Shadowing Practice: Asian Mother Trauma : Jimmy O. Yang - Learn English Speaking with Video
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66 sentences
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But my mom had bought me gym shorts that was my exact size and extra small.
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So that wasn't very cool because it came down mid -thigh.
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And apparently back in the day that was called a John Stockton.
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And the same kid next to me, that bully next to me, he's like, Hey, hey, look at that.
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Hey, don't wear your pants like that.
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Pull your pants down, man.
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Pull your pants down.
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And I was like, who's the gay one now?
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But I didn't know what to do.
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Everybody was looking at me, and this kid kept saying, pull your pants down.
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So I was like, oh, .
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I've seen Shawshank Redemption.
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Maybe that's just how it works in America.
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So I start pulling down my shorts all the way down to my knees, all the way down to my ankle.
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And the same kid, the bully next to me, he's like, hey, what are you doing?
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Don't pull him down all the way.
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That's gay.
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And I'm like, what is not gay in this country?
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And apparently this other kid next to me, he's like, hey, don't pull them down all the way.
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Just sag them a little bit.
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Just sag your pants.
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And I didn't know what sagging your pants meant.
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Apparently that's a cool hip -hop thing to pull your pants down halfway down your butt.
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So you show everybody your ahole.
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And apparently that's the only not gay way to wear your pants in America.
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I had no idea.
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All these weird American things I wasn't used to.
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Eventually I learned how to speak English by watching a lot of TV, mainly BET Rap City.
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Because that was my .
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I want to be cool and nothing cooler than BET Rap City, right?
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Every music video was a slice of somebody's American dream.
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The first music video I saw was Jay -Z's Big Pimpin'.
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You guys remember that ?
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Jay -Z's Big Pimpin' was the greatest music video of all time.
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It was Jay -Z and his boys on a yacht pouring champagne on this beautiful woman's face for like four minutes.
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I was like, this is America?
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It's amazing.
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That's all I wanted to do.
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Like before I even wanted to get into the stand -up, that's all I wanted to do.
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I want to be a rapper.
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I want to be like
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Jay -Z and Big Pimpin'.
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So I started my own rap group in high school.
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It was a true story.
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It was me, my black friend Julian, and my other friend Yuji, who was half black and half Japanese.
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So we had perfectly one and a half black dudes and one and a half Asian dudes.
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And we called ourselves the Yellow Panthers.
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I know.
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I wish I was making this up, but I'm not.
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The Yellow Panthers was a real rap group.
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And we had a real rap song.
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It was called Underground Railroad Builder.
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I was confused.
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Eventually, I became a good Asian American, and I went to school to get an economics degree
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because that was the easiest degree that can still appease my Asian parents.
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but then after i graduated i didn't want to do like econ or finance
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so i went up to my dad i was like dad
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i don't want to do any of this i want to go try
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and do stand -up
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and he's like what's a what's a stand -up
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you mean like a talk show i was like yeah sure talk show whatever you want to call it okay
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but i want to go pursue my dreams and he was like no pursue your dreams how you become homeless.
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I was like, no, no, dad, dad, things are different now.
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We're in America, okay?
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In America, we're supposed to do what we love.
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He was like, no. Everyone does what they hate for money and use the money to do what they love.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Asian Mother Trauma : Jimmy O. Yang”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: pants, pull, rap, America, Jay. This video has 66 sentences and 661 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:59. The speaker talks at a natural 166 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| pants noun | /pænts/ | An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers. |
| pursue verb | /pɚˈsu/ | To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase. |
| bully noun | /ˈbʊli/ | A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others, especially to those whom they perceive as being vulnerable or of less power or… |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
| economics noun | /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks/ | The study of resource and wealth allocation, consumption, and distribution, of capital and investment, and of management of the factors of production. |
| knee noun | /ni/ | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| butt noun | /bʌt/ | Body; self. |
| pour verb | /poɹ/ | To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it. |
| halfway adverb | /ˌhæfˈweɪ/ | Half of the way between two points. |
| slice noun | /slaɪs/ | That which is thin and broad. |
| ankle noun | /ˈæŋ.kəl/ | The skeletal joint which connects the foot with the leg; the uppermost portion of the foot and lowermost portion of the leg, which contain this skeletal joint. |
| rapper noun | /ˈɹæpɚ/ | The knocker of a door. |
| champagne noun | /ʃæmˈpeɪn/ | A sparkling white wine made from a blend of grapes, especially Chardonnay and pinot, produced in Champagne, France, by the méthode champenoise. |
| yacht noun | /jɑt/ | A slick and light ship for making pleasure trips or racing on water, having sails but often motor-powered. At times used as a residence offshore on a dock. |
| thigh noun | /θaɪ/ | The upper leg of a human, between the hip and the knee. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. |
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. |
| pull down verb | To make (something) lower (especially of clothes). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Hey, don't wear your pants like that.
- And I was like, who's the gay one now?
- You guys remember that ?
- That's all I wanted to do.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, didn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 pants, pursue, bully.
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.