For listening, pronunciation and shadowing practice.

Shadowing with YouTube: repeat one sentence until you can say it

By the RepeatWatch team · Updated

Quick answer

Pick a 2–4 second sentence, press A before it and B after it, set 80% speed and a 1.5-second pause. Listen twice, then speak along for five loops. Let the speed trainer climb to 100%. Save each sentence as a section to build a bank you can review.

What are you learning?

Try it now: say the sentence along with the speaker. If you mumble any part of it, it's too fast. Slow it down.

Try it in three steps

  1. Open the example: one short sentence of a BBC Learning English episode, looping at 80%.
  2. Open Practice and set a 1.5-second pause, so you have time to say it.
  3. Listen twice, speak along five times, then switch on the speed trainer: +10% every 5 loops.

Open an example loop a BBC Learning English 6 Minute English episode, 4 seconds at 80%.

The Loop Ladder

The Loop Ladder for shadowing, in three rules:

  1. Tiny section. One sentence of 2–4 seconds.
  2. Slow start. 80% speed, with a 1.5-second pause to speak.
  3. Climb only after clean repeats. +10% after five loops you can say without mumbling.

The free speed trainer does the climbing for you. You count the clean repeats.

What's free

Every player feature, with no sign-up:

  • Repeat a whole video or an A–B loop of any part
  • Speed from 0.25× to 2× and the speed trainer
  • Pause between loops and stop after a set number of loops
  • Saved sections (keys 1–9) and timestamp import
  • Loop playlists and share links that keep the section and speed

Frequently asked questions

What is shadowing?

Shadowing means repeating speech right after, or along with, a native speaker. Looping one sentence lets you hear it enough times to copy its sounds and rhythm.

What kind of video works best for shadowing?

Interviews, vlogs and short lessons work better than films. People speak clearly, one at a time, and with less background music.

Should I turn subtitles on?

Use subtitles on the first two listens to know the words. Then turn them off while you shadow, so you listen instead of read.

Is RepeatWatch free for language learners?

Yes. Sentence loops, slowing down, pauses between loops, sections and share links are all free, with no sign-up needed.

The free 7-Day Loop Ladder

Free: 7 days of 15-minute shadowing with any YouTube video.

One short email a day. Each day is one sentence-level drill you can do with any video.

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