Shadowing Practice: English Podcast 3: Talking about Hobbies - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello everyone, this is podcast number three and today we're going to talk about something kind of simple

but I think still really interesting and that is hobbies.

So I think hobbies, there's a lot of different sections to this.

What is a hobby first of all and especially for adults, how do you find time to maintain a hobby

because doing something for yourself or doing something in your free time just for fun is

so important especially today

when we all have busy lives it's difficult to find a

good work -life balance it's really important to have the time for yourself.

So today we'll talk about this in a bit more detail.

First of all what is a hobby?

What is a hobby?

I think that this can be defined as anything

that you do for fun

or anything you do in your free time it doesn't necessarily have to be something

that you're good at definitely in my experience I've not been good at a lot of hobbies

that I've tried

or certainly not at the beginning I've never had a natural

talent for something I've always had to stick at something to really get into it

and to really see progress with it

so yeah anything you do in your free time anything you

do for fun I don't know maybe people are predisposed to

some hobbies maybe you're just naturally really into video games

or maybe it's something you get into later in life like I grew up with a girl

and all throughout our childhood she was really into swimming

and then when she started university she actually discovered

that she loved basketball

which is worlds apart these two sports don't have a lot to say to each other

but if she hadn't decided to try

if she hadn't decided to give it a go she never would have discovered the the passion

that she has for this the passion

which is even stronger than what she thought she was good

at before in my experience my main hobby I would say is learning languages I think that's why I'm

so passionate about it and so passionate about helping people to learn English

because I know what it's like to learn another language I

know the difficulties I know how rewarding it can be

but of course it's not always easy it can be really frustrating to not make progress

or to feel like you're not making progress

and with languages in particular this is something

that I don't think you can be naturally predisposed to I don't think people have a natural talent for languages

because as I've said before babies learn languages we all have the same hard wiring in our brain

that allows us to learn new languages

so it's not like you can't learn a language

because you don't have the right brain for it everyone has the right brain it's just

that it takes time it's not something you can see progress in in like one week well you can

but you won't be fluent in one week is what I'm trying to say

so it's something you really have to dedicate time

and energy to to see progress and that's been my experience

but aside from that I also just love to have time for myself I don't know

if you can define that as a hobby but I think now

when we have so little time for ourselves it's important to to do whatever you enjoy to do

so I don't know if it counts as a hobby

but I'm gonna say that making time for myself to go to a cafe

or go shopping or go have food I'm gonna say

that this counts as a hobby here in terms of hobbies

that I want to try there's a few I've never been a very sporty person

but I definitely would like to try surfing I would like to try horseback riding

and until recently I was very interested in something more extreme like paragliding

which is quite dangerous but I thought it would be really exciting to try

but unfortunately I actually heard about somebody having an accident recently with paragliding

so it has put me off a little bit to be honest

but maybe in the future but there's lots of things I want to try

and again it's about finding the time to actually do these things

but I would say you should never not do something you should never put something off

because you're scared

that you won't be good at it I think this is something I've heard people say before

that they don't want to try a new sport they don't want to try judo

or dancing because they think they're too old they think

that it's not something you can learn when you're an adult

which is absolutely untrue nobody is good at something the first time around

and even if you're not good at it even after like three months of trying

and you're still not good at it who cares who cares

if you enjoy it you should do it

because you're not just doing it to learn a skill you're doing it to give yourself time to relax

and time to have fun for yourself to do something enjoyable just for you without thinking about anyone else

so if there is something you have always wanted to try I say you should absolutely go for it

and actually on that point about not wanting to try something

because you think you're too old or you think you won't be good at it, I think it's especially important for adults to have hobbies.

It's really common for kids, I hear people talk about their kids all the time, and they learn piano, and they play basketball,

and they go swimming, and they do all of these things which is amazing, and it's great that they have the opportunity, but I think

when we become adults we stop to care about ourselves we

as kids we might have had time to play with our friends

or to try a new sport without feeling afraid

or we might have just learned another language just from hearing it

but as adults we don't have the same amount of time

we have jobs we have responsibilities we have families we have kids we have

so much going on

that it's difficult to use the free time you have to do a hobby sometimes

if you've had a really long week the last thing you want to do is something physically exhausting

so we end up staying at home and watching tv lying in bed

and it makes sense you you need to recover you need

to relax however it's more rewarding i think to do something for yourself do something like learn a new skill

or try something completely new to you because this will give you a physical ability but more importantly a mental one,

a way to switch off but also a way to feel proud of yourself.

We feel proud of our kids but we don't always feel proud of ourselves

and I think that hobbies can be a really good way to give yourself the love

that you maybe haven't been giving yourself.

With that being said I can also understand why people give up on hobbies.

I myself have given up on hobbies in the past

when I was I think 16 I started to do trampolining

100

and I gave up when I was around 18

101

so after about two years and I think it's just

102

because I changed it was no longer interesting for me

103

when I started it was so exciting and I did it with my friends

104

and it was a great way to burn off any energy

105

that I had at the end of the week

106

but by the time I was 18 it just didn't fill

107

me with joy anymore it was something I was starting to dread

108

and I don't know exactly why I don't know what switched in my brain maybe it's

109

that I was changing so much anyway as a person

110

that this hobby no longer aligned with my interests my interests

111

had fundamentally changed to the point where I had no desire to continue with it anymore

112

and I think that's also okay I think there's no shame in leaving something behind

113

because you've tried you gave it a go what else do you want you can't continue to do something

114

that you hate there's no point in it

115

because you're ultimately doing a hobby for yourself so

116

if it gets to the point where you feel like you're doing it for somebody else

117

or it's not enjoyable for you anymore then I think it is better to leave it in the past.

118

It's better to know when to stop than to keep going and just burn out emotionally, physically, mentally.

119

So if you have watched this podcast

120

and enjoyed it I think a good challenge for you to improve your English will be to try

121

and answer some questions about hobbies.

122

Can you tell me what do you like to do as a hobby

123

or what is a hobby you would like to try?

124

For example, if you suddenly had three more hours of free time every week,

125

what hobby would you start or what hobby would you continue with and why?

126

How does this make you think?

127

How does this make you feel?

128

Why is it important for you?

129

And finally, I just want to end by saying

130

that a hobby should not be about productivity in my opinion we spend

131

so much of our lives on work

132

or on other people on our responsibilities on our relationships and

133

so much time is not dedicated to ourselves

134

that a hobby doesn't need to be about progressing in something

135

it doesn't need to be about work where you have objectives and deadlines a hobby is something where you should relax,

136

where you should have enjoyment just for yourself without thinking about anyone else

137

and I think this ultimately is what defines what our hobbies are

138

and I think that also says so much about ourselves as people

139

because what you choose to do with your free time defines who you are as a person.

140

So I hope this video has been useful and I will see you in the next one.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “English Podcast 3: Talking about Hobbies”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: hobby, hobbies, learn, language. This video has 140 sentences and 1753 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:59. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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
hobby noun	/ˈhɑ.bi/	An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.
define verb	/dɪˈfaɪn/	To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
relax verb	/ɹɪˈlæks/	To make something loose.
naturally adverb	/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/	In a natural manner.
passion noun	/ˈpæʃən/	A true desire sustained or prolonged.
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.
discover verb	/dɪˈskʌvə/	To find or learn something for the first time.
reward noun	/ɹɪˈwɔɹd/	Something of value given in return for an act.
physically adverb	/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kli/	In a physical manner.
swim verb	/swɪm/	To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
podcast noun	/ˈpɑdˌkæst/	A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on…
passionate adjective	/ˈpæʃənɪt/	Fired with intense feeling.
enjoyable adjective	/ɛnˈd͡ʒɔɪ.ə.bl̩/	Pleasant, capable of giving pleasure.
dedicate verb	/ˈdɛdɪˌkeɪt/	To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate.
necessarily adverb	/ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/	Inevitably; of necessity.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
burn off verb	To dissipate as the result of heat.
burn out verb	To destroy by fire.
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
give up verb	To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
switch off verb	To stop or disable a device by turning a switch or a lever.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

How does this make you think?
How does this make you feel?
Why is it important for you?

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've not been · I've tried · I've said
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	can be defined · are predisposed · being said
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should never not do · should do · should absolutely
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was starting · was changing

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 55 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: passion /ˈpæʃən/, passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/, emotionally /ɪˈməʊʃənəli/
Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, productivity /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/

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 hobby, define, relax.

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 →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?