Shadowing Practice: A Reason Not to Worry What Others Think - Learn English Speaking with Video
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32 sentences
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Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is a large painting from the 1560s that hangs in Belgium's largest museum, the Musée des Beaux -Arts,
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and is held to be a meticulous copy of an original work now lost by the Flemish artist
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Peter Bruegel the Elder.
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The painting shows a superficially bucolic scene.
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Ships are taking sail, a shepherd is tending to his flock, distant cities look prosperous and ordered.
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But in the bottom right -hand corner of the canvas, a tragedy is unfolding, all but unheeded.
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Reckless Icarus, the legendary figure from classical mythology, is in the final stages of one of the ancient world's most famous aeronautical disasters.
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Together with his father Daedalus, the young man had made himself a pair of wings glued together with wax.
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Daedalus had warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, in case its heat were to melt the structure,
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but the impetuous boy soared too high anyway and, in the painting, has just tumbled down into the waves to his death.
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Icarus' end is deliberately not the central focus of the painting.
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The eye is drawn instead to the glittering cities and smart ships in the distance.
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As if to emphasise the point, the ploughman at the centre of the painting references a popular proverb, no plough stops for the dying man.
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This neglect of Icarus' tragedy is at one level terrifying and sad.
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We read into it how little the world cares about our own pains.
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And yet, from another perspective, this neglect is deeply gratifying and importantly redemptive.
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It is one of the central sources of our unhappiness
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that we spend so much of our lives fearing for our reputations
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and wondering what others will think of us when we fail, as we inevitably will at points.
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The slightest change in our image in the eyes of others can obsess us.
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We lie awake at night wondering how we could cope without the approval of people we don't even like very much.
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We surrender our freedom to the verdicts of strangers.
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But the painter's stroke of consoling genius is here to show us how, when we really mess up,
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almost no one will be looking or caring very much.
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The farmer is too busy ploughing, the shepherd is too taken up with thinking about the weather, someone else is overwhelmingly intent on fishing.
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Our tragedies don't occupy society the way we fear they will.
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A few people might notice for a moment, then swiftly move on to the next thing.
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We are at the centre of the galaxy, only in our own tortured minds.
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The world is still filled with humans who haven't heard of us and never will.
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Those who might be angry or disappointed with you now will have forgotten all about you soon enough.
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Your disgrace will, in time, be subsumed within the larger amnesia of a consolingly indifferent world.
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It isn't just Icarus who is being swallowed up and obscured by the waves, some of the same obscurity awaits our greatest errors and embarrassments.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “A Reason Not to Worry What Others Think”. This video has 32 sentences and 513 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:11. The speaker talks at a natural 161 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tragedy noun | /ˈtɹæd͡ʒ.ɪ.di/ | A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of… |
| shepherd noun | /ˈʃɛpəɹd/ | A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock. |
| neglect verb | /nɪˈɡlɛkt/ | To fail to care for or attend to something. |
| reputation noun | /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/ | What somebody or something is known for. |
| deeply adverb | /ˈdi(ː)pli/ | To a deep extent or degree; very greatly. |
| disappointed adjective | /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/ | Defeated of expectations or hope; experiencing disappointment; let down. |
| disaster noun | /dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ | An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent… |
| landscape noun | /ˈlan(d)skeɪp/ | A portion of land or territory as defined by its landform, its geographical (and architectural) features. |
| genius noun | /ˈd͡ʒin.jəs/ | Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art… |
| galaxy noun | /ˈɡæl.ək.si/ | Any of the collections of many millions or billions of stars, galactic dust, black holes, etc. existing as independent and coherent systems, of which there are… |
| intent noun | /ɪnˈtɛnt/ | Something that is intended. |
| stranger noun | /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒɚ/ | A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance. |
| classical adjective | /ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/ | Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. |
| legendary adjective | /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənˌdɛɹ.i/ | Of or pertaining to a legend or to legends. |
| slight adjective | /slaɪt/ | Minor; small in amount |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mess up verb | To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss. |
| take up with verb | To form a close relationship with (someone). |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is held · is drawn · is still filled |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has just tumbled · haven't heard |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, haven't, isn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shepherd /ˈʃɛpəɹd/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, amnesia /ˌæmˈniʒə/
- Long words — get the stress right: reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, disappointed /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/, legendary /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənˌdɛɹ.i/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, deliberately /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət.li/
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 tragedy, shepherd, neglect.
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.