How to use shadowing to fix French pronunciation
To use shadowing to fix French pronunciation, follow these steps:
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Find audio of a native French speaker that matches your level and interests, such as a podcast, audiobook, YouTube video, or even a song with clear and slow speech.
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Listen closely to the audio to understand what is being said.
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Repeat aloud at the same time as the speaker without pausing—this simultaneous repetition is the core of shadowing. Focus on mimicking the sounds, rhythm, intonation, pauses, lip movements, and even facial expressions of the speaker.
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Practice with a transcript if needed to clarify unclear words, but try to shadow “blindly” first (without text) to train your ear.
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Do the exercise regularly for 10-15 minutes a day. Walking while shadowing can help improve oxygen flow to your brain and make the exercise more effective.
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Maintain good posture and speak clearly to engage the mouth muscles needed for correct French pronunciation.
The shadowing technique helps train your ear and mouth to move like a native speaker, improving accent, fluency, and listening skills by internalizing native patterns of speech naturally. It is a gradual process requiring patience but yields remarkable results in fixing pronunciation issues by developing better rhythm, intonation, and muscle memory for French sounds.