Shadowing Practice: 63 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Your Excellencies, UN Secretary General, President of the General Assembly,
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Executive Director of UN Women, and distinguished guests.
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Today, we are launching a campaign called He for She.
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I am reaching out to you because we need your help.
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We want to end gender inequality.
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And to do this, we need everyone involved.
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This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN.
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we want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for change.
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And we don't just want to talk about it.
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We want to try and make sure that it's tangible.
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I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women six months ago.
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And the more I've spoken about feminism,
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the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating.
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If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.
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For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.
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It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.
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I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago.
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When I was eight, I was confused about being called bossy
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because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents.
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But the boys were not.
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when at 14 I started to be sexualized by certain elements of the media
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when at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams
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because they didn't want to appear muscly
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when at 18 my male friends were unable to express their feelings I decided
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that I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me
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but my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.
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Women are choosing not to identify as feminist.
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Apparently, I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong,
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too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men.
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Unattractive, even.
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Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?
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I am from Britain and I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts.
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I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body.
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I think...
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I think it is right
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that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and the decisions that will affect my life.
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I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men.
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But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive
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these rights.
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No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality.
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These rights I consider to be human rights, but I am one of the lucky ones.
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My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn't love me less because I was born a daughter.
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My school did not limit me because I was a girl.
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My mentors didn't assume that I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day.
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These influences were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today.
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They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world today.
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we need more of those.
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And if you still hate the word, it is not the word that is important.
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It's the idea and the ambition behind it.
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Because not all women have received the same rights that I have.
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In fact, statistically, very few have been.
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In 1997, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women's rights.
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Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today.
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But what stood out for me the most was that less than 30% of the audience were male.
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How can we affect change in the world
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when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?
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I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation.
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Gender equality is your issue too.
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because to date I've seen my father's role as a parent
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being valued less by society despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mother's.
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I've seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask
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for help for fear it would make them less of a man or less of a man.
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In fact, in the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20 to 49,
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eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease.
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I've seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success.
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Men don't have the benefits of equality either.
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We don't often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that they are, and that when they are free,
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things will change for women as a natural consequence.
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If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive.
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If men don't have to control, Women won't have to be controlled.
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Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive.
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Both men and women should feel free to be strong.
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It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.
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If we stop defining each other by what we are not,
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and start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer.
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And this is what he or she is about.
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It's about freedom.
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I want men to take up this mantle so that their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice,
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but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too.
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Reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned, and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves.
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You might be thinking, who is this Harry Potter girl?
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And what is she doing speaking at the UN?
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and it's a really good question, I've been asking myself the same thing.
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All I know is that I care about this problem and I want to make it better.
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And having seen what I've seen and given the chance, I feel it is my responsibility to say something.
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Statesman Edmund Burke said, all that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph.
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is for good men and women to do nothing.
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In my nervousness for this speech, and in my moments of doubt,
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I've told myself firmly, if not me, who? If not now, when?
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If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you, I hope that those words will be helpful.
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Because the reality is that if we do nothing, it will take 75 years,
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or for me to be nearly 100, before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work.
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15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children.
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And at current rates, it won't be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education.
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If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier.
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And for this, I applaud you.
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We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is that we have a uniting movement.
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It is called He for She.
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I am inviting you to step forward,
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to be seen, and to ask yourself, if not me, who? if not now, when?
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Thank you very, very much.

Context & Background

In this inspiring speech, the speaker addresses a distinguished audience at the United Nations, launching the "He for She" campaign aimed at promoting gender equality. The speaker, appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, emphasizes the importance of involving men and boys in advocating for women's rights. Through personal anecdotes and reflections, the speaker explores the complexities of feminism and its societal perceptions, arguing that the essence of feminism is the belief in equal rights for all genders. This powerful dialogue encourages listeners to question gender-based assumptions and seek equality on both personal and global levels.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "I think it is right that..." - Useful for expressing personal beliefs and opinions clearly.
  • "We need everyone involved." - A phrase to encourage participation and collective action.
  • "Fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating." - An important statement to clarify misconceptions about feminism.
  • "I decided that I was a feminist." - A personal declaration that confirms one’s stance on an important issue.
  • "These rights I consider to be human rights." - A phrase that emphasizes fundamental rights that should apply to everyone.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

If you are looking to improve your English speaking skills through the shadowing technique, particularly using this video, follow these steps:

  1. Initial Listening: First, watch the video without pausing. This will give you a general understanding of the tone and context.
  2. Chunking: Break the speech into manageable sections. Focus on a single phrase or sentence at a time. This approach aligns well with the shadowspeak method.
  3. Listen and Repeat: Play a segment, pause after each sentence, and repeat what you've heard. Pay attention to pronunciation and intonation.
  4. Record Yourself: Using your phone or a recording device, record your voice while repeating the phrases. Compare your pronunciation with the original.
  5. Practice Contextual Usage: Incorporate the phrases into your daily communication. This practice will solidify your learning and enhance your english speaking practice.

By consistently applying the shadow speak and shadowspeaks techniques, you'll gradually improve your fluency, pronunciation, and confidence in using English in everyday conversations.

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.