Shadowing Practice: David Beckham on Leadership, Legacy & Life Beyond Football - Learn English Speaking with Video

David Beckham is one of the world's most famous footballers.

As part of Manchester United's 90s golden generation, he became an idol to football fans worldwide

and a pop culture icon as half of one of the world's most photographed couples.

David captained the England national football team and became the first English footballer to win league titles in France four different countries.

He's also achieved great success off the pitch, inspiring movies, working with global brands and businesses,

and even founding his own.

David has long been committed to humanitarian work, supporting children's charities and projects around the world for

which he received a Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in January this year.

After receiving the award, David joined me on stage at the CNBC sanctuary.

Last night was incredible.

This is my first time at Davos.

And to be awarded the Crystal Award for something that I love doing and I've loved doing for a long time.

But the most important thing about the award, yes, I'm really pleased that I received it.

But again, it shines a light on the situations that children are facing around the world.

So that's the important part of receiving an award like that, that it does shine a light again on what children are facing around the world.

David, you're two decades now at UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador, and you also launched your own seven fund with them 10 years ago.

What initiatives are you most proud of so far?

And what kind of work have you been seeing with UNICEF?

There's not one moment or one child that I can pick out and say, "That was my favourite moment," because there's so many.. favorite moments.

When you work with an organization like UNICEF,

there's so many situations that you get put in and that you're in that I'm not sure is inspiring, heartbreaking.

But more importantly for me, to meet these children and to be inspired by them.

And I always say that When I meet these kids, whether it's in Sierra Leone, Nepal, different places in China,

I recently went to India, whatever situation they're in, they have the same smiles as our children do.

And that's heartwarming, and it gives you a lot of confidence that everything is going in the right direction.

That's the thing that I love being part of this organisation.

My first involvement with UNICEF was when I was 17 years old.

I was in Thailand on tour with Manchester United, and we were asked to go to a women's centre.

And I went along and I knew right that that moment, I knew this is the organisation that I want to be part of for a long time.

Then I got the phone call in 2005 from Kofi and Ann inviting me to be Goodwill Ambassador.

So it's been 20 years of being an ambassador of this organization.

And then 10 years ago, like you said, we started the Seven Fund, which was a separate thing where we focused on different initiatives in different places.

And we focused on that for three years, but whilst I was doing that over those three or four years,

the one thing I always noticed that girls were being affected and were treated differently

And I wanted to be the part of empowering these young girls, these teenagers, that...

are so inspirational, and they just needed to be given the opportunity.

They need to be treated the same.

So that's my focus for this year.

It's been my focus for the last two years.

We cannot continue to have young teenage girls being forced into early marriage you know,

for a number of the obvious reasons.

And then you've got education, they are being forced into these early marriages, then they miss out on education.

They're not treated the same with healthcare.

And It's so important.

And that's what we're, that's what our focus is.

Where did this passion to make a difference and give back come from.

What values did your parents instill in you?

I think they instilled in me the right values.

It's the simple values of treating everyone the same and showing respect to people.

And I tried to do the same with my children.

All of my kids have said please and thank yous from two, three years old.

So it's the simple values that me and Victoria grew up with that we've tried to instill into our children and Obviously,

our children have a different upbringing to what we had.

So there's complications that come with that.

But I think my parents instilled that into me.

And then when I moved up to Manchester to play for Manchester United, I had a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

He was the leader of the team.

He set the right values for us.

as players and as a team. And

that was important can i just ask you a little bit about Manchester United

and your extraordinary career there what do you think set you

apart what was it in you i'm not sure it was

me it was us as a team um i wouldn't have

been as successful as as i was without my team

and i i take that throughout my whole career

and i take it into my business life as well

and also with my family it's all about my team for me and

I've been successful is because of the teams that I've been part of.

And I was lucky to play for great teams with great managers and great players.

To have played for the teams that I've played for, Manchester United, my boyhood, team, but then to go on to represent my country, you know, things like that make me very proud.

Do you ever miss playing competitive?

Every day.

You know, I turned 50 in May, and I still miss playing every single day.

And, you know, you hear, you know, past players turn around and say, "I miss the banter in the changing room and on the training field." I miss performing.

I miss walking out onto Old Trafford or the Bernabeu or all the stadiums that I played in.

I miss it every single day and it's...

It was a hard adjustment, but I knew early on that I wanted to have a career outside of my career after I finished playing.

So I did have.. other focuses, But my main focus for the time that I played the game professionally was always winning.

Hanging up his boots in 2013 did nothing to diminish David Beckham's star power.

As an investor and entrepreneur, he's launched his own brands and he's a founder and co -owner of US Major League Soccer Club, into Miami.

I had the opportunity when I first moved to LA to put in my contract

that at the end of that time I would own a franchise and I could decide what city I wanted it in.

And I knew exactly at that moment I wanted it to be in Miami.

And I also wanted to give back to the game in that way.

I wanted to be part of growing the game in America.

I saw the challenges, I knew the opportunities, and I knew that we could grow it to a certain level.

And it's now grown to a level where we're all very proud of where it is.

I'm very proud of the team that I own that has the greatest player to ever play the game in it.

So that's a nice thing.

Would you like to name him, shall I?

Line -up Bessie?

I'll let you.

In on Bessie, I mean, what impact did that have when you came to home?

We worked really hard to bring someone so great and so big to our club.

And we worked on it for a long time.

I sneaked into his father's hotel for a meeting five years before.

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And I just said, "I know now's not the right time, but when your son's ready, I want him to come to Miami." So over that time, we started to work on him.

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And then we saw an opportunity.

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Then we had to put together the deal that Leo would be happy with and that would bring him to Miami.

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And then I was in Japan one night and I had jet lag, and my phone kept on dinging, and my wife elbowed me and said,

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"Please turn your phone off." I went to turn it off and I looked at it, and I saw this update of, 40 messages come up on my phone.

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Leo had announced that he's coming to Miami.

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I burst into tears because I knew what it meant for us.

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What are the responsibilities, the pressure of owning a club?

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It's probably been my biggest challenge in my career as a player and also in my career as a businessman.

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But it's been the most rewarding one.

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The first few years were very difficult.

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It was very difficult to get things up and running.

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And then once we got up and running, we had COVID.

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And then obviously we went quiet for a year.

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And then once we came back, Then we started to build the club.

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But, you know, last season we were very close to obviously going all of the way.

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And it was a little bit of a disappointing end to the season.

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We got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

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But I had to then take a step back to remind myself we're only a club

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that has been going for a few years.

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And what we've achieved in those few years and the players

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that we've got and the fan base that we've got

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and the spotlight that we have on our team in Miami is quite exceptional.

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I want to win I want to win.

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So that's the responsibilities that we have.

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Well, in 2022, you announced a strategic partnership with Authentic Brands Group in the USA to co -own

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and to manage your global brand.

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How did that deal come about and what's the vision for that?

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Well, that came about after a long time of knowing Jamie Salter, who built Authentic Brands 15 years ago.

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I met Jamie 10 years ago and we started talking about them taking part of my brand.

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And at that point, I didn't think the brand was strong enough.

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I wanted to build it.

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And then once I built it, then I had to make the decision was I okay to give part of it away.

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And I was okay to give part of it away, but to the right people.

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And Jamie, for me has the same values as I do.

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with family and with business.

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And I knew that one day that we would be in a partnership.

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2023 Netflix documentary series Beckham shared a personal account of David's life and career, as well as the dark side of fame.

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The series received praise from critics and the public, winning an Emmy for outstanding documentary or non -fiction series.

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You've also got Studio 99, which produced the recent Emmy Award winning.

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Congratulations, Netflix Beckham documentary series.

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What's it like now to look back at it?

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Because you did say it was difficult to make.

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Did it change people's perceptions of you?

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Yeah, you know, the production company was something that I always wanted to make, but I needed to find the right team.

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And I found the right team.

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I found the right leader in Nicola Housen that I wanted to lead the studio.

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And then it was about what shows we wanted to produce and what we wanted to bring into the studio.

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And For a long time, people wanted me to do the life documentary, and I wasn't ready.

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When I retired 13 years ago, I wasn't ready to look back on my career.

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But then after about eight years and heading towards the 10 -year anniversary of my retirement,

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I thought maybe, maybe now's the right time to start this conversation.

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It wasn't an easy one because I'm not very good at opening up the things that I've been through in the past.

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I've kind of put in a box, locked it up and thought I'm never going to have to talk about it again.

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And I was happy with that.

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But I didn't realize how important it was for me to actually talk about this stuff.

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So, We needed to find the right director, and we did with Fisher Stevens.

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Then we needed to find the right partner with Netflix.

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I said to the team, "I'm only going to do this once, and I'm going to do it in the right way."

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So I opened up and talked about things I'd never spoke about before, like injuries and worries and things that went on throughout my career.

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You know, the sending off and how that made me feel.

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So it was very difficult.

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But the one thing Fisher brought out in me is he made me feel uncomfortable every single time that I sat down.

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And I needed that because I needed him to bring out in me stuff that I've never talked about before.

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When you talk about the sending off and the reaction to it, when you look back, what kind of mental resilience?

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Well, I'm really glad social media wasn't around back then, because...

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it was bad enough then it was bad enough what people were saying to me and it was probably

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almost worse then because people were physically saying it to my face rather than saying it online, even though it was across all media.

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It was challenging.

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And when I look back at some of the footage, some of the archive stuff I'd never seen before.

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And it was hard to watch and I get emotional talking about it.

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But You talked about social media there.

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You've got a huge following.

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What kind of responsibility is that for you when you are actually posting?

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I mean, every post has to have a real thought through it.

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I do all of my posts because I think all of the people that follow me, my fans over the years, know exactly when it's me and when it's not.

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But with a social media following like that, becomes a huge, there's a huge responsibility with that.

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And there's bad parts of social media and there's good parts of social media.

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What we try to do with my following and my social media platform is use it for good.

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I handed my Instagram over to a number of people actually, a nursing in Kharkiv where we were, where we

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It was just when the conflict started and we wanted to highlight this incredible work that the perinatal nurse was doing.

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And then I handed my Instagram over to a young girl in, I think it was in Nepal.

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And she took over my Instagram for the day.

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So using it for the right reasons and for great causes is important to us.

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It also can be used for the wrong reasons.

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There's online hate, there's negativity, David.

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What advice do you give your children to navigate?

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It's really difficult because all of my children go through it.

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Well, my daughter doesn't because she doesn't have any social media platforms.

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And we're going to keep it like that for a while.

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But For my boys, they all go through it.

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You know, they all have people send them messages and they all sit down with me and Victoria and say, "How do we deal with this, Dad?" And as much as you turn around to them and say,

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"Don't read it." We all read it.

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That's the problem.

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We were all attracted to it.

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And there's too much bullying that goes on and it's not just with children,

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it's with adults and, and unfortunately we live in a culture where bullying seems, to be accepted.

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I think that social media platforms have a real responsibility to protect people from that.

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How do you deal with the public scrutiny, both you Victoria and your children, because Everybody knows who you are.

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Everybody wants to know what you're doing.

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I think you just get on with it.

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I was brought up in an era where if I turn around to my dad and said, Dad, I feel a bit sad today or I don't feel a bit anxious.

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My dad just says, go and get on with it.

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And that's really how I grew up.

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So that's really been my mentality.

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So to deal with, obviously, the situations that we've had over the years.

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I had no training.

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I didn't know how to deal with, you know, a lot of the things that happened within my career and outside of my career.

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But luckily I had good people around me, good family and people that stuck by me.

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And that's what we all want and all need.

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But scrutiny, we went through a period where people weren't so nice, you know, after the World Cup.

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But then 99 % of the time people are amazing.

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So it's pretty easy just finally david beckham football legend club

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owner beekeeper business leader founder philanthropist humanitarian any room for anything else um you know one of the things

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that that actually happened recently is our king made me um ambassador of his foundation now you know

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if anyone knows me and uh knows our family we are big royalists and we love our monarchy and i've

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Whenever I get a message or a phone call, I'll always say yes.

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Now, he's not just been doing these incredible things for the last 10 years, he's been doing them for decades.

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So for me to now be able to shine a light on the incredible work that he does,

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and it's all about empowering young people and bringing lost arts back into the world.

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And I'm very proud of that.

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David Beckham, thank you so much for joining us today.

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Thank you.

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David Beckham!

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will practice English speaking skills by exploring insights from David Beckham on leadership, legacy, and his life beyond football. Through the context of his experiences and humanitarian efforts, students will engage in IELTS speaking practice that focuses on expressing personal views, discussing social issues, and reflecting on values and teamwork. This content aims to enhance understanding of vocabulary relevant to leadership and humanitarian work, as well as improve English pronunciation through shadow speech techniques.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Legacy: Something handed down by a predecessor, often in terms of achievements or contributions.
Goodwill Ambassador: A person appointed to promote goodwill and serve as an advocate for a cause.
Empowering: Giving someone the authority or power to do something, often related to social change.
Humanitarian work: Activities aimed at promoting human welfare and social reform.
Early marriage: A situation where individuals marry at a young age, often leading to various social issues.
Treating everyone the same: Upholding equality and respect among individuals, regardless of background.
Inspirational: Something that motivates or encourages someone to act positively.
Teamwork: Collaborative effort by a group to achieve a common goal.

Practice Tips

To make the most of this lesson, engage in shadowing exercises by listening to the transcript read aloud in the video. Here are some practical tips:

Focus on the speed and tone of David Beckham’s speech. His delivery is measured and articulate, making it an excellent model for improving English pronunciation.
Repeat phrases and sentences after you hear them to enhance your speaking fluency. This will help embed the structure and vocabulary into your own speech.
Record yourself mimicking the speech to identify areas for improvement. Pay particular attention to the rhythms and intonations used in his storytelling.
Incorporate the key vocabulary into your own discussions or writing about leadership or humanitarian topics. This will reinforce your understanding and usage.
Participate in discussions about the issues raised, such as early marriage or empowerment, to practice articulating your thoughts clearly, which aligns with IELTS speaking practice requirements.

Using this approach not only sharpens your English speaking skills but also cultivates a deeper understanding of important global issues. Dive into this exercise regularly to see consistent improvement.

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	been committed · be awarded · be inspired
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've loved · have said · we've tried

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 →

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About This Lesson

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Practice Tips

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?