Shadowing Practice: Digital Nomads Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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An important lesson we've learned over the last few years is
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that most work doesn't need to be tethered to a physical office.
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Upwards of one-fifth of the world's companies are now fully remote, and more professionals are choosing to work away from the office.
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The increase in the number of remote workers following the COVID-19 pandemic indicates a new normal.
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This new normal provides many workers and their families unique opportunities to work where they want, travel when they want, and often combine the two.
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For example, the surge in remote work is seen in how Airbnb guests now use the platform.
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Many guests choose to live and work away from home for extended periods of time, and long-term stays of 28 days or more continue to be Airbnb's fastest-growing category.
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One in five nights booked in 2022 were for stays of a month or longer, and nearly 175,000 guests booked stays lasting 90 days or longer.
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Consider the experience of my friend Jerry, who works as an investment manager.
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Before the pandemic, I couldn't travel for long
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because I always had to be back home in Wisconsin to meet with my clients in person.
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After the pandemic, however, everyone has become comfortable with Zoom meetings and meeting online.
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This has opened the opportunity to live in southern France with my family for a month at a time.
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If I've got good Wi-Fi and a quiet place to talk with my clients, I can live and work from anywhere.
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These opportunities don't just apply to established professionals.
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Consider the experience of Anya, a young photographer and social media dilettante I met in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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I'm thinking of moving to Turkey, and then Japan, to work for six months at a time.
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I've always wanted to experience these cultures, and because I freelance online, I can work from anywhere.
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Anya and Jerry are classic examples of what are becoming popularly known as digital nomads, or people who work almost entirely over the internet while traveling.
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Digital nomads don't always have to be away from home or the office, but their jobs offer the flexibility to work remotely and experience new cultures while doing so.
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Some live, travel, and work for a month during the summer, while others are constantly on the move, taking all their worldly possessions with them.
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Life as a digital nomad is not as easy or glamorous as it sounds.
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Consider one nomad who works for a Silicon Valley tech company based in San Francisco.
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Most of the time, it's a lot of fun.
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You make new friends, experience new cultures, and break out of the usual monotony of daily routines.
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However, there are plenty of moments when you just want to pack up and go home.
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You get lonely for family and friends and stability.
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Research shows that the number one reason digital nomads return home is because of loneliness.
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When you're on the road all the time, you begin to question your purpose, stated a Spaniard living in Georgia in Eastern Europe.
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Getting back to base on a regular basis is nice and helps ground you in what really matters.
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As if loneliness and lack of stability weren't enough, Killjoy bosses and their friends in HR make it more difficult to be a digital nomad.
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I spoke to an HR manager at Allianz in Munich, Germany who said, We all want to live and work abroad,
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but the potential legal and cybersecurity liabilities can be stifling.
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Right now, we allow all our people to be digital nomads for one month a year, and we need to approve the country they are living in,
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as some countries present significant cybersecurity risks for our business.
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The month-long limitation is because of employment tax issues.
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After purchasing Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk removed the company's previous
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work-from-home-forever policy and required Twitter employees to work 40 hours per week in the office unless they were making an excellent contribution.
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In an email to managers, Musk stated, it is expected that you have in-person meetings with your colleagues on a reasonable cadence,
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ideally weekly, but not less than once per month.
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Even Airbnb, with a multi-billion-dollar market that has helped make life as a digital nomad possible,
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must cull its own employees by keeping roughly two dozen countries off-limits
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and limiting employees' foreign stays to no more than three months per year.
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Turns out that it is difficult for companies to allow digital nomads.
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For example, rules for business registrations, payroll and income taxes, and workers' compensation insurance vary from state to state in the U.S.
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Moreover, it's difficult to keep data secure when you don't know where it resides.
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These legal and security challenges make it difficult for companies to allow digital nomads.
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Despite these challenges, digital nomads may be a tremendous benefit for companies that traditionally struggle to attract direct foreign investment.
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Digital nomads tend to flock to lower-cost countries with fewer formal institutions that attract companies.
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Such lack of formal institutions offers an element of excitement, adventure, and lower cost of living Moreover,
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digital nomads are introduced to new and innovative ideas
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because they spend a portion of work time outside the company
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For more information on how digital nomads might be the answer to your country and company problems Watch our follow-up video entitled,
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How Digital Nomads Might Be the Answer to Your Country and Company's Problems Thank you.
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Who Can Benefit from This Video?

This video is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners aiming to expand their vocabulary on modern work trends and practice real-world conversation skills. Whether you’re preparing for professional discussions or simply want to talk about global lifestyles, the dialogue offers practical, relatable content ideal for english speaking practice.

Words & Idioms Worth Stealing

  • Tethered to: Connected or restricted to (e.g., "Work doesn’t need to be tethered to an office").
  • Dilettante: Someone who dabbles in a skill (e.g., "social media dilettante").
  • Monotony: Boredom from routine (e.g., "break out of the usual monotony").
  • Cull: Restrict or limit (e.g., "cull its own employees by keeping countries off-limits").

These terms add depth to your speech and are common in professional and casual contexts.

How to Get the Accent Right

The speaker uses a clear, conversational tone with natural pauses—great for improving english pronunciation through shadowing. Focus on: - Intonation in phrases like "it is expected that you have in-person meetings" (rise on "expected," fall on "meetings"). - Stress in multi-syllabic words: "cybersecurity" (cy-ber-SE-cu-ri-ty) and "liabilities" (li-a-BIL-i-ties). - Linking words: "a lot of fun" becomes "alotofun" in fast speech. Use a shadowing app to mimic the rhythm—repeat short clips until your flow matches the speaker’s. Tools like shadowspeak (or shadow speak) can help you compare your pronunciation to the original, making it easier to fix mistakes. Practice daily for 10 minutes to build muscle memory and sound more natural.

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 →