Use the "echo method" to help you write wonderful articles

I accidentally watched a [video] of TEDx Talks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQEWEPIHLzQ), which was directed by Professor Shi Jialin of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at National Taiwan University (http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/) (Karen “[How to use the “Echo Method” to learn English speaking] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQEWEPIHLzQ)” brought by Chung. In this 18-minute speech, Professor Scarlin led everyone to use the “Echo Method” to break through the barriers of oral English expression, bringing us back to the correct path of language learning and reconnecting with the world.

She started by playing a Chinese speech delivered by Facebook founder Zuckerberg at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China on October 24, 2015, to help everyone understand the importance of intonation in language learning. In Mandarin, if you cannot accurately distinguish the four tones, it will be difficult for people to understand… On the other hand, in English, the same is true.

Although I have never taken Professor Scarlin’s English class at National Taiwan University before, I have written a column with her in the “English Island” magazine at the same time, so I am no stranger to Professor Scarlin, so it is a little bit of fate!

What is the echo method?

The so-called “Echo Method” is a teaching method originally created by Professor Scarlin. To put it simply, listen to an English sentence, repeat the sound you just heard in your mind, and then imitate it.

The “Echo Method” advocated by Professor Shi is similar to the familiar “recite along” language learning method; however, the “Echo Method” has a key difference, that is, you must know how to use the “echo” in your heart!

Echo Method is different from pure imitation. After hearing an English sentence, you must first repeat the sound in your mind as if pressing replay, and then read out the “echo” just repeated in your mind in an imitative manner. So to a certain extent, Echo Method is shadowing 2.0.

Implementation steps of echo method

The implementation steps of “Echo Method” are briefly excerpted as follows:

• First, find a suitable audio file or video to imitate.
• First listen to the entire audio file several times to familiarize yourself with the content and sounds.
• Now, read the text file quickly, then go back and read it carefully.
• Play a short paragraph first, up to four to five English words, and then press the pause button; do not listen to a large paragraph at once, because the fragment will be difficult to remember if it is too long.
• Stop! Don’t just blurt out “recite it” mechanically! After listening, there will be a sound that is exactly the same as the original sound echoing in your heart. This is the so-called “echo”.
• Now, imitate the “echo” you hear; never use the unconscious pronunciation that you are more accustomed to using.
• Use the same sentence and repeat each of the above steps again and again until you speak it so smoothly that you don’t need to use your brain to think, until the sentence comes out automatically and sounds exactly like the audio file.
• After the above is completed, change to the next segment of 4 to 5 words in length, and repeat all the above steps until the practice time is up for ten minutes, and then it is over.

The relationship between echo method and writing

I wonder if you have discovered it? This “echo method” is not only suitable for language learning, but it can also be used in writing practice!

In the past, when I taught copywriting classes or media communication classes, I would often share with students my own methods of practicing writing. A simple way is to read a lot of newspapers, magazines or online articles, find authors, reporters or bloggers that you admire, then collect the articles or reports they have written, and then learn these advanced writing techniques or customary vocabulary.

Take media reports as an example. If you read enough, you will find that different media or reporters have their own styles or preferences. Some reporters are good at writing corporate culture or character reports, while others are particularly sensitive to financial figures, or others particularly like to study business models…

If you have found a learning object or goal, you may wish to print out their articles and follow the steps of the “Echo Method” to disassemble and study them. Reading a lot is basic homework, and don’t forget to listen to your inner voice! We must first grasp the purpose and entry point of the author’s writing, then study and analyze the views and meanings the author wants to convey one by one, and finally observe his writing style and find the direction in which we can learn.

After understanding these advanced writing patterns and routines, if you can summarize, organize and analyze them, you can slowly find out the writing direction that you like or is suitable for. Of course, if you want to write great articles, practicing writing a lot is essential!

If you can refer to the spirit of the “Echo Method” and start practicing a lot, I believe that your writing ability will definitely improve by leaps and bounds!

---