Shadowing Practice: 2672 - Looking for a Conversation Topic? Look No Further Than this Tech Tool - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey Michelle, how's it going?
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We're recording today on a Monday, so happy Monday.
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How are you?
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Happy Monday.
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I'm good.
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How are you?
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Feeling great.
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Feeling great.
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Michelle, are you a ChatGBT user?
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I am.
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What about you?
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Yeah, I use it sometimes, for sure.
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For brainstorming things, coming up with ideas, lots of things.
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Yeah, I remember in the beginning when it first came out, I just kept on saying like, i don't i don't get it i always have
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that you know i think everybody has
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that moment with some sort of new technology like i don't get why this would help me um
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because i remember in the beginning dan would just use it with his friends to make up funny stories um
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and he would just say oh make up a story
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and like he would make uh he would have it tell a part of the story
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and then send it to his friends
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and then they would do the next one
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and you know it was just you know just for funny things but
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so in the beginning I just I was like all right whatever
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that's his thing I don't I don't really have a use for it
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but yeah I didn't get it
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but as time moved on I would hear how other people were using it
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and I got more way more into having
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it help me in certain areas of my life
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it reminds me your comment why you said you didn't get it of do you know
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that famous uh clip from I think it's the today show I think
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it was Katie Couric who was like have you heard of
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this new thing the internet yeah the internet yes about email
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or the i don't know which one it was i don't know it's a famous clip
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and it's just like yeah no i know what you're talking about i well
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it's funny i i i mean we i probably shared this before
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but i remember when my dad told me about email
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and i remember thinking what you know it's just gonna pop up
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and okay who cares you know it's funny how at first your mind is just yeah with i think
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so many different areas of technology like okay what i why would why would i need
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that and then we have to you can't live without it
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and then you can't and then your brain just shapes around it right around this new thing
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and guaranteed that's what's going to happen with ai although i think
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this time around people are not quite as excited on like a visceral level
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there's a big fear there's yeah it's fear
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and also just kind of like okay more time online
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i think with the internet people were really you know like the dot -com boom
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and all people are like wow i could order groceries online this is amazing i think now with ai
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if people are like i could have a voice coming out of my refrigerator
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i don't know if people are quite as like enchanted by ai the way they were about other
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advances you know i don't know maybe i'll speak for myself i don't know i mean i guess it depends
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which kind of ai yeah certainly yeah voice coming out of your refrigerator
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that does that's not that exciting you know
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but there are definitely i mean we're well
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this is what we're going to talk about today i mean the one thing
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that i really don't like um it i don't want it to i i'm worried
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that it will take over creativity and i don't want to lose
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that creative muscle um
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so sometimes i'll want to do chat gpt actually i was at something the other day
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and somebody was making um a speech and they said oh
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and i want to thank a person
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and chat gpt for helping me write this speech and i
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and everybody just was laughing because but i i don't like it in
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that way i don't like it to be where we could think of something with our brains
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and now we're just relying on it and yeah you know
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so it's interesting yeah 100
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so in today's episode we are going to model for you what you guys could do with a native speaker
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or a friend as you're practicing your english talk about the ways
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that you use chat gpt
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or just ai in general this is a huge skill to be able to do
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because everyone in the world is experimenting most not everyone in
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the world many people in the world are starting to experiment with ai now yeah
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and so it's a connection skill that's going to come up often right yeah absolutely definitely um
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and also sometimes you might share a way that it helps you
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that you think it might be beneficial for someone else yeah um yeah
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so i you know we're going to talk more about this in just a second
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but we want to say thank you to louise uh soriano on spotify right
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we just read a really nice review from louise thank you
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so much louise we appreciate uh your comment your review guys go to wherever you can rate
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or review our podcast whether that's apple spotify or youtube
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and leave us a comment leave us a rating and a review
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so we know what you think of the show all right exactly yes so
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Um, let's get into it.
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So we're going to share how, how to start these discussions.
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Yeah.
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Um, okay.
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So the first thing is, did you know you can use it, right?
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Whether it's AI, whether it's to X.
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So for example, did you know you can use chat CPT to get your macros on food?
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It's been so useful for my diet and exercise plan.
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What is macros anyways?
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I don't even know what that think it's i think i've never known what
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that means i said it thinking you know no i hope
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you know i think of macros hold on let's see macro nutrients yes the three main nutrients okay
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i'm reading from ai thank you ai uh required in large amounts the carbs the proteins
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and fats uh so and a lot of times people will track their macros you'll hear
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that a lot you know they're tracking their macros about what they've been eating
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and what they might need more of very technical term
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and did you know you can use AI to rescue yourself in an episode
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if you don't know the answer exactly I did know
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that um yeah um
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but yeah it's it you know
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you could just put in that's one way people use
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it they might use it as a food log um for sure
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so yeah yeah I love that yeah
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or you could say I've recently started using chat GPT for x
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so I've recently started using chat GPT to give me art project ideas for my class.
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It's so useful.
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I think it is really good for generating ideas, right?
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It is really brainstorming.
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Yeah.
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Yes.
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I mean, especially for a teacher.
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I mean, sometimes, you know, you just, the amount of things you're required to think of and be creative.
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Yeah.
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Again, you don't want it to completely take over that creative muscle.
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That's the fear, I think.
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But sometimes you just, it can help you with that heavy lifting, heavy lifting right they can feel the blank page as we
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say the what the blank space on the page right that's really intimidating
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when you're trying to create something new
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so it can it can help you avoid that
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and then you work off of
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that um another construction here guys
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you might use in a conversation my favorite thing to use chat gpt for is 2x 2x okay yep um
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so for example my favorite thing to use chachi upt for is to get recipes for dinner
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i just tell it what i have in my house
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and it can give me so many good ideas
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and i would say for me that's like the number one thing i use it for that's pretty cool that
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because then you don't have to go shopping for all new um ingredients
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you just make something from what you have right yeah
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or i'll say yeah you know like i i
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or i'll say i don't have this could i substitute it with this or um okay you
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Or there have been certain times when I really was craving a certain food and I say, I don't have this, but is there something,
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an idea you can give me of how I can satisfy whatever food I'm craving?
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Interesting.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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I mean, I guess in the old days before 2022, before we got ChatGPT, we just went to Google and tried to figure this out,
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but it would take a lot longer, right?
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Right.
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And at first I didn't understand
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and I said well how is it different than just googling
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but it's it's giving you everything in one place
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you don't have to search around different sites I mean yeah yeah yeah for
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that stuff it's great yeah um or you could say chat GPT helps me right
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so for example uh chat GPT helps me get design ideas for my house I can send in a picture
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and it will respond with lots of ideas.
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And, um, yeah, that, that I will do.
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I love that.
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Yeah.
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Really good.
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I mean, yeah, that's interesting.
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I'm not really the cook in my house, but if I were the cook in my house,
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I would totally use Chajibiti for just saying what I have and what could I make from this?
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I think that's so smart.
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Yeah.
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Oh, and so, and I got that idea because somebody else was, it made something that was really delicious.
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I mean, this was probably over a year ago, right and then told me oh that they
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that they use chat gpt all the time for this and
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so that's where i got the idea now
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so that's what i'm saying is that it can lead to
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that connection somebody can give you an idea then you can share
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it with someone else to do um i love that
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but yeah do you use it for any of these types of things
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or anything in particular i use
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it more for work for my business for our business here
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at Allers English for brainstorming ideas yeah um even some market research like competitor research
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you can pull up yeah um or if I'm looking for new logos
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or images I can generate ideas or rough sketches for them yeah
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that I might then hand to a designer
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and say you know can can we do something like this right
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so you're not starting from scratch that's what I've been using it for in the last week or so.
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Yeah.
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So there's, it's unlimited.
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It's incredible, Michelle.
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It really is.
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But of course there's the scary side too.
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Um, but today we're kind of talking about the, the benefits.
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Um, so we're going to talk a little bit more about this after the break.
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Hey, quick question.
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Do you want to feel more confident when you speak English?
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If so, we made a free guide for you.
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It'll help you avoid those common mistakes and start speaking more naturally in real conversations.
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Go grab it in the description below.
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And if this is helpful for you, make sure that you like and subscribe.
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We're here five times a week to help you connect in English.
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All right, Michelle.
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So we can do a follow -up later talking about AI and some of the things that don't worry us.
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We can show you new constructions of how to put those sentences together, guys, in a very sophisticated C1 level way.
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But for today, what are some questions we could ask people, Michelle?
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Yeah.
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I mean, there's the basic.
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I mean, do you use ChatGPT?
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Yes.
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What is the most useful thing you've done with ChatGPT?
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Yeah.
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That's really how we have to come up with our own uses by asking people.
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Because people are, once I went to ChatGPT
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and I was sort of using it to kind of dream because I have a dream of one day going to India,
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but, but I would have to work probably.
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So taking, so doing like a Northern India meditation retreat slash work remote thing where I could access cafes
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and work with my laptop, but also have weeks where I'm in meditation.
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So I had
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Chad GPT plan me this whole route where I could actually do that.
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It's like of it in that way see now now I can do
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that too um so yeah and then you know there are words uh
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that you might use to discuss it you know helpful beneficial valuable these are you know these words
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that yeah useful um so these can all these can all be helpful yeah I like
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that dream idea Lindsay that's fun really cool um yeah um do well here's well
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this goes more under the worry box
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but is there anything you ever avoid putting in i mean personal data for sure
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we don't put any personal data or emails or anything like
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that so i would avoid uploading spreadsheets that have
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that stuff of course um and then yeah anything
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that i just don't want out in the cloud
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because it's all out there somewhere is the way
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i think of it i don't know exactly where it goes right somewhere yeah right
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so so but if you're using it mostly for recipes
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and to dream and to you know things like these it's it's probably okay
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and yeah i don't know yeah i mean
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or even planning actual trips like if you are you know like we're we've revealed
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that i'm having a baby
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so we're going to be taking a trip in the fall to france to bordeaux oh
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you are we're gonna do the good for you i am out there out there, Michelle.
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Good for you.
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That's what we did too.
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Yeah.
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But then we had COVID.
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So, you know, I feel like whenever we travel, we have constraints, we have special requirements.
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And how did we address that before with just Google?
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I don't know.
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If we go to Chad GVT and we say we're traveling to Bordeaux, but we have a, you know, a six month old baby and,
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you know, and then our niece and nephew have allergies to this or something, right?
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So these constraints, layers of constraint yeah you can handle
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that yeah yeah yeah that yeah that's
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when it's really really um useful especially yeah for parents for every oh my gosh
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it can it can really be the greatest let's do a role play
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so we're eating dinner we're eating dinner at my house here all right okay okay here
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we go thanks for having me okay sure uh lindsey this is delicious thanks so I'm glad you like it.
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Do you know where I got the recipe?
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ChatGPT.
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Oh really?
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Yeah I've recently started using ChatGPT for cooking.
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It's been really helpful.
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Oh I have to try that.
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Do you use ChatGPT or AI?
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Actually a little.
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I mean did you know you can use it to make travel itineraries?
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I'm using it for my upcoming trip.
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It's really beneficial.
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I will have to try that.
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Oh man I didn't even see our plans down here that we were going to talk about.
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I feel like sometimes that happens on this show we talk about something spontaneously and then and then it's yes exactly
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yeah exactly exactly it happens so um you said i i said this is delicious
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and you said thanks i'm glad you like it
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and then you said do you know where i got the recipe chat gpt nice nice
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and i said really
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and you said yeah i've recently started using chat gpt for cooking it's been really helpful
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and that's one of those adjectives that we listed like beneficial valuable, useful, helpful, all good.
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Yep.
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And then I said, I have to try that.
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And you said, so you were, you kind of wanted to continue the discussion and you said, do you use chat GPT?
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And you said, actually a little, did you know you can use it to make travel itineraries?
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Right.
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So, and then I said, I'm using it for my upcoming trip.
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It's really beneficial.
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Nice.
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All right.
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So again, I mean, I feel like we're hearing about AI in the news all the time every day
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but here guys we've given you really practical tools to use
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this as a fluency building topic right keep the conversation going connection connection yeah exactly yeah yes
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we better we got to get with the times right
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and start using this to connect
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because people do get excited about it like oh i can i used it for this
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and i used it for that and because it's so it's still
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so fresh and new and there's a lot there's a lot we can learn
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and again i like this idea
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that we'll do a follow -up on how to talk about the things
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that concern us about ai chat gpt things like that
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so that'd be a great episode um so hit follow
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and guys check out episode 2637
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that was can't get over it how to talk about sunsets concerts
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and more and maybe you'll use it to talk about chat GPT, right?
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I can't get over how helpful it's been with my cooking or something like that.
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Exactly.
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And I think the takeaway here is a lot of our
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listeners say a big challenge is coming up with topics for conversation,
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but you don't need to like stress your brain trying to come up with this brilliant topic.
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Here's a great one.
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That's very, everyone, most people in the world can relate to this, right?
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Most people have something to say.
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So don't feel like you have to be so artistic in the topics that you come up with.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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There's no reason that you have to draw a blank.
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Just pull from what's happening now.
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Right.
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Yes.
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Yes, exactly.
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All right, Lindsay.
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Well, I'm glad we talked about this today and guys, we'll be talking to you soon.
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All right.
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Talk soon, Michelle.
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Bye.
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All right.
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Bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “2672 - Looking for a Conversation Topic? Look No Further Than this Tech Tool”. This video has 16 sentences and 3180 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:54. The speaker talks fast, about 188 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 33 of its 16 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| macro noun | /ˈmæk.ɹoʊ/ | A comparatively human-friendly abbreviation of complex input to a computer program. |
| beneficial adjective | /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ | Helpful or good to something or someone. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| recipe noun | /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/ | Any set of instructions for preparing a mixture of ingredients. |
| delicious adjective | /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ | Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty. |
| blank noun | /ˈblæŋk/ | The white spot in the centre of a target; hence (figuratively) the object to which anything is directed or aimed, the range of such aim. |
| muscle noun | /ˈmʌs.əl/ | A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| experiment noun | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of… |
| upcoming adjective | Happening or appearing in the relatively near future. | |
| clip noun | /klɪp/ | Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another. |
| generate verb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/ | To bring into being; give rise to. |
| meditation noun | /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/ | A devotional exercise of, or leading to, contemplation. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| make up verb | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | To constitute, to compose. |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. | |
| get over verb | To overcome. | |
| take over verb | To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- No, I know what you're talking about.
- Maybe I'll speak for myself.
- That's the fear I think.
- Could I substitute it with this?
- Do you know where I got the recipe?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | they've been eating · I've been using |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | It's been · i've never known · I've recently started |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started using · start speaking · avoid putting |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might share · might be · might need |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 95 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, spreadsheet /ˈspɹɛd.ʃit/
- Long words — get the stress right: beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, refrigerator /ɹɪˈfɹɪd͡ʒ.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/
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 helpful, macro, beneficial.
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.