Shadowing Practice: Don't Waste Your Time Learning English Like This - Learn English Speaking with Video

Elige un modo de práctica

Cada modo abre una sala de práctica a pantalla completa.

266 oraciones

Si las oraciones son demasiado cortas o largas, haz clic en Editar para ajustarlas.

How can you really learn to speak English confidently?

Let me help you speed up the process by telling you in 10 minutes what I learnt in 10 years.

Hello, it's Keith from the Keith Speaking Academy and the YouTube channel English Speaking Success here to help you become a more confident English speaker.

Now then, I've spent over 10 years, oh, actually, no, over 20 years, I should change the title, over 20 years learning languages like French, Chinese, Spanish, and I feel like I'm a confident speaker of those languages.

However, what most people don't know is that I've also tried to learn Italian, Malay and Japanese and I was less successful.

Why was I successful in some of them and unsuccessful in others?

What is it that worked and that didn't work and how can I help you become a more confident speaker of English?

In this video I'm going to tell you five things that work and will help you learn English more effectively.

These are five things they're based on linguistic research but also on my personal experience so it's kind of mixing a bit of science and a bit of anecdote.

I'll tell you five things that work and the opposite that doesn't work and all of this will help you become that confident English speaker.

Ready?

Let's dive in.

Right, number one, to effectively learn English and become confident, you must be focused.

In English, we say to put the blinkers on or to have your blinkers on.

If you've ever watched horse racing, you see the horses have these things on their eyes, right?

So they cannot see.

These are blinkers.

So to put your blinkers on is to be very focused and only see one thing.

because otherwise you're going to get distracted and you're not going to study.

You've got to be really, really focused.

My experience in Italy, did you know I actually lived in Italy and taught the Italian police?

I was working for the Italian police as their English teacher.

There are some interesting stories there, maybe for another day.

The thing is, through those months I was there, I was there for two months, I picked up some Italian, right?

Getting by in the coffees and in the shops and restaurants.

And for about a week or two when I got home, I carried on practicing.

But then I didn't have time.

I was too busy and it just didn't happen.

I wasn't focused.

It wasn't a priority.

And this is an important lesson I learned.

You have to make things a priority.

Otherwise, something else will come up and you won't do it.

Oh, I've got my English class.

No, but I've got this to do and that to do.

I haven't got time.

The biggest lesson I learned then was never to say I don't have time.

Because what that really means is I choose not to do this.

And I learned to change that.

Whenever I said, no, I don't have time for this.

No, no, no.

I choose not to do this.

That's the reality because you have time.

If you don't do your English class, in that hour, you'll do something else, right?

You're not gonna stop breathing for an hour.

You'll do something else.

You choose not to do the English study, always, right?

So be clear about being focused, making it a priority and saying, I choose to do it or I choose not to, but it's your choice, always.

Number two, be persistent.

What a lovely word.

Persistent.

And it means to continue or to keep going.

I often tell my students that learning English is not a sprint.

It's not 100 meters.

It's a marathon.

And you need to keep going.

Right.

Be persistent.

The thing The thing is, if you go on social media, a lot of influencers will tell you, oh, you can get fluent in three months.

You can learn English with these five words in 10 minutes.

The thing is, right, us people on social media, we've always got one eye on the views and one eye on the education.

And there's always a balance.

And so a lot of influencers will try and convince you that it's easy.

You can do it in three months.

You can become fluent.

It's not true.

It takes time.

If you go to the Cambridge English website, it'll tell you to move up a band.

like a B1 to a B2, it will typically take, what, 200 hours of guided study and learning.

And the higher up you go, the more time it takes.

So very often schools and courses will run for one year or nine months to move up a level, taking into account, you know, space repetition and all of that.

Nine months for a level, that's more realistic.

It does take time.

So you must be persistent.

And the trick here is if you enjoy your study, you're going to be persistent.

You're going to carry on.

So do that.

Enjoy your study.

Find materials you enjoy, that you like, that are engaging, and that's going to help you a lot.

Let's move on.

Okay, number three is find your mojo.

Mojo.

What I mean really is mojo, motivation, right?

Find your motivation because you need to be motivated to learn another language like English.

One way to harness your motivation, I mean to get motivated, is to have specific and realistic goals and ones that you can measure, I think.

Smart goals, right?

But specific and realistic.

So sometimes, and I look at the comments in my video chat, and sometimes students say, well, I'm a beginner now, and I want to be fluent in English.

Okay, it's a nice ambition.

I'm a beginner now, I want to be fluent in English.

It's not very specific.

What do you mean by fluent?

And when?

How long?

And it's just too big, I think, and it's too far away.

It's like the stars.

Make it more specific and realistic.

A much better goal would be, I'm a beginner now and I want to be able to speak and communicate my ideas on some common topics in the next six months.

100

Something like that is much more specific.

101

You could even say which topics.

102

And a teacher will come and say, that's great.

103

We'll take you from A2 to B1 in six months.

104

That's basically it.

105

And it's something you can measure, especially if you identify the topics.

106

That's something, it's more specific, it's realistic, and it's measurable as well.

107

So all of that can really, really help.

108

Now, the thing with motivation is you need to feed your motivation.

109

like your dog or your cat, if you have one.

110

If you don't feed your pet, they will become lazy and tired.

111

They'll have no energy.

112

And ultimately, I'm afraid they'll die.

113

Like your motivation, it'll disappear.

114

So you must feed your motivation, right?

115

What do you give your motivation?

116

The best thing you can do is remind yourself why you're doing this.

117

Why am I learning English?

118

And maybe it's because, well, because you want to travel and speak to other people.

119

If you're studying IELTS, actually your goal is not IELTS, right?

120

Your goal is the reason why, because I want to study abroad.

121

I want to actually work and live abroad or take my family abroad and have a better life.

122

That's the why.

123

And so in those difficult moments when your motivation is down, remember the why.

124

Another thing you can do, and I did this when learning Spanish.

125

I was living in Spain.

126

I was there for about a year.

127

I was there for a long time, but after a year, I decided to join some classes.

128

And my roommate said, what?

129

Why are you doing classes?

130

I mean, we live in Madrid.

131

Just go on the street and talk to people.

132

And I said, yeah, I know I do, but I just, I always say the same things.

133

And, you know, and I don't really know many people.

134

When I went to the class, oh, it was just, my level went up because I was learning much wider language, vocabulary, grammar, but I was also connecting with people.

135

I was making friends.

136

I was talking to people in the same boat as me.

137

We weren't in a boat, idiomatically.

138

We were in the same situation.

139

And it was just it was great to connect with others.

140

And when my motivation was lagging, we could cheer each other up and say, you know, keep going, connect to others.

141

It was invaluable.

142

The best thing I ever did, even though I was living in Spain at the time, joined a Spanish course.

143

And finally, I think a nice thing to do is to reward yourself.

144

When you reach a goal or part of a goal, just give yourself a pat on the back.

145

I can't reach.

146

But reward yourself.

147

Say, great, I've done it.

148

I've done a month study.

149

I've studied every day.

150

I've learned to speak about this, this and this.

151

Great.

152

Go to the cinema.

153

Go and buy yourself a book.

154

Give yourself a little reward.

155

Keep the motivation going.

156

Feed your motivation.

157

Let me feed you with some more ideas.

158

Moving on to number four.

159

Number four is big goal, small steps.

160

Now, this is related to the motivation, but so having a big goal is great.

161

Breaking it down into small steps is really important.

162

What you're going to do step by step.

163

If you've ever been walking in the mountains, if you like rambling, right, sometimes you say you go out rambling, you say, right, we're going to go in a big circle for 10 kilometres.

164

And you go, oh, it's going to take ages.

165

That isn't great.

166

what's much better is to say, well, okay, we'll do a circle, but first we go to that peak, then we'll go to that lake, then we'll go down the valley to the village, and then we'll come round.

167

And there are steps, small steps, and you think, oh, yeah, that's doable.

168

Little things you'll achieve on the way.

169

That's great.

170

So when I arrived in China many years ago, I knew that I wanted to speak Chinese.

171

And I really wanted to speak to a very high level.

172

I was a bit like, I'm a beginner.

173

I want to be fluent in Chinese.

174

But I also realised that's not going to work.

175

So I broke it down.

176

I thought, right, what am I going to do?

177

The first year I'm here, I want to be able to communicate with family and friends.

178

That was key.

179

Second, I wanted to be able to have daily conversations with people on the street, in the shops.

180

Thirdly, I actually wanted to be able to work in Chinese, to function in Chinese.

181

So I broke that down into three goals, each one a year.

182

And the first one, I remember every day for about eight months, I went for an hour or an hour and a half to class before work.

183

Eight o'clock in the morning, boom, to class, an hour and a half and then go to work.

184

and did that for eight months.

185

And that took me up to like an A2 level.

186

And I was able to talk to family and friends, very simple, like pass me the sugar and I like this, things like that.

187

The key was big goal, small steps.

188

You see, the small steps help you focus on the present moment, on the now.

189

When you've got big goals, you start thinking, Oh God, it's so much.

190

It's too much.

191

It's overwhelming.

192

The more you think, the less you are present.

193

You're lost in your thoughts.

194

To avoid that, to be present, small steps, because the small step helps you focus in the present moment.

195

And it works much, much better.

196

So if you've got your goal of getting, let's say, a band seven in IELTS, think about small steps.

197

First three months, the next three months, the next three months.

198

What are you going to do?

199

How are you going to reach it?

200

Big goal, small steps.

201

Let's move on.

202

Number five, practice lots.

203

You see, the big mistake a lot of students make, and I did as well, although I'm going to blame my teacher at school with French, is we studied too much.

204

We just studied.

205

And by study, I mean reading and reading, learning the rules, learning the grammar, reading, reading, a bit of listening.

206

It was all passive.

207

It was study.

208

We weren't actually practicing.

209

We weren't speaking, writing very little, right?

210

And that's what happened to French.

211

And so, you know, I got to the age of 18, having studied French for 10 years, and I couldn't speak.

212

That's ridiculous.

213

So it's so important, practice lots.

214

Wherever you are now, and as you're studying, whether it's with videos, my videos, or with a book, as you study, practice at the same time.

215

You can practice speaking out, Practice making phrases, changing phrases.

216

You can use the speaking success system that you can learn from my videos.

217

You can practice in the real world.

218

You can practice online with classmates or students or teachers.

219

Online is the real world as well, right?

220

Or face-to-face.

221

It doesn't matter.

222

But as you're studying, practice as much as you study.

223

And that will help you become a more effective learner and a more confident speaker of English.

224

Next.

225

Right, point number six.

226

Hang on, Keith, you said five.

227

I did, I know.

228

All right, you can call this a bonus if you like, or point number six.

229

And that is review.

230

and I couldn't leave you without telling you how important it is to review to become an effective learner and speaker of English.

231

Review because, well, there's a lot of science and theory behind this.

232

Do you remember?

233

Teachers will probably know Ebinghaus, Herman Ebinghaus and his learning curve or his, well, his memory curve.

234

Some call it a forgetting curve.

235

But after a certain number of hours a lot of people say 24 hours you you will forget 70 of what you've studied if you don't review and then several days later you need to review again or the learn your learning goes down there's a lot of mythology around this and even you know ebbinghaus he was the researcher and he He was the person undergoing the research.

236

He was the candidate, if you like.

237

So I think there's a lot of flaws, but the general idea that if you don't review within a day and within a week, you are going to forget a large amount.

238

There's also spaced repetition theory, right?

239

This is what most of the apps like Duolingo work with, that you learn some words, and then the next day, they come back again.

240

A few days later, they come back again.

241

that spaced repetition and it is it does work it's very very important so i think it's essential to review what i do with my classes learning french or spanish now is after the class i review after a few hours the notes i've taken and then a day or two later i don't review the notes but i listen or watch something on the same topic so if i've been watching something about weather i'll listen to the weather report or I'll watch a film about weather or I'll do something on a similar topic.

242

So there's a recycling of language.

243

Reviewing and recycling, basically.

244

Hugely important, very valuable, quite easy to do.

245

Just find time.

246

Remember, don't say I don't have time.

247

It's I don't choose to do it or I choose to do it.

248

The choice is in your hands.

249

Okay, so there you have it.

250

Five or six different ways to help you become a more confident speaker.

251

Now, I realise I am mixing research and anecdote here, right?

252

And, you know, that's what I did to build my online course, IELTS Speaking Gold course.

253

It's a mixture.

254

I mean, it's based on research I did in my master's degree on digital education, which I did very, very late in life.

255

But also anecdote, my own learning experience.

256

In fact, the speaking success system is based on my own experience of learning languages.

257

You can watch a video about that, actually, straight after this one, if you like.

258

You can find out about the course, more details on how that might be able to help you in the links below in the description and the comments.

259

That's it for today.

260

Listen, thank you so much for taking the time to be with me.

261

If you've liked it, you know what to do.

262

If you've subscribed, you know what to do.

263

and listen, I can't wait to see you in the next video.

264

Keep going, be focused, persistent, motivated and all the rest of it.

265

Take care, my friend.

266

Bye-bye.

Descargar app

Todo lo que necesitas para hablar con fluidez

Pronunciación con IAEvalúa cada oración

Práctica de IPADomina cada sonido

VocabularioConstruye tu banco de palabras

Juego de vocabularioAprende mientras juegas

Escanea el QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Mismo canal

FOR YOU

Recomendar Video

661 oraciones

669. How to Learn English

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

170 oraciones

How to go from B1-C1 in English | 10 Steps to follow

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

108 oraciones

This LAZY Method Gets You Fluent English TOO Fast

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

233 oraciones

How to Speak English Without Making Grammar Mistakes

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

150 oraciones

How to Think in English (Stop Translating in Your Head)

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

113 oraciones

After 20 Years Teaching English, Here’s the Truth

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

214 oraciones

Want Better English? Stop Trying So Hard!

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

145 oraciones

SPEAK BETTER ENGLISH! ⭐| Improve your FLUENCY!! | British English 🇬🇧

IELTS PrepDaily ConversationUniversity Students

156 oraciones

5 things to practise every day to improve your English communication skills

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

87 oraciones

Watch THIS If You Can Understand English but Can't Speak

Business EnglishInterview EnglishDaily Conversation

348 oraciones

Most English Learners Can’t Do This (Fluency Challenge)

Interview EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Este vídeo tiene 266 frases y 2853 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 19:13. El hablante mantiene un ritmo constante de unas 148 palabras por minuto, cómodo para el shadowing. El 86 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

15 palabras del vídeo que vale la pena aprender, con su pronunciación y significado:

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
motivation sustantivo	/ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/	motivación
persistent adjetivo	/pəˈsɪstənt/	persistente
fluent adjetivo	/ˈfluənt/	fluyente, fluente
topic sustantivo	/ˈtɑpɪk/	tema, tópico
realistic adjetivo	/ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/	realista, realístico
beginner sustantivo	/bəˈɡɪnɚ/	bisoño, novato
priority sustantivo	/pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/	prioridad
abroad adverbio	/əˈbɹɔːd/	en el extranjero, en el exterior
connect verbo	/kəˈnɛkt/	conectar, empalmar
reward sustantivo	/ɹɪˈwɔɹd/	recompensa
curve sustantivo	/kɚv/	curva
motivate verbo	/ˈmoʊ.tɪ.veɪt/	motivar
lesson sustantivo	/ˈlɛs.ən/	lección
phrase sustantivo	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	frase
grammar sustantivo	/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/	gramática

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
come up verbo		salir a relucir
go out verbo		salir
go up verbo		subir
pick up verbo		coger, asir
speak out verbo		expresarse
speed up verbo	/spiːdˈʌp/	acelerar, apurarse

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

Estructura	En el vídeo
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — una acción que empezó antes y continúa	you've ever been walking · i've been watching
Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora	I've spent · I've also tried · you've ever watched

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 87 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, you're, I've. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

Los sonidos de “th”: breathe /bɹiːð/, marathon /ˈmæɹəθən/, mythology /mɪˈθɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, thirdly /ˈθɚdli/
Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, measurable /ˈmɛʒəɹəbəl/
Palabras largas — cuida el acento: motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
Haz shadowing frase por frase a velocidad normal, repitiendo cada una hasta que tu ritmo coincida con el del hablante.
Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como motivation, persistent, fluent.

¿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.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →

Shadowing Practice: Don't Waste Your Time Learning English Like This - Learn English Speaking with Video

Elige un modo de práctica

Descargar app

Are you responsible?

English at the Airport | Easy English Conversation for Beginners

English Travel Vocabulary: Beginners A1

Don t Give Up

Improve Your Spoken English in Just 15 Minutes

How to Understand Native English Speakers: Advanced Listening Skills

English Small Talk: Start Conversations Easily

3 Simple Steps to Become Fluent in English

Travel English: Getting Directions (A1 Beginners)

IELTS Conversation about Happiness

IELTS Speaking: How to Introduce Yourself - Tips and Tricks

How Squeezed Pronunciation Can Help You Sound More English

Fluency in 10 Minutes a Day

10 Advanced Phrasal Verbs to Understand Native English Speakers

How to go from B1 to C2 without the pain!

How to Answer Any IELTS Question Fluently

Linking Words to Get Fluent in English

What Do You Do in Your Free Time?

Can You Pass This English PRONUNCIATION Test?

10 Real Idioms to Improve your English Fluency

669. How to Learn English

How to go from B1-C1 in English | 10 Steps to follow

This LAZY Method Gets You Fluent English TOO Fast

How to Speak English Without Making Grammar Mistakes

How to Think in English (Stop Translating in Your Head)

After 20 Years Teaching English, Here’s the Truth

Want Better English? Stop Trying So Hard!

SPEAK BETTER ENGLISH! ⭐| Improve your FLUENCY!! | British English 🇬🇧

5 things to practise every day to improve your English communication skills

Watch THIS If You Can Understand English but Can't Speak

Most English Learners Can’t Do This (Fluency Challenge)

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Gramática en este vídeo

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?