Shadow

What is the best app to practise for a job interview in English?

Short answer

Shadow is a good fit when the problem is saying your answers, not writing them. You create an interview dialogue, or paste the answers you have prepared, and Shadow voices them in a natural American or British accent. Then you drill each answer out loud: it repeats a set number of times with a pause for you to speak, and moves on by itself, so you can rehearse hands-free while walking. You record yourself and compare your voice and intonation with the original until the answers come out fluently, with the right stress, under pressure. It is on iPhone and Android and free to start.

Why interview answers fall apart in a second language

Most people prepare by writing answers. Then, in the room, the sentence that looked fine on paper comes out slowly, with the stress in the wrong place, and the nerves make it worse. Knowing what to say and being able to say it are different skills. The second one is trained by saying the answer out loud, many times, until it is automatic.

How to prepare an interview in Shadow

  1. Create a dialogue: the questions you expect, with your answers. Or paste your own answers.
  2. Shadow voices it in a natural accent, so you hear how a fluent speaker would say your words.
  3. Adjust the phrases: split long answers into lines you can hold, and choose the ones to drill.
  4. Drill hands-free: set the repeats, the speed and the pause, and practise while you walk.
  5. Record yourself in Practice and compare your voice and pitch line with the original.
  6. Film a final run with the teleprompter and watch it back, the closest thing to a mock interview.

Not only interviews

The same routine works for anything you have to say well in English: the opening of a presentation, a pitch, an update in a meeting, a sales or client call. If you can write it, you can voice it, drill it and memorise it with the right rhythm and intonation.

What the research says about the method

According to Whitworth, B. & Rose, H. (2025). A Systematic Review of Research on the use of Shadowing for Second Language Pronunciation Teaching. Research Synthesis in Applied Linguistics, 1(2)., a systematic review of 44 studies found that shadowing training can improve learners’ comprehensibility, intelligibility and accentedness, along with suprasegmental control such as fluency and prosody. The same review found the evidence on individual sounds (segmental control) inconclusive.

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Frequently asked

Can I practise my own interview answers in Shadow?

Yes. Paste your answers or create an interview dialogue in the app, and Shadow voices them in a natural accent for you to drill.

Which accents can Shadow voice my text in?

American and British English.

Can Shadow help me memorise a presentation?

Yes. Voice the text, split it into phrases, and drill them hands-free with your own repeats and pauses until you can say it without reading.

Source

Whitworth, B. & Rose, H. (2025). A Systematic Review of Research on the use of Shadowing for Second Language Pronunciation Teaching. Research Synthesis in Applied Linguistics, 1(2). DOI · open-access copy

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