Shadowing Practice: Dealing with Change #learnenglishonline - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Change can feel scary because it takes you away from what you already know.
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A new school, job, home, or relationship can make you feel worried and unsure.
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It is normal to miss your old routine, but change can also bring new people, skills, and opportunities.
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Give yourself time to understand the new situation.
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You do not need to feel comfortable on the first day.
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Take one small step and let yourself learn slowly.
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What change can you face today with a little more courage and an open mind?

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 7 sentences and 89 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:37. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing.

Key vocabulary in this video

9 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
skill noun/skɪl/A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
routine noun/ɹuˈtin/A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.
scary adjective/ˈskɛə.ɹi/Causing fear or anxiety
courage noun/ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate.
unsure adjectiveuncertain, ambivalent.
comfortable adjective/ˈkʌm(p)f.tə.bəl/Providing physical comfort and ease; agreeable.
slowly adverb/ˈsloʊli/At a slow pace.
opportunity noun/ˌɒp.əˈtjuː.nɪ.tɪ/A chance for advancement, progress or profit.
worry verb/ˈwʌ.ɹi/To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessaryneed to feel

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like skill, routine, scary.

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 →