Shadowing Practice: Chia seed pudding - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Whoever was telling you to just put chia seeds in a little jar with a little milk, give it a shake, and put it in the fridge was a liar.
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Because you end up with a very thick layer of chia seeds that are stuck together at the bottom of your jar,
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and then you have the milk on top.
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And people are like, how is this?
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This doesn't work.
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It's a lie.
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I hate it.
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It's disgusting.
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How am I supposed to eat this layer of cement, right?
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so I'm going to show you how to properly make it
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and yes it does take like three minutes longer
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but then you know for sure that every morning you're going to have proper chia seed pudding.
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Anyway I don't really do any measuring
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but I have a tablespoon here four tablespoons of chia seeds this will be probably like a few days worth of breakfast.
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You have the chia seeds over here You take your milk of choice, I'm using almond milk, about this much.
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Don't worry, looks like a lot of milk now the key is for
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you to stir after you've poured your chia seeds in
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and your milk uh you want to mix it right away
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so you give it a good mix
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and you let it sit for like two minutes you go
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do something else now this is about a minute in okay
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do you see how the bottom is starting getting thick
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so you want to give
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that another good mix like really get in there make sure there's no lumps okay
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so now you're having something like this see how the milk is not separated anymore
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because the chia seeds started to like swell up
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and then we leave this for another minute or
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so okay now after a minute
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or two do you see how my fork is not even moving
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because you would have already basically made your pudding look see
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it's already starting to become a pudding now you can put it in the fridge
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and have a perfect chia seed pudding in the morning don't believe everything you see on the internet

Why Practice Speaking with This Chia Seed Pudding Video?

Learning English through real-life, conversational content like this video is a game-changer for english speaking practice. The speaker’s casual, relatable tone—complete with humor and practical tips—mimics everyday interactions, making it ideal for shadow speech (repeating phrases aloud to match rhythm and intonation). Whether you’re a beginner or refining fluency, this dialogue helps you master natural phrasing, like how to complain playfully (“It’s a lie. I hate it”) or give step-by-step instructions. Using a shadowing site to practice with this video will train your mouth to move like a native and boost confidence in speaking about daily tasks.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

  • Conditional “whoever was telling you…”: This structure is perfect for criticizing common advice. Practice saying, “Whoever told you to skip stirring was wrong” to sound natural in debates.
  • Present continuous for process (“starting to get thick”) : The speaker uses this to describe ongoing actions, a key skill for explaining recipes or tasks. Repeat, “The mixture is starting to thicken” to master real-time description.
  • Colloquial exclamations (“right?” “anyway”) : These filler words make speech sound less robotic. Try adding “right?” to check understanding or “anyway” to shift topics, just like the speaker does.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Watch out for these tricky words in the video: “chia” (pronounced “CHEE-uh,” not “CHAI-uh”) and “pudding” (the “u” sounds like “uh,” not “oo”). The speaker also uses connected speech, blending “give it a shake” into “givit a shake”—a common feature of fast, natural English. Use shadowspeaks techniques to mimic these blends: pause the video, repeat the phrase, and focus on linking words smoothly. With practice, you’ll avoid sounding stilted and start speaking like a pro.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itare stuck · is not separated
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around nowI'm using · is starting · you're having
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see comingI'm going to show · you're going to have

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →