STEP TWO: Try speaking yourself! We recommend two different ways to practice speaking:
LEVEL ONE: ECHOING
Watch the video again, but pause after one line is spoken by the original speaker. Once you've heard what that line sounds like (pronunciation and cadence), say the line yourself out loud while the video is paused and focus on mimicking the pronunciation and cadence exactly as you just heard it. Unpause the video and listen to the next line. Repeat.
LEVEL TWO: SHADOWING
Shadowing is the best way to improve your speaking to sound natural across pronunciation, cadence, and speed.
How shadowing works is this - play the entire video without pausing. As you hear a line spoken, try to repeat the sentence while the original speaker is also speaking it. At first while you're getting your bearings, you can do this with a slight delay and while whispering so that you can still clearly hear the original speaker. However, try to quickly mimic what was just said.
The end goal of shadowing is after practicing several times, to be able to speak at full volume simultaneously with the original speaker, matching pronunciation, cadence, and speed. This will likely take a few times of repetition, but we promise you will start noticing the difference in how you speak Mandarin once you're able to keep up with natural speed.
Why Should I Practice Speaking? Isn't Understanding It Enough?
No. The point of this course is to help build your confidence in speaking Mandarin! Learning the vocabulary that you're missing in these relevant real world conversations is only one part of building that confidence. To really level up your skills, you need to let your mouth practice what it feels like to speak these new words and phrases at natural speed. That's the only way to start really integrating this new knowledge into your daily life!
A: Hey, what are you doing?
B: 沒有啊！我在滑 Hinge。 / méi yǒu ā! wǒ zài huá Hinge
B: Oh, just swiping through Hinge
A: 是喔，我看。我不知道妳有在用交友軟體耶。 / shì ō, wǒ kàn. wǒ bù zhī dào nǐ yǒu zài yòng jiāo yǒu ruǎn tǐ yē
A: Really? Let me see. I didn’t know you were on the apps
B: 嗯，給妳看 *B 給 A 看手機* / ēn, gěi nǐ kàn *B gěi A kàn shǒu jī
B: Here, take a look *B gives A her cell phone*
A: 那妳喜歡怎樣的類型啊？/ nà nǐ xǐ huān zěn yàng de lèi xíng a?
A: What’s your type anyway?
B: 嗯...我喜歡高的男生，所以至少也要有一百八吧。 / ēn... wǒ xǐ huān gāo de nán shēng, suǒ yǐ zhì shǎo yě yào yǒu yì bǎi bā ba
B: Well... I like tall guys, so he needs to be at least 6 feet tall (180cm)
A: 那樣會不會有一·點不切實際呀？ / nà yàng huì bú huì yǒu yì diǎn bú qiè shí jì ya?
A: Isn’t that kind of unrealistic?
B: 那只是理想型啦！如果個性很好的男生，矮一點也沒關係啊。/ nà zhǐ shì lǐ xiǎng lèi xíng la! rǔ guǒ gè xìng hěn hǎo de nán shēng, ǎi yì diǎn yě méi guān xī a
B: That’s my ideal, ok? I’m open to shorter guys who have good personalities.
A: 那妳所謂的個性好是怎樣？ / nà nǐ suǒ wèi de gè xìng hǎo shì zěn yàng?
A: What do you consider a good personality?
B: 好笑啊 ，體貼 ，跟有抱負心的人吧。 / hǎo xiào ā, tǐ tiē, gēn yǒu bào fù xīn dě rén ba
B: Someone who’s funny, kind, and ambitious
我喜歡很積極進取又有野心的人，但也不要自以為是。/ wǒ xǐ huān hěn jī jí jìn qǔ yòu yǒu yě xīn de rén, dàn yě bú yào zì yǐ wéi shì
I like go-getters, but not assholes.
其實你看那個人怎麼對待服務生就知道了。/ qí shí nǐ kàn nà ge rén zěn me duì dài fú wù shēng jiù zhī dào le
You know you can tell a lot by how someone treats waitstaff at restaurants
A: 喔真的，我懂。 / ō zhēn de, wǒ dǒng
A: Oh, I totally get that
B: 他不用像喜劇演員那麼搞笑, 但至少也要有一點幽默感吧。 / tā bú yòng xiàng xǔ jù yǎn yuán nà me gǎo xiào, dàn zhì shǎo yě yào yǒu yì diǎn yōu mò gǎn ba
B: He doesn’t need to be a comedian but I want someone with a sense of humor.
不要太嚴肅。/ bú yào tài yán sù
Not too serious
最好是我們也有一些共同興趣。 / zuì hǎo shì wǒ men yě yǒu yì xiē gòng tóng xìng qù
Ideally we’d also have some things in common
也因為Hinge不是真的只有看外表的APP而已，所以我才用的。/ yě yīn wèi Hinge bú shì zhēn de zhǐ yǒu kàn wài biǎo de APP ér yǐ, suǒ yǐ wǒ cái yòng de
That’s why I like Hinge, because it focuses on more than just looks
A: 怎麼說？那我看一下妳最近配對的人如何？ / zěn me shuō? nà wǒ kàn yí xià nǐ zuì jìn pèi duì dě rén rú hé?
A: Like what? who’s someone you connected with recently?
B: 這個 *給她看檔案* / zhè ge *gěi tā kàn dǎng àn*
B: This guy *shows profile*
他跟我一樣愛吃, 所以我很確定他會跟我去探索一些巷弄美食，而不是只去一些高級餐廳而已。/ tā gēn wǒ yí yàng ài chī, suǒ yǐ wǒ hěn què dìng tā huì gēn wǒ qù tàn suǒ yì xiē xiàng nòng měi shí, ér bú shì zhǐ qù yì xiē gāo jí cān tīng ér yǐ
He’s a foodie like me, so I know he’d be down to check out a good hole in the wall, not just bougie places
A: 有道理，還有咧？/ yǒu dào lǐ, hái yǒu liē?
A: That makes sense. what else?
B: 我們也都愛去旅行。 / wǒ men yě dōu ài lǚ xíng
B: We both love to travel
他已經去過了三十幾個國家，還爬過富士山耶。/ tā yǐ jīng qù guò sān shí jǐ ge guó jiā, hái pá guò fù shì shān yē
He’s been to 30 countries, and has even hiked Mt. Fuji
我喜歡這樣愛冒險的人。/ wǒ xǐ huān zhè yàng ài mào xiǎn de rén
I like that he’s adventurous
A: 他感覺很有機會唷。你們一起出去過了嗎？ / tā gǎn jué hěn yǒu jī huì yō. nǐ men yì qǐ chū qù guò le mā?
A: He sounds promising. Have you guys gone out yet?
B: 我們下禮拜第一次約會! / wǒ men xià lǐ bài dì yī cì yuē huì
B: We’re going on our first date next week!
A: 哇，你們要去幹嘛啊？/ wā, nǐ men yào qù gàn má ā?
A: Ooh, what are you going to do?
B: 我們要去市區一間新開的壽司店。/ wǒ men yào qù shì qū yì jiān xīn kāi de shòu sī diàn
B: We’re going to the new sushi place downtown
A: 聽起來不錯唷！約會完記得跟我更新一下喔！/ tīng qǐ lái hái bú cuò yō! yuē huì wán jì dé yào gēn wǒ gēng xīn yí xià ō!
A: That sounds fun! You’ll have to tell me all about it
B: 當然會的！/ dāng rán huì de
B: You know it