Shadowing Practice: Character: Obstacles - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Now that we've thought about what motivates a character to act in the world,
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Let's flip things around and think about things that can stand in their way.
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These can be referred to as obstacles.
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Obstacles can be anything.
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A person a great distance, or something internal like fear.
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Whatever it is, An obstacle is something
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which stands in the way of a character and prevents them from getting what they want or need.
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Let's hear again from our story artists.
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How do they think about this?
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So the core of storytelling is not only what's your character want and need, but then what is standing in their way.
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What's the conflict?
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We have this expression that we create these characters, we put them in a tree and we throw rocks at them.
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we make their life a little harder.
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Marlin's obstacle would be his fear of the ocean.
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tells Nemo all the time you stay in the reef, it's safe here.
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And so in order to get back to Nemo, he has to break everything that he's comfortable with.
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The obstacles that were in Marlin's way from
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that point on were engineered to force Marlin out of his comfort zone in order to get to his son
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and reach a place where he could trust his son.
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In E .T., Elliot the boy meets E .T the alien, and he wants E .T to stay with him on Earth, but the obstacle is that E .T is an alien.
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He can't stay on Earth.
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He can't survive.
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He's dying.
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I think about what's the best way to make this character realize what they need to accomplish.
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- Here at Pixar, when we're creating these stories and making these films
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we go through iteration after iteration of what this journey could be for this character.
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Fear plays a part as an obstacle, depending on the character.
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A lot of times we try to skirt around our fears and not deal with them.
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So if you present a character with a fear that they have to confront, it's a very immediate-- fight or flight.
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um, scenario that you've created, and so it forces your character to react.
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When you're developing your stories, you want to think, "Okay, what's the fun external?
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You know, what's the car chase?
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What's the villain?
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But More importantly, how does that car chase and how does that villain reflect
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the obstacle inside the character and reflect all of their flaws and their shortcomings.
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So those kinds of obstacles you put in front of your characters because it makes them think about their wants and needs.
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One of my favorite examples is from Cars.
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McQueen's primary want is to get to California and win the big race.
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But when confronted by the obstacle of being stuck in Radiator Springs having to fix a road, What he needs.. is to slow down.
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Enjoy the journey.
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and make friends.
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In the next exercise, you'll have a chance to think about the obstacles characters can face.
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and the choices they make in response.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will explore the concept of obstacles faced by characters in storytelling. By analyzing various examples, such as Marlin's fear in Finding Nemo and the challenges faced by other characters, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how obstacles drive narratives and character development. This exercise will help you practice your English speaking skills while enhancing your comprehension of key storytelling elements.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Obstacle: Anything that stands in the way of a character achieving their goals.
- Conflict: The struggle that arises when a character faces obstacles.
- Fear: An internal obstacle that can prevent characters from acting.
- Comfort zone: A state where a character feels safe and unchallenged.
- External challenge: A visible threat or issue that characters must confront.
- Character development: The process by which a character evolves in reaction to obstacles.
- Journey: The process of navigating obstacles to reach a destination or goal.
- Realization: The moment a character acknowledges what they truly need.
Practice Tips
To effectively use the shadowing technique while watching this YouTube video, start by listening closely to the speaker's tone and pacing. Since the discussion revolves around obstacles and challenges, pay attention to how these themes are articulated. Here are some tailored tips to maximize your learning:
- Start Slow: Initially, watch the video at a slower speed to absorb the vocabulary and phrases clearly. This will help you catch subtleties in pronunciation and intonation.
- Shadowing: As you listen, try to repeat phrases immediately after the speaker. This method, known as shadowspeaks, will help you improve your fluency and confidence when speaking English.
- Focus on Emphasis: Note which words are emphasized during discussions of obstacles and conflict. Mimicking this can enhance your understanding of how to convey emotions in your own speech.
- Engaging with Content: Reflect on the obstacles mentioned and think about similar challenges you face. Create sentences related to your experiences to practice the new vocabulary.
- Repetition: Rewatch the video multiple times, each time focusing on different aspects of the speech—first on vocabulary, then on emotion, and finally on the overall message.
By applying these strategies, you'll not only learn English with YouTube effectively but also gain insights into narrative construction. Utilizing the shadowing technique will improve your speaking skills as you reflect on character obstacles and your own journey.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be referred · were engineered · being stuck |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've thought · you've created |
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.