Shadowing Practice: Become fluent in English using the Immersion method - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
Three years ago, when I met Chan,
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Three years ago, when I met Chan,
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her English wasn't that good.
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Hey!
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But now, she's fluent.
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Her English is top-notch.
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Aww.
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So, how did she go from not that good to very, very good?
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You might think the answer is because she's been dating me, but it's not.
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Today I'll share with you the three tips I shared with Chang which helped her reach full fluency in English.
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But first...
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Coffee.
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This is a water tank and this is a water dispenser.
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I am filling up the water tank from the water dispenser.
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I am attaching the water tank to the coffee machine.
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I am taking the coffee pod and putting it in the coffee machine.
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I am pressing the button.
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and the coffee is coming out of the machine into the mug.
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I have just made a coffee and that is the first tip to reach full fluency.
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What?
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Coffee?
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No. Your home is your English zone.
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What do I mean by that?
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Well, everything in your home has a name, like this mug.
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This is the mug and this is the handle.
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Can you repeat?
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Mug.
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Handle.
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Good.
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The idea behind this game is that you learn the name for everything in your house.
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treat your house like a dictionary treat it like an english playground
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and it's very important to speak out loud to speak out
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loud the name of things like this is a carton of oat milk
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there might be some new words that surprise you like door handle versus door knob
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I bet you didn't know the difference between these two and if you did you were genius.
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A door knob is circular,
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it's round and you twist it to open the door.
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A door handle is rectangular and you push it down to open the door and pull it up to lock the door.
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I'm locking the door with the key.
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Wait, we need to be inside.
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So let's unlock this door and go back inside.
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But what if you don't know the name for something?
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Either you watch my videos or you can simply use a tool like ChatGPT or Gemini.
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You take a picture of that thing and ask,
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What is this called in English?
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What is this called in English?
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Ah, cushion.
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This is a cushion.
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So now you have the name of it,
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you can make simple sentences.
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And these questions might help.
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What color is it?
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What shape is it?
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What material is it?
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What is the function of it?
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And what does it feel like?
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For example.
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Okay, let's see.
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The cushion is red.
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It's in the shape of a love heart.
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It has long arms, so it looks like a real creature.
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It's made of cotton and it's very comfy and soft.
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I like to use this cushion to support my head when I take a nap on the sofa.
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It's really comfy.
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You can do this exercise anytime at home.
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When you cook, I am frying an egg in the frying pan.
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When you take a shower,
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I'm standing under the shower head,
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about to take a shower.
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Or when you do the chores,
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I am vacuuming the floor.
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Or in the UK we say hoovering, I'm hoovering.
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And even when you listen to music,
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you can ask yourself, what instruments can I hear?
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How does this music make me feel?
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This is a beautiful piano piece by the composer, Austin Farwell.
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When I listen to music like this,
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it makes me feel relaxed.
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at ease and peaceful.
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Can you see what I did there?
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I'm using my home as my English zone.
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I'm learning new vocabulary from the things around me and then I'm making simple sentences with those words.
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The key is to speak out loud.
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If you have the problem that you can understand but you can't speak,
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then the likelihood is it's because you haven't practiced speaking out loud enough.
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Now speaking is just muscle memory,
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like going to the gym.
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The more you do it,
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the more your muscles remember the actions.
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So the more you move your mouth and tongue to form the words,
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the faster those words come out.
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By the way, this is a soft toy.
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This is an electric piano and this is a plant in a plant pot.
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You can also practice speaking out loud with a fun and simple game.
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It's called the word association game.
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Let's take this bell as our starting word.
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I'm going to make associations.
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So, bell, ring, wedding, celebration,
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champagne, wine, bubbles, water, puddle,
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rain, mountain, sky, blue, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
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You get the idea.
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I'm making associations in a chain.
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This game is going to really build your spontaneous speaking and help you feel less anxious and more confident when you speak.
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Plus it's fun.
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I'll dive deeper into this game in a future episode
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but for now let's go downstairs and I'm going to show you my favourite British shows.
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For anyone wondering that is a swinging chair.
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This is a remote.
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It has buttons on it.
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When I press the power button it turns on the TV.
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which links to my second tip.
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Watch what you love, but slightly above your level and without subtitles.
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When learning any language, input is really important.
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As you all know, in my videos,
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I teach English using visuals and context.
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This is called the comprehensible input method,
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where you understand not all of the language,
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but you get the gist,
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you get the idea because of the visuals and the context.
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So it's less based on forced memorization,
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but more on getting the overall picture through natural context.
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I would recommend you to watch English videos without the subtitles,
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while still understanding 70 to 80%.
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Why?
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Well, when you watch a video with the subtitles,
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you tend to fixate on the subtitles.
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You read the subtitles and you don't watch the video and listen to the English being used.
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So, without the subtitles, you're training your brain to link the sounds that you hear with the visual meaning, the context.
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Now, this is a much stronger hook in your brain because our visual memory is very strong.
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So, watching without subtitles, understanding about 70 to 80%.
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Now, I'm gonna share with you some of my favorite British TV shows,
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So you can practice this at home.
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If you're a beginner, I would recommend three different things.
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First, Pepper Pig.
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Second, Bluey.
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And third, the movie Finding Nemo.
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Nemo.
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All of these are children's shows and children's movies.
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However, they are fantastic for improving your English from beginner to intermediate,
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because the stories are simple and the episodes are short.
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If you're intermediate, try sitcoms like Friends.
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I used Friends in the past to learn French and it worked.
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Eh, blue, blah, flu, flag.
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You can also try Ted Ed.
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Ted Ed videos are shorter than the Ted Talks and they have more visuals,
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So it's easier for you to understand.
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If you love documentaries, then I would recommend David Attenborough.
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So David Attenborough is loved by English people and by British people.
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He is a national treasure.
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And his documentaries are all about the earth,
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animals, humans, and they are wonderful for practicing English because he speaks very slowly,
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very clearly, and you hear the same words repeating again and again.
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The two Attenborough documentaries I would recommend for you are Planet Earth,
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which I think is on Netflix,
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and the new one, Kingdom.
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Other than that, just search David Attenborough documentaries and you'll find a lot of good content there.
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And if you're advanced, the world is your oyster, my friend.
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The TV is your oyster.
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You can watch literally anything.
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My favourite comedy show is a show called Peep Show.
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And this is a British comedy, classic British humour.
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It's British humour at its peak.
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Peep Show is hilarious.
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And if you're advanced, it's gonna be wonderful to understand more about British culture,
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the way that British people think.
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On top of Peep Show,
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you can also watch other comedies like The Office or The Inbetweeners.
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The Inbetweeners has a lot of slang words that you could learn from.
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Again, if you're advanced, any input is good input.
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So the more you watch,
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the more you listen, the more you improve.
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Just repeat, repeat, repeat.
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After watching these films or videos,
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you can ask yourself these three questions,
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which will help your speaking.
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What did I just watch?
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What was it about?
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And did I like it or not?
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If you wanna watch English videos,
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which show you how English is used in everyday life,
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like feeding animals at the farm,
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shopping in the supermarket, and exercising in the gym.
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Then you can go to sproutlanguage.com.
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On sproutlanguage.com, the videos are categorized by your level,
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so you can always progress in English.
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Let's put this in action.
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I wanna show you an example with Chang.
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Hello.
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So Chang is going to watch a video on Sprout and then she's going to practice speaking about it after with J.I.
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We want to show you guys how it works in action.
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Feeling good.
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You are a champion.
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I'm feeling like my legs are going to ache tomorrow.
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It's great to chat with you.
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In the video I was so excited to go skiing for my birthday.
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Have you ever been skiing before?
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Yes, I skied with you.
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That's right.
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I'm so glad you could join me.
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It was your first time seeing snow too, wasn't it?
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How did you like that?
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Honestly seeing snow for the first time was so magical.
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It sounds like you had a truly magical time.
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It's wonderful that you learned how to ski so quickly.
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You picked it up really fast.
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A few moments later.
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See you later.
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Thank you.
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It was great chatting with you Chang.
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Your English is excellent.
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Keep practicing and I'll see you next time.
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Thank you.
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Nice.
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Now we We still have a 50% off Lunar New Year deal.
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So head on over to sproutlanguage.com where you get access to group classes with me,
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speaking practice with J.I and all the exclusive content perfect for your level.
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Right, now on to the third and final tip.
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So we have trained our eyes to watch.
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We've trained our ears to listen and we've trained our mouths to speak.
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Now it's time to train our brains to think in English.
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Most of you at home,
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I imagine, think in the language that you use the most, your mother tongue.
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But we want to train our brains to think in English.
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Now, what's a practical and simple way to do this?
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Well, maybe when you're on your way to work or in a public space where you can't speak,
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You can think, what if I think my thoughts in English?
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What if I think about the world around me in English?
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What would that sound like?
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Now, in the beginning, this will take some conscious efforts.
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It will be a little bit difficult, just like any habits.
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It requires you to be conscious about doing it.
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Be aware and just do it.
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Very soon, it will become subconscious.
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It will become natural.
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I'm going to show you an example.
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Hmm.
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I should probably wash the dishes right now.
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I can't really be bothered, but might as well.
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Right, I'm going to take the scourer.
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Yep, pump some washing up liquid on that scourer.
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Hmm, turn on the tap.
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I'm not really sure how I feel about washing dishes.
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I mean, on the one hand,
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it's quite satisfying seeing those soapy suds.
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Hmm, lovely soapy suds.
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but on the other hand it's a bit like slave labor yes rinsing off those soapy suds yes
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chopsticks or drumsticks do i want to wash the rest of those things up
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nah leave that to chang so to recap the entire video one your home is your english zone use
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your house and objects around you to practice speaking out loud.
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Two, watch what you love without subtitles and make sure you understand most of the content around 70 to 80 percent.
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And three, train your brain to think in English.
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Now the key take-home message is that immersion is the number one way to become fluent in any language.
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You need to immerse yourself.
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You need to consume as much as possible and speak as much as possible.
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Now, if you want a proven immersion system,
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you can head on over to sproutlanguage.com.
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The link is in the description for 50% off your first month.
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Try the immersion system, practice speaking with J.I.,
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join group classes with me,
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and you will get better.
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Thank you so much for watching,
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I hope you learned a lot in this video and I will see you next week.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you'll practice English immersion in the comfort of your home. You will learn essential vocabulary related to everyday objects and discover how to use your surroundings as a virtual classroom. By identifying and naming items in your home, you'll enhance your vocabulary, improve your spoken English, and practice speaking out loud. This method is not just about memorization; it's about integrating English into your daily life, making it an immersive experience. Through this, you'll become more fluent in English and naturally build your confidence—whether you're preparing for IELTS speaking practice or simply looking to improve your conversational skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Mug - A common cup used for drinking beverages, typically coffee or tea.
- Handle - The part of an object designed to be held or gripped, such as a mug handle.
- Carton - A type of container commonly used for liquids, like milk or juice.
- Cushion - A soft pad used for sitting or leaning against for comfort.
- Door knob - A circular handle used to open or close a door by twisting.
- Door handle - A rectangular mechanism that is pushed down to operate the door.
- Water dispenser - A device used to dispense water, typically seen in homes or offices.
Practice Tips
To effectively apply the shadowing technique demonstrated in this video, focus on listening carefully to the speaker's tone, cadence, and rhythm. Here are some tailored tips:
- Start Slowly: If you're new to shadowing, start with slower segments of the audio or video, repeating phrases right after you hear them.
- Repeat Out Loud: Speak the sentences out loud to practice improving your English pronunciation. This method will help reinforce vocabulary in your memory.
- Visual Cues: As you learn items around your house, physically point at or touch each object when you pronounce its name. This reinforces your memory through physical engagement.
- Ask Questions: If uncertain about vocabulary, try tools like AI or language apps to find out the English names. Formulate simple sentences using your new words.
- Record and Listen: Record yourself practicing and listen to the playback to catch areas for improvement. This technique is particularly beneficial for IELTS speaking practice.
By utilizing your home as an English zone, you're not just learning English with YouTube; you're creating a personal language immersion experience that will boost your confidence and fluency.
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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