A Key Strategy For Really Improving Your Italian Pronunciation
In our last post we discussed how the Immersion Strategy is an integral part of not just learning Italian, but specifically for helping you improve your pronunciation; Pronunciation being our second Pillar of Language Learning.
This time around, we are going to talk about the second key strategy as part of Pronunciation: Shadowing
How Shadowing Can Improve Your Italian Pronunciation
In short, shadowing is the technique of immediately “parroting” (repeating) a native speaker, word for word as they speak.The purpose of this technique is to imitate the native speaker as closely as possible, focusing on:
→ Producing clear and concrete vowel sounds
→ Consontant sounds that aren't in your variety of English
→ The melody and intonation of phrases
→ The rhythm and pace of the utterances
Improving all of these elements will really help you to achieve excellent Italian pronunciation! This is best done with recorded speech bites (parroting someone in person might be a little annoying, as we're sure you can imagine!).
It's important to remember that when shadowing, the goal is not to try and comprehend what is being said, but simply to imitate the spoken sounds.
Where to Find Content to Practice Shadowing in Italian
As a beginner, shadowing simple and clearly spoken words is the best way to start.
The Italy Made Easy YouTube channel is a great tool to practice your Italian Shadowing with. There you will find a ton of videos with lots of natural Italian speech, including some that are specifically designed for you to practice Shadowing.
If you can, it is also a great idea to record yourself as you parrot what you hear. As much as we all cringe at the sound of our own voice, listening to yourself and the way you pronounce certain words compared to an Italian – and then trying to imitate their pronunciation is a REALLY EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE!
Trust me, over time you will see that it really works!
Click here to visit Italy Made Easy Youtube Channel
How Do I Check if My Italian Pronunciation is OK?
If you don’t have access to an actual native Italian speaker, we have a very sneaky way to check your pronunciation, all by yourself, with the help of good ol’ Google. As long as you have a Gmail email account, you have access to Google Drive (a free storage option). Inside Google Drive, you can create a text document (called Google Docs) that works just the same as your desktop text editor (Office Word or Pages), but it’s free and online.
There you can activate the ‘Voice Typing’ feature (under the Tools' menu item) and speak into your mic and, in theory, Google will write what you are saying! If your pronunciation is right, Google will understand and type the right stuff. If your pronunciation is not so good, Google will not understand you and write who knows what!
Of course, this method is not super reliable, as they made Google pretty smart and will do its best to still type the right things, even when your pronunciation is off. But it’s still an awesome, easy and free way to practice!
An even better solution is to talk to an actual Italian!
Look out for our upcoming blog on the Pillar of Speaking, where we will give tips on finding an Italian speaking-practice partner. In the meantime, check out our Youtube Channel and start Shadowing Italian today!