Shadowing Practice: 6 Years in Vietnam changed how I see America - Learn English Speaking with Video
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After living in Vietnam for more than six years, coming back to the US feels kinda weird.
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Some things are amazing, but some things are not so great.
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So today we'll talk about the pros and cons of Vietnam versus America after living in both places.
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We'll talk about the big things like healthcare and cost of living, but also cultural things that you've probably never even considered.
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So the first pro for America, Something that I really enjoy when I come back here is all the green space and parks.
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So right now we're in the suburbs outside of Chicago and look at this field of grass right across the street.
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So much room for activities.
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Sometimes you just want bare feet on the grass.
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It may seem like a little thing, but it's something that we do pretty well in America that just doesn't exist in Vietnam.
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All over Vietnam you will find AstroTurf football pitches, lots of badminton courts, little play areas for kids,
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but nothing like we have here in America.
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Dude, they got a straight up water park back here.
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Basketball courts, baseball fields, it's all free and open to the public.
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Hey.
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What's up?
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I'm making a video.
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Oh, look who's here.
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Who's that? Did you finish camp?
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Yes.
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Oh, did you say hi?
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Did you wave to the camera?
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Okay.
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So the next thing is kind of a pro and a con.
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So you gotta listen.
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You hear that?
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It's silent.
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Out here in the suburbs, there's hardly any traffic.
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There's barely any people around.
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So it's really quiet and peaceful.
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But at the same time, I kind of miss the chaos and action of Vietnam.
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Over there, everybody's out and about all day.
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The community feels alive.
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But here, everybody's sat in the house with the AC on or they're at work.
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I feel like I've hardly interacted with any human that's not a family member since I've been in America.
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Now to be clear, The suburbs compared to downtown Chicago are two completely different stories.
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In the city, you'll find more people walking around.
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There's plenty of coffee shops and food and things to do.
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Public transportation is really good, but still most people are probably taking expensive Ubers to get around, and it can take you 30 minutes to get somewhere that's not too far away.
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So when it comes to transportation, I prefer Vietnam.
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I like just jumping on my motorbike and cruising wherever I need to go.
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The gym, the beach, coffee and food, everything's a couple minute drive away, and plenty of things are within walking distance.
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Here in America, you've got to get in a car and drive anywhere you need to go.
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You can make an argument for or against both places.
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As I said, public transportation is definitely better in America, and there's tons of chaotic traffic in Vietnam,
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but there's plenty of traffic and never-ending construction in America.
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You can be stuck on the highway not moving for an hour.
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In Vietnam, you're never stuck in traffic.
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You could always just drive up on the sidewalk if you had to.
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This is actually funny.
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I just realized another pro for America.
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Sidewalks.
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I was making a joke earlier, but sidewalks don't exist in Vietnam.
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The area on the side of the road is for parking
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or driving your motorbike or maybe for eating lunch on some plastic stools.
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But it seems like these sidewalks aren't getting much use because three out of four Americans are obese or overweight.
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Why do you think that is?
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Take a guess which country has the lowest obesity in the whole world.
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That's right, Vietnam.
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The food in each of these countries couldn't be further apart.
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Crappy food in America is making this the most unhealthy country in the world.
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So you would hope there'd be pretty good healthcare, right?
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This might be the area where America fails the worst.
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Healthcare sucks in America.
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Sure, the quality is decent, but the price you pay
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and the loops you have to jump through with insurance is pretty embarrassing for the richest country in the world.
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I'll give you an example.
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My dad's been dealing with an ankle injury for weeks now since I've been back in the US.
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He had to wait to get approval from the insurance to get a CT scan done.
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Once that finally happened, Now he has to schedule an appointment for two weeks later to actually get the scan done.
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After that, he'll schedule another appointment with a specialist who's probably gonna give him a bottle of painkillers
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and send him out his way.
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In Vietnam, he could have showed up to the hospital without an appointment, paid out of pocket for the scan which would have been maybe 50 bucks.
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Then he could see a specialist in the same day and actually have a plan to get better.
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Healthcare in Vietnam is cheap,
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convenient, high quality, and I would choose Vietnam over America for everything except the most extreme life or death situation.
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So let's talk about food for a minute.
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Say I'm hungry and I want to get something to eat.
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You've got to get in the car and drive outside of the residential area to get whatever you need.
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There are plenty of grocery stores around, but fresh, healthy food is gonna be pricey.
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The other option is an unlimited selection of fast food, which tastes great, but it's also garbage.
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In Vietnam, there's almost always gonna be a local market within walking distance where you can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat.
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I can buy meat from a pig that was butchered that morning, eggs from a chicken roaming the countryside, and vegetables that were picked yesterday.
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America, on the other hand, relies heavily on imports of fruits and vegetables.
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It can take up the two weeks for a vegetable grown in Mexico to arrive to the grocery store in Chicago.
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That means more chemicals to keep it from rotting along the way.
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But that's not even the biggest problem.
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In America, you got to go out of your way to find healthy food and it's going to be really expensive.
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But trash fast food is cheap and available on every corner.
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In Vietnam, it's completely the opposite.
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You got to drive for a while to find a McDonald's, but there's going to be 10 aunties within walking distance that are cooking homemade meals with fresh ingredients for about $1.50.
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Here's something we don't have in Vietnam.
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Big win for America.
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They sell weed there, in case you couldn't tell.
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Alright, let's get cost of living out of the way.
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I'm not going to spend too much time here because it's obvious that America is a lot more expensive than Vietnam, but I'll give you some real-world examples.
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My mom pays up to $200 per month for the electricity bill.
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That's because in America, we demand comfort.
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So the AC is running 24-7 in the summer and non-stop in the winter.
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The winter part is actually fair because you would die.
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So in America most houses have what's called central cooling.
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So you set the temperature for the entire house and the AC is blowing non-stop out the vents in every room.
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In Vietnam we have individual AC units on the wall, usually only in the bedrooms, and you turn them off and on as you need them.
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So for comparison, the highest my electricity bill would ever be in the peak of summer is about $60.
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And most of the time, it's a lot less than that.
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To fill in the gas tank in your car, you might be looking at $50 or $60 at least once a week.
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I fill up my motorbike in Vietnam for $3 maybe once a week.
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In Vietnam, the government subsidizes fuel and electricity to keep the prices stable and affordable for most people.
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One more pro for America.
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I was going to say blue skies, but it got a little cloudy on me.
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But there's pretty much no pollution here.
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America wins this one hands down, and it is a big one.
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Even in a busy major city like Chicago, the air is still really nice.
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That's because we have way stricter emissions laws.
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There's no factories, no agricultural burning in the countryside.
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Pollution is a major problem for Vietnam, but it is something they're addressing pretty aggressively.
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So I feel pretty good about where they're headed in the future.
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I made a whole video about the pollution issue in Vietnam if you want to check that one out.
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And while you're at it, you might as well subscribe to the channel if you're at all interested in Vietnam.
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So one cultural thing that I've noticed, no one even thinks about taking their shoes off when they go inside the house.
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In Vietnam, you would get slapped if you tried to walk in somebody's house with your shoes on.
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That's why everybody wears slippers.
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One more thing that's been causing me some issues over the last couple weeks, there's no bum guns in America.
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I don't know how you can call yourself a civilized country without some way to spray your butthole with water.
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You might as well go take a shit in the woods.
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That with the type of food I've been eating for three weeks, yeah, we've been having some problems.
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All in all, there's pros and cons to both places.
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I know that growing up in America gave me the opportunity to travel the world
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and be able to choose wherever I want to live.
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So I love Vietnam.
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I plan to be there forever.
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But it has plenty of flaws, and it's definitely not for everyone.
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So if you made it this far in the video, I really appreciate you watching.
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I'll be back in Vietnam soon, and I'll catch you in the next one.
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Peace.
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Why This Video Is Perfect for English Speaking Practice
This video is a goldmine for IELTS speaking practice and everyday conversation skills. The speaker uses casual, relatable language—think phrases like "kinda weird" and "so much room for activities"—that mirror how native speakers actually talk. It’s not overly formal, making it easy to mimic and integrate into your own speech. Plus, the mix of personal stories and comparisons keeps the dialogue engaging, so you’ll stay motivated while practicing.
Breaking Down Natural English Phrases
Let’s look at a few standout lines that sound authentic and why they work:
- "After living in Vietnam for more than six years, coming back to the US feels kinda weird." The phrase "kinda weird" is a casual contraction of "kind of weird," which is common in spoken English. It softens the statement, making it sound natural, not forced.
- "Dude, they got a straight up water park back here." "Straight up" here means "genuinely" or "totally," adding emphasis in a relaxed way. Native speakers use such phrases to convey excitement without being overly dramatic.
- "You could always just drive up on the sidewalk if you had to." The structure "you could always just..." is perfect for giving practical, informal advice. It’s flexible and sounds like a friend sharing a tip.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Boost Your Skills
Use the shadowing technique with this video to improve your pronunciation and fluency. Here’s how: 1. Watch a 10-second clip, then pause. 2. Repeat the speaker’s words immediately, mimicking their tone, speed, and stress. 3. Record yourself and compare it to the original. 4. Focus on tricky parts—like "chaotic traffic" or "never-ending construction"—until they flow naturally. For extra practice, use a shadowing site or app to loop clips. This "shadowspeak" method (repeating in real time) trains your mouth to move like a native and helps you internalize natural rhythm. Do this daily for 15 minutes, and you’ll notice clearer pronunciation and more confident speaking in no time!
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 | dad's been dealing · that's been causing · I've been eating |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've been · I've noticed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be stuck · was butchered |
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.