Shadowing Practice: No Partner? No Problem! (3 Ways to Practice Speaking Alone) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Is it possible to become a fluent English speaker all alone without anyone to speak with?

I'm going to say the answer is yes if you can follow the three tips from today's lesson.

If you're new here, hi I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa .com and this is one of our new chickens, Buddha.

And I have been teaching real life English here on my

YouTube channel for over the past 10 years to now more than 7 million of you.

I can't believe it.

Thank you so much for learning English with me and you.

So every single week I make a free PDF worksheet for you with everything you are about to learn today.

And there is a special bonus in today's worksheet, but I'm not going to tell you about it yet.

You'll have to wait just a moment.

this free worksheet, all you need to do is click on the link in the description, enter your name and email address, and today's worksheet, voila, will land in your email inbox.

It is my gift to you.

Before I tell you my three tips, I have something important to tell you.

But first, let me put Buddha back.

- I'm sorry.

Do you need to use English for work?

If you do, this is the number one most stressful speaking situation in English.

You want to be professional.

You want to represent yourself and your company well.

But this is a high pressure situation.

So you should not start speaking English at work, especially if you are feeling nervous.

So you need to start with a less stressful situation.

What could that be?

Well, it could be speaking with a native English speaker.

But if you've ever visited the US and tried to speak with someone and then they spoke so fast, well, that was probably also stressful.

So let's go to a less stressful situation.

Speaking with other English learners.

This is a great way to have lots of speaking practice.

A lot of my students have found great success speaking with each other.

But what if you don't have other English learners to practice with?

Well, then we need to go to the foundation, the most basic of situations, and that is speaking speaking alone.

And that's what I'm going to help you with today.

We're going to talk about my top three tips to help you be able to speak English alone, even if you don't have anyone else to speak with.

Let's start with my first tip.

My first tip to help you become a fluent English speaker

all alone is to practice speaking about what is around you and using some sticky notes if you need

example as we walk into my house.

Here we have A sliding glass door.

Well, this might be new vocabulary for you, Sliding glass door.

Great.

And inside the door are some blinds.

Let's put a sticky note.

on the blinds.

Come on over here.

Here I have a fish tank?

This is not a fish home.

It is a fish tank.

Behind it, there is a little filter.

We'll put a little note here to remind us that this is a filter.

And inside the fish tank, there are even little shrimp.

They're little and yellow and very cute.

Let's go to up here.

Here are some hanging pots. And...

We can put a little note on here to help us remember But we have a little problem.

The soil is very dry.

I'm going to put my sticky note with a little note.

Don't forget to water the plants.

You can make a full sentence like this, especially if there is a word that seems simple, but maybe it's something that you just don't use frequently, like to water.

I'm sure you know about water the noun.

I drink water, but what about as a verb.

Don't forget to water the plants.

Well, I will just put this right here.

Don't forget to water the plants.

All right, here you see in front of me is a kitchen table.

This is not just any table.

We often call this the kitchen table.

Kitchen table. And...

chairs.

Now, if you are an advanced English learner, you might be thinking, why do I need to label the chairs?

Well, if you're anything like me, sometimes when you're having a conversation, those simple words just .

Go away from your mind and you cannot remember them.

It's kind of embarrassing because you feel like you should know them, right?

So don't be ashamed to label even simple words.

It will just help to reinforce what you already know.

All right, let's go into...

the A pantry is somewhere where you keep food that doesn't need to stay in the refrigerator.

Let's take a look inside.

Very exciting.

In here, I keep my slow cooker.

This is where we can cook meats for a long time.

And I also keep...

My...

rice cooker.

This isn't something that every American household has, but we use it all the time.

And I find it really handy.

You can see here on the door, There are some beans, some salsa, some coconut milk, some tuna.

These are all called dry goods.

So I am going to just put a little label right here.

to remind me that these are, if I can get it to stay, dry goods.

So this is a great way to be able to add to your vocabulary

and be able to talk about things around you.

But what if you don't know these words?

You're walking around your house, you're trying to talk about it, but you don't know blinds and filter and dry goods.

I have some good news.

I told you I have a bonus for you in today's free PDF worksheet,

I have added these to the free worksheet along with definitions and sample sentences so that when you walk around your house,

you have all the words you need to be able to describe what you see in English.

This is an extremely useful and practical way to be able to add to your vocabulary.

So, how can you get that worksheet plus the 100 free household item vocabulary words?

100

All you need to do is click the link in the description, enter your name and email address, and it will be sent directly to your email inbox.

101

All right, let's go on to tip number two, the second way to be able to become a fluent English speaker all alone.

102

Let's go.

103

My second tip to become a fluent English speaker all alone is to read articles.

104

Yes, you could read books, but I think articles like news articles are easy to access and they're short.

105

So if you're like me and you're really busy, or maybe you just have a short attention span, news articles are a great way to practice your speaking.

106

I'd like to show you So I've got my phone here.

107

Let's go to a news website like npr .org.

108

Well, here we can choose in the top corner different categories.

109

I don't really want to read about all of the sad things happening around the world this morning, maybe later today.

110

So instead, I'm going to click on culture.

111

And I can also choose different cultural topics.

112

Let's choose books.

113

I love books.

114

Thank you.

115

Oh, NPR staffers share their favorite fiction reads.

116

Yes, I would love some book recommendations.

117

So let's take a look at this article.

118

Ooh, they have something interesting that we'll take a look at in just a minute.

119

But first, I want to show you the first way that you can use a news article.

120

What you can do is simply read the article out loud.

121

Now remember, No one is listening to you.

122

No one is judging you.

123

You can go as slow as you need to.

124

And if you make mistakes, it's okay.

125

Let's give it a try.

126

Facts by day, fiction by night.

127

At the end of a long day in the newsroom, many of our journalists head home and escape into novels of all types.

128

All right, we can read it out loud like this, but some news websites, including NPR, have an interesting second option that I think is Great for learning English.

129

At the top here, Do you see it says three minute listen?

130

Ooh, what you can do is click on transcript.

131

And inside here, you can listen and read at the same time.

132

Oftentimes the transcript is different than the news article because the article is meant for reading and the transcripts meant for listening.

133

But when you listen and speak at the same time, this is the number one most proven way to improve your pronunciation.

134

And you're doing it all alone, which is great.

135

So let's click listen, and we're going to try to read at the same time.

136

Let's give it a shot.

137

with all that extra daylight.

138

You could read some great books that came out last year, the NPR books seem as you covered.

139

It's pretty fast, right?

140

So another option, what you can do is you can listen to a sentence and then try to repeat it.

141

Let's do that.

142

26 reads our staff has loved so far and it Okay.

143

So we could say the NPR books team has you covered.

144

They're out today with a list of the 2026 reads our staff has loved so far.

145

Okay.

146

So you're getting to listen to the intonation, listen to the pronunciation.

147

And if there are any words that are new for you, maybe the word fiction, you're able to listen to it and also repeat out loud.

148

And what I have done is in the free PDF worksheet, I have added a link to NPR.

149

this article and three other articles of various types that you can use to practice this second technique.

150

It's a great way to have structured speaking practice and be able to hear your own voice using English.

151

This is really great for building your confidence.

152

All right.

153

Are you ready to go to tip number three?

154

Let's go back outside and talk about it.

155

My third tip to help you become a fluent English speaker will help you to continue those conversations smoothly,

156

without hesitation, because you will have already had a lot of speaking practice.

157

How is that possible?

158

Well, I would love to introduce you to my app, the Speak with Vanessa AI app.

159

If you freeze when you want to speak or you just forget the words you want to say, this is the solution for you.

160

It is so cool.

161

You can have unlimited conversations 24 /7,

162

judgment -free with no embarrassment with my AI clone who has been trained on my voice

163

and my teaching style so that you can have so much speaking practice that when you go out into the real world, you will be ready.

164

Vanessa AI will even correct you when you make mistakes with vocabulary or grammar, because let's be real, when you're in the workplace,

165

your coworkers will never correct you if you make a mistake.

166

They'll probably just be polite and smile and nod,

167

and you'll never know if you made a mistake and if give you great common vocabulary to use.

168

Correct your grammar in your sentence structure so that you can improve with every single conversation.

169

Let me show you how it works.

170

My Italian friend Davide is going to try Vanessa AI for the first time.

171

Let's see.

172

Okay, let's try this out.

173

Speak natural disasters.

174

Yeah, that sounds like me.

175

What do you think it means to be a resilient person?

176

Might be interesting.

177

Let's see.

178

What do you think it means to be a resilient person?

179

Well, a resilient person, in my opinion, is somebody who can...

180

bounce back from Hardship.

181

- Oh, bounce back from hardship.

182

Yes.

183

Can you give one example of a hard time you or someone Sometimes you have to, No?

184

To go through radical change.

185

I see.

186

Big change is hard.

187

What one small change could you try this week?

188

Yeah, Vanessa, you really ask good questions.

189

I mean, this is getting very deep.

190

I have to say, it's even better.

191

You're even better than Real human Vanessa.

192

Wait, excuse me?

193

Did you say?

194

Yeah, I'm just talking to my phone.

195

Well, okay, okay, that sounds pretty cool, right?

196

But there's still a little problem.

197

Let's say you join the app and you are ready to start speaking.

198

what do you speak about?

199

You don't want to just talk about the same conversations again and again, right?

200

How was your day?

201

What are you doing this weekend?

202

What's your job?

203

That's.. too basic and boring.

204

Well, I wouldn't be your teacher if I wasn't helping you.

205

So let me show you how you can have amazing, diverse conversations every single day.

206

Right now, inside the Vanessa AI app, you have access to my 30 -day challenge.

207

30 days.

208

30 conversations.

209

In this challenge, you will have a different conversation question every single day,

210

including my sample answer and some key vocabulary if you would like to use that.

211

And this way you will be able to have diverse conversations about various topics,

212

and you will be ready to go into the real world and talk about anything.

213

Let's take a look inside Vanessa AI to see how this 30 day challenge works.

214

Let's open Vanessa AI and here you see right on the home screen, 30 days, 30 conversations.

215

Let's click on the first day.

216

What?

217

I'd like to talk about the first job I ever had.

218

Okay.

219

So this is our first topic, talking about the first job you ever had.

220

Hmm, what was my first job?

221

All right, I'm going to talk about this.

222

Well, the first job I ever had was working at a fast food chicken restaurant.

223

All right, it's transcribing.

224

That sounds like a busy first job.

225

Mmm.

226

Chicken restaurants can be so fast and hectic.

227

What was the hardest part for you?

228

All right, so we're getting little reminders that we are leveling up by having conversations.

229

What was the hardest part for me?

230

Honestly, the hardest part was just learning how to interact with my coworkers, because I had never had a relationship like that before.

231

- Thank you.

232

That makes total sense.

233

A first job can feel more about people than the work itself.

234

How did you start getting more comfortable with your coworkers?

235

All right, so do you see how this is beginning to become a conversation?

236

Vanessa AI is very good at continuing the conversation.

237

But what happens if you don't know a word or you don't know what to say?

238

Let's give it a try.

239

I'm going to pretend like I don't know what to say.

240

Well, I'm not really sure the word for it, but Sometimes I would say I would prepare something funny.

241

What's that called?

242

See if it can know the word.

243

You were preparing something funny.

244

Thank you.

245

People usually say you were planning a joke or a funny line That's kind of sweet, honestly.

246

Did it help you feel more relaxed with them?

247

Yes, it did.

248

All right, so it knew the word joke, but let's click on the word joke.

249

All right.

250

It can translate that joke.

251

So if you have added your native language to this app, I have added English.

252

So it's translating from English to English, a little silly, right?

253

But if you add your native language, it will make a translation for you.

254

And you can even see here this little magic wand button.

255

Let's click that.

256

It's going to break down the vocabulary and give you some options for what you can say instead

257

or tell you that you did use indeed correct vocabulary.

258

And of course on the app as well, let's go out of this conversation.

259

There are some very fun features like the leaderboard.

260

I love this.

261

You can see how many new vocabulary words you have unlocked.

262

And if you are on the leaderboard, and you can also use our flashcard system here.

263

to be able to test yourself.

264

So every word that you have clicked on, like the word joke, will land in your flashcards

265

and you can practice these out loud and be able to grow your vocabulary.

266

This is an It's an excellent proven way to be able to remember what you've learned.

267

Not only are you using it, but you're repeating it as well.

268

No stress.

269

No embarrassment just English speaking practice.

270

After using Vanessa AI for 30 days in this challenge, many students saw that their speaking skills dramatically improved.

271

I love to read you what a few students said.

272

My student Judy said, "I spent less time worrying about making mistakes and more time focusing on communicating my ideas.

273

Over time, speaking English started to feel more natural instead of stressful." That is the goal.

274

More natural instead of stressful, right?

275

My student Kong says, "I was always afraid to speak." Is that you?

276

"I was worried about making mistakes." Is that you?

277

So most of the time I stayed silent.

278

Maybe that's you too.

279

This 30 day practice really changed that for me.

280

Step by step, I became less afraid of speaking English and now I actually enjoy it.

281

Thanks to this challenge, speaking English no longer feels scary to me.

282

I would love that for you.

283

I would love for a speaking English to no longer feel scary for you to have confidence to go into any conversation,

284

because you know you have had so much speaking practice that you can do it.

285

You can speak English fluently.

286

So I hope that you have the courage to practice speaking English alone with all three of these tips.

287

And if you would like to join me in Vanessa AI,

288

right now I This means one year of every year unlimited English speaking practice with me,

289

with my clone, every single day, as much as you want for 70 % off.

290

This is a great chance to join with no risk.

291

So if you want to join me and get 70 % off and speak better English than you ever have before,

292

all you need to do is click the link in the description to join Vanessa AI.

293

Give it a try.

294

There's even a seven day free trial when you choose the annual plan.

295

See if it can work for you.

296

And I can't wait to see how amazing your English is after you get unlimited speaking practice.

297

Well, thanks so much for learning English with me.

298

And don't forget to download today's free PDF worksheet with all 100 common household words

299

so that you can describe everything around you in your house.

300

All you need to do is click on the link in the description, enter your name and email address, and voila, the free It's a very good thing.

301

It is my gift to you.

302

Well, thanks so much for learning English with me today, outside here in my home and with my chicken Buddha.

303

Thank you Buddha for participating.

304

And I hope to see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.

305

Bye.

306

But wait, do you want more?

307

I recommend watching this video next where you will be able to learn three more tips to help you speak English alone.

308

If you don't have a speaking partner, these are the videos for you.

309

Plus in that video, you will see some beautiful scenery of the mountains near where I live.

310

This is a great way to grow your vocabulary, grow your speaking skills, and have fun along the way.

311

I'll see you there.

📺 Zelfde Kanaal

✨ Aanbevolen Video

55 zinnen

If I Had to Learn English Again… I'd Do This

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

689 zinnen

Copy Me! The Secret to Clear, Confident English Speaking

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

460 zinnen

Best Way For You To Speak English

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

420 zinnen

Speak With Me: Realistic English Speaking Practice

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

47 zinnen

Speak CONFIDENT English in 20 minutes: English speaking lesson

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

356 zinnen

How to Master English Alone | Learn English Through Story | Easy Listening Practice

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

192 zinnen

Speak English Confidently in 30 Days | Daily 10 Minute English Routine | Jack Ma Motivation

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

164 zinnen

English Fluency: The 3 Types of Speaking Practice You Actually Need

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

79 zinnen

How to Speak English Fluently — Even If You Practice Alone

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

276 zinnen

HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY | 2 SIMPLE STEPS TO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY & CONFIDENTLY LIKE A NATIVE

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

143 zinnen

Do You Need A Native Speaker to Practice English Speaking?

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

132 zinnen

What to do when you don’t have anyone to speak English with | I'm Mary Podcast

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze spreekles op niveau B1 is gebaseerd op de video “No Partner? No Problem!”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: English, speaking, word, conversation, practice. Deze video bevat 311 zinnen en 3300 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 21:42. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 152 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. 88% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is goed te volgen.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:

Woord	Uitspraak	Betekenis
vocabulary zelfstandig naamwoord	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	woordenschat, vocabulaire
stressful bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈstɹɛsfəl/	stressvol
fluent bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈfluənt/	vloeiend
resilient bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ɹɪˈzɪl.jənt/	weerbaar
sticky bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈstɪki/	kleverig, plakkerig
filter zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈfɪltɚ/	filter
flashcard zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/	steekkaart
voilà	/(v)wɑˈlɑ/	voilà
pronunciation zelfstandig naamwoord	/pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/	uitspraak
inbox zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈɪnbɑks/	postvak
hardship zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/	ellende, ondraaglijkheid
clone zelfstandig naamwoord	/kloʊn/	kloon
embarrassment zelfstandig naamwoord	/ɪmˈbæɹ.əs.mənt/	verlegenheid
translate werkwoord	/tɹænzˈleɪt/	vertalen, overzetten
bounce werkwoord	/baʊns/	stuiteren, ketsen

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Woord	Uitspraak	Betekenis
break down werkwoord		stukgaan, kapot gaan
come out werkwoord	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	uitkomen
get off werkwoord		van ... afgaan
go back werkwoord		teruggaan

Zinnen om te herhalen

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

Here I have a fish tank?
Are you ready to go to tip number three?
What one small change could you try this week?
What are you doing this weekend?
Hmm, what was my first job?

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

Structuur	In de video
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt	you've ever visited · have found · have added
Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet	will be sent · is simply read · is meant
Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding	alone, which is · somebody who can
Past continuous was/were + -ing — iets dat op een moment in het verleden bezig was	wasn't helping · was working · was just learning

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 64 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals don't, you're, I'm. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

De klanken “sh” en “zh”: flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, hardship /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/
Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, embarrassment /ɪmˈbæɹ.əs.mənt/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/

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, stressful, fluent.

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: No Partner? No Problem! (3 Ways to Practice Speaking Alone) - Learn English Speaking with Video

"What time is it?": A Simple Answer #Shorts

50 Important English TRAVEL Phrases

How to Talk About Movies and TV Shows in English

Make the Bed With Me in English

Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice

English Conversation Lesson: Learn 3 advanced expressions

Speak With Me: Real Life English Conversation

You know the words but you can't SPEAK

England VS America: Ten Items That Have Different Names

English SPEAKING Practice: 10 Conversations for Daily Life

How to Give Directions in English: Advanced English Lesson

3 Essential ADVANCED English Verbs that you don't know

I use these words every day: Daily English Vocabulary

Top 15 Tongue Twisters in English: Advanced Pronunciation Lesson

5 Secrets to Having an American English Accent: Advanced Pronunciation Lesson

Talk about HOBBIES Fluently in English

Understand FAST English: Advanced Listening Practice

Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice

2 Tips For Improving Your *Listening* Skills

Order PIZZA in English: Daily Life English Lesson

If I Had to Learn English Again… I'd Do This

Copy Me! The Secret to Clear, Confident English Speaking

Best Way For You To Speak English

Speak With Me: Realistic English Speaking Practice

Speak CONFIDENT English in 20 minutes: English speaking lesson

How to Master English Alone | Learn English Through Story | Easy Listening Practice

Speak English Confidently in 30 Days | Daily 10 Minute English Routine | Jack Ma Motivation

English Fluency: The 3 Types of Speaking Practice You Actually Need

How to Speak English Fluently — Even If You Practice Alone

HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY | 2 SIMPLE STEPS TO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY & CONFIDENTLY LIKE A NATIVE

Do You Need A Native Speaker to Practice English Speaking?

What to do when you don’t have anyone to speak English with | I'm Mary Podcast

Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Zinnen om te herhalen

Grammatica in deze video

Uitspraak om op te letten

Zo oefen je met deze video

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

2 Tips For Improving Your Listening Skills