Shadowing Practice: Aspiration, policy, and a bright future for youth | Vietnam Today - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
58 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Vietnam is currently in its golden population period, with nearly 17 million people of working age between 15 and 64.
2
This is a critical window for rapid sustainable growth, provided every young person has the chance to study,
3
work, access healthcare and reach their full potential.
4
On this year's World Population Day, the United Nations reaffirms that people, young people especially, remain at the center of sustainable development.
5
Globally, the share of young people aged 15 to 24 has
6
fallen from 17 .8 % in 2000 to 15 .6 % in 2025,
7
and is projected to drop to 13 .3 % by 2050, a sign of how quickly youth populations are shrinking.
8
But the reason for this is not that young people have lost interest in marriage.
9
Government leaders, policy makers, UN representatives
10
and Vietnamese youth all come together to confront one question: What is stopping young people from getting what they want?
11
An interesting data from this is that Most youth
12
do want to have children and do want to have a stable life with their partners or have children with their families.
13
But something else is stopping them from getting their dream.
14
It is economic and social barriers that have been limiting their choices of marriage and having children.
15
That's why investing in youth must be treated as a strategic priority.
16
"The National Assembly has just passed a new population, several of those directly concern young people, helping to maintain sustainable fertility levels,
17
reduce sex -ratio imbalance at birth, expand social security coverage.
18
When couples are able to take charge of every aspect of their lives, from financial readiness to the timing and spacing of birth,
19
and when their surrounding environment supports that choice, they can decide on the right time to plan and prepare for having a child.
20
While Vietnam's government sets the policy direction, international experience offers technical guidance on how those policies should be designed,
21
especially regarding the shift in mindset of both young people and the society on this matter.
22
"What's needed are long -term support policies for children, not one -off assistance.
23
Support should follow a child's development over time.
24
Alongside that, we're also proposing a shift in communication.
25
Rather than messaging that simply urges people to have more children,
26
we should focus on communicating family values so young people feel genuinely inspired to start a family and have children,
27
rather than feeling pressured to do so." Closing the gap between what young people want
28
and what circumstances allow will take more than policy on paper.
29
It will take sustained investment in the conditions that let them choose freely.
30
Bye.
31
Thank you.
32
To dig deeper into what's really driving these findings, our reporter Nguyen Chen had a conversation with Mr Matt Jackson,
33
UNFPA representative in Vietnam, for an in -depth look at the Demographic Futures Survey 2026.
34
Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with us.
35
You're very welcome.
36
I'm very happy to be here today.
37
Okay, so first question.
38
The financial stability comes out as the top rated factor in decisions related to partnership and parenthood.
39
What can we make of this?
40
Absolutely.
41
In the survey that we published this week, over 80 % of respondents put financial security as their top precondition for settling down,
42
finding a partner and starting a family.
43
This means young people are very much aware of the cost associated with marriage and with bringing up children.
44
Therefore, the message we should take is that young people are looking for stable secure employment.
45
When we added to the questions on health and well -being,
46
over 90 % of respondents had financial security and health and physical well -being as their top two priorities and preconditions.
47
So our policies, our demographic policies and our social policies really need to address the high cost of housing, the lack of secure jobs,
48
the unaffordability of childcare, So the survey draw the distinction between the precondition for parenthood and the motivation for parenthood.
49
So why is this distinguishment important when it comes to policy making?
50
A really important finding from the survey was how young people respond to pressures
51
or to directions about family life and starting to have a family.
52
Young love happiness and joy.
53
At the opposite end, the sort of the lowest rated reasons for having children were government targets
54
or to solve issues like a demographic crisis.
55
This tells us that pronatalist policies don't work What does work,
56
what does support young people to achieve the number of children they want and their desired family size,
57
is the removal of the barriers that are preventing them from reaching that.
58
Thank you so much for spending the time to do this with us today.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
C12
Deputies seek clarity on AI and IP rights | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2119
Vietnam coffee exports target record 8 billion USD | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B213
Concert tourism: Beyond the music | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
Training course inspires VTV contributors | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B25
Side hustles enter the AI era | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
Phu Quoc Airport expansion accelerates | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B258
Vietnamese rice favoured by Iraqi consumers | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C14
Viet Nam - China revolutionary solidarity through Guangzhou uprising | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
B15
Flavours & Beyond: Tofu - The Taste of Timeless Tradition | Vietnam Today
Travel EnglishWorking Adults
B13
Vietnamese herbs: Old but gold | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
3D mapping performance "Nurturing great minds" | Vietnam Today
Travel EnglishWorking Adults
B21
The Point 2: Driving growth through institutional reform | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
Thousands pay tribute to fallen soldiers | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
VTV Special: Ho Chi Minh: Diplomatic resolve in 1946 | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
New fishing season on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B233
Call for AI to support inclusive education | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C14
Ho Chi Minh City seeks global business links | Vietnam Today
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B12
Check-in Guide: Hanoi – A Destination for Wellness | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
Underwater lion dance wows crowds | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
Vietnam-Laos strengthen strategic ties | Vietnam Today
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B26
24 sentences
Gen Z: a shift to wellness | Vietnam Today
Business EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B220
43 sentences
Việt Nam balances digital empowerment and restriction | Vietnam Today
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B28
15 sentences
📍EP 419: Sinh Nhật Bác Hồ #hoctienganh #learningenglish #podcasttienganh #listeningenglish
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B23
46 sentences
조슈아, 청년들에게 건넨 따듯한 응원 🩵 유네스코X세븐틴 세계청년기금 기념식 현장 ｜ SEVENTEEN, JOSHUA / MTN STAR
Business EnglishTeensHigh School Students
B25
56 sentences
Will Vietnam get old before it gets rich?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
224 sentences
Một thế hệ nghiện mạng xã hội và dễ bỏ cuộc. Làm thế nào để thay đổi? | Kraven | Beyond Limits
Business EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B13
24 sentences
Hoa hậu Emoura Phạm ứng xử Top 5 - Chung kết Miss Grand Vietnam 2026
Travel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B13
9 sentences
18 tháng 5, 2026
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B22
96 sentences
Where are China’s youth headed in a crowded job market?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
37 sentences
18 tháng 10, 2026
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
51 sentences
Returning to the countryside | Từ vựng highlight và Ngữ pháp tóm tắt | Phụ đề Anh - Việt
Travel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B23
33 sentences
Giải đề IELTS SPEAKING - Social media
IELTS PrepDaily ConversationHigh School Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Aspiration, policy, and a bright future for youth”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: policies, survey, youth, population, financial. This video has 58 sentences and 767 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:39. The speaker talks at a steady 136 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| precondition noun | /ˈpɹiːkənˌdɪʃən/ | A condition that requires satisfaction before taking a course of action. |
| parenthood noun | The state of being a parent | |
| demographic adjective | /ˌdɛm.əˈɡɹæf.ɪk/ | Of or pertaining to demography. |
| sustainable adjective | /səˈsteɪnəbəl/ | Able to be sustained. |
| respondent noun | /ɹɪˈspɑn.dənt/ | One who responds; one who replies. |
| barrier noun | /ˈbæɹi.ə/ | A structure that bars passage. |
| rat noun | /ɹæt/ | Any of the numerous members of several rodent families that usually have short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than… |
| childcare noun | The act, practice, or occupation of supervising and taking care of young children. | |
| distinguishment noun | /dɪsˈtɪŋɡ.wɪʃ.mənt/ | A distinction; observation of difference. |
| imbalance noun | The property of not being in balance. | |
| pronatalist noun | One who believes in pronatalism. | |
| reaffirm verb | /ɹiːəˈfɜːm/ | To affirm again. |
| unaffordability noun | The state or condition of being unaffordable. | |
| readiness noun | /ˈɹɛdinəs/ | The state or degree of being ready; preparedness. |
| circumstance noun | /ˈsɝ.kəmˌstæns/ | Something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bring up verb | To mention. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| settle down verb | To make or become quiet and calm after a period of disturbance or restlessness. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Alongside that, we're also proposing a shift in communication.
- I'm very happy to be here today.
- What can we make of this?
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 projected · must be treated · should be designed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have lost · has just passed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: precondition /ˈpɹiːkənˌdɪʃən/, distinguishment /dɪsˈtɪŋɡ.wɪʃ.mənt/, distinction /dɪˈstɪŋkʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: precondition /ˈpɹiːkənˌdɪʃən/, demographic /ˌdɛm.əˈɡɹæf.ɪk/, sustainable /səˈsteɪnəbəl/, distinguishment /dɪsˈtɪŋɡ.wɪʃ.mənt/, fertility /fɝˈtɪləti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like precondition, parenthood, demographic.
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.