Shadowing Practice: Chaperoning 7th Graders - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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You know I've realized something.
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You know I've realized something.
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If I keep making videos about my life stories,
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then soon I'll run out of life to talk about.
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Which is why sometimes I'll agree to do a thing just so I can make a video about it later.
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Perks of being a YouTuber.
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So my mom is friends with this junior high school teacher.
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Kudos to any junior high school teachers watching.
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It amazes me that anyone would be okay sitting in a room with 27th graders
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and not even getting paid that much to do it.
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My mom was talking to her like moms do,
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and I guess I came up in conversation.
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And my mom told her that I wanted to be a math teacher,
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but then I became a youtuber instead.
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So my mom's friend, I'll just make up a fake name for her,
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I'll just call her mom's friend.
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Mom's friend comes up to me and says,
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Hey, would you be interested in helping tutor some seventh and eighth graders?
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Ew.
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I think the only reason she chose me was because one,
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I'm good at math, duh,
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and two, I'd be good with kids or something.
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I told her I'd do it because seventh and eighth graders are the worst kinds of people.
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Unless you watch my videos, then you're cool.
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I'll finally get to live my half-hearted dream of teaching kids math.
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Now I didn't make this video to talk about math, okay?
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That's boring.
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Before I even started tutoring these kids,
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mom's friend asked if I wanted to chaperone on a field trip so I can get to know them.
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Okay, seventh and eighth graders are between the ages 11 and 13,
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AKA the worst time to be alive as a human.
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You're going through puberty, you're super self-conscious,
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no one wants to be your friend.
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Seventh grade is just one big popularity contest, and everyone's losing.
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No one looks back at themselves when they're in seventh grade and thinks,
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Yeah, I was alright.
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There's definitely some Sevvys watching right now thinking,
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Oh, I'm not that bad.
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Doesn't matter who you are,
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you're gonna look back on these years and hate yourself.
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I remember when I was in the seventh grade,
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I noticed all the cool kids wore really low socks.
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The shorter the sock, the cooler you were.
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So I always wore the lowest sock possible.
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Most of the time you couldn't even see the socks,
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it looked like I was wearing nothing.
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That's how cool I was.
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Sometimes I put on girl socks because they were the lowest socks I could find.
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I was sooooo cool.
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Anyway, I was going to be shabaroning these kids on a field trip.
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They were going to the big college here in Arizona,
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can I just say ASU?
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And this was supposed to get them excited to learn and pursue a higher education.
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It's kinda awkward bringing me along, the successful college dropout.
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Hey kids, you should go to college.
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It's important.
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I don't count though.
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And I didn't know what to expect on this field trip.
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YouTube says my biggest demographic is 18 to 24 year olds,
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but I don't think that's true.
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Because it's usually kids leaving comments and emailing me asking to collab.
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Either they're the loud minority,
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or there's a bunch of kids lying about their age on YouTube.
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I walk into the classroom, and everyone's head turns.
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Is that the odd ones out?
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Oh my goodness, that's the odd ones out!
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Kids started forming lines, they were taking pictures,
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they were hugging me, and I'm just kidding, that didn't happen.
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No one cared.
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They were all still talking in their clicks.
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With all the kids I've talked to over the internet, that sounded wrong.
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With all the kids I've talked to,
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I was hoping that one,
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at least one kid had seen my stuff.
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But nope.
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So I just sat in silence and played on my phone.
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We get on the bus.
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I don't remember why I said this,
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but on school buses, all the cool kids sit in the back.
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Well this time the opposite was true,
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because I sat in the front.
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We arrive at the college,
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I go to this group of kiddos and I say,
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So what do you want to be when you grow up?
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And at
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that moment, I realized I sounded exactly like one of those adults who try to talk to kids
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but have no idea what to say.
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I was planning on them saying, astronaut or doctor!
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And then I was gonna say,
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Well you could learn that in college!
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That's what I was going to say.
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So what do you want to be when you grow up?
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They said...
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Nothing.
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They didn't say anything.
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They just looked at me like,
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Why is this old guy trying to talk to us?
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So then I just walked away.
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Alright, I need a new question.
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I wanted to somehow bring up,
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Hey, I have over a million subs on YouTube.
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But that's tacky, you don't just start conversations like that.
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Sub counts have to come out naturally.
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So I went up to a new group of kids and I said,
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So, do you guys watch any YouTube videos?
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And most of the kids did the same thing looking at me like I was weird,
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but one kid said, Ricegum?
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Ugh, ew!
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Here's actually the story of how I met Ricegum.
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So I was at VidCon and all of a sudden a huge crowd of people just goes running by,
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and I said, Who's that?
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And someone else said, Ricegum?
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And then I said, Oh, who's that?
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And I didn't really meet him.
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My friend Gabe did though.
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So we were given a tour of this college
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and it was actually kind of interesting because it was the college
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that I would have attended if I wasn't trying to save money.
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It was fun seeing what could have been.
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There were other junior highs doing tours at the same time,
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so we crossed paths with this preparatory school.
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I'm guessing it was a preparatory school because they were wearing uniforms.
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And this one kid in the other group just pointed to me saying,
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THE ODD ONE'S OUT!
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THE ODD ONE'S OUT!
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Over and over and I just said, Hey, back to him.
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And that was it, we just kept walking.
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No pictures or high fives.
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Man, why couldn't that kid have been in my group?
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Preparatory kids are so much cooler.
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So we do the tour and I was in the back not talking to anyone.
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We ate lunch and there was actually a kid in my group who did know me.
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His name was Connor, I think he was too shy to talk to me at first.
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Thanks Connor, where were you when I asked your peers what they wanted to be when they grew up?
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But he was cool, we ate lunch together.
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The field trip was almost over and I kept thinking,
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Man, I did not connect with these kids, like, at all.
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Well, they are only 7th and 8th graders,
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so it's not like I need their approval.
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Hey kids, I have 1.8 million subs on YouTube!
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It was tacky to use my sub count to get validated by these children,
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but after I said that, everyone loved me.
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I think I made a good connection with them.
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And, okay, all the kids I tutored that were failing math,
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90% of the time, they weren't failing because they didn't understand the material,
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they were failing because they were missing assignments.
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So alright, I'm about to tutor everyone watching this video,
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And this goes for you college folks too.
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Kids, turn in your work.
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Even if it's late, it's better than a zero.
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Alright, lesson's over.
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We're not gonna do an end card for this video because I wanted to show you guys something.
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Here are all the cards I made for the plushies.
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Good news if you live in the States because they will most likely arrive before Christmas.
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Sorry if you live somewhere else.
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Also, if you ordered a custom signature,
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you're just gonna get one of these boys.
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We want to get them out before Christmas,
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but then we're gonna send the special ones later.
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So you'll get two cards if you ordered special instructions.
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Bobby, what do you have to say?
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Also, another important announcement is I'm gonna be taking a Christmas break.
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I have been working non-stop on videos since VidCon,
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so I am in desperate need of a break.
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I'm still gonna be posting comics and maybe some other non-animated video if I can.
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But this is the only animated video this month, so I guess...
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Merry Christmas.
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Can I say Merry Christmas?
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Whatever holiday you celebrate, just wear your seatbelt.
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Look at that.
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This is my...
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I haven't hung it up or anything,
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it's just on the floor.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video, where the speaker recounts their experience chaperoning 7th graders, provides an engaging context for practicing spoken English. Engaging with relatable stories allows learners to understand colloquial expressions and tone, essential for effective communication. By mimicking the speaker's narrative style, you can enhance your fluency and confidence in speaking. Moreover, this humorous insight into the challenges of adolescence creates an opportunity for listeners to reflect on their own experiences, making it easier to connect and use the language in real-life situations. For English learners, diving into such relatable content is crucial for IELTS speaking practice, as it allows for the cultivation of conversational skills in a familiar context.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker employs a range of grammatical structures and expressions that can be beneficial for learners:
- Use of Conditional Statements: The phrase "If I keep making videos about my life stories" indicates a condition that leads to a result, a structure that’s often used in both speaking and writing.
- Colloquial Language: Phrases such as "to be okay sitting in a room" and "the worst kinds of people" demonstrate how casual language can convey attitude and emotion effectively.
- Direct Questions: The speaker engages listeners with questions like "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This technique encourages interaction, important in everyday conversations.
- Self-Deprecating Humor: Expressions like "I think the only reason she chose me" showcase a humble acknowledgment of one’s perceived flaws and help build rapport with the audience.
- Descriptive Language: Use of vivid descriptions like “one big popularity contest” adds depth, making narratives more engaging and memorable for learners
Common Pronunciation Traps
While listening to the speaker, pay attention to these pronunciation challenges that English learners might encounter:
- Vowel Sounds: The word “college” often presents difficulties, particularly with the short 'o' sound. Practice repeating the word to improve English pronunciation.
- Contractions: The speaker uses contractions like "I’m" and "you’re" frequently. Getting comfortable with contractions is essential for sounding natural in conversation.
- Emphasis and Intonation: Notice how the speaker emphasizes certain phrases, such as "It’s important" or "I didn't know what to expect." Imitating this pattern can enhance your own speech clarity and expression.
- Slang and Casual Speech: Terms like “ew” and “anyway” reflect informal speech. Understanding and practicing these casual expressions through a shadowing app can help you sound more like a native speaker.
By incorporating these insights into your practice, you’ll be on your way to improved fluency and confidence in English conversation—a valuable investment for your future, especially if you're preparing for high-stakes assessments like the IELTS.
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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