Shadowing Practice: Being a beauty influencer - 6 Minute English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil.
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And I'm Sam.
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In the UK, there's a well-known children's game called Happy Families.
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Players have to collect all the cards belonging to one family.
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There's a butcher, a baker,
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a carpenter, a doctor and a tailor.
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of the traditional jobs that people in the UK have been doing for centuries.
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But since the invention of the internet and social media,
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a more up-to-date list of jobs in the 21st century would be very different.
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It would include modern jobs which didn't exist before.
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Online jobs like web designer and YouTuber.
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One of the most unusual of these new digital jobs is
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the influencer – someone who is paid by a company to promote their brand on social media,
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encouraging people to buy their products.
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In this programme, we'll meet two beauty influencers from different parts of the world – Nigeria and Pakistan.
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We'll discover how these women are using their online influence to change attitudes towards female beauty and,
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as usual, we'll learn some related vocabulary too.
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But first I have a question for you, Sam.
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YouTube makeup tutorials are very modern,
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but make-up has been around for a long time.
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So when was lipstick first used?
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Was it a around 3,000 years ago by the ancient Celts,
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b around 4,000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians,
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or c around 5,000 years ago by the ancient Sumerians?
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I'll say it was being used 5,000 years ago by the ancient Sumerians.
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OK, Sam, we'll find out if you're right later on.
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Dima Ume is a beauty influencer from Nigeria.
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She's been creating make-up video tutorials for women of colour for eight years and has hundreds of thousands of followers.
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Her videos go from eyebrow-shaping tips to shopping trips in Nigeria's bigger city, Lagos.
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Here's Dima telling BBC World Service programme The Conversation how her life as an influencer got started.
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So, I did a Makeup Do's and Don't video in 2017.
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I had seen a couple of people do it prior to that,
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but then, you know, I kind of did it in a way that was a bit funny,
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maybe cracked a couple of jokes around the ways
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or the maybe not so great ways some people were doing things at the time and that video just took off.
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In 2017, Dima made a YouTube video of make-up do's
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and don'ts – rules about what to do
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and what not to do in a certain situation or when doing a certain activity.
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Dima wasn't the first Nigerian influencer to post videos on YouTube,
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but the difference was her humour – the way she laughed and cracked jokes.
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More and more people started watching Dima's make-up videos and they soon took off,
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meaning they suddenly became successful and popular.
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Our next beauty influencer is Ramal Mehmud,
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a photographer turned make-up artist based in Islamabad, Pakistan.
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As well as make-up tips,
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Ramal creates colourful face painting designs which,
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she says, helped her through a period of depression.
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She has popular Instagram and YouTube accounts on which she shares content to help other women with their confidence and mental health.
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Like Deema, Ramal now has Instagram followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
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So how does she decide what to share in her blogs and videos?
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What boundaries does she set for her followers?
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Here's what Ramal told BBC World Service programme, The Conversation.
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Well, people are very intrigued about your personal life as a blogger.
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That's a given.
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But you need to have strong boundaries.
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I do share about my family and friends.
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You actually have to ask people if they are comfortable being on your platform or not.
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Ramal says her followers are intrigued about her personal life.
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If you're intrigued, you're very interested in someone,
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often because of something unusual or unexpected about them.
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Ramal accepts that her followers' interest in her personal life is a given – something
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that is considered to be a fact or that is certain to happen.
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For example, you could say,
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it's a given that there will be champagne at a typical British wedding.
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Meaning, it's certain, it's a fact, there will be champagne.
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But just because her followers' interest in her life is a given,
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that doesn't mean Ramal shares everything with them.
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She has to set boundaries.
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Both Dima and Ramal make money as beauty influencers,
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but what's amazing is how they're using social media to start conversations about what beauty means to women in their country,
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and sharing some great lipstick tips as well.
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And speaking of lipstick, let's reveal the answer to my question.
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Sam, I asked you when lipstick was first used.
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I said it was around 5,000 years ago by the ancient Sumerians.
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Which was the correct answer!
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Ancient Sumerians, both men and women,
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painted their faces, eyes and lips – a very early kind of lipstick.
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OK, let's recap the vocabulary from this programme on influencers – people who influence their social media followers to try different products.
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Do's and don'ts are rules about what you should and shouldn't do in certain situations.
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To crack a joke means to tell a joke.
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The phrasal verb take off means to suddenly become popular or successful.
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If you are intrigued, you are interested in someone,
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often because of something unusual about them.
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And finally, a given – describe something that is considered to be a fact or that is certain to happen.
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Once again, our six minutes are up.
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Goodbye for now.
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Bye-bye.
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6 Minute English from the BBC.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Engaging with the "Being a beauty influencer" video from BBC Learning English offers an excellent opportunity to enhance your speaking skills. The context of the video is vibrant and relatable, providing a unique perspective on modern professions and the influence of social media. By shadowing the speakers, you can practice using expressive intonation and gaining confidence in discussing contemporary topics. This method of shadowspeak allows you to mimic authentic speech patterns, improving both fluency and pronunciation. Through this engaging content, learners can develop their vocabulary around beauty, self-expression, and digital influence, which are increasingly relevant in today’s conversational English.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In the transcript, several grammatical structures and expressions can enrich your English speaking skills:

  • “has been doing”: This present perfect continuous tense highlights ongoing actions, perfect for discussing experiences. For instance, you might say, “I have been practicing English for two years.”
  • “took off”: This phrasal verb means to become successful quickly. Using it in conversation would be impactful; e.g., “Her YouTube channel really took off after her first video.”
  • “helped her through”: A useful expression for talking about overcoming challenges. You might say, “Reading helped me through my struggles with English.”
  • “the difference was”: This phrase allows you to make comparisons effectively, essential for discussing updates in trends. For instance, “The difference was the way she communicated her ideas.”

Common Pronunciation Traps

While watching the video, pay attention to some words that may present pronunciation challenges:

  • “influencer”: The stress is often placed on the first syllable (IN-flu-en-cer), which can be tricky for learners. Practice this word to ensure clear communication when discussing modern professions.
  • “tutorials”: This word can be mispronounced by placing incorrect emphasis. Remember to stress the second syllable (tu-TOR-ials) for clarity.
  • “attitudes”: Ensure that you clearly articulate all the vowel sounds, aiming for (AT-itude) when saying it to avoid slurring.

Incorporating lessons from this video can significantly aid your IELTS speaking practice and boost your confidence in real-life conversations. As you work on learning English with YouTube, remember that repetition and practice are key to improving your overall language skills.

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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