Speaking is the most difficult part of learning any language, and with how different Chinese is from English, that makes it even harder. If you want to speak Chinese fluently with a good accent, shadowing is the best way to get there. Shadowing will get you used to the sounds and patterns of Chinese, making your speech much more fluid and natural. All you need to get started is a device to record your pronunciation so you can compare it to a native’s. You can use any recording software, but I included some recording programs below if you’re unsure what to use.

Recording Programs

PC

Audacity is the best free audio recording software for computers. Start by downloading it from the Audacity website and installing it.

Once the program is open, you can start recording by pressing the red record button on the toolbar at the top of the screen. You can pause, continue, or stop your recording from the toolbar as well. To export the file, go to “File” and the “Export” from the top left corner of your screen. Do note that you need a microphone to be able to use this program. If you are on a laptop, you will have a built-in microphone, but if you are on a desktop, you need to connect an external microphone. To listen to your recording, go to the location of your exported file and click on it to open it in your computer’s music player.

Mobile

If your phone already has recording software that you like, then use that. Otherwise, download an audio recording app from the App Store. I like AudioLab, but there are many other similar apps.

When you start recording audio, there should be no need to mess around with the settings, just name the file with what you are shadowing, so you can keep track of it later.

After you have finished recording your audio and saved it, go to your audio player of choice to listen to it, here I’m using Pi Music Player.

Getting Started

The process of shadowing is pretty straightforward. Listen to a native speaker and copy what they say exactly. However, when you try to do this, you may find it’s harder than you thought. They may speak too quickly for you to catch everything, or you might get lost part way through and forget what you were supposed to say. This is why you should start by using material you can easily understand. Easy material will allow you to focus on your speaking and pronunciation. When you pick a source to shadow, start by listening to it all the way through while paying attention to the rhythm and sound of the language. This is called silent shadowing. Next, listen to it again but whisper it out loud to yourself, you’re still mostly focusing on the flow and intonation here. Finally, you’ll record yourself repeating what the native speaker says to the best of your ability. Listen back to your recording and take note of where your pronunciation or tones are off. If you missed several things, go back and record yourself one more time. Shadowing is a draining activity, so I recommend doing it for no more than 20 minutes at a time. As you progress, you will create your own shadowing schedule and workflow that works best for you.

Shadowing Sources

Hanbook – Freemium

Hanbook is a great app for shadowing practice because it gives you feedback on your pronunciation. The free version allows you to record yourself reading example sentences, then listen to your pronunciation and receive feedback on which words you pronounced incorrectly. If you purchase the Dictionary Plus subscription for $30 a year, you receive access to hundreds of dialogs and more tailored feedback on your pronunciation. Hanbook is one of my favorite Chinese learning apps because the feedback from it has improved my tones and pronunciation more than any other resource.

Each day, there is a daily practice when you first open the app. First listen to the sentence, then record yourself reading it.

After you read the sentence, the app will give you a score and highlight the words you had trouble with. It grades you on both your tone and your pronunciation. Some minor errors are normal, so I aim for a score of 90 or higher. To listen to your recording, click on the orange Pacman in the bottom right corner.

You can also search for individual words in the dictionary, and practice pronouncing that specific word or practice sentences with that word.

If you have the Dictionary Plus subscription, then you have access to the “Speak” tab, which can be found at the bottom of the screen. Here you will find hundred of dialogs to listen to and read through.

Each conversation presents you with some new vocabulary, then has you follow a conversation. Record yourself reading the conversation and shadow the provided audio.

If you click on your score in the bottom right corner, it will give you more information on what you missed. In the case of the words below, my pronunciation was fine, but my tone was wrong.

If you would like to change the difficulty of the conversations available to you, go into the “Me” tab at the bottom of the screen and then click on your profile.

In your personal information, you can update your Chinese proficiency level, and that will change the difficulty of the dialogues on your “Speak” tab.

YouTube

Mandarin Click is a YouTube channel with lots of shadowing content for every level. The videos include natural, native pronunciation at a slow speed for learners. I recommend starting with their HSK 1 videos, even if it seems too easy. The easy material will allow you to focus on your pronunciation. Remember, you can always pause the video in between lines or adjust the playback speed in the settings.

LingLing Mandarin is another great channel for shadowing. She first reads through the story slowly with the transcription available, then she reads through it at a normal speed without the transcription. This is great for learners because you can practice the words slowly, then try to copy the rhythm and tone of normal speech without relying on the transcription. Shadowing without a transcript allows you to focus more on what the other person is saying. It forces you to mimic them more closely because you can’t rely on reading.

Podcasts and Websites

Podcasts and reading material with audio are also great sources for shadowing. My favorite is Maomi Chinese, but you can use any podcast you can easily understand. When I shadow a podcast, I will follow the transcript, if available, and pause the podcast after every sentence to give myself time to repeat what the host said. In my audio recording, the host will say a sentence, and then I will repeat the same sentence. This allows for easy comparison. It is best not to do an entire podcast in one sitting, but rather just 15 or 20 minutes of shadowing at a time. As you get more advanced, you can use audio with no transcript for shadowing to practice your listening skills while you practice your speaking skills.

There are also a number of Chinese learning websites that provide text with audio, Mandarin Bean is one of my favorites because they have a lot of easy-to-understand stories with pinyin. Unfortunately for free users there are no translations available, however, if you are shadowing a text, you should be easily able to understand it, so this should affect you.

That’s everything you need to know to get started shadowing. You should practice shadowing a few times a week until you are at an advanced level and can comfortably speak Chinese with proper tones and pronunciation. You’re now already on your way to having a great accent and fluent Chinese!