Shadowing Practice: Be Proud of Yourself | English & Chill with Jennie | English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi, my dear friends.
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Hi, my dear friends.
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It's Jenny here.
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I just want to take a moment to say thank you for being here,
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for listening, and for growing with me through this little space we've created together.
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Every message, every comment, every quiet moment you spend with English and chill means more than you know.
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We're getting closer to 100,000 subscribers,
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and it honestly feels so special.
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If this podcast has ever helped you feel calmer,
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more confident, or simply less alone while learning English,
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I'd really love for you to subscribe and continue this journey with us.
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This space has never been about perfect English.
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It's about learning gently, listening with ease,
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and allowing yourself to grow without pressure.
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And seeing so many of you connect with that makes everything feel meaningful.
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And today, I just want to leave you with a soft question to reflect on.
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When was the last time you felt proud of yourself,
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without needing anything big to happen?
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Not a promotion.
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Not a perfect result.
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Not someone else saying, good job.
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Just you, noticing yourself.
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Because most of us don't do that.
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We wait.
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tell ourselves, I'll be proud when I finally get there.
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When life looks more impressive.
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When everything feels more certain.
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When we become a version of ourselves that somehow feels more acceptable.
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But here's the strange part.
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You are already doing things that deserve to be seen.
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And you keep walking past them like they don't count.
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Like waking up on On a day when your body feels heavy
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and your mind is already tired before the day even begins and still choosing to get up.
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No one claps for that.
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No one even notices.
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But you did it anyway.
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Or finishing something small, a task, a message, a responsibility.
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Even when you didn't feel motivated at all.
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You didn't feel inspired.
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You just showed up and did it.
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It's not dramatic.
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But it's real.
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And maybe this sounds familiar.
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You complete something, and instead of pausing, you move on immediately.
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Your mind goes straight to what's missing.
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What's not good enough?
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What still needs to be fixed?
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You don't even give yourself one full second to say, I did that.
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I've done this too.
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There were days when I finished recording something,
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and instead of feeling good about it,
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I kept replaying the parts I didn't like.
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The tone, the wording, the small mistakes that probably no one else would even notice.
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And it didn't matter how much effort I put in.
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My mind would still say,
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it could have been better.
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And maybe you know that voice.
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It doesn't scream.
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It just quietly takes things away from you.
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Even your own progress.
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So over time, something happens.
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You keep moving.
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You keep trying.
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You keep improving in small, invisible ways.
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But inside, it still feels like you're not doing enough.
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Not because you aren't growing,
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but because you never stop long enough to recognize it.
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And I think that's what makes this topic feel a little uncomfortable.
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Being proud of yourself sounds simple.
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But when you actually try to do it, it feels unfamiliar.
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Almost like you're doing something wrong.
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Like, do I really deserve to feel this way?
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So instead, you wait for something bigger.
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Something undeniable.
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Something that finally gives you permission.
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But what if?
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That moment never feels the way you expect.
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What if you reach it,
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and your mind just moves the finish line again?
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Then you keep going, still waiting,
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still holding back that one simple sentence you could say to yourself right now.
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So before we go any further,
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I want to ask you something.
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Just one thing.
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What is one small thing you did today that you didn't give yourself credit for?
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So why does it feel like,
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no matter what you do, it's still not enough?
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Even when you're trying.
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Even when you're actually making progress.
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There's this quiet pattern that a lot of people don't notice at first.
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You reach something, and almost immediately,
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your mind moves the standard.
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Not in a dramatic way.
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It's subtle.
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You finish a task.
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Okay, but I should be doing more.
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You improve.
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It's still not where it should be.
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You get closer.
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Other people are already ahead.
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It's like the finish line keeps stepping back just as you get close to it.
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And after a while, it stops feeling like progress.
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It just feels like… chasing.
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I remember a time when I was trying to be more consistent with my work.
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I told myself, if I can just show up every day for a week, I'll feel proud.
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That was the deal.
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And I did it.
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Seven days.
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No excuses.
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But on the seventh day,
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instead Instead of feeling anything,
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my mind said, it's only one week.
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Anyone can do that.
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Let's see if you can do a month.
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And just like that, the feeling disappeared.
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Nothing changed on the outside.
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But inside, it felt like I was back at zero.
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Maybe you felt that too.
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That strange moment where you achieve something you once wanted,
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but it doesn't land the way you thought it would.
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And part of it comes from comparison.
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Not always obvious comparison.
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Sometimes it's quiet.
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You scroll for a few minutes.
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You see someone doing more, doing better, moving faster.
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And even if you don't consciously think,
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I'm behind, your body kind of feels it.
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A small drop in energy.
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A small shift in how you see yourself.
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suddenly, your own effort looks smaller, less impressive, less important.
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But there's another layer to this.
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Something deeper than standards or comparison.
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It's the way you talk to yourself.
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If someone else did exactly what you did today,
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would you speak to them the same way you speak to yourself?
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Would you say, that doesn't count,
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you could have done better, it's not enough?
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Or would you say, hey, that actually matters.
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Most people don't realize how constant that inner voice is.
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It's not loud.
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It doesn't feel aggressive.
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But it's there, all the time.
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And it slowly shapes what you believe you deserve to feel.
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So even when you do something good,
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even when you move forward,
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there's a part of you that quietly blocks the feeling.
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Like pride is something you have to earn through perfection.
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Through doing everything right.
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Through reaching some final version of yourself that doesn't really exist.
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And because of that, you stay in this in-between space.
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Working.
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Trying.
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Improving.
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But never quite allowing yourself to feel like it counts.
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Not yet.
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Not enough.
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Not you.
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And maybe the real question isn't,
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Why am I not doing enough?
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Maybe it's Why do I keep taking it away from myself,
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even when I am?
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Let me shift your attention a little.
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Because maybe the problem isn't that you're not doing enough.
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Maybe it's that you've been trained to only recognize a very specific kind of enough.
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The loud kind.
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The visible kind.
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The kind that other people can see and easily understand.
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But real growth.
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doesn't usually look like that.
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It's much quieter.
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Sometimes, it looks like you almost reacting the way you used to.
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And then, stopping.
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Just for a second.
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Maybe no one else notices that pause.
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But that pause didn't exist before.
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That's change.
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Or the way you handle something now.
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A little less emotionally.
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A little more calmly.
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Not perfect.
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Still messy. But different. That matters.
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Or even something as simple as trying again.
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Not because you feel confident.
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Not because you're sure it will work.
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But because you didn't quit.
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There was a time when you would have stopped.
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Avoided it.
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Told yourself, it's not for me.
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But now, you try again.
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And it doesn't feel like a big moment.
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It feels...normal.
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And that's exactly why you overlook it.
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Because your brain is still looking for something dramatic.
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Something that feels like a clear before and after.
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But growth rarely announces itself like that.
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It hides in repetition.
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In small decisions.
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In the way you show up on ordinary days.
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I remember a message someone once shared.
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They said, Nothing in my life has really changed.
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I'm still in the same place.
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But when they described their day.
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Everything was different.
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They were waking up earlier.
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They were finishing tasks they used to avoid.
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They were speaking a little more confidently in conversations.
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Not perfectly. But consistently.
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And the strange part?
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They still felt like nothing had changed.
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Because there was no big moment to point to.
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No clear milestone.
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Just small shifts, repeated over time.
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And I think that's where a lot of people get stuck.
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You're becoming someone new, in such a gradual way,
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that you don't recognize yourself changing.
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But if the version of you from a year ago could see you right now,
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not your results, not your achievements.
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Just the way you think,
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the way you respond, the way you keep going,
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they would probably be surprised, maybe even proud.
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But you don't feel that because you're standing too close to your own progress.
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You only see what's missing, not what's already different.
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So maybe it's time to look at your life in a different way,
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not through big outcomes, but through patterns.
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Ask yourself, Do I handle things a little better than before?
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Do I recover faster when something goes wrong?
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Do I try again more often than I used to?
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If the answer is even slightly, yes.
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That's not small.
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That's the direction of your life changing.
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And the truth is, the strongest version of you won't be built in one big moment.
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It's being built right now.
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In ways that are easy to ignore, but impossible to fake.
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there's something we don't really talk about enough.
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Most people are not lacking discipline.
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They're lacking recognition.
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They're doing things.
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Showing up.
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Trying again.
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But because they never acknowledge it,
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their mind starts to believe nothing is happening.
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And that slowly turns into a very quiet kind of exhaustion.
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Not the kind where you're physically tired,
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But the kind where you feel like, what's the point?
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Because no matter what you do,
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it never feels like it counts.
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And this is where a small shift can change a lot.
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Learning to respect your own effort.
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Not in a loud way.
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Not in an ego way.
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Just in an honest way.
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Because being proud of yourself is not arrogance.
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It's not pretending you're perfect.
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It's not ignoring your flaws.
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It's simply saying, I see what I'm doing.
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That's it.
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But if you've spent a long time being hard on yourself,
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this can feel uncomfortable, almost unnatural.
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You might even feel like,
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if I acknowledge myself, I'll become lazy.
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Or if I feel satisfied, I'll stop improving.
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But in reality, the opposite is true.
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People who never feel enough are the ones who burn out the fastest.
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Because they are always chasing, but never arriving.
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I've seen this in myself too.
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There were periods where I kept pushing,
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thinking, just a little more, just a little better.
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And no matter how much I did, it never landed.
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There was always another version I needed to reach.
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And after a while, it stopped feeling like growth.
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just felt heavy.
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Like I was carrying something,
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without ever putting it down.
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And the moment things started to shift,
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it wasn't when I did more.
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It was when I paused.
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Just for a second.
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After finishing something, instead of moving on immediately, I stayed there.
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And I said quietly, Okay, I did that.
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No celebration.
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No big emotion.
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Just recognition.
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And it It felt small at first.
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But over time, it changed the way I experienced my own life.
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Because your brain learns from what you repeat.
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If you constantly ignore your effort,
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your brain learns this doesn't matter.
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If you constantly criticize yourself,
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your brain learns this is not enough.
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But if you start noticing,
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even a little, your brain begins to register progress.
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And that builds something deeper than motivation.
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It builds self-respect.
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So maybe it doesn't need to be complicated.
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When you finish something, pause for a moment.
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When you try again, notice it.
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When you handle something better than before, don't skip past it.
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Just say, that's different.
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Because no one else lives inside your effort.
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No one else sees the small decisions you make every day.
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So, if you don't recognize them, no one will.
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And over time, you'll start to feel like you're invisible, even to yourself.
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But you're not.
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You've been there the whole time.
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You just haven't been looking.
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There's something I want to leave you with,
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and it might feel a little uncomfortable at first.
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You don't need permission to be proud of yourself.
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Not from other people.
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Not from results.
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Not from some future version of you that finally gets everything right.
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Because if you keep waiting for that moment,
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you might be waiting for a very long time.
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Not because you won't grow,
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but because your mind will keep changing the rules.
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You'll reach something, and then tell yourself it's not enough.
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You'll improve, and then compare it to someone else.
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You'll get closer, and then focus on what's still missing.
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So, the feeling you're waiting for never really arrives.
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And that's the quiet trap.
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You think pride is something you earn at the end.
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But in reality, it's something that allows you to keep going.
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It's not the reward.
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It's part of the process.
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Because when you never feel proud of yourself,
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everything starts to feel heavier.
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Even small things feel like pressure.
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Even progress feels like obligation.
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Even effort feels invisible.
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And slowly, you disconnect from your own journey.
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You're still moving, still trying, but it feels empty.
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Like you're doing everything without actually feeling anything.
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I've had moments like that too,
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where I kept going, kept working, kept showing up.
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But inside, it felt flat,
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like none of it was really landing.
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And I thought the answer was to push more,
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to do more, to fix more things.
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But that wasn't what I needed.
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What I needed was to stop taking everything away from myself.
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To stop acting like nothing counted unless it was perfect.
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To stop delaying that simple sentence I could have said all along.
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I'm proud of myself for this.
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Not for everything.
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Not for being perfect.
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Just for something.
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Because the truth is, you are trying.
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Even on the days when it feels messy.
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even on the days when you doubt yourself,
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even on the days when you don't feel strong at all.
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You are still here, and that matters more than you think.
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So tonight, before you go to sleep,
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I want you to do something small, nothing complicated.
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Just take a moment and choose one thing,
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maybe something no one else would notice,
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maybe something you almost ignored,
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and say it quietly if you want.
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I'm proud of myself for this.
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And if you feel comfortable,
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you can share it in the comments.
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Just one small thing.
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It doesn't have to sound impressive.
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I'll be reading them.
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And maybe someone else will read yours and feel a little less alone too.
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And if this episode stayed with you in some way,
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you can save it or come back to it on a day when you feel like nothing you do is enough.
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We're all learning how to see ourselves more clearly,
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slowly, in our own way.
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All right, that's all for today.
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Take care of yourself, and I'll see you in the next one.
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Bye-bye.
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Thank you.
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Context & Background
In this episode of "English & Chill," host Jennie creates a warm and inviting atmosphere for English learners. Her approach emphasizes growth, self-acceptance, and reflection, helping listeners understand that the journey of mastering the language need not be perfect or intimidating. By sharing her own experiences and asking reflective questions, Jennie encourages her audience to recognize small accomplishments in their language-learning journey. This supportive environment is essential for fostering confidence, especially for those engaged in tasks like IELTS speaking practice or using shadowing apps to improve their fluency.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “I just want to take a moment to say thank you” - A great way to express gratitude.
- “You are already doing things that deserve to be seen” - Recognizing personal achievements is crucial.
- “When was the last time you felt proud of yourself?” - A thought-provoking question that encourages reflection.
- “Even when you didn’t feel motivated at all” - Acknowledging challenges can help normalize struggles.
- “You didn’t feel inspired, you just showed up” - Emphasizing the importance of consistency over perfection.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
Shadowing is a powerful technique for enhancing language skills. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you effectively shadow Jennie’s podcast episode to improve your speaking abilities:
- Listen Actively: Begin by listening to the entire episode without trying to repeat or mimic. Focus on understanding the main ideas and emotions conveyed.
- Identify Key Phrases: Revisit the transcript and isolate the key phrases listed above. Pay attention to the intonation and rhythm of Jennie's speech.
- Practice Shadow Speech: Now, play a segment of the audio, and immediately repeat what Jennie says as closely as you can. Focus on matching her tone, pace, and pronunciation.
- Use a Shadowing App: Enhance your practice by utilizing a shadowing app, which allows you to slow down the audio and makes it easier to follow along with Jennie’s speech.
- Record Yourself: After several attempts, record yourself shadow speaking. Playback your recording and compare it to Jennie’s original audio to identify areas for improvement.
This method not only hones your speaking and listening skills but also builds your confidence as you engage with real conversations. Remember, the journey of learning a language includes both progress and setbacks—embrace each step!
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.
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