We’ve already looked at shadowing for content words and for function words. Today, let’s look at how to shadow to mimic the main stress in English. It’s quite simple.
Step 1. Find an audio with a transcript
Just like shadowing for content and function words, it helps if you can find an audio with a transcript available to analyse. It shouldn’t be longer than around 2 minutes, as shadowing can be very tiring! We’ll be working with the following audio and transcript:
Step 2. Listen, read, and check your understanding
When shadowing, we want to be more focused on pronunciation than meaning of words. So, before you start shadowing, familiarise yourself with the audio. Listen to it several times, and look up any words or structures you don’t know.
Step 3. Analyse where the main stress is
On the transcript, analyse where you hear the main stress in each sentence. Remember, the main stress tends to be the last content word in a sentence, and its stressed syllable tends to be said longer, louder, and with a higher pitch which then drops down.
Here’s the analysis of our transcript:
Step 4. Shadow
Once you’ve analysed for main stress, start to shadow the audio. Remember, shadowing involves speaking along with the audio as closely as possible. You could do a few rounds with your transcript, and a few rounds without. When shadowing, pay special attention to the main stress.
Step 5. Repeat with another audio
Now, simply repeat the process with an audio of your choice! It helps to choose an audio with a speaker you would like to sound like. Happy shadowing!