Shadowing Practice: Elon Musk Actually Wanted To Design VIDEO GAMES And You'll NEVER Believe Where His First Job Was - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
Primitive.
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I was just a kid, yeah.
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I think I was probably like 10 or 11 when I was a program of that game, but it got published when I was 12.
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Blaster, it's called?
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Yeah, it's a simple game.
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You have a space fighter and you fight an alien space freighter.
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I wrote the game, did the graphics and the sound and everything.
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It doesn't have anything else.
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So it's a very simple game, I want to emphasize.
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Yeah, that's actually one of the things that I thought about doing career-wise.
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It seemed like that would be super fun.
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I worked at a gaming startup, which weirdly was called Rocket Science.
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Yeah.
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Fate loves irony.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, I worked at Rocket Science Program in games a long time ago.
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And it must have been like 93 or something, or 94.
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Yeah.
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And it was, my original plan was to go to grad school at Stanford and do a study, ultra capacitors for use in electric vehicles.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will delve into a fascinating story about Elon Musk's early interest in video game design. By listening to his experiences, you will practice your English speaking skills, focusing on pronunciation, intonation, and comprehension. Engaging with this content helps you enhance your shadowspeak ability, allowing you to mimic the natural rhythms of speech, which is essential for achieving fluency. As you learn about Musk's journey, you'll also explore key vocabulary and phrases that will broaden your English communication skills and enrich your conversations.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Primitive - simple, basic, and not fully developed.
  • Program - to write instructions for a computer program or game.
  • Graphics - visual elements in a game or software.
  • Alien - a being from another planet, often used in science fiction.
  • Startup - a newly established business, particularly in technology.
  • Ultra capacitors - devices that store electrical energy for quick discharge.
  • Electric vehicles - vehicles powered by electricity rather than gasoline.

Practice Tips

When practicing your English speaking practice with this video, consider the following tips to effectively incorporate shadow speech techniques:

  • Listen Actively: Pay close attention to the speed and tone of Musk's speech. Try to absorb the nuances in his pronunciation.
  • Shadowing Exercises: Rewind sections of the video, and repeat phrases immediately after hearing them. This will help you grasp the flow of the language and improve your rhythm.
  • Pause for Reflection: After each significant point, pause the video and summarize what you heard in your own words. This practice deepens understanding and retains information better.
  • Record Yourself: Use a recording device to capture your voice as you practice. Compare your pronunciation and tone to Musk's, making adjustments as needed to align with the natural speech patterns.
  • Focus on Emotion: Notice how Musk conveys enthusiasm and irony in his tone. Incorporate this expressiveness into your shadowing to make your speaking more dynamic and engaging.

By integrating these strategies into your practice routine, you will enhance your conversational English and gain confidence in your speaking abilities, making each session of shadowspeaks more effective and enjoyable.

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.