Shadowing Practice: A Journey Through Your Nervous System - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Your nerves are literally everywhere around here.
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We'll start from the most important ones,
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which are going through your spine and your brain.
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This thick cluster of nerves is called the central nervous system, or CNS.
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It's responsible for everything you do,
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from breathing to tapping your finger on the side of your smartphone while waiting until I get to the topic already.
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When a signal gets to the CNS in the brain from any part of the body,
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it sends back a command to react according to the situation.
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Pinch yourself now.
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Yeah, please do it.
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Ow!
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The place you've just pinched has a lot of neurons,
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just like anywhere else.
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When you pressed the skin,
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they flared up and sent the information about pain to the brain,
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which reacted by sending back a message that it hurt.
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It all happened in less than a millisecond,
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but the signal traveled several feet there and back.
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Let's go to the spinal cord now and carry out a little experiment.
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On the count of one,
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I'll sever the connections between the neurons here and you'll see what happens.
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Ready?
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One.
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See?
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You've just become limp from your waist down and can't feel anything in your legs.
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It's because your CNS can't figure out where they are.
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Okay, restoring the connections now, don't worry!
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This is why both your brain and spinal cord are naturally protected by bones,
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the skull and the vertebrae.
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Inside the spinal column, there's also cerebrospinal fluid,
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a liquid substance that protects the nerves,
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helps better conduct signals, and gets rid of weights.
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Ok, now let's take a closer look at all the rest of the nerves,
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starting with the ones at the tips of your fingers.
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Something that's not the CNS is called peripheral nervous system, or PNS.
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Will you kindly wave your hand now?
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Thanks!
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You've been able to do that because your brain consciously sent several million signals to the peripheral nerves in your shoulder,
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forearm, wrist, and hand.
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Together, they made a common effort to lift your arm,
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fix it in a certain position,
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and wave the hand from side to side.
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And responsible for this effort is your voluntary or somatic nervous system.
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Your eyebrows going up at this fact are also controlled by the same nerves.
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Did you count how many breaths you took while listening to my ramblings?
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a beat your heart had made.
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You shouldn't have.
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These things are regulated by your vegetative or involuntary nervous system.
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Your CNS sends signals to the periphery and tells your heart to beat,
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your respiratory system to let the air in and out,
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and even your bowels to digest the food you eat.
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Now, blow all the air out of your lungs and hold your breath for as long as you can.
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Okay, this will take some time,
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so fast-forward to the point where you start wanting to breathe in.
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Letting the air out and holding your breath are your conscious actions,
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so it's you who tells your brain to send signals to the breathing organs.
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But when you start lacking oxygen,
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it's already your brain that tells you to stop fooling around.
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Oh, I see you're becoming blue in the face.
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Please inhale already.
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And now I'll do something you'll have to forgive me for.
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Ow!
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Sorry, you dropped the phone because I sent a little shock through it.
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The point is, you subconsciously let your phone go as soon as you felt the pain.
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When I asked you to pinch yourself,
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you activated your voluntary nervous system,
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so you expected the pain and could continue pinching if you wanted to.
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This shock came unexpectedly, though,
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so your involuntary nervous system jolted in and made you move away from the threat ASAP.
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That said, your self-preservation instinct is something that's regulated by your nerves as well.
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Your body will try to save itself from harm even without your consent.
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Hey, what's that itch?
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You need to scratch it now.
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Thanks.
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Itching appears when there's something on or under your skin that doesn't belong there,
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like an insect or a bite it left.
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Nerves at the site flare up like beacons,
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and your brain sends signals to that spot.
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But when you scratch the itch,
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you feel two opposite things at once.
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Consciously, you experience relief because it's not itching anymore.
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On the subconscious level, though,
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your brain perceives scratching as pain and shifts your attention from the itch to the scratch instead.
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Basically, by scratching, you trick your brain into believing there are more important things to do than paying attention to the itch.
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Hey, is it me or is it a bit too hot here?
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Yeah, I see droplets of sweat on your forehead.
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When the outside temperature rises,
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your CNN reacts to the change.
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Billions of signals flash through your entire body.
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Sweat glands receive them in the blink of an eye and start working furiously.
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Sweat appears on your skin, cooling it down.
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I recommend going to the AC and turning it higher a bit, thank you.
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Hey, I said a bit,
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not all the way up.
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Ah, great, now you're shivering.
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Your brain is confused but is still working fast,
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reacting to the change of circumstances.
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Once again, it sends billions of signals to all the neurons in your muscles,
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telling them to start contracting as quickly as they can.
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By doing so, they create friction, and friction generates heat.
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Your heart starts beating faster too,
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by the way, pumping blood to your limbs to keep them from freezing.
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All this also makes you think sliding that counter up a notch is a good idea.
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On the topic of thinking,
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neurons are responsible for that too.
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For example, this is your first time watching this video video.
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You can't possibly know what I'm going to do or say next.
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Maybe I'll do a barrel roll.
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Or just end the whole video abruptly.
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Your brain is only now creating the neural connections necessary for you to remember what's coming up next.
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This is why you're still bearing with me.
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You want to know.
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But as soon as you've watched it until the end,
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the interest is gone, no matter how fascinating I am.
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Your CNS has created enough connections between the neurons,
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and if you start over,
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they will tell you what to expect.
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Still, the pathways are very basic.
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A simple example.
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What did I say exactly 3 minutes and 5 seconds into the video?
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You can't remember, because your neural connections aren't strong enough yet to give such details.
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But the more times you watch,
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the stronger and more numerous they become,
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and after a number of attempts,
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you'll be able to repeat the whole text word for word.
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The same happens when you learn some new skill, like roller skating.
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At first, you can't move even a single foot.
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Your brain encounters an unusual task and is all ablaze with signals it's sending every which way.
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You fall, but then you stand up and try once more.
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This time, several million neurons are already connected,
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and your CNS doesn't waste time creating new links.
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You fall again, and again, and again.
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But every time you rise and repeat,
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your brain gets more and more adapted,
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until finally, on your 5th,
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10th, or 50th attempt, you skate forward.
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The brain captures the moment you stop falling and creates strong neural connections to prevent you from repeating your previous mistakes.
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And soon enough, with more practice and links in your CNS,
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you'll be skating like a pro,
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wondering how you could be so clumsy before.
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Yet, the best thing about these connections is that they never completely go away.
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Even if you learned skating as a kid and then didn't put on the skates for 10 years,
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it'll take you just a couple of minutes to recall how it's done.
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So hey, if you're afraid to take that dusty guitar hanging on the wall for years, don't be.
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Go strum the strings, it'll all come back to you in a jiffy.
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Maybe not the calluses.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “A Journey Through Your Nervous System”. Las palabras que más se repiten: brain, signal, Cns, nerves, connections. Este vídeo tiene 146 frases y 1356 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 8:11. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 166 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 81 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| nerve sustantivo | /nɝv/ | nervio |
| itch sustantivo | /ɪt͡ʃ/ | picazón, picor |
| neuron sustantivo | /ˈn(j)ʊɹɑn/ | neurona |
| skate sustantivo | /skeɪt/ | patín |
| scratch verbo | /skɹæt͡ʃ/ | rascar |
| pinch verbo | /pɪnt͡ʃ/ | pellizcar, repizcar |
| react verbo | /ɹiːˈækt/ | reaccionar |
| neural adjetivo | /ˈnʊɹəl/ | neural |
| spinal adjetivo | /spaɪ.nəl/ | espinal, vertebral |
| sweat verbo | /swɛt/ | sudar, transpirar |
| involuntary adjetivo | /ɪnˈvɑ.lənˌtɛɹ.i/ | involuntario |
| consciously adverbio | conscientemente | |
| flare sustantivo | /flɛɚ̯/ | bengala, luz de Bengala |
| peripheral adjetivo | /pəˈɹɪf(ə)ɹ(ə)l/ | periférico |
| friction sustantivo | /ˈfɹɪkʃən/ | fricción |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| carry out verbo | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | llevar a cabo, llevar al cabo |
| come up verbo | salir a relucir | |
| figure out verbo | averiguar, captar | |
| go away verbo | irse, marcharse | |
| go through verbo | atravesar | |
| stand up verbo | levantarse, ponerse de pie | |
| start over verbo | volver a empezar, empezar de cero |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- Will you kindly wave your hand now?
- Consciously, you experience relief because it's not itching anymore.
- Hey, is it me or is it a bit too hot here?
- Ah, great, now you're shivering.
- Maybe I'll do a barrel roll.
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | you've just pinched · You've just become · You've been |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | is called · are also controlled · are regulated |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 31 contracciones y formas reducidas, como can't, you'll, you're. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: friction /ˈfɹɪkʃən/, shiver /ˈʃɪvɚ/, subconscious /sʌbˈkɑn.ʃəs/, preservation /ˌpɹɛz.əˈveɪ.ʃən/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: involuntary /ɪnˈvɑ.lənˌtɛɹ.i/, peripheral /pəˈɹɪf(ə)ɹ(ə)l/, voluntary /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/, furiously /ˈfjʊə̯ɹi.ə̯sli/, millisecond /ˈmɪlɪˌsɛkənd/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: skate /skeɪt/, scratch /skɹæt͡ʃ/, spinal /spaɪ.nəl/, sweat /swɛt/, spine /spaɪn/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: nerve /nɝv/, involuntary /ɪnˈvɑ.lənˌtɛɹ.i/, voluntary /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/, shiver /ˈʃɪvɚ/, vegetative /ˈvɛd͡ʒəteɪtɪv/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: ablaze /əˈbleɪz/, clumsy /ˈklʌmzi/, preservation /ˌpɹɛz.əˈveɪ.ʃən/, freeze /ˈfɹiːz/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como nerve, itch, neuron.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.