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!

Transcript (Traditional Chinese)

A: 你猜怎樣？我終於升職了！
A: nǐ cāi zěn yàng? wǒ zhōng yú shēng zhí le!
A: Guess what? I finally got the promotion!
 
B: 真的假的！這超棒的！真替你開心！
B: zhēn de jiǎ de! zhè chāo bàng de! zhēn tì nǐ kāi xīn!
B: No way! That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you!

A: 謝謝你啊！我到現在還覺得有一點難以置信，畢竟我為了這件事努力這麼久。我老闆告訴我的時候，我整個人都嚇到了。
A: xiè xiè nǐ a! wǒ dào xiàn zài hái jué de yǒu yì diǎn nán yǐ zhì xìn. bì jìng wǒ wèi le zhè jiàn shì nǔ lì zhè me jiǔ. wǒ lǎo bǎn gào sù wǒ de shí hòu, wǒ zhěng ge rén dōu xià dào le.
A: Thank you! I still can’t believe it. Afterall, I’ve been working so hard for this. When my boss told me, I was completely shocked.

B: 你應該感到自豪！你這麼努力，這是你應得的！
B: nǐ yīng gāi gǎn dào zì háo! nǐ zhè me nǔ lì, zhè shì nǐ yīng dé de
B: You should be proud of yourself! You’ve been putting in so much effort. This is well-deserved.

A: 對啊！我現在總算鬆一口氣了，之前緊張死了，現在終於放心了。
A: duì a! wǒ xiàn zài zǒng suàn sōng yì kǒu qì le. zhī qián jǐn zhāng sǐ le, xiàn zài zhōng yú fàng xīn le.
A: I know, right? I feel so relieved (at last). I was nervous about it, but now I’m finally at ease.

B: 這一定要慶祝一下啊！這週末我們出去吃飯吧，我請客！
B: zhè yí dìng yào qìng zhù yí xià a! zhè zhōu mò wǒ men chū qù chī fàn ba, wǒ qǐng kè!
B: We need to celebrate! Let’s go out for dinner this weekend—my treat!

A: 太棒了！我真的很期待耶！
A: tài bàng le! wǒ zhēn de hěn qí dài ye!
A: Amazing! I’m really looking forward to it.

B: 對了，我爸下個月終於要退休了！他一輩子都辛苦工作，現在終於可以好好放鬆了。
B: duì le, wǒ bà xià ge yuè zhōng yú yào tuì xiū le! tā yí bèi zi dōu xīn kǔ gōng zuò, xiàn zài zhōng yú kě yǐ hǎo hǎo fàng sōng le.
B: Oh, and my dad is finally retiring next month! He’s worked so hard his whole life, and now he finally gets to relax.

A: 太棒了！你一定為他感到很興奮吧！
A: tài bàng le! nǐ yí dìng wèi tā gǎn dào hěn xīng fèn ba!
A: That’s incredible! You must be so excited for him.

B: 是啊！而且說真的，我真的很為他驕傲。他為我們家付出了這麼多，現在我們終於可以好好替他慶祝了！
B: shì a! ér qiě shuō zhēn de, wǒ zhēn de hěn wèi tā jiāo ào. tā wèi wǒ men jiā fù chū le zhè me duō, xiàn zài wǒ men zhōng yú kě yǐ hǎo hǎo tì tā qìng zhù le!
B: Yeah, I am. And honestly, I’m just so proud of him. He’s done so much for our family, and now we get to finally celebrate him.
 
A: 真的好感動，光聽你講我都覺得很感動。有這麼棒的爸爸當榜樣，你一定覺得既驕傲又感恩吧！
A: zhēn de hǎo gǎn dòng, guāng tīng nǐ jiǎng wǒ dōu jué de hěn gǎn dòng. yǒu zhè me bàng de bà ba dāng bǎng yàng, nǐ yí dìng jué de jì jiāo ào yòu gǎn ēn ba！
A: That’s really touching. I’m moved just hearing about it. Having such an amazing father as your role model, you must also feel so grateful.
 
B: 當然啊！看到他終於熬出頭了讓我覺得對未來還蠻有希望的。這也提醒我，努力總有一天不會白費的。
B: dāng rán a! kàn dào tā zhōng yú áo chū tóu le ràng wǒ jué de duì wèi lái hái mán yǒu xī wàng de. zhè yě tí xǐng wǒ nǔ lì zǒng yǒu yì tiān bú huì bái fèi de!
B: Definitely. And seeing him finally reach this milestone makes me feel hopeful about the future. It reminds me that all our hard work will pay off one day.

A: 完全同意！我們就繼續保持這股正能量吧。我真的很欣賞你對家人的關心。
A: wán quán tóng yì! wǒ men jiù jì xù bǎo chí zhè gǔ zhèng néng liàng ba. wǒ zhēn de hěn xīn shǎng nǐ duì jiā rén de guān xīn
A: Absolutely! Let’s keep this good energy going. I really admire how much you care about your family.

B: 謝啦，這對我來說很重要。我只是覺得我們要好好珍惜身邊重要的人，愛要即時。說真的，現在一切都讓我覺得心裡暖暖的。
B: xiè la, zhè duì wǒ lái shuō hěn zhòng yào. wǒ zhǐ shì jué de wǒ men yào hǎo hǎo zhēn xí shēn biān zhòng yào de rén, ài yào jí shí. shuō zhēn de, xiàn zài yí qiè dōu ràng wǒ jué de xīn lǐ nuǎn nuǎn de.
B: Thanks, that means a lot. I just think we should cherish the people important to us. We shouldn’t wait to show our love. And honestly, everything just feels warm and fuzzy.

A: 這種感覺最棒了，對吧？
A: zhè zhǒng gǎn jué zuì bàng le, duì ba?
A: That’s the best feeling, isn’t it?