Shadowing Practice: 8 SECRETS TO LEARN ENGLISH FAST - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey guys, welcome to my channel.

Today we're going to talk about learning English fast

and I know a lot of you guys are struggling to move from intermediate to advanced to upper intermediate

and this has been my problem as well and I'm going to talk about the things that really helped me move from,

you know, I learn English, I read in English but I can't really speak it, I don't really understand native speakers sometimes,

I'm kind of in the middle, I kind of know English but but I can't really use it.

So I will try to take you today, lift you up from your intermediate,

and show you ways of where to go if you wanna become advanced very soon.

So if you're interested in speaking English like a native speaker, continue watching this video and make sure to watch it up to the very end,

and make sure to smash the like button right now if you think that the topic is useful.

I'm waiting for you to smash the like button.

Good this video is brought to you by Skillshare

so first of all make sure you have a very clear goal

and a target

so before I was 14 years old

I was like English is amazing my parents tell me to learn English great I'm gonna do

that but at the age of 14 I went to the UK

and I saw a completely different life I saw people chasing various goals

I tried British food I saw the culture and I was like I want to be a part of that world.

I want to be a part of this

Western world because I was born and raised in Russia.

It all seemed completely different from where I came from

and I knew that the only way for me to become a part of

that world was first to learn English

and to speak it like a native speaker

and second succeed in my studies because English is just a way to integrate into society.

English is just an instrument that will get you somewhere

and apart from English you also need something else right

because you don't want to end up just being a great english speaker

you want to end up being a great english speaker talking about a topic of your expertise

and this is when i realized okay

so this is where i moved from just learning english like grammar vocabulary

this is where i moved to learning about something in english

and because i was 14 my dream was to go

and study in great britain

so i started researching universities in the uk I started researching scholarships and I started to use my intermediate English for it.

I started to read articles and this way I was able to improve my vocabulary

and because I was so passionate about this topic, it wasn't really a struggle for me.

I wanted to do that.

I waited for that one hour in the evening that I had to do my research.

So, and this is something I would advise you to do.

Find a topic that interests you the most.

Set a goal.

For example, complete a course on photography or completed course

and productivity in english and then go towards it move towards it

and always check back with yourself am i enjoying what i do am i enjoying my goal

because this is the most important thing the next advice might be a little counterintuitive

but people keep telling you read a lot read a lot read a lot doesn't really work with english

because you know what i noticed happened to me

when i started reading a lot especially

when i started reading a lot on a topic

that is professional there were so many words that are specific to

that topic like medicine

or whatever i couldn't pronounce them i kind of read them i understood what they meant

but would you ever check like obgyn how to pronounce it i was like ob gin

or whatever and uh that was the wrong way to pronounce it

so it is really important that you not only read

but you mostly focus on listening to things in english on your topic

so this way you are learning how to pronounce words

because that's really important because again the problem

that i had i knew a lot of specific words related to pregnancy for example

because i was first time pregnant here in the us

so i read a lot but then i came to my doctor

and i tried to say something and she didn't get me

because i was pronouncing these words incorrectly and this is

when i realized i should have listened more instead of just reading the next advice don't translate word for word

sometimes you're like oh my god she just used this word

that I didn't understand let's just go back to this

and let me translate the whole phrase no this way you're gonna lose interest

so if you're reading a book

and you know every paragraph you may be meeting like two

or three words that you haven't seen before that's totally fine

if you still understand the context

if you still understand the topic of the book

you still understand what's going on then just let them pass by let those words stay

there in the book no need to translate everything just make sure you understand the general idea

and this advice is by the way really useful

if you're just about to take an english language test because in english English language test, they use the strategy a lot.

They...

use a lot of difficult words that you don't really need to understand.

They're doing this to confuse you, to make you scared, but the questions that they ask, they don't really relate to those words.

They relate to general idea.

Because I just recently took TOEFL, I can tell you that there was so many words

that I didn't understand and I've lived in the US since 2016

and they just want you to feel overwhelmed with this academic vocabulary, but then they ask you questions to answer

which you don't really need to understand those complicated words

if you're learning english to live in a foreign country

then forget about writing again this might sound a little counterintuitive

but what you need to analyze right now is why do you need english

if you're gonna stay in your country

and uh all you gonna do is write academic papers then yes

but you need to kind of allocate those percentages to different areas of english

that you're gonna use

so for example i live in the us 80 of my time i speak english

because i record videos i talk to people this means

that i need to dedicate 80 of my time to speaking

and listening and only 20 of my time to reading

and writing because i want to work on the skills

that i need the most so if you're planning on staying in your country

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and write academic papers in english then yes 80 of your time dedicated to english should be focusing on reading

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and writing because this is the way you hone the skill

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and you don't really need to care about speaking and listening

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but if you plan on moving somewhere

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if you plan on working in an English speaking environment then you totally need to focus on speaking

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and listening the next advice is to take an online course

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and we've already touched upon this a little early in this video

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but you really need to ask yourself what am I interested in apart from English what am I interested in

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so for example I am interested in becoming more productive

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because I have a baby I have three YouTube channels I have my Instagram tick -tock companies

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so many things going on in my life how do i

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stay productive how do i allocate my time depending on what goals i have

112

and by the way there is an amazing course on skillshare

113

that can help you with that the course and productivity

114

that i really like on skillshare is called productivity today managing attention in the digital age

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i know all of us are learning english digitally and you have

116

so many things going on in your laptop

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i have all of my messengers i have my email i have people calling me all the time

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so i think it's really important to have dedicated time slots

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when you're doing something to have dedicated time slots during the week

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so for example one day you're focusing on your listening another day you're focusing on your speaking

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so you know just planning things ahead and staying productive

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and staying on top of your routine is really really important

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and this is why i recommend

124

this course on skillshare skillshare is an online learning community where

125

millions come together to take the next step in their creative journey with thousands of inspiring classes for creative

126

and curious people on topics including illustration design photography video freelancing

127

and productivity skillshare is created specifically for learning meaning there are no ads

128

and you're getting access to classes for less than ten dollars

129

a month with an annual subscription the first 1000 followers who

130

hit a link below will get a free premium membership on skillshare for two months

131

so you can totally explore the course

132

that i'm talking about for free the next advice forget about perfect grammar

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because whenever you try to be perfect in anything in a language

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that slows you down

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because your brain is like okay I need to say this phrase in English oh

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and I also want to make sure I sound perfect

137

and this is just too much for your brain because there is

138

so much going on you need to think about your ideas

139

you need to think about how to say them in English

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and then you want to sound perfect maybe you want to use

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this past perfect continuous tense don't do it you can try to use

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it later i still refrain from using it

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because that's too much for my brain i just want to sound simpler

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and easier so yeah don't over complicate

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and don't try to sound perfect it's totally okay to make mistakes

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and this is what i'm here for you know i'm telling

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you about the right ways to say different things about different ways to say things

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but please don't be perfect you're gonna start saying something in a wrong way

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but then you would hear people answering you you would hear back from people

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and you would understand oh that didn't sound right

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but you started a conversation and that's the most important thing you will correct yourself later

152

but please please start the next advice is try to listen to everything remember

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i was telling you about like reading stuff

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and then knowing how to pronounce it

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so try to listen to audiobooks try to listen to online

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courses try to listen to videos to surround yourself with listening to things in english

157

and that will really really help you hone your listening skills

158

and your speaking skills as well and the last

159

but not the least practice english every day

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that's the key to success maybe it's 15 minutes maybe

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it's 20 minutes maybe it means just watching my videos daily maybe you're you've downloaded an audiobook

162

and you listen to a chapter per day

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or you started a course on skillshare

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and you listen to a lecture a day this is really important to be consistent

165

and to do something every single day thank you

166

so much guys for watching this video up to the very end

167

i hope it helped you become more enthusiastic about learning english

168

and i hope it helped

169

you to create a plan in your head on how you're gonna go from intermediate to advanced

170

and i hope i gave you some directions don't forget to subscribe to this channel

171

and smash the like button if you enjoy this content

172

and follow me on instagram lingua marina if you want to practice english daily

173

because i make stories daily about english there and lingua marina on tiktok see you soon bye

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “8 SECRETS TO LEARN ENGLISH FAST”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: english, word, topic, learning, skillshare. This video has 173 sentences and 2071 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:37. The speaker talks fast, about 195 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
topic noun	/ˈtɑpɪk/	A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
pronounce verb	/pɹəˈnaʊns/	To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously.
intermediate adjective	/ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/	Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range.
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.
productivity noun	/ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/	The state of being productive, fertile, or efficient.
dedicate verb	/ˈdɛdɪˌkeɪt/	To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate.
productive adjective	/pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/	Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile.
smash verb	/smæʃ/	To break (something brittle) violently.
translate verb	/tɹænzˈleɪt/	To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.
vocabulary noun	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
photography noun	/fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/	The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its digital counterpart.
phrase noun	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	A short written or spoken expression.
relate verb	/ɹɪˈleɪt/	To tell in a descriptive way.
grammar noun	/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/	A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
slot noun	/slɑt/	A narrow depression, perforation, or aperture; especially, one for the reception of a piece fitting or sliding into it.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
go back to verb	To stem from; to originate in.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been · haven't seen · I've lived
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is brought · was born · is called
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	started researching · keep telling · started reading
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the most important · the most so · the least practice

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 58 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: smash /smæʃ/, scholarship /ˈskɑːləɹʃɪp/, passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/, subscription /səbˈskɹɪpʃən/, illustration /ˌɪləsˈtɹeɪ̯ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/, productivity /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, photography /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.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 topic, pronounce, intermediate.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 8 SECRETS TO LEARN ENGLISH FAST - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?