Shadowing Practice: Can you learn English with AI? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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you can absolutely learn English with AI but maybe not in the way
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that you think because
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when you learn English with comprehensible input there are two parts there is listening
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and there is reading and I want to start with reading now something
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that I do to learn Spanish with AI is I chat to
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LLMs or large language models so chat GPT Claude these types of AI
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and when I chat to Claude
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when I ask Claude questions I ask it to respond to me in Spanish now this is really good input
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because for input to be effective it needs to be two things it needs to be interesting and more importantly
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It needs to be understandable.
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And when you talk to AI, you can talk about anything you want.
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So I might be interested in learning something about history or something to do with the culture of a certain country.
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And I will ask Claude to respond to me in Spanish.
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Now, if I am struggling to understand,
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I can then prompt Claude or ask Claude to speak to me using more simple vocabulary
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and to use more simple sentence structure.
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now this means that I can get inputs about any topic any topic at all
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that I'm interested in and I can now have it in Spanish
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and not only that but I can have it at a level
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that I can now understand
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and this is such an effective way of reading in a language
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because with native media If you are trying to read news articles
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or books they might be too difficult
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if your level of English is not very high they might be too difficult for you to easily understand
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so this is such a good way of getting reading practice because you can read about anything that you want
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and you can ask AI to speak to you in a way that you can understand.
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So you can use AI very effectively to improve your reading in English.
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Now my focus for Spanish is mostly on listening, so I don't use it too much for this reason.
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But if you're someone who reads a lot in English
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and you want to improve your English by reading this is such a good way to use it
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and I'm sure that in the future
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when I'm at a slightly higher level of understanding the Spanish
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that I hear I will do more of this with AI now the second way
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that I use AI to help me with Spanish and another way
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that you can improve your English with AI and I think this is actually the best way.
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Now if you're learning English with comprehensible input I think it's really important to understand how it works
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and for you to really believe in the method and something that I find or have found
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really useful is speaking to AI about how language acquisition works
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and how comprehensible input works
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because this has helped me to become more confident in the method especially when I was just starting out.
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Now I also read articles and I watch videos and these are great ways to learn about comprehensible input.
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But one thing that is really good about AI is that you can ask it very precise questions.
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You can ask very specific questions to test your understanding.
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And if there is anything that you aren't sure about, you can ask AI and get a very quick answer.
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And a lot of people talk about going down rabbit holes with AI.
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And this just means going very in-depth and very in detail about a topic.
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And I think it's fantastic for going down a rabbit hole about language learning because when I was learning about comprehensible input,
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I wanted to know, okay, I thought I understand why this works for my understanding,
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but how can I go from a point where I have a good level of understanding, how can I then reach a high level in speaking?
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And I learned about something called the theory of automaticity.
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which I might make a video on in the future
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but this really it's just the idea
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that you need to train your brain to retrieve the words
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that you know so when you're speaking you need to create the connections
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and retrieve the words and retrieve the sentences that you want to say
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because when you first start speaking if you don't have much practice you haven't trained
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that part of your to retrieve the words and you have to think a lot about what you want to say.
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So the theory of automaticity essentially says to make speaking automatic you just need to practice retrieving the words.
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Now this is just an example of a way
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that you can use AI to learn more about different parts of language learning.
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And I really think it's important to believe in the method that you're using.
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And using AI is such a good way to improve your understanding of the method,
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really believe in it, and give you confidence that it is going to work.
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Now, I actually wouldn't recommend using AI for listening.
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Now, this is because I believe the best way to learn a language is by listening to natural English.
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If you want to learn English like a native, you need to listen to native speakers and you need to listen to natural English.
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and I see these AI chatbots and they're good
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but I think at the moment when you see an AI talking you can tell
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that it's AI the vocabulary they use is slightly different the
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sentence structure you can just tell it's not quite right and for that reason I wouldn't recommend using AI
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for listening because maybe one day we will reach a point where AI is
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indistinguishable from real humans but I think at the moment you can still tell
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that it's not a real person speaking
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and to learn in the most natural way I think it
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is important to listen to native speakers speak naturally of course at a a level that you can understand.
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So you can use AI to improve your reading
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and get great inputs that you can understand
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and you can also use AI to really improve your understanding and improve your belief in comprehensible input.
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So thank you for watching, I hope you found this useful and I will see you in the next one.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Can you learn English with AI?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: English, input, learn, Spanish, improve. This video has 79 sentences and 1086 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:31. The speaker talks at a steady 128 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| input noun | /ˈɪnpʊt/ | The act or process of putting in; infusion. |
| retrieve verb | /ɹɪˈtɹiːv/ | To regain or get back something. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| rabbit noun | /ˈɹæbɪt/ | A mammal of most genera of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. (Those of the larger kind are instead called hares) |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| belief noun | /bɪˈliːf/ | Mental acceptance of a claim as true. |
| essentially adverb | /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ | In essence: by nature. |
| automatic adjective | /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ | Capable of operating without external control or intervention. |
| acquisition noun | /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/ | The act or process of acquiring. |
| precise adjective | /pɹɪˈsaɪs/ | Both exact and accurate. |
| importantly adverb | /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/ | Used to mark a statement as having importance. |
| prompt verb | /pɹɑmpt/ | To lead (someone) toward what they should say or do. |
| understandable adjective | Capable of being understood; comprehensible. | |
| comprehensible adjective | /kɒmpɹəˈhɛnsɪbəl/ | Able to be comprehended. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. |
| start out verb | To emerge suddenly; to jump out. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, acquisition /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/, indistinguishable [ˌɪn.dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪ.ʃə.bl̩]
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, automatic /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/, acquisition /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like input, retrieve, topic.
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.