Shadowing Practice: Practice: Dropping The Verdict - Learn English Speaking with Video

Les maken...
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Come and join me for a few minutes in a practice that I call dropping the verdict.
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All I'm going to ask is that you bring one small judgment to mind,
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and then practice holding that judgment a little more lightly.
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First, settle wherever you are and make sure you're sitting comfortably.
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If you'd like to, you can gently close your eyes or just soften your gaze.
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now take one deep breath and let whatever you were doing a moment ago begin to settle let your body arrive here
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in the present moment there's nowhere else you need to be right now
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If you're sitting comfortably, let your mind wander to a stretch of time that you've already thought you've wasted.
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Maybe it was sometime this morning or last night or before that.
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When did you think that you wasted time?
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Now notice where you feel this judgment in your body.
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You might notice a small tightening, a flicker of guilt, a familiar urge to justify yourself.
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Whatever the sensation, focus on it.
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you're not trying to change the feeling just to notice
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that it's there and that it arrived quickly almost before you decided anything at all
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now ask yourself gently without needing an answer right away
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is this judgment true or is it a story that I'm telling myself And before you try to answer,
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notice the movement of your mind.
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Notice how quickly it wants to make a case.
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Notice how it wants to defend your judgment or argue against it.
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to prove that the time really was wasted or to prove that it wasn't.
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For a few breaths, see if you can do neither.
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Just let the judgment be there.
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A Zen teacher named Lin Ji, more than a thousand years ago,
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said that our judgments are flowers of no consequence.
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They bloom quickly in the mind,
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and we don't have to make them into more than they are.
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So for these next few breaths, see if you can let the judgment be just that.
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A thought that appeared, a flower blooming in the mind,
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something you can notice without needing to hold it so tightly.
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Breathe in.
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Breathe out.
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Let the body soften again.
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The judgment might just loosen a little, take up less room than it did a minute ago.
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A life is not made up of days that pass or fail some test.
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life is made slowly through what we give our attention to through who we give our attention to
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through the small moments that we may not know how to measure
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Stay with this thought for a while if you'd like.
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And then when you feel ready, return to the rest of your day.

Why This Video Is Ideal for Speaking Practice

The video’s calm, conversational tone makes it perfect for honing natural English speaking skills. Its slow, deliberate pace—with pauses for reflection—allows learners to follow along easily, while the personal, reflective content encourages emotional connection, which boosts retention. The mix of simple and slightly complex sentences (like "A life is not made up of days that pass or fail some test") provides a balanced challenge, making it great for practicing both fluency and clarity. Plus, the focus on mindfulness creates a low-pressure environment, ideal for building confidence with the shadowing technique.

Breaking Down Natural Speech Patterns

Let’s examine a few lines to see why they sound authentic: 1. "All I'm going to ask is that you bring one small judgment to mind" – Uses the casual "I'm going to" instead of formal "I will," and "bring... to mind" is a natural phrasal verb for recalling thoughts, avoiding stiff alternatives like "remember." 2. "Notice how quickly it wants to make a case" – "Make a case" is a common idiom meaning "argue a point," which sounds more natural than literal phrases like "try to prove something." 3. "life is made slowly through what we give our attention to" – The inversion "is made slowly" (instead of "slowly made") emphasizes the process, and "give our attention to" is a conversational way to say "focus on," fitting the video’s reflective tone. These examples show how everyday phrases and subtle emphasis create natural speech.

A Simple Shadowing Routine for This Clip

The shadow speech method works well here. Try this:

  1. Watch the video once to absorb the rhythm and tone.
  2. Play a 5-second segment, pause, and repeat it aloud immediately, mimicking the speaker’s pace, pauses, and intonation. Focus on matching the soft, deliberate delivery.
  3. Record yourself and compare it to the original. Note where your rhythm or stress differs—for example, in "let your body arrive here in the present moment," the stress on "arrive" and "present" creates emphasis.
  4. Repeat with longer segments (10-15 seconds) until you can follow along without pausing. This builds fluency and trains your brain to think in the speaker’s natural patterns.
This routine helps you internalize conversational flow, making your speech sound more natural. Over time, shadowspeak will feel effortless, and you’ll notice improvements in your ability to express complex ideas calmly.

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.