Shadowing Practice: Bill Gates Chats with Ellen for the First Time - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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I'm so happy to have you here.
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121 sentences
1
I'm so happy to have you here.
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2
This is the first time having you on, so thanks.
0:01.14 – 0:04.00 (2.9s)
3
So I know you were nervous about the entrance.
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You thought, I think people feel like they're supposed to dance.
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And so, and I was really surprised, because I was here earlier today for your rehearsal, and then you abandoned it.
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But we should at least show them the rehearsal, because it was really good.
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Shout out to them people.
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People.
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People.
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10
I get it how I live it.
0:23.44 – 0:25.26 (1.8s)
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I live it how I do it.
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Come to my, a pillow with a lemon.
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Not to smell a living.
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It's just your eyes, get a sitter.
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This ain't a scrimmage.
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My, she's scrimmage.
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I tell you we won't stop.
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It was good.
0:43.14 – 0:44.46 (1.3s)
19
Your daughter's looking at you like, I've never seen you dance like that.
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20
Hi.
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So the last time we saw each other, it was at the White House.
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We both were receiving the Medal of Freedom.
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And that was quite a day, wasn't it?
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That was an amazing group.
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Yeah, really, really fun.
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26
So you are here with your daughter, who is 21, right?
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And you were 21 when you became a billionaire.
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28
Is that right?
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Almost, yeah.
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30
All right, so around that age.
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You were like the youngest person to become a billionaire.
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Is that right?
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Yeah, in terms of my own, earning it on my own, yeah.
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Right.
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OK, so, well, it's just the most important thing, yes.
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So did you, when you were a kid, did you care about money?
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Or you just cared about technology, and that's, it just happened?
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Mostly I loved software.
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I do remember at the private school I went to, there were other kids whose families were better off.
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40
Like they had a Porsche or something.
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But it wasn't that big of a deal.
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My thing was that I just loved doing software.
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I loved hiring people.
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And I was stunned when it ended up being so valuable.
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Really?
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Yeah.
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It surprised you?
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Yeah, because I always had to be careful that we wouldn't hire too many people.
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I was always worried because people who worked for me were older than me and they had kids.
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And I always thought, well, what if we don't get paid?
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Will I be able to meet the payroll?
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So I was always very conservative about the finances.
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53
And then when we did go public, what was I, 30 by then, then I was kind of stunned at what it multiplied out to.
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54
Right.
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55
So when you became a billionaire, at what point did you start relaxing?
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Were you still nervous when you became a billionaire, like, I got to watch this?
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Well, I always wanted to have enough money in the bank so that even if our customers didn't pay us for a year, we could still keep paying everybody and do the R&D.
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58
So I'd still be viewed as conservative.
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59
I don't have that many things that are extravagant tastes, so it didn't change too much.
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60
So nothing really changed?
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So you didn't say, oh, I'm going to buy a Porsche?
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I did.
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OK, all right.
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Yeah.
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You did.
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All right.
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67
Yeah, that was an indulgence.
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And then eventually, from my travel, I got a plane, which is a huge indulgence.
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69
So those are my two sins.
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Well, not really, because you travel all the time.
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So that's important that you have a plane.
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72
So you have a Porsche and a plane, and that's it.
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73
Well, in terms of crazy things, yeah.
3:16.28 – 3:18.82 (2.5s)
74
Yeah.
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75
There's not like any wild, like you didn't build an aquarium with sharks in it, or something like that?
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We have a trampoline room in our house.
3:24.36 – 3:26.22 (1.9s)
77
Oh, wow.
3:25.86 – 3:27.02 (1.2s)
78
The kids like that.
3:26.54 – 3:28.34 (1.8s)
79
Indoor trampoline.
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80
I recommend it.
3:28.50 – 3:29.74 (1.2s)
81
Just one giant trampoline?
3:31.48 – 3:33.52 (2.0s)
82
Yeah.
3:33.08 – 3:34.04 (1.0s)
83
Yeah, it's a room with a very high ceiling.
3:33.82 – 3:36.42 (2.6s)
84
Well, yeah, I hope.
3:36.14 – 3:37.56 (1.4s)
85
Yeah.
3:36.96 – 3:38.16 (1.2s)
86
That would be cruel if you didn't put a high ceiling in there.
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87
Go on, kids.
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88
All right, so let's talk about this.
3:43.84 – 3:45.74 (1.9s)
89
So you have already put $40 billion of your own money into your foundation.
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90
Yep.
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91
40 billion.
3:52.12 – 3:53.36 (1.2s)
92
And you've, I think, kind of encouraged other billionaires to do this as well.
3:54.06 – 3:58.56 (4.5s)
93
Because it really is kind of up to the people to fix the problems in the world, it seems, right?
3:58.44 – 4:04.84 (6.4s)
94
So what is your main focus right now?
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My wife, Melinda, and I picked global health as our big thing.
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96
The fact that still we have 5 million kids who die under the age of 5.
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Now, it was over 10 million when we got started.
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98
So there's been huge progress over the last 18 years.
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So things like malaria, diarrhea, coming up with new drugs and vaccines, and getting them out to all the kids in the world.
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That's our main thing.
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101
Our second biggest thing is all in the US, which is trying to help improve the education system here.
4:33.48 – 4:39.26 (5.8s)
102
Yeah, which needs, boy, right?
4:39.44 – 4:42.96 (3.5s)
103
I mean, and how do you do that?
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104
I always think you get what you pay for.
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105
So if you don't pay teachers, because most teachers are paying out of their own pocket to take care of these students.
4:48.36 – 4:54.62 (6.3s)
106
So how do you do that?
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107
Well, there are some really phenomenal teachers.
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108
And so the dream is that you could take that top 10% and have them help the others to get best practices, the best teaching ideas to spread all over the country.
5:00.06 – 5:11.40 (11.3s)
109
And how would, you know, we're listening to you, obviously, $40 billion does a lot.
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110
And there are other people that are helping.
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111
But what can we do?
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112
What is the best thing that you could say that just one person can do to help?
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113
Well, particularly with schools, the ability to go to the local public school or charter school and engage with the kids, mentor kids, talk about the kind of work you do, there's huge opportunities there.
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114
With the challenges, say, in Africa, part of it's people's voice.
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115
There's a real question now whether the US sort of takes this less than 1% of our budget that saves tens of millions of lives, some other we don't prioritize continuing that.
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So it's a hot debate in terms of is it good for America to be generous and help the rest of the world live a healthy life.
5:57.66 – 6:05.76 (8.1s)
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Well, I mean, the fact that you're helping so many people all around the world, that you have this, because that to me is what money, when you have that kind of money, it's for.
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118
It's like that's the best thing you can do is actually you're making such a huge difference.
6:14.28 – 6:19.36 (5.1s)
119
So I'm glad you're a billionaire.
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120
All right.
6:24.92 – 6:25.30 (0.4s)
121
All right, you can learn more about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the website and at gatesletter.com.
6:26.12 – 6:32.02 (5.9s)

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "Bill Gates Chats with Ellen for the First Time" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

How to Practice Effectively on ShadowingEnglish

  1. Choose your video: Pick a YouTube video with clear, natural English speech. TED Talks, BBC News, movie scenes, podcasts, or IELTS sample answers all work great. Paste the URL into the search bar. Start with shorter videos (under 5 minutes) and content you find genuinely interesting — motivation matters.
  2. Listen first, understand the context: On your first pass, keep the speed at 1x and just listen. Don't try to repeat yet. Focus on understanding the meaning, picking up new vocabulary, and noticing how the speaker stresses words, links sounds, and uses pauses.
  3. Set up Shadowing mode:
    • Wait Mode: Choose +3s or +5s — after each sentence plays, the video pauses automatically so you have time to repeat it out loud. Choose Manual if you want full control and press Next yourself after each repetition.
    • Sub Sync: YouTube subtitles sometimes appear slightly ahead or behind the audio. Use ±100ms to align them perfectly so you can follow along accurately.
  4. Shadow out loud (the core practice): This is where the real work happens. As soon as a sentence plays — or during the pause — repeat it out loud, clearly and confidently. Don't just mouth the words: mirror the speaker's exact rhythm, stress, pitch, and connected speech. Aim to sound like a shadow of the speaker, not just a word-by-word recitation. Use the Repeat feature to drill the same sentence multiple times until it feels natural.
  5. Scale up the challenge: Once a passage feels comfortable, push your limits. Increase speed to <code>1.25x</code> or even <code>1.5x</code> to train high-speed language reflexes. Or set Wait Mode to <code>Off</code> for continuous shadowing — the most advanced and rewarding mode. Consistent daily practice of 15–30 minutes will produce noticeable results within weeks.

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