Shadowing Practice: how to study less and get higher grades - Learn English Speaking with Video

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There are two kinds of students in the world.

Here we have student A who has been studying for six hours, is on their third coffee cup, and has been highlighting their notes, re-reading the textbook, and doing flashcards all night long.

And here we have student B.

Student B has a very calm two-hour study session.

They know exactly what to review, how to review it, and barely waste any time highlighting their notes or re-reading the textbook.

Come exam day, I think you know who gets the better grade.

If you couldn't tell, it's me, by the way.

Wait, how?

I studied four times longer than you.

In this video, I'm going to teach you how to study less and get higher grades.

So I graduated as the valedictorian of my high school, and I went on to double major at MIT.

And I'm not saying that to flex.

Instead, I want to provide some context.

So back in high school, I took 11 AP classes, peaking at 5 my junior year.

And then at MIT, I decided to double major pretty late, which required me to stack up on a bunch of classes all at once.

So as you can imagine, I had to be very efficient with my studying, and the entire time I had to keep my grades up.

So my first tip is to disconnect yourself from the number of hours that you study.

As a student, it's very easy to get fixated on the amount of time you spend studying instead of how you actually study.

And I get it, right?

Because it's very hard to measure the effectiveness of a study session.

But something like the amount of time you spend is a very concrete measure, though it usually masks the true nature of the study session.

For example, let's say I study for five hours.

Now, did I spend those five hours rereading my notes and highlighting everything I possibly could?

Or did I quiz myself, pretend to teach others, and tackle my weakest concepts first?

Those two behaviors would yield drastically different results.

All right, so now that you're in the right mindset, let's move on to tip number two, read backwards.

This sounds really weird, I know, but bear with me.

This is a very valuable tip, especially if you're cramming for an exam at the last minute.

So the night before an exam, you're probably tempted to pull out your textbook and read the chapter the test is on.

But there's a problem.

The chapter is probably very long and you don't have enough time.

So what you're instead going to do is start at the end of the chapter.

You're going to start by looking at the chapter summaries and the key points and then work your way to the beginning.

And now that you're back at the start, you're still not going to read the chapter normally.

You're going to do what I like to call a first pass.

You're gonna look at all the headings, all the charts, all the bolded terms, all the colorful boxes to get a high-level understanding of what the chapter is about.

But of course, you're still missing some of the key details.

So now you're gonna do a second pass.

And no, you're still not gonna read the chapter normally.

Instead, you're gonna go section by section and read the first paragraph, skim the body paragraphs, and read the last paragraph.

So now after the second pass, you should have a decent understanding of what the chapter is about.

But if you still have time to study, now you can go back and read every single word individually.

All right, and with that, let's move on to tip number three.

Batch your tasks.

So a huge problem that a lot of students deal with and maybe even you is something called context switching.

So for example the mindset that you have

while reading something is different from the mindset you have

while writing something which is different from the mindset you have while solving math problems.

Switching from one form of thinking to another takes time.

Something I like to call the transition cost.

For example let's say you spend an hour answering some brutal calculus problems

and then you have to write an essay for your English class.

Both of those tasks require very different forms of thinking.

It's probably going to take you a good 10 to 15

minutes just to get into the groove of the essay writing process.

So to save time while studying, you have to minimize the number of transitions through a technique called batching.

And the premise of batching is very simple.

You're going to group together similar tasks and tackle them together.

So for example, instead of doing some math problems, then an English essay, then some science problems and then a history essay,

you're instead first going to do the math and science problems first together and then you're going to do the two essays.

This way you only have one mental transition instead of three.

Now I use batching all the time.

In fact, I'm using it right now.

Once I finish filming this video, I'm going to go ahead and film another one because I already have the light set up, I have the camera set up, I have the background set up.

If I were to film these videos at separate times, I would just waste time taking everything down and then putting it back up.

Oh, and I have another quick tip for batching tasks.

Once you batch your tasks, you might notice that within a batch, different tasks have different degrees of difficulty.

I always recommend that you tackle the easiest task first within any given batch.

This way, it's much easier for you to transition into that new mental state that you might need to be in.

So for example, if you batch together a bunch of writing tasks, like write an essay, work on a presentation, and write a discussion post,

you should probably do the discussion post first because that'll take the least amount of effort.

And then you can follow this up with the outline and then the essay.

Tip number four is to give yourself constraints.

Now one of the easiest ways to spend less time studying is to give yourself less time to study.

And no, I'm not being facetious.

I'm 100% serious.

So there's an old adage called Parkinson's Law that goes as follows.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Now this idea sounds fancy, but it's simple.

However much time you give yourself to do a task is however much time you're going to take.

For example, if you give yourself three days to work on an essay, you're going to take up the full three days.

But if you give yourself only three hours, you might be surprised to see how fast you can actually finish that essay.

So now while it's nice to space out your deadlines, you don't want to give yourself too much time to work on an assignment.

Because then you're just going to have the mental comfort of telling yourself, oh, I have hours or days or even weeks to complete this task.

And then you'll just work at a slower pace.

Now the easiest way to take advantage of Parkinson's Law is to set a timer before you start an assignment.

First ask yourself how long is this assignment going to take, then reduce that number by 10 to 20% and set your timer accordingly.

Again, you might be surprised by how fast you can actually finish that work.

So this technique is something that my AP psych teacher actually used.

At the start of the school year, he only gave us 30 minutes for each exam.

Towards the middle of the school year, he only gave us 25 minutes.

And then towards the end of the school year, he only gave us 20 minutes.

Now believe it or not, by the end of the school year, Most students were able to finish the exams even when only given 20 minutes.

I remember at the start of the school year, he told us he was going to do this and we all thought that it was nuts.

But turns out he was onto something.

DeMarco, if you're watching this, shout out to you.

You helped me learn how to take tests effectively.

All right, and my next tip is to leverage AI.

Now, one of my favorite ways to cut down on study time is to use AI tools like Grammarly, who's the sponsor of this video.

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So many of you know Grammarly as a spelling and grammar tool, but do you know that it does way more than that?

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Let's say you have to write an essay.

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You're staring at the prompt but have no idea what to write about.

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This is where Grammarly can help.

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Just open up Grammarly and ask it to help you to brainstorm topics.

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Then tell Grammarly what your essay is about and almost instantly it'll give you a handful of topic ideas.

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Oh and this doesn't stop there.

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Once you have your topic, Grammarly can also help you draft a research plan and even give you an outline.

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Now once you have the outline you start writing your essay

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and along the way Grammarly ensures that your writing is clear and concise.

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It'll check for common grammar mistakes like passive voice, subject-verb disagreement, and misplaced modifiers.

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But it'll also analyze your piece as a whole and provide suggestions for cohesion, flow, and tone.

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In fact, with Grammarly Pro, you can indicate the exact tone you'd like to go for, whether it's personable, confident, empathetic, engaging, witty, or direct.

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Oh, and once you're done writing, you can also use Grammarly's plagiarism detector to ensure that you can submit your essays with confidence.

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Grammarly is a must-have for all students.

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And now back to the video.

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So tip number six is don't idle and this again comes from my AP psych teacher.

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So while you're working through an exam

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or doing some homework problems you are inevitably going to come across some problems that stump you.

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And I'm not talking about problems that are just a little bit challenging.

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I'm talking about problems that you legitimately do not know how to answer no matter how hard you try.

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Now the best thing that you can do in this scenario is to swallow your ego and move on.

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And this was a huge issue for me back in school.

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If I had spent 20 or 30 minutes trying to solve a problem, I would feel terrible if I moved on without figuring out the answer.

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But this ties into a psychological phenomenon known as the sunk cost fallacy.

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Now if you're not familiar with the sunk cost fallacy, it is the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy

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or course of action because they have heavily invested in it, even when it's clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

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In other words, just because you put a lot of time

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and effort into solving a problem that's going nowhere does not that you need to waste even more time.

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In most cases, you're better off tackling other problems first and then coming back to the ones that stumped you.

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And this requires being comfortable answering things out of order.

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So if you're doing a homework assignment, maybe you answer the last problems first and the middle ones and then make your way to the start.

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And if you're working through an exam, the same principle holds.

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Don't ever feel compelled to answer all of an exam's questions in order unless they build upon each other.

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Just try to find a foothold somewhere, work off that, and then tackle everything else.

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So tip number seven is to do mindless work first.

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So there are two kinds of tasks.

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You have fixed tasks and then you have variable tasks.

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Fixed tasks are usually mindless work, like working on flashcards or trying to find images for a presentation.

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Variable tasks usually require more mental energy.

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For example, writing an essay or brainstorming ideas for a group project.

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Now you should do your fixed tasks first, and here's why.

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So this bar represents the amount of time that you have for studying.

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If you drop in your variable tasks first, they're going to follow Parkinson's law.

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In other words, they're going to inflate

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and take up all of your available time and now you won't have time to fit in your fixed tasks.

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Now fixed tasks on the other hand don't inflate like variable tasks.

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Something like create 20 flashcards is always going to take the same concrete defined amount of time.

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So by doing your fixed tasks first, you create a constraint for your variable tasks.

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So when you drop them in, yes they're going to inflate again but this way you manage to fit everything.

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So this is a concept that's much easier to understand visually

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and shout out to my editors who I know have done an amazing job showing you how it works.

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Oh and by the way this is a concept that I came up with and have been following for years.

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Let me know in the comments how you feel about it

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and if it makes sense because I'm down to craft more productivity rules

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but I just want to make sure I don't sound like I'm crazy up here.

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Okay and the eighth and final tip is to tag your notes.

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So students waste a ton of time rereading notes.

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I have wasted a ton of time rereading my notes.

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And this is usually because in the days leading up to an exam, we don't really know what to focus on.

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We just tell ourselves, oh my god, there's an exam coming up for unit three.

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Time to read everything I have about unit three.

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But the reality is within any given unit, there are topics that we know like the back of our hand and others that we're not super familiar with.

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So if you want to spend less time studying, you have to spend less time on the topics you're already comfortable with.

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And that's why you should tag your notes during lecture.

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While your teacher is speaking, if they say something you're not too familiar with, just put a star or some other symbol next to the bullet point.

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This way when it comes time to review your notes, your eyes are automatically drawn to the areas that you need to focus on.

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Now if you forget to tag your notes during lecture, don't worry, you can also do it after class.

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Just pull out your notes, skim them as quickly as you can, and tag any points that you're not super familiar with.

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So that wraps up today's video.

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Hopefully you enjoyed it.

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And by the way, comment below to let me know how the school year is going for you so far.

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Are you enjoying it?

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Is it tough?

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I would actually love to hear more from you guys.

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And of course, if you haven't already, be sure to join the Discord, join my newsletter, and subscribe for more study tips.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “how to study less and get higher grades”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: task, essay, tip, study, Grammarly. This video has 176 sentences and 2586 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:16. The speaker talks fast, about 230 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
batch noun	/bæt͡ʃ/	The quantity of bread or other baked goods baked at one time.
variable adjective	[ˈvæɹ.i.ə.bl̩]	Able to vary or be varied.
tackle verb	/ˈtækəl/	To force a person to the ground with the weight of one's own body, usually by jumping on top or slamming one's weight into them.
mindset noun	/ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/	A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one.
assignment noun	/əˈsaɪn.mənt/	The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks.
flashcard noun	/ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/	A card used to aid rote memorization. One side of the card contains data of one kind, or a question, and the other side contains the associated response which…
inflate verb	/ɪnˈfleɪt/	To enlarge an object by pushing air (or a gas) into it; to raise or expand abnormally
reread verb	/ɹiːˈɹiːd/	To read again.
textbook noun	/ˈtɛkst.bʊk/	A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges.
outline noun	/ˈaʊtlaɪn/	A line marking the boundary of an object figure.
paragraph noun	/ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/	A passage in text that starts on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented, and usually marks a change of topic.
mathematics noun	/mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/	An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them.
constraint noun	/kənˈstɹeɪnt/	Something that constrains; a restriction.
fallacy noun	/ˈfæl.ə.si/	Deceptive or false appearance; that which misleads the eye or the mind.
mindless adjective	/maɪnd.ləs/	Showing a lack of forethought or sense.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.
pull out verb		To withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat.
take up verb		To pick up.
work through verb		To get past a difficult or stressful situation by thinking or talking about it.
back up verb		To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so.
come across verb		To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
come up with verb		To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

If you couldn't tell, it's me, by the way.
For example, let's say I study for five hours.
In fact, I'm using it right now.
DeMarco, if you're watching this, shout out to you.
Let's say you have to write an essay.

דקדוק בסרטון הזה

המבנים שהדובר משתמש בהם הכי הרבה, עם המילים המדויקות מהסרטון:

מבנה	בסרטון
הווה מושלם ממושך (Present perfect continuous) have/has been + -ing — פעולה שהתחילה בעבר ועדיין נמשכת עכשיו	has been studying · have been following
הווה מושלם (Present perfect) have/has + past participle — פעולה שקרתה בעבר ועדיין יש לה חשיבות או השפעה עכשיו	have fixed · have done · have wasted

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 66 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, empathetic /ˌɛmpəˈθɛtɪk/, eighth /eɪtθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/, shout /ʃaʊt/, cohesion /kəʊˈhiː.ʒən/, facetious /fəˈsiːʃəs/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/
Long words — get the stress right: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, phenomenon /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/, abandonment /əˈbæn.d(ə)n.m(ə)nt/, empathetic /ˌɛmpəˈθɛtɪk/, personable /ˈpɜɹs(ə)nəb(ə)l/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like batch, variable, tackle.

מהי טכניקת השאדואינג?

שאדואינג היא טכניקת למידת שפה מבוססת מדע שפותחה במקור להכשרת מתורגמנים מקצועיים ופופולרית על ידי הפוליגלוט ד"ר אלכסנדר ארגואלס. השיטה פשוטה אך עוצמתית: אתה מקשיב לאודיו באנגלית ילידית וחוזר עליו בקול רם מיד — כמו צל העוקב אחרי הדובר עם עיכוב של 1–2 שניות בלבד. בניגוד להאזנה פסיבית או תרגילי דקדוק, שאדואינג מכריח את המוח והשרירים בפה לעבד ולשחזר דפוסי דיבור אמיתיים בו זמנית. מחקרים מראים שזה משפר משמעותית את דיוק ההגייה, האינטונציה, הקצב, הדיבור המחובר, הבנת השמיעה ושטף הדיבור — מה שהופך אותו לאחת השיטות היעילות ביותר להכנה לIELTS Speaking ולתקשורת באנגלית בעולם האמיתי.

טכניקת Shadowing: קרא את המדריך המלא שלב אחר שלב →

Shadowing Practice: how to study less and get higher grades - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

דקדוק בסרטון הזה

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

מהי טכניקת השאדואינג?