Shadowing Practice: 03.e Solve a Problem Commentary - Effortless Business English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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okay welcome to the commentary for solve a problem just going to talk a little bit about this article
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and about my experience with these ideas
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so the article focuses on this idea of solving a problem
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and more specifically the idea of becoming an expert at solving a specific kind of problem.
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This idea of specific is important because sometimes, I think a lot of times,
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people try to do too much in their job or with their business.
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They try to do too much.
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But we can't be good at everything.
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And also, even if we are good at everything,
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we can't communicate our special quality about everything let me tell you what i mean by that
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it's really talking about marketing here marketing and advertising really
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but it's it's true for a job too so this idea is
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that you know people have a you know small ability to think about you
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and or your business right so usually they think of one
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or two qualities one or two adjectives one or two ideas strong ideas
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about your business or about you okay more than that and people are confused they don't remember
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so you need to be really remarkable you need to be really good at one or two things
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you can be good at other things also it's okay
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but you need to be super good at one or two things
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and not just things when i say things i mean problems solving problems
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so in this article i talk about my my example
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that for me i'm really good at solving the problem of
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speaking english well the problem is people cannot speak english well they can't speak fast
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they can't understand fast right they know all these grammar rules
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they studied in school you give them a grammar test they get a good score yay
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if they have time they can read slowly
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maybe even faster and they can use a dictionary if necessary so they can read they can understand reading.
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But the problem is most people cannot speak well, most students, right?
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That's the big problem.
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That's the one that I see most of all.
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Some people can speak great.
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Okay, they don't need me, right?
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So I decided this is the problem I want to solve.
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This is the problem I will be an expert at solving.
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It's also important to decide what you will not do.
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In fact, that's just as important, right?
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Sometimes people, we think, I will do this, but you also must say, what will you not do?
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I decided I would not teach reading and writing.
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Now, writing is a big problem also, right?
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A lot of students need help writing it's a it's a problem it's a very big problem it's a common problem
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but i decided you know it's too different than speaking it's a very different kind of problem
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solving the speaking problem is very different uses different methods than solving the writing problem
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and i decided okay i'm not going to try to do everything
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because then i won't be a true expert at anything, right?
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I'll be like every other English teacher.
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Almost every English teacher, they try to do everything.
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They try to teach reading.
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They try to teach grammar.
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They try to teach writing and speaking and listening, right?
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They're trying to do everything, and in fact, they do nothing well.
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Everything is just so -so.
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Everything is, you know, not bad, Not good.
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Just kind of medium, average, normal.
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Being normal is a formula to fail in business.
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If you're normal, if you are average, if you are good but not remarkable, you're invisible.
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Nobody will talk about you, right?
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Nobody will care about you.
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You will not have excited customers.
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You want the opposite of normal, right?
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You want to be different, special.
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Now, when you're special, sometimes there are problems.
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Not everybody will like you.
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So in this article, I talk about my bosses.
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So my students loved me, most of my students, not all, but most.
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They really loved my approach.
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Why?
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Why?
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Because I was focusing on their number one problem.
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I was focusing on this speaking problem, and that's what they wanted to learn.
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But my bosses did not like my method.
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They wanted me to do everything.
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They wanted me to be normal.
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Bosses like normal.
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Bosses are usually afraid.
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Anyone who has a job, they know what I'm talking about.
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Well, you know.
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Look at your job.
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Is your boss an exciting person who wants you to do new things, try new ideas, be really super great at something?
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Does your boss encourage you to try new things?
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Is your boss happy when you fail?
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if you tried something interesting
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and you fail is your boss say good job i'm glad you failed
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that was a good idea now try something else
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if so well you're lucky you have a special boss
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but most bosses don't do that right
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if you fail your boss yells at you your boss is upset mostly your boss tells
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you to follow the rules follow the rules.
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Follow the rules. Be normal. Be normal. Be normal.
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That's how you make your boss happy.
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Follow the rules.
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Be the same.
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That's not how you succeed.
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That's not how you get big success.
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That's small, small success.
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If you're a business owner, well, then you definitely can't do this because you're going to fail.
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You're going to have big problems if you are normal.
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I see this all the time.
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Everywhere I see this.
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For example, in San Francisco, my neighborhood, on my street, we always have new businesses coming and going.
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They come, they open, everybody's happy, but then one year later, they close.
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What happened?
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Why did the business fail?
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Well, usually it's because they're boring, not because they're bad, right?
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They're usually okay.
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They're usually good, but they're always normal.
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They're average.
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For example, they open a restaurant, but the food is just the same.
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You know, they open a Thai restaurant.
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It's the same as every other
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Thai restaurant in San Francisco.
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So why should I go to the restaurant?
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I already have another restaurant I like.
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Why should I change if the new one is the same?
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I'm not going to change my habit unless it's closer or something,
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but I'm not going to go to a new place unless it has something interesting, special.
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Now, my favorite
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Thai restaurant, for example, it's different than the other ones.
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What's different?
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Well, it's much spicier, right?
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The other Thai restaurants, all the other
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Thai restaurants, it's the same.
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They're not spicy.
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They think, oh, Americans don't like spicy food.
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But this one restaurant is called Thai House.
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Thai House decided to be different.
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They decided we're going to cook real
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Thai food like you find in Thailand, really spicy.
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We're not going to be boring like everybody else.
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We don't care if some
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Americans don't like us.
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You know, maybe some customers will complain.
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It's too spicy, too spicy.
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We don't care.
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We don't care.
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We are going to be different.
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So what happened?
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What happened?
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They opened, right?
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And people come to the restaurant.
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Some American people come.
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And the food is too spicy.
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They complain.
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Oh, my God.
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This food is too hot.
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It's too spicy.
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then what happens they go home they talk to their friends
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they say oh i went to this new thai restaurant
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but my god the food is
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so spicy well guess what happens some of those friends like spicy food some of those friends think oh well
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i'll try it that's interesting it's really extra spicy it must be different so they go and they try it
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and they like it why because they like spicy food
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and it's spicy yummy what happens next they tell other friends hey
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this thai restaurant it's not like the other ones
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it's really really spicy you should try it people talk about it why do they talk about it because it's different
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something else happens thai people thai people who live in san francisco they go to this restaurant
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and it tastes good it's more like real thai food it's more like food in thailand
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and they think oh this is great you know the other restaurants
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they suck they're terrible the food is boring this one's really good
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they tell all their thai friends try this restaurant it's it's spicy
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it's good what happens next what happens next is lots of thai people go to this restaurant so people american people
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they're walking by they look in the window what do they see in this restaurant
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they see a lot of thai people a lot of thai people in this one restaurant
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and they think oh wow look at all the thai people
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this must be real thai food look it must be good
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so many thai people in here it must be good
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so they try it and they talk about it
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if they hate it they talk about it
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if they love it they talk about it and
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so this business this restaurant is super successful always crowded
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they're open like until midnight it's fantastic they have a great business they're doing very well.
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They're opening a new, in a new location.
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I think they have two or three locations now.
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I'm sure they're making lots of money.
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They're doing very well.
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Why?
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Well, because they solved the problem.
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What problem did they solve?
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They solved the problem of boring food, right?
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There's no spices.
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They solved this problem of boring
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Thai food with no spice.
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Now, is that a problem?
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Well, it is for Thai people.
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Thai people think it's a problem.
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If you're a Thai person and you live in San Francisco, it's a problem.
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It's a problem.
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I can't find real Thai food.
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All the restaurants, they're so boring.
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No spices.
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Then you have this new restaurant.
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It's not boring.
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Problem solved.
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I'm going to talk about it to everybody. So that's what happens.
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That's how you become successful.
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It's one example.
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What about the business that fails?
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The opposite happens, right?
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They're boring.
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They open a Thai restaurant in my neighborhood, and the food is the same as every other Thai restaurant.
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They're afraid.
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They're afraid.
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People will complain.
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Oh, American people don't like spicy, so they don't use spices.
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So an American person goes to the restaurant, and they eat there.
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and they there's nothing special it's not bad but it's not great
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so maybe they like it they like it
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but do they tell their friends probably not they probably don't talk about it even
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if they like it even if they come back again
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and again they probably don't tell their friends oh wow this restaurant it's uh terrible
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or it's great right it's just normal nobody talks about normal.
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Nobody talks about average.
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So the new restaurant, they have a hard time getting new customers.
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They don't get a lot of new customers.
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They have some.
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Maybe they make a little money.
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Maybe it's a little successful, but not so successful.
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It doesn't do very well.
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And eventually, they probably close the business.
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Or maybe they continue year after year.
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Just making a little bit, you know, a little bit stressful about money.
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Never really successful.
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That's what usually happens.
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People are afraid, so they play it safe.
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People play it safe.
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They do what's normal.
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They're afraid to be an expert at solving a problem.
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They're afraid to be special.
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They're afraid to do just one thing.
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You can't be afraid.
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If you're in a job, you can't be afraid of your boss.
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Your boss will not like what you do sometimes if you become an expert at solving a problem.
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He'll want you or she'll want you to do things that you think are not important.
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So don't listen to your boss.
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It's the same with your customers.
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Some customers will love you.
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Some will hate you.
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That's good with effortless English.
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Most of my students love me, but some students really hated my teaching. Which ones?
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Well, students who wanted grammar, who like to take tests, who are focused on test, test, test, grammar, grammar, grammar.
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They hate effortless English.
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They hate my teaching, right?
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I don't do what they want me to do.
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I don't teach them grammar rules.
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I don't teach them about tests and how can I use this question and how can I do the TOEFL,
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how can I get five points here.
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I don't do that.
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Also, students who really want to focus on writing, writing, writing, writing, they don't like effortless English either because I don't focus on writing.
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That's okay.
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There are other writing teachers they can find another writing teacher.
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I'm happy.
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That's fine.
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So it's okay, because other people love me, and those are the ones who want to speak well and understand.
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There's the ones who want to speak fast.
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They want to speak automatically.
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They want to understand fast.
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They want to understand automatically, and they love my approach.
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It's different.
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It's not normal.
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It's not average.
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so you have to think about this you have to become serious you have to decide
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are you going to solve a problem one or two problems only
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and be great at it or are you going to play it safe and be average try to do everything so -so
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it's an important decision very important decision it this decision will decide whether you become very successful
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and have the life you dream about or whether you have a boring normal disappointing life think very carefully about this decision
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I hope you'll decide to solve a problem and to do it in a great, fantastic, interesting, remarkable way.
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I hope you'll be passionate about solving a problem.
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I hope you'll become famous for solving this one problem.
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I know you can do it, and I hope you will.
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Good luck.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “03.e Solve a Problem Commentary - Effortless Business English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: thai, restaurant, normal, spicy, boss. This video has 269 sentences and 2355 words to shadow. The speech runs for 18:18. The speaker talks at a steady 129 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| spicy adjective | /ˈspaɪsi/ | Of, pertaining to, or containing spice. |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| remarkable adjective | /ɹɪˈmɑɹ.kə.bl̩/ | Worthy of remark; notable; interesting. |
| complain verb | /kəmˈpleɪn/ | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. |
| spice noun | /spaɪs/ | Aromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food. |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| formula noun | /ˈfɔː.mjʊ.lə/ | Any mathematical rule expressed symbolically. |
| suck verb | /sʌk/ | To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast). |
| midnight noun | /ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/ | The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise. |
| succeed verb | /səkˈsiːd/ | To follow something in sequence or time. |
| habit noun | /ˈhæb.ɪt/ | An action performed on a regular basis. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- That's the one that I see most of all.
- Does your boss encourage you to try new things?
- Is your boss happy when you fail?
- That's how you make your boss happy.
- That's not how you succeed.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 79 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/
- Long words — get the stress right: communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, commentary /ˈkɑ.mənˌtɛ.ɹi/, invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like solve, spicy, bore.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.