Shadowing Practice: Going Home | Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh | #mindfulness - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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I like to describe my practice,
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my teaching, as the practice of arriving, of going home.
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there is a beautiful poem that we use to practice arriving
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and going home it is like this I have arrived I am home in the here
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and the now I feel solid I feel free.
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In the ultimate, I dwell.
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And of course, we may practice mindful breathing with that poem.
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When you breathe in, you practice arriving.
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I have arrived.
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And when you breathe out, we practice.
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I am home.
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You may enjoy doing that several times and then you switch into in the here and the now.
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It means I have arrived in the here.
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I am home in the now.
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I feel solid.
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That's when you breathe in.
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I feel free.
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That is why you breathe out.
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At first, you may feel that you are not so solid.
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But if you continue the practice, you get more solid. And you get freer.
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And then the last line is in the ultimate ideal.
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It is very important to go home,
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to arrive, in order to make peace with ourselves, with our society.
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than with the people we love.
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Going home, we are afraid of touching our pain, touching the wall within.
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Sometimes we find ourselves at war with another person,
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maybe with our family, with our society, with our tradition.
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But we may learn that when we are at war with someone else, there may be a war within us.
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And that is why we don't want to go home.
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Of course, there is war within and around us.
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But there is something else.
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There is also peace and joy.
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And we should learn to go home in order to touch the joy and the peace within us and around us.
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And this is very important because all of us need to be nourished,
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to be stable, in order to be able to go further,
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to do something for the people around us.
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We need a source of energy, a source of peace, of joy, in order to counterbalance.
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Because we know that if we do not have some amount of peace, of joy, of happiness, we cannot do anything.
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We cannot continue.
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The practice of arriving helps us to touch the peace and the joy within in order to get nourished.
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And that practice will help us to generate the energy of mindfulness
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that will help us to touch the wall within and around us.
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Because touching the wall without strength, without the energy of mindfulness, may be dangerous.
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We'll be overwhelmed by it.
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we'll be shattered by it.
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And therefore, before we learn to touch the wall within and around us, we should cultivate the energy of mindfulness.
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And that kind of cultivation could be realized
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when we learn to go home and touch the peace and the joy in us. So, let's go.
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Thank you.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will explore the concept of mindfulness and the practice of "arriving" and "going home," as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh. Through mindful breathing and awareness, students will learn to cultivate peace and joy within themselves. This session not only enhances their understanding of mindfulness but also provides an opportunity to practice their English speaking skills. By focusing on the reflective nature of the teaching, learners will begin to improve their confidence and clarity in spoken English.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Mindfulness: The quality of being present and fully engaged in the moment.
  • Arriving: The act of being present, both mentally and physically.
  • Home: A metaphorical space of peace and comfort within oneself.
  • Solid: A state of being grounded and stable.
  • Free: A feeling of liberation from stress and anxiety.
  • Nourished: To be physically and emotionally supported and cared for.
  • Peace: A state of tranquility and calm.
  • Joy: A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Practice Tips

To effectively use the shadowing technique with this video, start by listening closely to Thich Nhat Hanh's slow and deliberate speech. The calming tone he uses makes it easier to follow along. Here are several tips to enhance your practice:

  • Repeat After Him: As you listen, pause after each line and repeat what he says. This will help you improve English pronunciation by mimicking his delivery and inflection.
  • Focus on Breath: Incorporate the practice of mindful breathing as mentioned in the video. Inhale deeply on keywords like "arrived" and "home," and exhale on "solid" and "free." This will not only enhance your pronunciation but also embed meaning into the words.
  • Slow Down: If necessary, slow down the playback speed. This allows more time to articulate each word clearly, particularly during initial practice sessions.
  • Record Yourself: Use a recording tool to capture your shadow speaks. Listening to your recordings will help identify areas for improvement, especially for \"IELTS speaking practice\".
  • Reflect: After shadowing, take a moment to reflect on how the concepts of peace, joy, and arriving resonate with you personally. Formulate sentences expressing your thoughts and practice speaking them out loud.

Regular engagement with the shadowing technique will not only help strengthen your English skills but also deepen your understanding of mindfulness as a practice. Embrace this opportunity to cultivate both your language and your inner peace.

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.