And how much time should I spend shadowing?
Hi Lucas, I recommend 20 -minute sessions based off my experience back when I started shadowing in 1994 or so. I say this because it seemed to me to take 18 to 20 minutes for my brain to really switch over into the target language. That said, you don't have to do it every day to get the benefit. 2 or 3 times per week is plenty, in my experience.
Thank you very much, and sorry for answering late
Thanks for commenting.
At which point do i learn the alphabet or do i figure out myself along the way?
At the very beginning.
I found 11 years ago 13:01 Shadowing Discussed Alexander Arguelles which seems to be the second video but I cannot find the first one.
It's called "Shadowing a Foreign Language (Chinese)" and you can find it in his Methodology playlist through his channel
Thanks for answering this.
@phonicsquest why not? It usually works fine, especially at creative activity. And learning i s creative activity too.
Thanks for commenting.
thanks for sharing. can i ask if i wanna improve my English fluency within 1 months, is that possible? in my case, i'm have been watched tons of youtube videos like with english subtitles or without subtitles by comprehensive input method. i'm totally understand most of youtube vedeos without subtitles,and also can read english book right now (listening and reading is good). but the problem is, i found my speaking skill stuck in conversation, not fluent and have a lot grammar mistake.
i know repeating after words or shadowing is a good way to improve my speaking fluency, but i'm currently use a wrong way to practise,which is i open subtitles of native speaker youtube videos, and watched sentence and imitate
ecite the script. in my free time(almost 1 hour per day) i dont know is that works for me?
so im wondering if i use your method to practice in everyday (3h per day) during a month, it would help for me? in my learning English journey, i also found the speed of material is really important, can i use Ted talk daily of podcast or something like that in spotify to practice?
or what your recommend some materials to me? anything advice will be appreciate! thank you
I recommend audiobooks with a good narrator over the kinds of things you mention. If you were to shadow correctly for 3 hours a day for a month, I can't see how you would not make progress - but you must shadow correctly, and many people do not.
@@ProfASAr thank your replying, and did u think after bilnd shadowing, skip other step and reciting will works for me? because most of materials i already have understanded and acquired, so i think blind shadowing
and recite is a good way
Does this technique do anything to improve speaking ability? Aside from the pronunciation benefits. Are you more likely to speak using the sentence structure of your L2 and recall words more effectively?
Yes absolutely to both - you internalize the structure and the vocabulary at the same time.
+ProfASAr I don't understand the stage where you shadowing while you read with your thumbs and both side can you explaine me this stage because I don't understand the principle of the stage please ?
Is it still unclear?
Please note, I can barely hear your video despite my laptop volume being turned on the way up. This occurs when using headphones. However, that being said, when not using the headphones, I can hear it more clearly. I will need to look into this. Note: Great videos.
Thank you!
Does the shadowing technique help my speaking skills, so much that I can speak with people comfortablely like a native speaker?
If you practice it regularly, it will help you work towards natural rhythm and intonation.
Even if I'm already advanced in a certain language, and I don't have any teaching language other than my native language, should I use it (translation) to practice shadowing anyways, or should I try something else? My point is, should I see the translation of the material I'm studying even when I'm advanced in a language?
Please see my more recent videos on this.
This video recorded when I was 9 years old now I’m 26 😭😭
Thanks for sharing. Can i ask if i want to improve my English fluency within 2 months, is that possible? Do you have a systematic way? I have 2 hours each day. Thanks in advance. And i would like to learn french after improve my English fluency. But my goal right now is to improve my english fluency.
If you shadow every day for 2 hours a day in various ways, I cannot believe that you will not improve your English fluency.
@@ProfASAr Thanks for replying. I will give it a try.
I tried to post the link a couple times, but its seems its not allowed, so just google michel tomas forum and you'll find him talking about you
Thanks for commenting.
Personal quesiton Prof.
What is your IQ?
I read on a message board that you were one of the top 10 most intelligent people in the world. I have no idea how the ranking system for that works by the way.
Again personal question you definitely dont have to answer.
Thanks for commenting.
Watching 2023 January
Thank you so much
You are welcome!
so what should i do, use blind shadowing then shadowing with the teaching laguage ect. for 1 chapter then move to the next one or blind shadow the whole book then shadow in the teaching language the whole book?
Thanks for commenting.
"I have used this methodology and the results are incredible. "
Could you please do me a favor and elaborate a bit? It helps you what? Learn faster to speak? Compared to what you were doing before?
Thanks for commenting.
I have a question concerning language learning and age. You have learned many languages so I'm assuming you've done so over the course of at least ten years. Is there any noticable decline in speed or efficiency of study between, say, 20, and your own age?
Thanks for commenting.
So just a simple question, I am nearing the end of the first stage of the process but soon I will need to type out the lesson. Is the idea here to translate the L2 into L1?
Thanks for commenting.
this has been such a help thank you and do you do personal lessons ?
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would you recommend this method for a languange in which you already know but are not fluent in?
jawapote28 Sure. Go for it. :) He have mentioned that you could do this with any language.
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Because i am learning English, i cant listen to him clearly. Could somebody help me to list out the material for shadowing in the first of the video?
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Great video and method, but I can't follow it. Even the ¿second? step is impossible for me to practice, the one in which you shadow and read the translation on the teaching language page at the same time. Can't do it even after many days just shadowing the same lesson (not talking about perfection, just following more o less). I'm using the old Assimil German Without Toil. If I switch my attention from the sounds to the translated text, I cannot shadow anymore. Although the method is well explained in the video, when you start doing it, you find problems that you need to discuss with someone experienced to find the solutions. Or you can just take whatever you find usefull and modify the method to make it suitable for you, although you wish you could have used it as prescribed, and as a measure to compare with other methods, as Prof. Arguelles suggests.
Sorry this is difficult for you. It should hopefully get better with practice.
Professor Arguelles, I really want to follow your shadowing system to learn Korean but I once heard from Steve Kaufman that the Assimil course for Korean was not good at all. Do you have any idea why he might have said that? Does your opinion differ? I'd appreciate it if you should reply. This is very important to me. Thanks.
So this comment is 7 years old now. Did you ever learn Korean? Did you use Assimil?
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hi. How do I make my shedule with podcast with their transcripts and videos?. I dont realy followed your video, things are not clear for me.
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ProfASAr, On a different forum this person, Carl dundas is saying both of you are currently discussing the possibility of a future collaboration.
Just want you to confirm or deny, since this person seems to be making alot of language statements which are hard to confirm
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So is it like that I have to apply all stages on a lesson then start the next lesson after that????
Your video is absolutely fantastic and useful, too bad I didn't see it earlier.
I'm a Chinese student in California, English is my third language. I learned Taiwanese by hearing people and observing people's motion, which is kind of similar to you method.
Thank you for this amazing video.
你好,你是哪裡人 😃
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Is there anybody here that can help me contact Professor Arguelles? Or even have any idea where I can find theory about this technique?
If you are still looking for me, I am back.
I wish I could hear what you're saying. I have max volume on my computer, but I still don't hear you. Btw, is there a brief explanation anywhere, of this "shadowing" thing?
He is a professor!)
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anyone knows a good programme to process assimil audio? as far as, for instance, german or french are conserned its ok, but these pauses in chinese audio are frustrating
You can use Audacity a free program for processing audio e.g. to prepare it for your shadowing practice
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does anyone know where I can buy his materials?
Which ones?
I think it is against UA-cam rules to be that polite to someone who's criticizing you. Take care.
Indeed. And it should be equally against YT regulation for people to be so critical and hateful towards such a polite and linguistically talented gentleman such as this.
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For anybody who wants to edit audio on their computer, download a program called Audacity, (just google the name). It's free, and very easy to use.
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I second this question
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The two videos mentioned at the beginning may be these two:
ua-cam.com/video/VdheWK7u11w/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/xHYDBYHi2bc/v-deo.html
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Does anyone here get bored and listen to audio literature backwards? I find it very amusing.
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I missed the opportunity by a few years. Hehe.
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