Shadowing Practice: Micro habits that improved my life ✨ - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creando lección...
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What is the issue of the problem?
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We live in a world that idolizes instant results and dramatic changes.
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So naturally I think this pushes many of us to set these really ambitious goals.
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And I don't know about you,
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but if I make a really big goal and I don't stick to it,
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I start to lose trust in myself.
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I start to think I'm the problem.
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I lack motivation or willpower.
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But what if the issue isn't us?
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What if the issue is the method?
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Because if there's anything that I've learned,
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it's that true progress comes from small daily commitments.
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The micro habits.
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Just tiny, everyday actions that over time compound into significant change.
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And so today I want to share some micro habits with you that have changed my life.
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Normally when people talk about micro habits,
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they mean flossing your teeth and making the bed.
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Those are great too, but I'm going to talk a little bit more about mindset shifts.
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And a brief thanks as well to my favorite meditation app in the whole world,
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Headspace, for partnering with us on today's video.
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We're gonna chat more about them at the end.
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I've gotten into the habit of telling myself, no more day zeroes.
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What are day zeroes?
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In project management terms, it's the planning phase before any real action takes place.
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Like how many times have we told ourselves,
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I'll start my essay tomorrow.
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I'll start exercising tomorrow.
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I'll start eating better on Monday.
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Even though setting these intentions is great,
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I feel like it's those day zeroes that are often holding us back.
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The author Dale Carnegie once said,
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inaction breeds doubt and fear,
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but action breeds confidence and courage.
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So I keep reminding myself,
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no more waiting for tomorrow when today is already here.
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After all, today is yesterday's promise of, I'll do it tomorrow.
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So even if the day feels like it's almost over,
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there's always time to write one sentence for that essay.
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Do one plank.
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Prep one quick jar of overnight oats.
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It's nothing grand, it's just one thing,
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but at least one isn't zero.
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From the time that we were just little children,
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we've been taught to apologize.
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And of course, do apologize if you've done something wrong,
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but I feel like it's also become so second nature for us to say sorry for the most trivial things,
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even when we've done nothing wrong.
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And I think this is especially true for myself and other fellow Canadians.
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We're known for saying sorry for just about everything.
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But I think over time,
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it can really start to diminish our self-worth.
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And one of my goals these last years has been to try to increase my self-confidence a bit.
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And one micro habit that's been helping in that is to shift away from the default apology to instead saying thank you.
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So instead of saying, I'm sorry,
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I'm talking so much, I'll say instead,
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hey, thank you for listening.
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Instead of saying, I'm sorry,
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I'm running late, I'll say,
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thank you for waiting for me.
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It's just so much more empowering.
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It makes us feel better about ourselves and it also makes the other person feel valued too.
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It's a win-win.
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And the same thing goes when we're receiving compliments.
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In the past, I used to downplay or brush off compliments thinking I was being modest.
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But when someone is offering praise,
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they're gifting you with their admiration.
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And to dismiss it is to downplay yourself and also to refuse someone's heartfelt gift.
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So the next time someone gives you a compliment,
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just accept it and say thank you.
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This is probably one of my favorite micro habits.
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It just makes me so happy.
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A while ago, I read this piece by an author,
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Kurt Vonnegut, and he was talking about a simple habit that his Uncle Alex practiced.
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Whenever a good moment would pop up in life's seemingly routine moments,
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Uncle Alex would stop and say,
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well, if this isn't nice,
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I don't know what is.
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It was his way of grounding himself and cherishing the simple pleasures in life that we often overlook.
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And ever since I read that,
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I've gotten into the micro habit of just vocalizing that sentence out loud.
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So if I'm working and the sun is just pouring out onto my face,
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I'll actually pause to feel it and I'll say,
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if this isn't life, I don't know what is.
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And I know the original quote says nice,
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but I just like the way life sounds better,
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so that's what I've been saying.
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If I'm sipping my first cup of coffee in the morning and it's just hitting the spot,
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I'll say if this isn't life,
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I don't know what is.
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If I see a beautiful sunset on my way home or if I hear somebody playing beautiful music,
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you get the idea.
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Sometimes I get so caught up in the next big thing that
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highlighting these little joys has helped me to reconnect with life's daily magic.
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We've all been told our whole lives that stress is bad for us
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and that we should try to avoid it at all costs, right?
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But stress is just an inevitable part of life.
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And I'm the kind of person who,
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if you tell me not to stress,
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I'm going to start stressing about the fact that I'm stressing.
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And so recently, I listened to this audiobook called The Upside of Stress.
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It's written by a psychologist,
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Kelly McGonigal, and it has been life-changing.
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So McGonagall suggests that stress isn't the real enemy,
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but our perception of it is.
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If we believe stress is harmful, it often will be.
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It's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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But, and this is super cool,
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by simply reframing how we view stress,
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we can change the whole biological response.
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McGonagall shared several studies where,
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for example, if before an exam,
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students are told that, hey,
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the stress that you're feeling, it's actually helpful.
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The rapid heartbeat, the quickened breathing,
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this is all preparing your body for action.
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If students were told this,
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they actually reported that they felt more focused during the exam and they performed better too.
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And this is all just because they were told that stress could be beneficial.
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And as a result, their bodies acted accordingly.
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Their blood vessels, instead of constricting, stayed relaxed.
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Anxiety and inflammation in the body decreased and even helpful hormones were released.
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And so ever since learning this,
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I've tried to get into the micro habit of reframing my stress.
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Instead of telling myself, I shouldn't feel this,
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I should calm down, I try to instead channel that energy into making things happen.
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Instead of seeing the stress as something that's hindering me,
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I tell myself, you've found a challenge,
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but you're excited about this, you've got this.
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It's a small mindset shift, but it's been transformative.
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Stress has gone from being something that consumed and controlled me to now actually being an ally.
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We've all had moments where we impulsively react too quickly.
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Maybe it's an unexpected comment from a partner,
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or sudden traffic, a last-minute project change.
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How many times have we wished that we just took a little pause before diving headfirst into a response or reaction?
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We all know that speedy reactions can sometimes lead to misjudgments and missed opportunities to understand the big picture.
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So I've been actively trying to create space between receiving information and formulating a response.
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giving myself permission to digest and just let the information marinate.
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I've gotten into the habit of just taking a deep breath anytime I feel emotionally charged
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and it's almost magical how this simple pause has completely changed the quality of my responses.
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I think it's made my communication a lot more clear
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and thoughtful and calm
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and I do attribute a lot of this also to having learned about meditation
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because in meditation we're encouraged to acknowledge our thoughts and to sit with them and then to let them go without judgment.
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And so with that I do want to thank our friends over at Headspace for sponsoring today's video.
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Headspace is this incredible meditation app that I've personally been using for about a decade now.
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But before I discovered Headspace I used to think
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that meditating was really boring and I often just couldn't sit with it for a long time.
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But I think that's why I've appreciated and used Headspace all these years,
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is that their meditations are guided and they're narrated by some of the most incredible instructors.
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When we train the mind,
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we're learning to listen, not only to our own thoughts and feelings,
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but also to those around us.
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But even if you feel like sit down,
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eyes closed meditation isn't your thing,
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they have plenty of other mindfulness content on the app as well.
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Things like breathing exercises and sleep content to just general mindfulness activities
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that you can do while you go on a walk, for example.
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And because we're on the topic of micro habits,
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meditation doesn't have to be something that takes 30 minutes or an hour.
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Headspace offers sessions that can be finished in as short as three to five minutes.
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So if you've ever been curious about meditation,
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I highly recommend giving Headspace a try.
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I promise you're gonna love it.
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And for a limited time,
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they're actually offering a 60-day free trial of the app.
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You can grab it by either scanning this QR code right here
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or just click the link I'll leave for you in the description box below.
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And I'm curious to know if there are any mindset shifts
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or micro habits that you've implemented in your life
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if you're willing to share it i'd love to learn about it
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and i'm sure others would as well
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so i'll see you in the comments thanks
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so much for hanging with me today friends i really appreciate it pick up lines signing off
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and i'll see you in the next video
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and then i'm gonna kind of go like yeah is it working yeah i mean it is
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but I almost think it's too funny to get in this video.
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Ready?
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Mm-hmm.
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I have to not laugh.
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Hold on.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “Micro habits that improved my life ✨”. Las palabras que más se repiten: habit, stress, micro, meditation, instead. Este vídeo tiene 180 frases y 1725 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 9:11. El hablante habla rápido, unas 188 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| distress sustantivo | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | distrés, distress |
| microwave sustantivo | /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/ | microonda |
| mindset sustantivo | /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ | mentalidad, actitud |
| compliment sustantivo | /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ | cumplido, falago |
| pause sustantivo | /pɔːz/ | pausa |
| downplay verbo | /ˈdaʊ̯nˌpleɪ̯/ | minimizar, quitar hierro |
| mindfulness sustantivo | /ˈmaɪn(d)fʊlnəs/ | atención plena |
| breed verbo | /ˈbɹiːd/ | criar |
| apologize verbo | /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ | disculparse [with con], pedir(le) perdón [with a] |
| audiobook sustantivo | /ˈɔdi.oʊbʊk/ | audiolibro |
| constrict verbo | /kənˈstɹɪkt/ | estrechar, constringir |
| diminish verbo | /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/ | disminuir, diminuir |
| formulate verbo | /ˈfɔː(ɹ)mjʊleɪt/ | formular |
| heartfelt adjetivo | /ˈhɑːɹt.fɛlt/ | sentido, sincero |
| hinder verbo | /ˈhɪndɚ/ | impedir, obstar |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| brush off verbo | ignorar |
| calm down verbo | calmarse |
| pick up verbo | coger, asir |
| sign off verbo | firmar, aprobar |
| sit down verbo | sentarse |
| think over verbo | ponderar, recapacitar |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- I start to think I'm the problem.
- But what if the issue isn't us?
- Headspace, for partnering with us on today's video.
- We're gonna chat more about them at the end.
- I'll start my essay tomorrow.
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Oraciones condicionales if + oración, will/would + verbo — una condición y su resultado | if you're willing to share it i'd love |
| “Used to” used to + verbo — un hábito o estado pasado que ya no es cierto | used to downplay · used to think |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | I've learned · have changed · I've gotten |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | we've been taught · been told · are told |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 76 contracciones y formas reducidas, como I'm, I'll, I've. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, diminish /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/, inaction /ɪnˈækʃən/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, cherish /ˈt͡ʃɛɹɪʃ/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, audiobook /ˈɔdi.oʊbʊk/, impulsively /ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, transformative /tɹænsˈfɔɹmətɪv/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: speedy /ˈspiː.di/, sponsor /ˈspɒn.səː/, scan /skæn/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: microwave /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/, impulsively /ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli/, transformative /tɹænsˈfɔɹmətɪv/, vocalize /ˈvoʊ.kə.laɪz/, overlook /ˈoʊ.vɚˌlʊk/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: pause /pɔːz/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, idolize /ˈaɪdəlaɪz/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, vocalize /ˈvoʊ.kə.laɪz/
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 distress, microwave, mindset.
¿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.