Shadowing Practice: Don't learn grammar! Do THIS! - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
172 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hey guys, welcome to Lingua Marina.
2
Today we're going to talk about a problem that a lot of you have.
3
I've been doing this research on this channel.
4
I've been asking you what do you guys struggle the most with
5
and most of you guys struggle with speaking
6
and I can totally relate to this problem but today I want to dig deeper.
7
Like we learn so much when we learn English.
8
We focus on grammar and like grammar is tenses,
9
grammar is articles, grammar is everything like how we structure the way we speak it's all about grammar
10
but the problem is we spend years learning grammar
11
and we still can't speak so today we're gonna talk about this problem
12
and whether you actually need to learn grammar to speak english
13
because sometimes i never told you that
14
but sometimes you don't really need to learn grammar to speak english
15
so if you're interested and
16
if you have the same problem please continue watching this video
17
now first of all think about kids think about kids
18
that are four years old five years old who live in
19
the u .s do they learn grammar do they have any
20
understanding of what's future perfect is i'll tell you what like my american friends
21
if i ask them do you know when you use future perfect continues
22
and they would tell me like what are you talking about what are these words like nobody even thinks about
23
that and you know why?
24
Because they learn English by learning phrases.
25
This is one of the best tips I want you to take from this video.
26
I'm gonna follow up with a lot more, but if you learn phrases like, I have never been to Spain.
27
You just hear that when people talk about places that they've never been to, they use this whatever tense they're using.
28
It doesn't matter.
29
You just learn the phrase.
30
I've never been to Spain.
31
Okay, I've never been to that cafe.
32
I've never been to that restaurant.
33
I've never traveled to that place.
34
You know that in this circumstance, when you're talking about a place you've never been to, you just use this construction.
35
That's it.
36
And you learn the phrase.
37
Or I remember when I was learning conditionals, I was like, oh my God, zero conditional, first, second, third.
38
Like, how do you even remember them?
39
And how on earth, when you're talking to a native speaker, how on earth would you just stop and say like,
40
hey, I need to remember a second conditional structure because this is what I'm going to use here.
41
No, you just learn phrases.
42
And something that helped me remember one of the conditionals was this, the song, wish you were here.
43
And I'm like, okay, so when he's not here and I wish he was here, I say, wish you were here.
44
And this way I remember the construction.
45
I also remember that you were not, you was like, this is a typical mistake right
46
so learn phrases stop doing this word by word learning learn those phrases
47
and once you notice
48
that oh my god i've heard this phrase before this is something i need to learn
49
because native speakers use it a lot
50
and then no need to focus on grammar no need to say oh wish
51
you were here first the first conditional okay i'm gonna write that no you just remember the phrase.
52
The more content you consume in English, the more phrases you get exposed to, the better you get at speaking, right?
53
This is super obvious.
54
So TV shows, YouTube, whatever, but please make sure you're actually noticing those phrases like wish you were here,
55
like I've never been to, like what's up, whatever.
56
Just make sure you notice them.
57
One tip to expose yourself to more information in English is to read books.
58
But what happens with reading books is sometimes we just get stuck on one book
59
and we spend a month reading one book.
60
And in the end, we're like, okay, this is taking too long and we just drop it.
61
The sponsor of today's video is an app called Kuber.
62
And what they do, they take books and condense them into mini formats
63
that you can either read or listen to in less than 20 minutes
64
which is super exciting because when I read books I've realized
65
that you know there is this one piece of information is just being presented from different perspectives over
66
and over again and I already got it like I already got what they mean
67
so consuming books in shorter formats is actually very very useful
68
and because it's only 20 minutes you will be able to read what three four five books a week
69
which is amazing and again it gets you exposure it gets you condensed information
70
You know, people go to conferences, spend days there.
71
A lot of conferences are still not allowed these days.
72
But if you listen to three books in a week, which is like an hour,
73
you get very similar information just for less money and in less time.
74
And information from books, and they also have conferences, is actually summarized by professionals in the area.
75
So they're summarized by doctors, engineers, professors, etc. It's not like just a random person comes in and says,
76
okay, we're going to leave this out and we're going to include just this it's actually done by a professional person.
77
They have over 1 ,500 summaries spanning 20 different topics, so everyone can find something they enjoy.
78
But keep in mind that it's all nonfiction, just because there is no much sense in summarizing fiction.
79
But nonfiction is basically the type of books that I would read.
80
It's mostly like self -development, business, marketing, or some kind of craft that I'm trying to master, like how to write a script,
81
etc. The book that I've recently listened to on Cooper was Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk, and I can highly recommend
82
it to everyone who's willing to start something new doesn't matter
83
what it is become a creator become an entrepreneur get into
84
university of your dreams move to a new country just it gives
85
so much motivation and
86
because you're watching this video you get 30 free days on their annual subscription
87
and also first 200 people who click a link below will
88
get 20 discount the link is in the description box now we figured out
89
that you need to be exposed to a lot of phrases we figured out
90
that you need to learn them by repeating them five to ten times.
91
Another psychological thing I wanted to talk about is that my parents are not very good at English, but, well, they've learned grammar,
92
but they don't use it, and they don't need to use it.
93
Whenever they go abroad, they just use, you know, the words that they know,
94
they use the body language or whatever to explain what they need, and guess what?
95
People, like, even if you say, I go there yesterday, they understand that you went there yesterday.
96
Okay, grammar is wrong
97
but the goal for us with learning english is to make people understand what are you talking about
98
and if you use the wrong grammar people be like okay
99
that was probably wrong but he used yesterday
100
so they would understand just make sure you're like include your body language include your emotions
101
so they could better understand what you mean
102
but again don't focus on it you know what i think is
103
that a lot of people would have been a lot better off
104
if they stopped being perfectionists
105
if they started speaking english before actually learning all the grammar rules
106
if they just let this go just okay i'm gonna go ahead
107
and speak english i'm gonna make
108
i don't know the goal is to make at least 10 mistakes in this conversation doesn't matter
109
because i want to speak and uh you know the
110
if the person thinks that i'm dumb whatever again something
111
that i found being in the us is that you can have the most horrible accent in the world.
112
You can have the worst grammar in the world and it might be very hard to understand you, but if you enjoy what you're talking about,
113
if you're an expert in your field, people will listen to you.
114
They don't care.
115
Like when you come to a doctor, if he's really a professional, would you care about the way he looks, like what he wears?
116
No, of course not.
117
You would just care about him being a professional.
118
So this is something I want you to remember.
119
Like if you're a professional, if you are really passionate about what you're talking about, people would not care about your grammar
120
and once you have this in your head this would really help you move forward
121
and i'm going to give you some extra tips on how
122
to speak english without actually paying too much attention to grammar the next mistake is translating again
123
when we're translating from our language to english in our head we try to translate different constructions
124
that we use in our language and again it doesn't matter necessarily
125
that what we say in our language is the same in english because in english we have completely different rules.
126
So stop translating.
127
Again, if you want to use something over complicated like conditionals, just maybe remember one of them like with that song and that's it.
128
And then you will just, you know, the further you go, the more confident you become in some basic structures,
129
the more you would be able to add on.
130
But starting with the third conditional right away, that's too much.
131
And because I think again, the problem that we're talking about here is more psychological than a scientific problem
132
that you need a certain amount of grammar to actually start speaking.
133
I think all of you guys who are watching this video who are able to understand what I'm talking about,
134
you have enough grammar in your head and you're just afraid
135
that you're not going to be able to use the right construction.
136
So the thing is, I would advise you to talk to a lot of people, but to put you at ease, talk to non -native speakers.
137
This might be a controversial advice because again
138
if you want to hear somebody who speaks perfect english then yes it's a teacher it's a native speaker
139
but if you want to let go
140
if you have this psychological thing in your head
141
that tells you i have to be perfect
142
when you're talking to a non -native speaker who makes mistakes you just feel
143
so much at ease because you know they also make mistakes just like you do
144
and it's psychologically so much easier i noticed it my husband notices it everyone who speaks english in the US,
145
like all of my US friends who are non -native speakers, they tell me that it's a lot easier for them to understand me,
146
to talk to me in English because they know I'm not a native speaker and I won't be like,
147
oh, she said that wrong because I know I make mistakes myself.
148
I would never judge.
149
So again, talk to non -native speakers
150
if you just want to let go of this tension that you have inside that you can't speak English.
151
Well, in the last but not the least, if you go to an English -speaking country, that's always the best.
152
And try to interact with as many people as you can, not just like your teacher if you're taking a course or just your classmates.
153
If you go alone, that's the best.
154
So when I was 14, I traveled alone to the UK.
155
I think it was 23 when I was 22 when I went to Canada on my own.
156
Again, amazing experience.
157
I was staying with a local family, speaking to them in English and just doing everything I had to do in English.
158
which meant flying from Toronto to Vancouver, flying from Vancouver to Whistler, like visiting all the places and managing my lifestyle myself.
159
So that helped me a lot.
160
2013, well, I went to the US with my family, but still I was like on my own exploring Miami.
161
I was on my own exploring New York.
162
Again, this all really, really helps.
163
So don't be afraid to travel alone.
164
Traveling alone is, first of all, a challenge for your English.
165
And second of all, it's a psychological journey because you are with yourself.
166
You're digging deeper into yourself.
167
You're digging deeper into your problems.
168
And I just like how your perspective changes after those trips.
169
Thank you guys so much for watching this video up to the very end.
170
If you're not yet subscribed to this channel, please hit subscribe.
171
I will see you very soon in my next videos.
172
And bye -bye.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B11
How to Learn English Fast - My Top 4 Tips
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
HOW TO PRONOUNCE BRAND NAMES IN ENGLISH | MARINA MOGILKO
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
8 THINGS EVERY LANGUAGE LEARNER SHOULD DO DAILY
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
Improve your English in 30 days with this ACTION PLAN
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
How to think in English and stop translating in your head
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
100 Verbs Every English Learner Needs (with examples)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
100 MOST COMMON ENGLISH WORDS - BEGINNER VOCABULARY
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B25
100 MOST COMMON ENGLISH WORDS | A1-B2 VOCABULARY
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B13
8 SECRETS TO LEARN ENGLISH FAST
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
Improve your English with this study PLAN: Elementary to Intermediate (Marina Mogilko)
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B24
English Conversational practice | Improve Speaking Skills | At the Doctor's
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B25
Why Perfect Pronunciation Is a Waste of Time
TOEFL PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
B11
ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN MY CAR
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
Real English Conversation Practice: Shadow This with Only 210 Words
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B21
TOEFL Speaking Practice Test — How to score 30/30 | Tips & Strategies
TOEFL PrepInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B12
How to Learn and Remember English Words | Top 5 Ways to memorize words
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
Learn 15 Common English Idioms (With Examples)
Daily Conversation
C14
HOW TO LEARN 100+ ENGLISH WORDS A DAY. ENGLISH VOCABULARY WITH MARINA MOGILKO
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B23
How to speak fast and understand native speakers
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
5 things to practice every day to improve your English speaking skills
Interview EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B21
15 sentences
Stop Learning English Grammar | English Reading and Listening Practice #englishforbeginners #english
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B21
159 sentences
This 10-Minute Video Will Save You 10,000 Hours Of Language Learning
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1440 sentences
How to Think in English (Stop Translating in Your Head)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
55 sentences
If I Had to Learn English Again… I'd Do This
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
92 sentences
How to Learn Phrasal Verbs Fast — Speak Natural English Like a Native
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
227 sentences
8 tips to Become Fluent in Any Language
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
1066 sentences
9 English Habits That Instantly Make You Sound More Natural | English Podcast(B1-B2)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
427 sentences
7 Ways You're Overcomplicating English Learning
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
288 sentences
Feynman’s 15-Minute Trick That Makes Your Brain Absorb Any Language Instantly
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B1129 sentences
How did I learn Grammer? | Slow English
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Don't learn grammar! Do THIS!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: english, grammar, learn, phrase, speak. This video has 172 sentences and 2173 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:07. The speaker talks fast, about 196 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| conditional noun | /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/ | A conditional sentence; a statement that depends on a condition being true or false. |
| psychological adjective | /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/ | Of or pertaining to psychology. |
| translate verb | /tɹænzˈleɪt/ | To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another. |
| expose verb | /ɪkˈspoʊz/ | To reveal; to uncover; to make visible; to bring to light. |
| format noun | /ˈfɔːɹ.mæt/ | The layout of a publication or document. |
| ease verb | /iz/ | To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc. |
| explore verb | /ɪkˈsploɹ/ | To examine or investigate something systematically. |
| dig verb | /dɪɡ/ | To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More… |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| consume verb | /kənˈsum/ | To use up. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| have over verb | To host (a visiting guest) at one's house. | |
| move forward verb | To cause to make progress. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I've been doing this research on this channel.
- I've never been to that restaurant.
- I've never traveled to that place.
- If you go alone, that's the best.
- You're digging deeper into yourself.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been doing · I've been asking |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if he's really a professional, would you |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have never been · they've never been · I've never been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | week, which is · people who click · guys who are |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 70 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: conditional /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/, exposure /ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/, fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: conditional /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/, psychological /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like grammar, phrase, conditional.
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.