When you have no one to talk to, you can still practise speaking English by repeating after a recording: listen to one sentence, say it again the way the speaker did, record yourself and compare your attempt with the original. This trains how you say a sentence, from the sounds to the intonation. It does not replace conversation.
What you practise by repeating
When you repeat a model sentence, you have a correct version ready to compare with. You do not have to think about what to say, so you can pay attention to how you say it:
- the final sounds of words, and how one word links into the next;
- word stress and sentence stress;
- where to pause for breath, and how your voice rises and falls;
- saying a long sentence all the way through at a natural speed.
That covers one part of speaking. The rest, such as thinking of an answer or replying to the person you are talking to, needs real conversations.
How to practise speaking English alone every day
- Choose a short clip with a clear speaker, on a topic you often come across. The shadowing materials page has suggestions.
- Listen to the whole clip once, then read the text so that you understand each sentence.
- Repeat each sentence straight after the speaker, matching their speed and intonation.
- Record and compare your attempt with the original. Pick one place where the two differ and practise that part again.
- Say the whole clip again without looking at the text.
- Change a few words in the model sentence so that it is about you. For example, "I usually take the bus to work" becomes "I usually cycle to work". The sentence keeps the speaker's rhythm, but the content is your own.
Speaking practice for beginners
- Choose clips with slow speech and short sentences.
- Use the "Tap to continue" pause, so that you have enough time for each sentence.
- If a sentence is long, practise the first half on its own, then say the whole sentence.
- About 10 to 15 minutes a day is enough to start with.
Practise speaking with Practice Shadowing
Practice Shadowing is a website for practising spoken English by repeating recorded speech. After each sentence the player stops and waits while you say it, and when you have finished it goes on by itself. Each attempt is recorded on your device, so you can play it back and compare it with the original.
You can ask for a score on any attempt. It shows the words that speech recognition heard, set against the model sentence, with your pace. It is not a grade of your pronunciation.
Practice Shadowing does not chat with you or play the other person in a conversation. You practise with the speaker in a recording: a sample clip, your own audio file, a podcast or a YouTube video.
The app is free during launch, and you can add it to your phone's home screen. Try a sample clip on the home page or open the app.
Questions
What is the shadowing technique for speaking English?
It is a way to practise speaking: you listen to a recording and speak along with the speaker almost at the same time, copying both the sounds and the intonation. Repeating after each sentence, as this page describes, is its first step. The guide What is shadowing goes into more detail.
Can I practise speaking English alone?
Yes, for the part of speaking that is about how you say things, from the sounds to the intonation. Repeating after a recording gives you a correct sentence to compare with. To practise answering quickly in a conversation, you still need to talk with other people.
Is Practice Shadowing an AI chat app?
No. The app does not hold conversations with you. You listen to a speaker in a recording and repeat their sentences. Speech recognition is used only to transcribe audio you add and, when you ask, to show the words it heard in one of your attempts.
Is there a free English speaking practice app?
Practice Shadowing is free during its launch. Practising, recording, comparing and finding a YouTube video's sentences use no minutes. An account gets 5 minutes a day for transcribing your audio or scoring attempts, plus 10 more on the first day, and you can ask for more from your profile.
Does the score tell me if my pronunciation is right or wrong?
No. It shows the words that speech recognition heard, compared with the model sentence: the ones that matched, the ones that came out different, the ones you missed, any extra ones, and your pace. Speech recognition sometimes mishears, so use the result to find the sentences that need another listen.