Shadowing Practice: 5 things to practice every day to improve your English communication skills - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everyone and welcome back to English with Lucy.
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Today I'm going to talk to you about five things that you can practice every single day to improve your English.
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Learning a language is like learning to play a musical instrument.
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You can't just pick up a violin and know how to play it, or at least I didn't when I learnt the violin.
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You have to practice a little bit every single day, and over time you will improve and become fluent.
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You can't just practise loads the day before an exam and expect to be perfect at playing that violin.
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It's exactly the same for languages.
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The best way to learn a language is to practise a little bit every single day.
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And in this lesson, I'm going to give you five different ways
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that you can incorporate English or any other language into your daily life.
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I think that quite a few of these you won't have heard before.
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So let's get straight into it.
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Number one, and ah, I am
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so excited to be able to mention one of my favourite things to listen to ever on my channel.
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My first piece of advice is to follow an audio soap opera.
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What is a soap opera?
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I hear you ask.
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Well, I shall tell you.
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A soap opera is a daily serial or series dealing with the daily lives and events of the same group of characters,
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normally in the same location.
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Most commonly, they are on television.
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We have lots in the UK like EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, but I'm recommending you listen to an audio one.
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And there's one in particular I would like to recommend.
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I really, really recommend a radio soap opera by the BBC Radio 4 called The Archers.
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The Archers.
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The Archers.
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It's special for so many reasons, not least because it is the longest running drama in history.
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It was started in 1950, first aired in 1951, and also because I think it is absolutely perfect for English learners.
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It follows the daily lives and dramas of a group of fictional characters in the fictional countryside village of Ambridge.
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Each episode is around 12 to 14 minutes long.
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I'm not quite sure exactly how long, but it's definitely under 15 minutes.
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It's spoken in relatively clear English in a variety of British accents and sometimes not British accents as well, other accents.
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But it's fantastic because the plot summary is posted on the BBC website.
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I will link to all of this below in the description box.
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And the great thing about this is that it deals with daily happenings, which is great for your life too,
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current events, routine things, and you can repeat all of the parts that you missed.
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It's on every single day, apart from Saturday, they have a rest.
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And once a week, they condense all of the week's episode into one, and that's called an omnibus.
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And that's around 75 minutes long.
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I love listening to The Archers when I go running.
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I listen to it every single day, and if I miss one, then I always catch up.
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There is no beginning and there is no finish to the series.
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There aren't any seasons.
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So it might take you a couple of episodes to get used to the storylines
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and to work out who is who and to recognise the different voices.
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Give it five or six episodes and you'll feel really included.
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It's wonderful because it's free to listen to, it's beautifully produced, and there is a huge community of Archers fans.
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A lot of them are older, but a lot of them are younger too.
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And if you search hashtag the Archers on Twitter, big tip here, you'll see lots of people talking and discussing the topics of the episode,
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and maybe you could interact with them.
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So I'm going to leave the links for the Archers episodes and also the plot summaries in the description box.
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And I really hope some of you take up this opportunity to listen to a daily English audio soap opera.
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10 to 15 minutes every day is definitely gonna help your listening, it's going to help your pronunciation,
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and it's just gonna help your general enjoyment as well because it's a great programme.
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Right, before I get too passionate, let's move on to piece of advice number two.
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So, number two is talk daily with natives.
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Now, I bet so many of you are thinking, I wish I would love to talk to natives every day, but I don't know how, and no one seems to want to talk to me.
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Well, I have a couple of suggestions.
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One is paid for and one is free.
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And the best thing in my opinion would be a combination of the two.
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So a combination of both paid for classes
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and language exchanges would be amazing because you can take what you've learned
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and heard in the language exchange
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and verify it with your teacher for an extra layer of security to make sure that you're not making any mistakes.
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Now, onto tip number three, set yourself a daily word goal.
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Learn X amount of words every single day.
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This tip is really important because it also links to tip number four.
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I have mentioned this strategy in a previous video, but I actually have a really important extra layer to this strategy that I would like to discuss with you.
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In order to build your vocabulary quickly, you need to learn at least one new word per day, but hopefully more than that.
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I've spoken to you before about keeping a word diary or just a notebook or a list on your phone.
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Keep it with you all the time and always be aware wherever you are, do I know that word in English.
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Do I know how to say that in English?
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You might see a tree.
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Do I know how to say that specific variety of tree in English?
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If you don't, write it down in your own language, in this book, in this list.
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And then at the end of the day, before you go to sleep, research all of these words and translate them into English.
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It will help you train your brain to always be hungry for English.
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After a few weeks, you will always be looking for new words that you can learn, words that you didn't even realise you didn't know.
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Now, there is something else that you can do with these words, and this brings me on to point number four.
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Write a daily journal with a difference.
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Depending on your level, I would buy a paper journal or diary.
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I get so tired in the evenings, I can't spend loads and loads of time writing, so I personally would buy a work week planner
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or a homework planner or a study planner where you've got all seven days across two pages.
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In each of those days, I would write three or four sentences about my day, trying to incorporate those words that I learned in my daily word list.
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The words I mentioned in point three.
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That way, not only are you learning the new words and learning what they mean, but you're making sure they're fully integrated into your brain.
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And also doing this before you go to sleep will mean they stick in there even more.
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Then you can wake up in the morning, read what you wrote the night before, and you've got those words fresh in your head ready for the day ahead it's honestly such a fabulous technique
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because it builds your vocabulary it improves your writing skills it improves your reading skills
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if you search the pronunciation of the word it will improve your pronunciation
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and your listening skills and
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if you book in sessions with language teachers you can have them correct your writing
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so every week you can bring them two fresh pages of writing for them to correct.
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Honestly, if you do this every day, it will help you so much.
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Right, time for the last point, point number five.
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The tip is to perform daily translations of subjects you are interested in.
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Now, I know a lot of you want to stop translating and think in English.
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However, I think translation forms a very, very important part of language learning, especially when it's around something that you are interested in.
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It's really, really good to compare how things are said in different languages.
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And translation helps you with that.
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In my opinion, the best way to practise your translation is absolutely free, which is fantastic.
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And it's right here on YouTube.
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Pick the YouTubers that you really, really like, the YouTubers that talk about subjects that you're interested in.
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Maybe it's photography, maybe it's technology, maybe it's pets, maybe it's makeup you can actually contribute subtitle translations.
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You may have seen that underneath all of my videos, I have a link where I give the opportunity to contribute subtitle translations.
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So I write the subtitles in English, and then you can write them in your own language.
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It's amazing because it helps my videos reach and help a wider audience.
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They also get their name displayed under the video, which is really, really cool.
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And it helps their translation skills.
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You could translate videos from your native language into English that would be a really good way to practise.
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But even translating English subtitles into your own native language is a really good reading and translation exercise.
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I will post a link with more information on community subtitle translations in the description box.
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Right, I have discussed all five points.
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I really hope you've learned something.
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I really hope you try out one of my five recommendations, also links to listen to the archers and also the information on subtitles.
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Don't forget to check out all of my social media.
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I've got my Facebook, I've got my Instagram, and I've got my Twitter, and I shall see you soon for another lesson.
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Mwah!
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Learning a language is like learning a music...
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Ah!
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A soap opera is a drama serial...
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Complex!
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Stupid.
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Oh dear.
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Right, before I get too passionate, let's move on to episode.
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They're an online database and platform of latent blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
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Online language teacher platform.
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Blah blah.
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All you have to do is click on the description in the link box.
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No, that was wrong.
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Damn it, I was doing so well!
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you
Context & Background
In the video titled "5 things to practice every day to improve your English communication skills," Lucy emphasizes the importance of daily practice in language learning, drawing parallels between language acquisition and mastering a musical instrument. She illustrates how consistent, incremental practice leads to fluency over time, reinforcing the idea that language learning is not a last-minute endeavor but a gradual process that should be integrated into daily routines. This context sets the stage for discussing effective methods to enhance English speaking skills through engaging and practical activities.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “I really recommend” - This phrase shows enthusiasm and can be used to suggest resources or activities to others.
- “Great thing about” - A helpful phrase for highlighting positive aspects of any topic.
- “You can catch up” - Ideal for discussing ways to stay current, especially in ongoing activities.
- “Each episode is around” - Useful for providing information about durations, which can help in discussions about time management.
- “You might take a couple of episodes” - A phrase for expressing the idea of gradual adaptation or learning.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively practice your English speaking skills using Lucy's suggested approach, follow this step-by-step shadowing guide:
- Choose Your Audio Resource: Start by selecting the audio soap opera “The Archers.” It provides clear dialogue in various British accents and covers daily life topics.
- Initial Listening: Listen to an episode without any interruption. Try to grasp the storyline, characters, and general context. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything; just absorb the sounds and patterns of the language.
- Shadow Speaking: Replay the episode, but this time, practice shadow speaking: repeat what you hear in real-time. This technique, often referred to as "shadow speech," will help you improve pronunciation and intonation.
- Review and Repeat: If there are segments that were challenging, replay them a few times. You can use a shadowing site or simply repeat these parts until you gain confidence.
- Engage & Interact: After listening, check the plot summary online and join discussions on social media, such as Twitter. This will encourage you to use new vocabulary and phrases within community contexts, further solidifying your English speaking practice.
By following these steps, you'll not only improve your English speaking practice but also learn to communicate more naturally and confidently in English.
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.