Shadowing Practice: How I Learn Languages Fast (I speak 7+) - Learn English Speaking with Video

That time I recorded an entire video with the cameras on slow motion.

Hate myself!

Anyways, it's been a minute.

Hi everyone, I'm Jo.

If you clicked on this video, odds are you want to learn a new language

or you've abandoned a language that you love and you want to pick it back up.

I got you, boo.

I've been through this once, twice, three times, four times, five times.

I might be on my seventh journey.

I don't really keep count of much of anything.

I've learned many languages and I will continue to learn many languages because it's my lifestyle.

And in honor of my book and language learning journal Fluentish, I will be giving you my best tips,

tricks, and language learning hacks because I want us all to get fluentish.

I'm going to be talking about tons of resources.

I've linked a free language learning starter kit in the description box is totally free in

that language learning kit i'll be showing all of my resources

giving my honest recommendations my goal is to get people motivated about language learning

so that's what we're gonna do now i have created a

method for us not to forget it's called the on par methodology

and it was an acronym i couldn't resist as i was writing this script he is for part one which is Pain,

planning, and patience.

I was testing you.

You saw the patience I was testing you.

So the P is really important because a goal without a plan is just a wish.

It's one of my favorite quotes.

It's very much true for everything in life, but definitely for language learning.

If you're trying to do one of the most difficult tasks as a human being, learn a different language, you gotta make a plan.

I need to warn all of you, it's gonna take a lot longer.

It's gonna take so much longer

and the patience is not just in the obvious like oh it's gonna take time

but the patience is you need to have this resilient mindset

to move past the hurdles of trying trying trying failing failing failing falling on your face

and then one day two years later you finally understand everything they're saying to you that's how it works

and i woke up saying arabic words like

that i learned seven years ago like what i know i'm

sateleta i'm like what i have not said these words since

i was in egypt back in 2014 something is actually happening in my brain

that is reviving memories from years ago that i haven't thought of

and it's waking me up in the middle of the night

this is not a linear path it goes like this honeymoon

stage you're stoked you love the words you're romanticizing the language

you see all of this progress for yourself that's day one to like day 30 then day 31 hits

and all of a sudden you're like oh my god what

did i get myself into i'll I'll never be able to do this.

And then you just hit this overwhelm, this frustration, and this complete self-loathing of I'm not smart enough to do this.

I will never learn this language.

I was just in that stage two weeks ago.

If you're one of the rare people who can push through and persevere, which is the fourth P of part one,

you will then be rewarded with the other stage, which is like suddenly you understand all of Dracula without a translator.

And you don't even know how this happened, but I'll tell you how it happened because of the pain that we started this whole conversation with.

To get over the pain, you need patience and you also need a plan.

The planning is really easy.

All you got to do is carve out time in your schedule that's realistic, time that you will not avoid, whether that's doing something every day while you do your dishes, you're listening to your audio tapes,

or you're reading before bed, or you're texting a friend every single day in your target language.

You need to carve that out.

And of course, if you schedule lessons or actually schedule things in your calendar, it's going to be even better for you.

But planning is essential here.

In Fluentish, I actually included a whole planning section, which I'm going to show you.

And that's because without that accountability, without that checklist of what you need to do every day, it's going to be really hard to stay on top of it.

As always, with anything good, you got to know why you're doing it.

Why are you learning the language?

Make it juicy, make it deep.

Can't be superficial.

It needs to be something that could possibly change your life.

I'll give you an example i'm currently learning flemish

which is dutch spoken in the north of belgium

and it's a language i never in a million years thought

that i would learn and initially it was for my boyfriend

but then i was like hold up this is going to

give me access to dutch speaking places all over the world

all of a sudden i can go to the netherlands

and waltz around and talk to people and learn how they think

or I can go to Suriname and like the world is now more available to me when I learn Dutch.

It's not just for one thing.

And that's how I do it.

But regardless of how I do it, the main thing in this video that you're going to learn is like, it's not all about how I do it or any other polyglo.

You got to know how you learn, which brings me to part two.

Action and accountability.

The A in the on-par Joe Franco language learning method.

I hope this isn't somebody else's method

because I swear it's like too good too easy to do this

so action everything in life

that actually moves needs to take action you gotta take action you gotta wake up do it even

if you don't want to do it you gotta make it work

but then there's accountability which is keeping you on action for a long time it doesn't matter

if you study vigorously for a week

and then you fall off it's actually better if you study smaller chunks smaller doses and then you do it more consistently.

The consistency is what you need to be doing here.

Damn, can I squeeze a C in there somewhere for consistency?

Unpark consistency and community.

That's coming up in part two of this video.

We got to talk resources here

and I created an entire guide in the free language learning starter kit that breaks down all the resources that I recommend.

And this is a living, breathing document.

I add resources to this list when I find new ones.

The thing that I outline in that resource document is

that you are going to need to know the very important question of how do you learn?

Doesn't matter what I do, doesn't matter what he does, doesn't matter what she does, doesn't matter what they do.

Are you an auditory learner?

100

Are you a visual learner?

101

Are you a kinesthetic learner?

102

You gotta get your hands and they gotta take some action.

103

Are you a reading and writing style learner?

104

Are you a verbal learner, social learner?

105

Once you've identified two out of those methods of learning, I want you to curate your learning resources based on how you learn.

106

And that's homework that you have to do i can't do it for you

107

so think back to the first thing that you learned

108

and what made it stick and then try to recreate

109

that in your language learning approach you also need input

110

which means receiving the information i used to be a big duolingo hater

111

and then i realized i was just being a hater

112

because the app has gotten significantly better now here's something

113

that i got to tell you yes it's good to do duolingo daily yes it's great

114

that i am the obsidian queen however

115

if all you ever do is stick to your crutches your

116

apps you won't go from streak 1000 to fluent doesn't matter how many days you do those apps

117

if you're not creating sentences for yourself you're not actually building a path to fluency

118

so have your apps have those games on your phone it's better than not doing something but

119

if you really want to take your language to the next

120

level you have to write your own sentences you have to say the thing

121

that you're doing out loud as you're doing it

122

so it's a combination of the resources that's going to take

123

you from flat to fluent pimsleur is one of my personal favorites it's an audio resource

124

that i have used many times while working out

125

while doing the dishes while painting my nails and its input

126

that allows you to regurgitate what the local speakers are saying one i'm a multitasker my life is busy

127

and i bet yours is too so it allows you to do things at the same time driving and learning Arabic, whatever it is, it's great for the busy people.

128

You pay a subscription fee or you could buy courses directly.

129

And I actually like that because once you put some money in the game, you put skin in the game, you're going to show up more than maybe the free apps.

130

Language Reactor, which was formerly known as Learning Language with Netflix,

131

is a Chrome extension that pimps out your Netflix and other streaming platforms to become language learning empires, basically.

132

You get double subtitles, you can slow things down.

133

It's awesome.

134

So Language Reactor is is definitely something to check out.

135

Downloading a VPN to browse different media outlets in different countries.

136

I'm watching Belgian shows because I'm basically in Belgium based on my VPN and it's stuff that I wouldn't get access to.

137

It literally is blocked if I'm logging in with my US phone.

138

But the minute that I use the VPN, I get VRT Max, which is like Belgium's public service TV.

139

I'm sorry, y'all.

140

I won't pay taxes, I swear.

141

Of course, you gotta love the streaming platforms that allow you to look up different music in different countries.

142

And a lot of these songs have the lyrics function, which I love because I turn my Spotify into karaoke.

143

I highly recommend it.

144

And it's not just the input.

145

You gotta massage the material, right?

146

So right now, I'm reading Dracula.

147

I could sit here and be like, But then I'm going to be like, damn, did I understand everything?

148

And if I didn't understand everything, I'm going to take out a translator and then I'm going to write it down.

149

So it's input and then output, which is next on this list of juicy information.

150

Damn, we just getting started.

151

Okay, let's see output.

152

Once you have the input in your brain, once you've massaged your brain, you're ready for the acupuncture.

153

What?

154

Like this analogy doesn't make any sense.

155

Output is regurgitating the information that you're learning.

156

It's taking the next step to write in a journal, right?

157

It's keeping a notepad on your computer, whether you're a typer or a writer by hand.

158

It's verbalizing these sentences.

159

It's asking questions.

160

It's then diving into conversations with locals.

161

There's italki, which is the platform where you can find affordable language tutors.

162

You also have Preply, which is a similar platform.

163

I use both, depends.

164

I have a life, like a labor.

165

Life is not labor.

166

What is life?

167

It is, yeah.

168

It is?

169

If you say I have a life, you say I have a life, yeah?

170

I have a social life.

171

Ah, I have a social life.

172

Different teachers work on different platforms.

173

You can also sign up for something like Lingoda, which are group classes that are more structured.

174

This is great for somebody who is just learning how to learn a language because it's structured for you, so it's not this awkward silence when you're working with a tutor.

175

You'll just dive in.

176

There's course material before and after the classes.

177

Lingoda is only offered in a few languages, but definitely recommend that as well.

178

Classes give you the accountability check-in that you need.

179

And so I always book a package of classes.

180

It's an investment, but an investment that I will commit to because it's an investment.

181

And again, when you learn a language, it opens so many doors to new relationships, new job opportunities, new financial abundance.

182

And so it's not just this hobby thing.

183

It could turn into a whole new life.

184

For me, it's turned into a whole new life and publishing a damn book.

185

And that wouldn't have happened had I not pushed through and persevered.

186

Then there are apps where you could talk to locals.

187

So you could use an app called HelloTalk, which is a free messaging app designed for language exchanges.

188

Tandem is similar.

189

Another resource that I just found out, thanks to one of my Joe Club members, is called Refold.

190

And it's a free resource that you sign up for.

191

And then you just get a massive amount of more free resources.

192

And for me, as somebody who's learning Flemish, which is a version of Dutch that's not popularly studied,

193

It was one of the only platforms that acknowledged the fact that when you're learning Dutch, there's going to be different dialects.

194

There's going to be different accents.

195

And that shocked me.

196

I've done this a lot.

197

And many platforms just either ignore the lesser spoken languages or just kind of glaze over them.

198

So Refold, highly recommend.

199

It is in my language learning kit that hopefully all of you will be downloading by signing up to my newsletter.

200

Let's see what else I got for y'all.

201

And of course, something I love doing is making actual friends all around the world

202

and making sure that I keep tabs on them, sending them lengthy voice notes on what to have.

203

I'm the queen of the long voice note.

204

Luckily, you can play those on 2X because my Italian stuttering ain't cute.

205

Having real connections is going to breathe life into your language learning process.

206

And it's going to remind you that learning a language is for human connection it's for empathy, it's for emotional intelligence, it's just for this like warm

207

and cozy feeling that you want to get with more people around the world.

208

That's why I learn languages.

209

It's for those small but meaningful moments with strangers around the world that give you hope in humanity.

210

Am I intense?

211

Absolutely.

212

Do I have a good reason for it?

213

I hope so.

214

Part three of my on par method is the R's for on par.

215

Review, repetition, reward.

216

Now this part is the glue is essential.

217

You need to repeat, repeat, repeat.

218

And this is where time just does what it does.

219

If you're doing what you do, time is going to be on your side.

220

If you just stick to the goals that you started out this journey with, this is why having an accountability tracker is really important.

221

That daily habit tracker essential.

222

Joe club and fluentish.

223

This is what we're all about.

224

It's like sticking to the daily tiny nothingness that creates the everyday everythings.

225

There's this concept called the forgetting curve.

226

So here's my analogy to explain the forgetting curve.

227

When you get a seed and you plant it, if you've ever done this, you might notice that in the very few weeks, the beginning stages of the seed, you need to water it often.

228

You need to give it a lot of light, a lot of attention, even place some Bob Marley for that seed, and it'll start to sprout.

229

And as it's sprouting, you need to continue that care, very diligent care.

230

If you forget to water it one day kaput it's dead

231

but then if you continue to nurture this seedling it'll grow into a proper plant

232

and the minute

233

that it has a full mature leaf on it you won't

234

need a watered as much learning language is the exact same

235

in the beginning stages you are nurturing a seedling you need constant attention constant study constant review

236

but the longer you study the more space you'll be buying yourself

237

so that if you've been studying every day for six months and you don't remember to study one day, you're not going to forget everything.

238

But if you only study intensely for a week and then you stop studying for a day, you will forget a lot of it.

239

There's information about the forgetting curve that I highly recommend that you look up.

240

For the sake of this video, just know, in the very beginning stages, having yourself committed is essential.

241

And as you continue to learn, it's going to fossilize in your brain and you're going to be buying yourself more time.

242

For instance, Manon, je peux vous parler en français et ça va.

243

J'ai pas étudié.

244

It's just blocked in my brain because I've studied that language for many, many years, consistently.

245

It's like because I started learning Italian later in my journey,

246

so even though I can still speak it, it's clunkier than my French.

247

And that's just how it goes.

248

So the longer you stick to your habit of learning a language, the more time you'll buy for that language to retain in your head.

249

And if you fall off, don't worry, you could always get back on.

250

And it's just like riding a bike, but with your brain, which is a lot more difficult but I believe in you.

251

I have many many more tips on how to learn languages

252

that I will be sharing with you on this channel

253

and also via my newsletter so don't forget to sign up for the language kit

254

and then you'll get the newsletter and all of the good tips and tricks and whatever that I talk about there.

255

The main thing is that you got to challenge yourself and

256

if you push yourself a little tiny bit each

257

and every day for a long time one day you'll wake

258

and we'll be doing this video in a different language and it won't be because of artificial intelligence.

259

It will be your brain intelligence, your raw intelligence, our eye.

260

And now I leave you with a question.

261

Where will you be in three months time?

262

What language will we be speaking?

263

What will we be learning?

264

And I can't wait to see everybody out there on their fluentish journeys.

265

I'm the Graf Dracula, says he.

266

When I'm holding his hand, I feel that he's cold.

267

Heel cold.

268

I'm real.

269

What is this for a man, I think.

270

Dracula, he's laughing at me.

271

He's laughing at me.

272

Time to go.

273

It's Dracula!

✨ Recomendar Video

164 oraciones

The language learning system I wish I knew years ago!

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

362 oraciones

Jack Ma: Speak English FLUENTLY Step by Step | Stop Translating & Start Speaking

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

177 oraciones

How to learn foreign languages with a full-time job (when you don't have enough time)

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

104 oraciones

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “How I Learn Languages Fast”. Las palabras que más se repiten: language, learning, learn. Este vídeo tiene 273 frases y 3198 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 16:09. El hablante habla rápido, unas 198 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. El 82 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
learner sustantivo	/ˈlɜɹnəɹ/	aprendiz, aprendedor
accountability sustantivo	/əˌkaʊn.təˈbɪl.ə.ti/	responsabilidad, imputabilidad
patience sustantivo	/ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/	paciencia
newsletter sustantivo	/ˈn(j)uzˌlɛtɚ/	boletín de noticias, boletín informativo
consistency sustantivo	/kənˈsɪs.tən.si/	consistencia
curve sustantivo	/kɚv/	curva
carve verbo	/kɑɹv/	trinchar
nurture sustantivo	/ˈnɜːɹ.t͡ʃəɹ/	crianza, criación
persevere verbo	/ˌpɝ.səˈviɹ/	perseverar
seedling sustantivo	/ˈsiːdlɪŋ/	pimpollo, plántula
sprout sustantivo	/spɹaʊt/	brote, retoño
fluent adjetivo	/ˈfluənt/	fluyente, fluente
tracker sustantivo	/ˈtɹækə(ɹ)/	rastreador, rastreadora
tutor sustantivo	/ˈtjuːtəː/	tutor, protutor
translator sustantivo	/ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/	traductor, traductora

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
fall off verbo		caer
look up verbo	/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/	mejorar
wake up verbo	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	despertarse, recordar
back up verbo		retroceder, ciar
break down verbo		descomponerse, averiarse
check out verbo		investigar, chequear
find out verbo		averiguar, anoticiarse
get over verbo		superar, sobreponerse a

Frases que vale la pena repetir

Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:

Why are you learning the language?
Are you an auditory learner?
Are you a visual learner?
Are you a kinesthetic learner?
Are you a reading and writing style learner?

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 abandoned · I've been · I've learned
Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa	one which is · people who can · stage, which is
Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace	be rewarded · is blocked · is only offered

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 108 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, I'm, gotta. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

Los sonidos de “th”: kinesthetic /ˌkɪnɪsˈθɛtɪk/, loathe /ˈloʊð/, empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/, methodology /ˌmɛθ.əˈdɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/, flemish /ˈflɛmɪʃ/, massage /məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, superficial /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/
Palabras largas — cuida el acento: accountability /əˌkaʊn.təˈbɪl.ə.ti/, consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/, analogy /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/, acupuncture /ˈæ.kjuˌpʌŋk.t͡ʃɝ/, auditory /ˈɔː.dɪˌtɔɹ.i/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: sprout /spɹaʊt/, starter /ˈstɑɹ.tɚ/, stutter /ˈstʌtɚ/, stoke /stəʊk/, squeeze /skwiːz/
/v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: curve /kɚv/, carve /kɑɹv/, persevere /ˌpɝ.səˈviɹ/, dive /daɪv/, overwhelm /ˌoʊ.vɚˈwɛlm/
/z/ — sonora, no /s/: newsletter /ˈn(j)uzˌlɛtɚ/, translator /ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/, fossilize /ˈfɒs.ɪl.aɪz/, resilient /ɹɪˈzɪl.jənt/, romanticize /roʊˈmæntɪsaɪz/

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 learner, accountability, patience.

¿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: How I Learn Languages Fast (I speak 7+) - Learn English Speaking with Video

The language learning system I wish I knew years ago!

Jack Ma: Speak English FLUENTLY Step by Step | Stop Translating & Start Speaking

How to learn foreign languages with a full-time job (when you don't have enough time)

Why I Quit Learning Languages

How polyglots learn languages | The book that changed my life

This 10-Minute Video Will Save You 10,000 Hours Of Language Learning

8 tips to Become Fluent in Any Language

how I would study Spanish (if I could start over) ⊹ resources & tips

How I Trained My Brain to Think in English (and Stop Translating)

To get fluent in a language… find another interest

how i learned 7+ languages: tips no one talks about (for some reason)

Think faster and speak 🗣️

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Frases que vale la pena repetir

Gramática en este vídeo

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?