Shadowing Practice: Creepy Crawlies Stories - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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A very blue collection of comfy cozy items out now, more info at the end of the video.
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Excuse me sir, I believe you're lost.
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Hell is this way!
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You know, the topic of squishing bugs has actually become a bit of a polarizing subject because of the internet.
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And it all amounts to good PR.
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Don't hurt the bees, they pollinate and make honey.
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Don't hurt the ants, they're nature's broom cleaning up so many messes.
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Don't hurt the spiders, they kill all the bugs we actually hate, right?
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Flies and mosquitoes and roaches and termites, bedbugs and silverfish and wasps!
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Get them all out of here!
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Erase their existence from the Earth!
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Ahem.
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Sounds like certain bugs get a pass if we view them as beneficial to us in certain ways.
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But you know who else eats other pests?
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Scorpions.
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Though I'd wager you're far more willing to smack one of them over a spider, aren't ya?
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You know who else is nature's broom?
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Maggots.
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But they make you want to puke, don't they?
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Point is, every species of insect and arachnid has a benefit to the delicate ecosystem of the planet we live on, no matter how disgusting or scary or annoying or dangerous they are.
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Do I think we should go out of our way to exterminate every scorpion on the face of the planet?
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No, absolutely not.
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And if you can, should you use the relocation method on the odd intruder into your home?
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Sure, as best as you're able to.
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But is occasionally smacking a scorpion that's about to disappear into your bedsheets okay?
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Who's to say?
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I guess that's the discussion.
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I have definitely taken on a more empathetic stance on bugs as I get older, but it wasn't always that way.
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There was a weird phase I went through starting about the age of 11 where I suddenly
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and totally inexplicably became scared of most bugs.
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Funny, that's about the time that my family went to Disney's Animal Kingdom for the first time.
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But I'm sure that's entirely unrelated.
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This means the world!
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Entirely unrelated.
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That's the 3D show It's Up to Be a Bug over at Disney World, and I was terrified of it.
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I think I actually ran out of it the first few times I saw it.
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Which is ironic because Flick's whole motivation in that show is to get humans to empathize with bugs.
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Before the show, only really had a fear of wasps and bees.
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After the show, all bugs were made by a dark evil force hell-bent on destroying me!
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Except the ones with pretty privilege, of course.
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But do you want to know what snapped me out of it?
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Extreme desensitization.
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It's a little difficult to live on a ranch out in the country with a bug phobia.
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Especially in the Texas country where your neighborhood critters are wolf spiders, black widows, brown recluses, striped bark scorpions, a plethora of different wasps,
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and my personal favorite, the Texas red-headed centipede.
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Boy, do I have some stories about these guys.
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Back when David was in middle school, he had a lot of fake bugs and toy critters that he would use to play pranks on Dad and our Grandpa.
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He even one time put a toy snake under Dad's pillow.
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You know, typical childhood mischief.
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Well, one day David and Dad were in the kitchen.
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Dad had made himself a plate of food and was walking into the living room to sit down in his favorite chair.
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But when he got to the sofa, he noticed laying on the armrest was one of David's rubber bugs.
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He rolled his eyes and said to David in the kitchen, Hey, come get this stupid toy centipede off the couch!
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David looked up from what he was doing with a wide-eyed expression.
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And without saying a word, he zipped out of the kitchen as fast as he could.
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What the...
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And that's.. when it moved.
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David waited for five minutes hoping that that would be enough time,
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but when he went back inside, the couch cushions had been thrown everywhere and a huge ruckus was happening underneath the dining room table.
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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BOOM!
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Dad emerged from under the table like a battle-weary soldier.
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The threat.. has been neutralized.
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So here's a fun fact about Rachel she probably doesn't want me to tell.
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She has a major aversion to small crawly things.
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And there have been numerous times
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when we both lived at the ranch where she would call
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me on my phone yelling at me to come get a creepy crawly for her.
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She even one time accidentally squished a gecko in her bedroom door at like midnight
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and called me to come pick up the little gecko body for her.
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with some sort of criminal underground contact who could get rid of the corpse for ya.
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Well, she's had her own run-in with one of these centipedes that probably still haunts her to this day.
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One night she and mom were in the living room watching TV and she got up to make a drink.
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She hadn't taken two steps before seeing movement out of the corner of her eye.
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She looked down and saw a giant centipede in the middle of the floor crawling directly at her.
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And I kid you not, she screamed so loud that it made the centipede jump.
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It may have scared her, but she scared it and it slithered under the couch to get away.
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Meanwhile, I was hanging out in my room, minding my own business.
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Yeah.
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A centipede almost killed me and it ran under the couch!
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Get your sorry height down here right now and do something about it!
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Huh?
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And I never found it.
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Looked for a solid half hour, even moved the couch.
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But that thing had disappeared into the shadows.
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Welp, done all I could do.
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Best of luck to you sis, be sure to check your bedsheets tonight.
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Some people's naivete about bugs is funny to me and can make for great stories.
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We have these insects in Texas called katydids, sometimes called bush crickets.
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They're completely harmless, they're actually kind of stupid, they act like humans don't exist half the time, and they're mostly just annoying because they make a lot of noise, particularly at night.
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But every now and then our area gets overrun with them during the summer, like you have to watch where you step, kind of overrun.
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And one of their traits is they're very sticky.
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You get one of these on the hood of your car and it doesn't matter how fast you're going down the highway, these bugs are like, DO YOUR WORST, POSEIDON!
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Well one day, Mom and I were out and about and we decided to stop for lunch at a sandwich shop.
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One of those that had big windows out front.
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But when we walked in, a young woman whose table was right by the front door stopped us.
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She had a fearful look on her face and she said, oh my gosh, maybe you didn't see it, but there's a huge bug on the front of your car.
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Confused, we looked over at our car and seated right there on the hood was a Katie did just doing his thing.
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We turned back to the woman and I said, oh yeah, that's a Katie did.
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She said, I was just so scared that it was going to jump on you as you walked by.
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You from out of town, honey.
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We explained to her that they're super chill little doofuses and probably couldn't harm anyone even if they tried.
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It was a fun opportunity to help educate a city kid.
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You know, now that Charlie's here, I think it's appropriate to throw in a bonus story about him.
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As I mentioned before, we had a lot of different species of wasps that made their home around our ranch.
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Well, one day I was outside with Charlie in our breezeway just hanging out.
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Suddenly, we both noticed a big red wasp sitting on the floor.
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Still alive, but for some reason it had been grounded.
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Charlie fearlessly went up to it and before I could stop him he slammed his nose right onto it.
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He sniffed it, jerked his head back up with his ears perked, touched his nose to it again, pulled back again, and...
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MOOOO!
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I don't think the wasp flung his nose, I genuinely think he was just sounding the alert.
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Wanted to make sure that everyone knew that the anger bee was right there.
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You're a real funny one, my man.
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That's cold.
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And I don't like the cold, but the basic white girl thing that I do love is getting cozy.
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And what a coincidence!
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We're in cozy season finally and I've got a new collection of cozy items!
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We have a hooded blanket that you can wrap yourself up in
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that has a very clear message to everyone around the house.
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Eh, maybe later.
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Some extra warm socks that grip the floor and they're covered in potion bottles, mushrooms, and witch hats.
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The velveteest lounge pants I have ever put on, I swear to God, with a beautiful potions brewing design.
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A very stylish and warm sweater featuring Rubber Hose Toonbeka.
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And speak of the devil herself, Rubber Hose Toonbeka has her very own plushie for you to cuddle with.
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Not to mention these go perfectly with my new sketchbook.
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I did a lot of work on this new video in that sketchbook.
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I love it so much.
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Get them while they're hot.
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Link to the store in the description below.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will engage in english speaking practice focused on the fascinating and often misunderstood world of insects and arachnids. Drawing from the transcript of the video titled "Creepy Crawlies Stories," you will explore the speaker's journey from fear to empathy regarding bugs, while enhancing your vocabulary and pronunciation skills. This exercise will not only improve your ability to articulate thoughts around a niche topic but also build your confidence in speaking about complex ideas in English.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Polemic: relating to or involving strongly critical or controversial writing or speech.
  • Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
  • Delicate ecosystem: the fragile balance of interactions among various living organisms and their environment.
  • Desensitization: the process of becoming less sensitive to a stimulus or experience.
  • Intruder: something or someone that comes into a place uninvited.
  • Mischief: playful misbehavior or troublemaking.
  • Benevolent: well-meaning and kindly, often used to describe animals that have positive roles in ecosystems.

Practice Tips

When engaging in your shadow speech exercises, aim to emulate the speaker's tone, pacing, and emotion. The speaker's style in the video has a friendly yet animated delivery, which can help you capture various intonations in your speech. Here are some tailored tips for practice:

  • Start Slow: Rewind the video to sections where the speaker discusses bug empathy. Shadow at a slower speed initially to grasp the nuances and flow of the language.
  • Focus on Pausing: Take note of natural pauses in the speech; these are good moments to practice your own timing in sentences.
  • Mirror Techniques: While watching, mimic the speaker’s facial expressions and gestures. This can enhance your speaking confidence and natural delivery.
  • Record Yourself: Use any simple recording device to capture your shadowing attempts. This will help you identify areas for improvement and monitor your progress in improving English pronunciation.
  • Engage in Discussion: Find opportunities to discuss the impact of insects in ecology with peers or fellow learners. This will enrich your vocabulary use in real-life conversations.

By actively participating in these practices, you will harness the full potential of your shadowing sessions. Enjoy exploring the intricate world of bugs while enhancing your English speaking skills!

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.