Shadowing Practice: 5 things I do to maintain my C2 English (and keep improving) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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There are five things I still do after many years to keep my level of English,

because language is not something you learn once and then you have that permanently.

We don't automatically keep the same level forever.

We need to take care of it.

For example, I can feel that if I don't use English for a week or two,

for example, over the Christmas holidays,

I can feel that my brain is a little slower and my fluency is not that great.

I have to search for words longer.

So, nothing dramatic but it is noticeable.

Today I'm going to give you tips on what I do to keep a C2 level.

But of course the things could be different for different people and that's totally fine.

And these tips could work for students who are at C2 or C1 as well,

just advanced learners.

I'm Eva or call me Eva.

I'm a non-native speaker of English and I studied English at university.

I have a master's degree in English.

Then I also passed the CPA exam a few years ago, C2 level certificate.

I'm now saying this to brag again.

I just want you to know who you are listening to and what my life looks like.

So I'm also a professional English teacher.

So I am in contact with English every day.

I speak every day.

But of course, my students are,

their level is lower than mine, which is natural.

So I also need to actively seek some opportunities where I can meet my needs and my level as well.

I live in the Czech Republic.

I don't have any native speakers around.

My husband is Czech, so it's really up to me what I do with my English.

First of all, number one,

I think it starts here.

It's my conscious decision to challenge myself,

to choose something that challenges me,

to choose difficulty on purpose.

Because at this level, even C1 or C2,

it's incredibly easy to stay comfortable.

I could sit down, watch a sitcom like Friends,

understand everything effortlessly because it's an easy concept and you get everything even from the picture,

from the actors.

So it's not that difficult to understand.

My brain is not really working.

I mean, it's a nice activity.

It's enjoyable.

Of course, I do these as well,

but I try to make sure that I also find something challenging that triggers my brain.

Something that pushes me.

For example, a podcast with complex ideas or books on miscellaneous topics

because I know that my brain will have to think and work a little more.

So that's why discomfort is important.

The second thing I do is really simple but I believe it's really powerful and it's this.

It's keeping a notebook with some English notes and vocabulary and I have a few older ones behind me somewhere over there.

It's not just about writing down a new vocabulary

because at this level you usually know a lot

but I know a lot of words passively and

when I for example watch something I see a word

and I'm like okay I think I know the word I think I understand from the context

but would I use that word actively do I know a hundred percent what

that means or am I just guessing based on the context even

if I see something and it's clear

and I understand I still write it down if I find it interesting and I think okay would I really use it,

would I not?

So, or an idiom, I'm like,

oh yeah, I understand, but I don't think I ever use that actively.

I write it down, I write an example sentence,

and then from time to time,

I get back to my notes.

On top of that, I think I use a lot of that as inspiration for my classes or videos,

so I kill two birds with one stone that way.

Number three, the thing I do is that from time to time I book a lesson,

either with a native speaker or with a Czech speaker who teaches English.

And the reason is simple.

It's refreshing.

I need to speak.

I need to react.

It's completely different than just watching something or listening to something.

I need to be active.

So that's important.

And it's also good for me as a teacher from time

to time to be on the other side to feel like a student and to understand how students might feel.

So I don't do that very often,

maybe once a month or if I have,

I don't know, in the summer,

if I have more free time,

I book a few classes, a package with someone.

And I must say, I enjoy that.

It's also enjoyable for me to see different people from different countries.

And these days with online learning,

it's so, so easy and convenient.

You can talk to someone in the US,

you can talk to someone here,

but it can be online.

I don't need to go anywhere and still I can get good practice.

But don't worry if it looks like a lot.

It's not really because it's really like from time to time or when I feel like that.

But from time to time,

it's good to do these things.

Let me know what you think.

Now let me move on to number four and

when it comes to tools

and apps the only app I still use is Quizlet again from time to time

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and if I really learn something completely new a new word i put it there

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because you can have your like your personally it's my personal

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set of vocabulary i update it i add some words

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or i can delete some words

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and again from time to time i just click through these games

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and flash cards and i review things maybe once a month

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or something like that or in a car or on the bus,

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I click through my Quizlet.

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And the last thing, number five, is not that frequent.

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Again, don't worry, but it's an exercise,

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a worksheet or something like that.

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Again, from time to time,

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for example, something like this CPE past papers,

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I just pick one exercise.

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It takes like 10 minutes,

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but it's really challenging because you need to choose the right word

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or thing of the word you're filling the missing gaps

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and you really need to think about the language actively 10

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minutes instead of you know scrolling on my phone i just do something like

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that as you can see none of these tips are groundbreaking it's nothing super special it's not rocket science

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but these simple things and the intention it really matters

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and it really helps me please share your experience and your tips

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if you're at c1c2 what do you do to keep an advanced level of english

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or what do you do to maintain your level of english

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please let me know also this episode is completely free for you as usual to watch

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and learn from so if you find some value here please subscribe

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or like this video because this way you can support this channel completely for free

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and we can spread beautiful English around the world at no cost.

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So thank you for that.

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So I hope this episode helps you as well to speak beautiful English.

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Take care.

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze spreekles op niveau C2 is gebaseerd op de video “5 things I do to maintain my C2 English”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: english, word, example. Deze video bevat 130 zinnen en 1247 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 7:16. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 172 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. 84% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

De 10 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:

Woord	Uitspraak	Betekenis
vocabulary zelfstandig naamwoord	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	woordenschat, vocabulaire
effortlessly bijwoord	/ˈɛf.ɚt.ləs.li/	moeiteloos
fluency zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈfluːənsi/	vlotheid
groundbreaking bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈɡɹaʊndˌbɹeɪkɪŋ/	baanbrekend, grensverleggend
miscellaneous bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˌmɪsəˈleɪnɪəs/	gemengd
refresh werkwoord	/ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/	verfrissen
notebook zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈnoʊtˌbʊk/	schrift, cahier
noticeable bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈnəʊtɪsəbl̩/	merkbaar
scroll zelfstandig naamwoord	/skɹoʊl/	boekrol, schriftrol
subscribe werkwoord	/səbˈskɹaɪb/	abonneren

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Woord	Betekenis
sit down werkwoord	gaan zitten
write down werkwoord	opschrijven, neerschrijven

Zinnen om te herhalen

Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:

We don't automatically keep the same level forever.
I'm now saying this to brag again.
I don't have any native speakers around.
I mean, it's a nice activity.

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 18 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals don't, I'm, you're. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, effortlessly /ˈɛf.ɚt.ləs.li/, miscellaneous /ˌmɪsəˈleɪnɪəs/, permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/

Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:

/æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, passively /ˈpæs.ɪv.li/

Zo oefen je met deze video

Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als vocabulary, effortlessly, fluency.

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →

Shadowing Practice: 5 things I do to maintain my C2 English (and keep improving) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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I learned English to a C2 level, so you can just copy me