Shadowing App: How to Choose, and the Real Options
A good shadowing app does four things: it cuts speech into short lines, replays a line without making you hunt for it, lets you slow it down, and shows you the text. Several kinds of tools do this: phone apps built for speaking practice, browser extensions that work on YouTube, and the plain YouTube player, which costs nothing. Which one suits you depends mostly on where you study (phone or computer) and on what you want to shadow.
Shadowing means saying a sentence out loud at the same time as a native speaker, or just after, copying rhythm and intonation. The tool does not do the work for you. Its job is to remove friction so that ten minutes of practice is ten minutes of speaking and not ten minutes of rewinding.
That rewinding is what JoJoJi, our own tool, removes on YouTube: its Shadow mode plays a line, stops and replays it for you, so all you do is speak. It is a Chrome extension for computers, not a phone app, and that is stated again where it matters. Facts about the other tools come from their official sites and store listings, checked in November 2026.
What to expect from a shadowing app
Short lines
Two to five seconds of speech is about what you can hold in your head and say back. A tool that works line by line, following the subtitles or its own sentence list, saves you from shadowing a 40-second monologue.
Pause and repeat
The core of shadowing practice is the loop: hear the line, hear it again, say it with the speaker, move on. Look for auto-pause at the end of each line and a single key or tap to replay. If repeating takes three gestures, you will stop repeating.
Speed control
Native speed is the goal, not the starting point. Being able to hear a line a little slower first, around 0.75× to 0.85×, makes it possible to catch linked sounds. Then go back to full speed.
Text on screen
A transcript or subtitles in the language you are learning let you check what you thought you heard. A translation helps too: repeating sounds you do not understand is of limited use.
Optional: recording and feedback
Some apps record your voice so you can compare it with the original, or score your pronunciation with AI, or send your recording to a human coach. This is useful if you want outside feedback. It is not essential to shadowing itself, and automatic scores should be read with caution.
Dedicated shadowing apps for phones
App stores list many small shadowing apps, and new ones appear every month. The two below are established and document what they do. For any other, read the store listing and check when it was last updated before paying.
Speechling
Speechling presents itself as a nonprofit platform focused on speaking. You hear a sentence recorded by a native voice actor, record yourself, and compare the two side by side; a human coach can then give feedback on your recording.
- Platforms: web, iOS and Android.
- Content: its own sentence curriculum, not videos of your choice.
- Price: a "Forever Free" plan with the whole curriculum and up to 10 coaching sessions a month (English, French, Chinese and German are excluded from the free coaching). Unlimited coaching starts at $19.99 a month according to its pricing page.
Best for learners who want feedback from a person and are happy with prepared sentences.
Miraa
Miraa transcribes your own audio and video into bilingual subtitles with AI, then lets you practise with what it calls the Echo Method: listen, understand, imitate, compare. Its App Store listing names English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, Italian and French.
- Platforms: iPhone and iPad through the App Store; its site also offers an Android download.
- Content: videos and podcasts you choose.
- Price: free to download with in-app purchases. See the store listing for current rates.
Best for learners who want to shadow podcasts and videos on a phone.
Shadowing on YouTube with a browser extension
On a computer, YouTube is the largest library of native speech with subtitles in any language. These extensions add the missing controls. They are built first for a desktop browser.
Language Reactor
Language Reactor is a Chrome extension for YouTube and Netflix. Its free version includes bilingual subtitles, speed control, keyboard shortcuts and auto-pause after each subtitle, which is enough to shadow line by line. It does not record you. If free matters most, start here. See our page on Language Reactor alternatives for the wider comparison.
Trancy
Trancy offers bilingual subtitles on YouTube, Netflix and other sites for free, with extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Its pricing page lists AI shadowing training and AI Talk speaking practice as Premium features; Premium was $3.49 a month in November 2026, with a 3-day free trial.
asbplayer
asbplayer is free and open source. It can pause automatically at each subtitle and repeat a subtitle a chosen number of times, on most streaming video and on local files. It takes more setup than the others and is aimed at learners who also make Anki cards.
JoJoJi: shadowing built into the YouTube video
JoJoJi is a Chrome extension built around the loop described above: hear the line, hear it again, say it with the speaker. In Shadow mode the video plays one line, stops, then plays it again. The first pass can be slowed to 0.85×, and a key moves you to the next line. Ten minutes of practice is ten minutes of speaking.
- You shadow people you like listening to. It works on YouTube videos that have subtitles, automatic ones included.
- You understand what you say. Both languages on screen, pronunciation above the words, the transcript beside the video.
- The words stay with you. One click saves a word as a flashcard, reviewed on the site with spaced repetition. No deck to build.
Plainly, the limits: JoJoJi runs on a computer in Chrome. It is not a phone app. It does not record or score your voice, it works on YouTube only, and there is no free plan or trial: it costs $9.99 a month or $29.99 a year. If you practise at a desk with YouTube videos you enjoy, this is what it is built for. If you practise on the bus, pick one of the phone apps above.
Shadowing practice with no app at all
The YouTube player on a computer already has most of what you need. This method is free.
- Choose a video with clear speech and subtitles in the language you are learning. One speaker, facing the camera, is easier than a group conversation.
- Turn captions on with the
ckey or the captions button in the player. - Open the playback speed setting in the player's settings menu and choose 0.75. The
<and>keys change speed without opening the menu. - Play one sentence, then press
kto pause. - Press the left arrow to jump back 5 seconds (or
jfor 10 seconds) and say the line along with the speaker. - Repeat until it flows, then bring the speed back to normal and do it once more.
These shortcuts are listed in YouTube's keyboard shortcut help. Click the video first so the player has focus.
The weak point is precision. A 5-second jump rarely lands at the start of a sentence, and you pause by hand each time. That is the friction dedicated tools remove. For a second line of subtitles in your own language, see our guide to dual subtitles on YouTube.
Shadowing apps compared
| Option | Where it runs | What you shadow | Line-by-line pause and repeat | Records your voice | Price (November 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JoJoJi | Chrome on a computer | YouTube | Shadow mode: plays, then replays each line | No | $9.99 a month or $29.99 a year |
| Speechling | Web, iOS, Android | Its own sentences | Yes, sentence by sentence | Yes, with coach feedback | Free plan; unlimited from $19.99 a month |
| Miraa | iPhone, iPad, Android | Your videos and podcasts | Yes (Echo practice) | Compare step, see listing | Free download, in-app purchases |
| Language Reactor | Chrome on a computer | YouTube, Netflix | Auto-pause | No | Free; optional Pro |
| Trancy | Desktop and mobile browsers | YouTube, Netflix and others | AI shadowing training in Premium | AI pronunciation evaluation in Premium | Free; Premium $3.49 a month |
| asbplayer | Desktop browser | Streaming video, local files | Auto-pause and repeat | No | Free |
| YouTube player alone | Any computer | YouTube | By hand, with shortcuts | No | Free |
How to pick
- You practise at a computer and want the video to pause and replay for you, with vocabulary in the same routine: JoJoJi.
- You study on your phone: Speechling for prepared sentences and human feedback, Miraa for your own videos and podcasts.
- You want free, on a computer: the YouTube player alone, or Language Reactor with auto-pause.
- You want feedback on your pronunciation: Speechling's coaches, or an app with AI scoring.
- You already use Anki: asbplayer.
Whatever you choose, the material matters as much as the tool. Pick videos you would watch anyway, at a level where you understand most of each line. Japanese learners will find ideas in our article on learning Japanese with anime.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for shadowing?
There is no single best one. On a phone, Speechling and Miraa are solid, documented options. On a computer with YouTube, JoJoJi has a mode built for shadowing and Language Reactor's auto-pause is free. The best choice is the one that matches your device and the content you like.
Is there a free language shadowing app?
Yes. Speechling has a free plan, Language Reactor's auto-pause is free, asbplayer is free and open source, and the YouTube player with keyboard shortcuts costs nothing.
Can I do shadowing practice on YouTube without installing anything?
Yes. Use captions, slow the video with the playback speed setting, pause with k and jump back with the left arrow or j. It works, with a little more manual effort per line.
Is JoJoJi a phone app?
No. JoJoJi is a Chrome extension for computers that works on YouTube, with a website for reviewing your flashcards. There is no mobile app.