Shadowing Practice: Do You Need A Native Speaker to Practice English Speaking? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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You don't need a native speaker to speak with to practise your English.
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In fact, if you believe
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that you must speak with native speakers in order to get better at English or to improve your speaking skills,
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that very belief might actually be holding you back from building fluency and making the progress that you want to see.
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What I'm about to share with you right now will change the way that you think about practising English from now on.
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It might help you to speak more frequently, more confidently and with less pressure than ever before.
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So if you're at a B1, B2 or C1 level and you want to feel more confident when you speak in English, don't go anywhere.
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My name is Emma, I'm the founder of the Hey Lady English speaking community
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where we've helped thousands of women to overcome their fears,
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learn to speak English with confidence and to make English-speaking friends all around the world.
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But when many of these women first join Hey Lady, I often hear them say, I need to practise speaking English with a native speaker.
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I need a native speaker to improve and so I wanted to jump on here on YouTube to talk about this.
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So many of us believe the native speaker is the best way idea.
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It's an entrenched, ingrained idea.
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Maybe someone, a teacher, a classmate, a colleague has said to you, you should only speak with native speakers.
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They'll correct you.
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They know real English.
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They are the best way and this is often because
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This is what we've been told since the very first day we started learning the language,
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it could be any language and sometimes it's really direct but often we receive these messages,
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these signals indirectly like all of the examples in your textbooks, all of the movies that you watched,
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they all subtly present you with this ideal native speaker that you are trained to believe is perfect and right.
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Never mind that there are thousands of different English accents
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and different Englishes that are considered to be non-standard and this is important because representation matters.
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Who you see and who you hear speaking English
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defines your beliefs about what it is or what it should be but 75% of English speakers around the world are non-native.
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75%!
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That's three quarters of English speakers globally who are people just like you,
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on a journey to fluency and of course the ones who have already made it there
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and yet so many learners still believe they need a native speaker to build fluency and to speak confidently
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And part of the reason is because you barely ever get to see confident,
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articulate, non-native English speakers represented.
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So you internalise that belief that the native speaker has perfect English,
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the best English but that's really oversimplifying things.
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Take a look.
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Our small devices in our pockets can get any information in a matter of seconds, but we were never taught how to use that information,
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how to be creative with it, how to analyse it, how to remember it, and how to focus.
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The belief that you need a native speaker to speak with holds so many,
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too many English learners back from making real progress,
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from gaining experience and building confidence in conversations through that regular repeated exposure.
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Like another word for this is practice, real practice and experience.
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If this idea about speaking with a native speaker exists in your head, even a hint of it, I want you to do this,
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I want you to find it, take it out, and put it over there,
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there because it is stopping you from getting that regular repeated practice.
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500 hours of speaking practice is what is required to gain conversational fluency.
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This is not the time you spend studying and learning,
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it is time spent speaking with other people in actual conversations and yeah, if you are starting to do the maths on that,
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paying for every hour of that conversation with the tutor is going to get pretty expensive pretty fast, right?
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So you're either loaded and paying for it or you're probably not practising as much as you should be,
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you probably are not spending as much time with your tutor
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as you need in order to get from where you are to fluency as fast as you can.
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Maybe you're thinking I know some native speakers
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and I get some practice with them
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but how many of those native speakers would actually pause and give you the time you need to practice?
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So many learners get stuck here waiting for the perfect time,
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the perfect native speaker to arrive but here's the really surprising part, you absolutely can make powerful,
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life-changing progress without a native speaker.
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Now let's talk about what the language research shows us
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because there have been lots of fantastic studies into the most effective way to acquire
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and to produce language and the research tells us that learners improve most
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through interaction where they are actively trying to express meaning.
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They're asking questions, they're clarifying problems, they're negotiating understanding with someone else.
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When it comes to fluency, the real language learning happens not when you're watching or you're studying other people talking,
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it doesn't even happen so much through passive corrections from a tutor or from a coach,
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it comes through active use of English while you are there in that moment,
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while all of your senses are heightened and the pressure is on and interestingly,
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researchers have found that learner to learner conversations often create more meaningful interactions than learner to native speaker conversations.
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Why?
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Because when learners are talking to each other, they slow down to explain,
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they ask for clarification, they may repeat themselves to be clear, they might fix meaning together.
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All of these things are the ingredients of deep learning and this is exactly where your confidence grows.
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If you are enjoying this video right now, please can you do me just a little favour?
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Hit that like button.
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It really does help this message reach more people, more people who need to hear it.
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Maybe you've got a friend who needs to hear about this.
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Share this video with them and subscribe if you haven't already,
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turn on notifications so that you never miss a video and if you're new here,
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I post videos like this to help you speak English confidently
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and I spend every moment I can trying to amp up your self-belief
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and trust in yourself to be able to speak in English because the more speaking practice you get,
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the faster your fluency and your confidence improves.
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So let's talk about why learning with other learners really works.
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When you practise with another English learner,
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you probably get more time to speak because unlike a native speaker,
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they probably are not going to be dominating the conversation, it's going to be a little bit more fair and equitable.
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You'll get more time to speak you're probably going to feel a little more comfortable making mistakes
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and so that means you actually speak more,
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you take more opportunities, you take more risks and you actually start to enjoy yourself.
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When you have less pressure in a conversation and everything is moving just a little slower, you've got more time to make adjustments and corrections.
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You might need to explain your ideas in a little more detail and explaining something helps your brain to learn it deeply.
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So here as you're speaking with another learner, you're learning collaboratively, not passively.
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You're solving problems together, you're working through challenges because you have to.
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When speaking with a native speaker, things are a little different.
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Native speakers will often be piecing information together in their own heads without telling you to help the conversation go smoothly.
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Like if you've used the wrong word or if you've used the wrong tense or structure,
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in their head they're probably making those adjustments but this is no help to you, is it?
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You don't even realise that you are making those mistakes and
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so therefore you have no need to change what you're doing or improve.
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But yes, I can already see exactly what you're thinking but Emma, if there's a native speaker there,
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I can just ask them to tell me what my mistakes are.
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But the research tells us it's the work that helps you to retain that knowledge.
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So not just being told the answer but actually working it out yourself.
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This is why one of the first things we do for
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new members inside Hey Lady is to add them to a study group, a group of friends that they meet with once a week to practise together,
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to work through some of those problems together, to enjoy themselves together.
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The research also tells us that it's real practice that matters, real experience speaking,
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making mistakes, getting stuck, solving problems, getting better at fetching random words from the back of your head
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that you've almost forgotten about and bringing them to the tip of your tongue, all of these connections are improved through repetition and experience.
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If you've ever thought I need to practice with a native speaker to improve my English, let me tell you clearly, you don't.
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What you need is practice, you need interaction, you need consistency,
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you need the courage to start,
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you need space to make mistakes and to find solutions and guess what?
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You don't actually need a native speaker for any of this.
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Now don't get me wrong, expert feedback is important and super valuable that's why inside hey lady,
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you don't just get study groups and conversation practice, you get access to this expert advice from our expert English coaches.
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Coach-led training events like live lessons and workshops that help to expand your vocabulary around a topic and work on your grammar.
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You can join guided conversation practice where coaches are there to support you as you are speaking.
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Monthly English challenges where we focus on pronunciation and speaking strategies,
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all of these are opportunities to get that insight from experts.
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So expert input and peer collaboration with other learners collaborating with them,
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this is the ultimate combination for confidence and fluency in your spoken English
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and this expert input this could be with a tutor, a teacher, it could even be with chat GPT if you use it effectively.
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My only caveat here is to use that expert advice wherever you're getting it from, use it intentionally.
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That means ask questions, don't just wait for direction from your tutor or your coach,
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ask about specific scenarios or moments that came up during your speaking practice.
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So this also means that you need to be writing down notes after your conversations.
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Just a few.
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Did you get stuck describing something?
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Well take that to your coach or to your expert and get their input,
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their support to help you expand your vocabulary around that topic.
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Maybe you got a little stuck and confused around tenses, write it down.
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Maybe spend a little bit of time after the conversation thinking about how it should be
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and then take it to your expert to get that ongoing practice and to check and to review.
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Use that expert advice and input to refine your conversation practice so that next time you're talking about that topic,
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you can do it a little better with a little more confidence.
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You can be making tweaks and adjustments as you go to be just one percent better every time.
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That's all it's going to take.
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If you are improving by 1% with every conversation, you are heading in the right direction fast.
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The majority of the learning around your conversation skills and your fluency is happening in real time,
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right here while you are speaking.
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So your job is to make sure you are speaking as much as possible give yourself as much
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or as many opportunities to learn from experience and no,
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you do not need a native speaker to make it happen.
Why practice speaking with this video?
This video challenges the common belief that you must practice English speaking with a native speaker to improve effectively. The speaker emphasizes that positive progress is achievable through a variety of speaking partners, including fellow learners. Engaging in regular conversations—regardless of the speaker’s native status—can lead to increased fluency and confidence. This approach is especially useful for learners at the B1, B2, or C1 levels who often feel daunted by the idea of speaking with native speakers. By participating in more frequent speaking opportunities, you can reduce the pressure to perform perfectly and instead focus on enhancing your communication skills.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Understanding the nuances of English grammar can significantly improve your speaking ability. Here are a few key structures and expressions used in the video:
- “You don’t need a native speaker to…” - This structure is a powerful way to express the idea of independence and self-reliance in language learning.
- “This belief might actually be holding you back…” - Utilizing modal verbs like "might" conveys uncertainty, which can make your statements appear more nuanced and flexible.
- “Regular repeated practice is essential…” - The use of the adjective "regular" underlines the importance of consistency in practice, a crucial aspect when aiming to improve English pronunciation.
- “If this idea exists in your head, I want you to find it…” - This expression encourages active engagement with one’s own thoughts and beliefs about language learning, fostering a sense of ownership over your progress.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While practicing English, learners often encounter tricky words or expressions that may pose challenges in pronunciation:
- "Fluency" - The initial ‘flu’ sound can be difficult; practice by breaking it down into smaller parts: "flu-en-cy."
- "Perfect" - The ‘per’ sound may blend, leading to mispronunciation; emphasize clarity: "per-fect."
- "Experience" - This word often confuses learners; focus on each syllable: "ex-pe-ri-ence."
To enhance your skills further, consider using a shadowing app, which allows you to mimic the speaker's intonation and pronunciation. This technique, known as shadow speaking, can greatly improve your English speaking practice. Engaging in activities like these will not only help you improve your English pronunciation but also instill a practice routine that encourages fluency over time.
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.