Shadowing Practice: From Pain to Progress: Your Journey to Finding Hope - Learn English Speaking with Video

My first walk on my own was absolutely heartbreaking.

While I was walking, I actually said to myself, this is one of the hardest things you have ever done.

It was the most acute pain.

It was heartbreaking because it was what he loves.

It's just what he loves.

And then, you know, I just thought, I'm on my own here, and he should be here, you know.

I then walked down and I sat and I looked up at the mountain and I thought, Good on you.

Good on you, girl.

You did that.

Graham would be proud of me.

His slogan for everything was onward and upward.

And he would be saying, that's my girl.

I really feel I need to kind of live for him, in a way. Because he'd want that.

He really, really would.

Graham's dying was such a shock because everything was kind of perfect.

He was well, he was on a hike with his mates down the Wild Coast, so happy.

A place we've walked a hundred times.

And then he got to the airport after the six days away and he phoned up and said, can't wait to see you sweetie pie,

I have so much to tell you.

And he never came home and I was preparing the dinner

and I started to get edgy because now it's six and I'm working out, look he's against the traffic, where is he, you know.

Then the phone rang and a person who was not first language English speaker

said his name in a way that clearly he hadn't said his name to her.

She was reading it.

Are you related to Graham Charnock?

And I said, yes, yes, what's wrong?

And she said, you need to bring the family, he's collapsed.

I drove to the hospital and they rushed me down to the clinic

and the minute I walked in and there's three big burly policemen waiting for me, I just knew, I just knew,

this is it, this is it.

The huge comfort is he did just die so suddenly

and someone mentioned there was a little bump on his head and he obviously dropped.

He didn't even know to put his hand up.

And one of the doctor friends that took me out said, Liz, he wouldn't have known what hit him.

He had a heart attack and that's it.

And that's what I've chosen to believe and I believe it.

For a long time after Graham died, I didn't get a yearning to go back to the studio.

It just wasn't, it wasn't even, it didn't cross my mind.

I didn't feel a creative urge or anything.

It just wasn't what I was dealing with.

And I just visualized and processed the walk Graham did.

There was a part of me that was so sad that I hadn't been there with him.

So I felt that I knew where he'd been and I knew the views he was looking at and so on.

So I just worked on,

in an abstract way, I just worked on these scenes of the Wild Coast and imagined I was walking down with him.

I wrote little words on it like I hear you whisper to me in the wind and the waves.

It's a lonely walk.

Sorry.

It's a lonely walk without you.

I'll always be with you.

Yeah, but for me that was my process and it's nice to look back and see it's not somber,

but it makes me feel on some level that I was there with him.

I do chat to him, sometime.

I don't believe he's hovering around me, or looking out for me, but I feel his presence.

I especially feel his presence in nature, or on the mountain, or hearing a bird sound or something.

For me it's perfectly natural.

If he was here, what would I say to him?

I think that I would just see him and tell him that I'm doing the best I can.

I miss you.

I miss...

I miss you very painfully at times, but it's not going to get me down.

I'm going to keep going.

I've only lost Graham a year next month.

And according to the way it must be, the way it must be is you wear black in many, many cultures for a year at least, maybe two.

And here I am, I have the pain, but not all the time.

There's excitement, there are possibilities.

I'm 72.

How much longer have I got?

Graham said to me not long before he died, God, you're so lucky.

You've got six years that I don't have.

You've got six years, because I'm six years younger.

And he said, just think of what you can do and where you can go.

And I was kind of horrified.

I said, what do you mean?

You fitter than I am.

You're brighter than I am.

You remember the names, I forget them.

He said, no, no, no, you've got six years, Les.

And you know, the more I think about it, the more I think, I have got to get out there.

It's not going to take away the pain.

It's not going to take away 48 years of connection

and sharing and having that person always looking out for you and always being there and excited to get together.

It's not going to take that away.

But I have got to start on my own new adventures.

I've got to fill those six years.

They're my gift.

I have been in touch with friends, I've lost their husbands, sometimes three years ago, sometimes four years ago.

And there's no judgement here, there's no judgement, but they haven't moved on into a new space.

I'm finding it very difficult to walk out as an individual person.

And I totally understand that.

But I lie awake at night when I'm feeling excited about something and I think,

do I love him less than my friends love their husbands? And maybe I'm selfish.

And then I think, how am I selfish?

Who doesn't benefit from me making an effort to get back into life?

For all my sadness and all those moments when I lean across

and he's not there and I come home

and something's worrying me about an interaction I might have had

and all I want to do is get into my safe space where Graham is

and he and we talk about it and he's there

100

and as I'm driving home I think who is there you know I'll go through all of

101

that but at the same time there's that little bubble that comes up that says yes take the gift

102

The other day my son said something to me and I think for me

103

It was one of the best compliments I've ever had.

104

He just said, you know, Mom, when you walk into a room, when you leave the room, everyone feels happier and lighter.

105

And I thought about that and I thought, that is the most beautiful thing anyone could say.

106

So maybe that's my purpose.

107

I realise that with what's going on in the world, I can make very little impact on a gram scale.

108

But I make a huge impact every day in my life by just my interactions.

109

That's why I'm here.

110

In small ways, giving somebody a moment of light in the day.

111

And that comes very naturally to me because I get as much from it.

112

The beauty is the helping hand.

113

The beauty is what lifts you up.

114

The nature, the space, it's the one thing that kind of stays constant while everything else is changing.

115

But with the beauty comes extreme pain, exquisite pain.

116

It's in the beauty that I feel the missing, and yet it's uplifting.

117

It is a beautiful world.

118

Thank you so much for watching this story all the way to the end

119

and a special thank you to all of you on Patreon who help us to make these films.

120

If you want to join us on the journey please click the link over here, I think.

121

It just wouldn't be possible without you.

122

Thank you.

123

Thank you.

📺 Same Channel

✨ Recommend Video

122 sentences

The Day I Lost My Son To Suicide | Can Ask Meh?

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

144 sentences

Made of Grit | An Appalachian Trail Film Documentary

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

392 sentences

Loving God will change your life

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

630 sentences

25 Brutal Truths a Breast Surgeon Learned about Breast Cancer

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

40 sentences

The Pitt | A Humane Death (1)

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

44 sentences

Consecutive Interpreting Practice (EN): Interpreting Tone of Voice

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

113 sentences

GRIEVING - ALLOWING THE CHUCKLES AS WELL AS THE TEARS WHENEVER APPROPRIATE. PART OF PROCESS.

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

206 sentences

A poor worker suddenly became rich after finding the diary of someone who had died

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

70 sentences

When the Rock & Roll Lifestyle Became Too Much with LOU GRAMM (Foreigner)

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

442 sentences

I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Now I'm Unemployed And Alone In The Mountains How Did I Get Here?

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

273 sentences

What's the most painful thing you've been told? – A Compilation of Fan Favorites

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

105 sentences

Goodbye Bob – A Life That Helped Millions

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “From Pain to Progress: Your Journey to Finding Hope”. This video has 123 sentences and 1375 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:11. The speaker talks slowly, about 104 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
heartbreaking adjective		That causes great grief, anguish or distress.
selfish adjective	/ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/	Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
horrify verb	/ˈhɒɹɪfaɪ/	To cause to feel extreme apprehension or unease; to cause to experience horror.
onward adverb	/ˈɒnwəd/	In a forward direction.
painfully adverb	/ˈpeɪnfəli/	In a painful manner; as if in pain.
sombre adjective	/ˈsɑmbɚ/	Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.
uplifting adjective		Improving the mood; causing cheerfulness.
visualize verb	/ˈvɪʒuəˌlaɪz/	To perceive (something) visually; to see.
sweetie noun	/ˈswi.ti/	A person who is much loved.
exquisite adjective	/ɪkˈskwɪzɪt/	Especially or extraordinarily fine or pleasing; exceptional.
upward adverb	/ˈʌpwɚd/	In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin.
slogan noun	/ˈsloʊɡən/	A distinctive phrase of a person or group of people (such as a movement or political party); a motto.
whisper verb	/ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/	To speak softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration of the…
policeman noun	/pəˈliːsmən/	A police officer, usually a male.
gram noun	/ˈɡɹæm/	A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
take away verb	/ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/	To remove something and put it in a different place.
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
get out verb		To leave or escape.
get together verb		To meet, to gather together, to congregate.
go back to verb		To stem from; to originate in.
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
hand up verb		To deliver an indictment (e.g. to a judge).
look back verb		To think of (past events) in retrospect (in hindsight).

Sentences worth repeating

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

A place we've walked a hundred times.
And I said, yes, yes, what's wrong?
I didn't feel a creative urge or anything.
How much longer have I got?
I said, what do you mean?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 43 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: selfish /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/, visualize /ˈvɪʒuəˌlaɪz/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like heartbreaking, selfish, horrify.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: From Pain to Progress: Your Journey to Finding Hope - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose Your Life: The Secret to Living Your Truth & Finding Meaning

The Simple Life: How to Find Your "ENOUGH"

Beyond the Pain: Finding Your Purpose & Changing Everything

The Secret to Peace: Realizing "This Is Enough."

What 30 Years in the "Real World" Taught Me About Happiness

I See You: The UNTOLD Truth About True Connection

Why Extraordinary is Overrated

The Secret to a Beautiful Life? It's Ordinary

96 Years of WISDOM: The 3 Lessons That Will Make You Feel Awe

Finding Love and Belonging in Unexpected Places

Unseen BEAUTY of Everyday LOVE

Heal Your Grief: The Unexpected Beauty of Surrender

Walk Your Own Road

This Will Change How You See Your Life (The Beauty of the Ordinary)

Why I chose to Not Panic

She Said "I Owe You My Life": The Power of Asking for Help

The REAL Meaning of Life (And How to Find Yours)

What Do You Truly Need? Finding Clarity in a Confusing World

At 84, I’ve Finally Found the Secret to True Happiness

Life Is Magic: How to Rediscover the Miracle in Every Day

The Day I Lost My Son To Suicide | Can Ask Meh?

Made of Grit | An Appalachian Trail Film Documentary

Loving God will change your life

25 Brutal Truths a Breast Surgeon Learned about Breast Cancer

The Pitt | A Humane Death (1)

Consecutive Interpreting Practice (EN): Interpreting Tone of Voice

GRIEVING - ALLOWING THE CHUCKLES AS WELL AS THE TEARS WHENEVER APPROPRIATE. PART OF PROCESS.

A poor worker suddenly became rich after finding the diary of someone who had died

When the Rock & Roll Lifestyle Became Too Much with LOU GRAMM (Foreigner)

I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Now I'm Unemployed And Alone In The Mountains How Did I Get Here?

What's the most painful thing you've been told? – A Compilation of Fan Favorites

Goodbye Bob – A Life That Helped Millions

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?