Shadowing Practice: Good Habits vs Bad Habits – Learn English Vocabulary | A1–B1 Podcast - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everyone!
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Welcome to Daily English Talk.
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The podcast that helps you speak English better every single day.
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That's right!
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I'm Tom and next to me is the one, the only, the wonderful Lily.
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Tom, you always say that.
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I'm Lily.
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We are so happy you are here with us today.
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Today's topic is really fun.
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We are talking about habits, good habits and bad habits.
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And trust me, Tom knows a lot about bad habits.
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Lily, that is not true.
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I have many good habits.
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Really?
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Many?
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Okay, maybe a few?
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See, this is why we love doing this together, everyone.
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Tom always keeps it honest.
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I do.
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I really do.
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Okay, before we start, we have a question for you today.
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Are you ready?
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Here it is.
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Listen carefully.
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Tom has one very bad habit that he does every single morning.
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What do you think it is?
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Please don't tell them.
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Please.
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We will tell you the answer at the end of today's episode, so stay with us until the very end.
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I cannot believe this is happening.
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Let's start the lesson.
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So, Tom, let's talk about our mornings.
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What do you do when you wake up?
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Okay, well, I wake up.
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And then I look at my phone.
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For how long?
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Maybe 30 minutes?
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30 minutes, Tom!
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That is a bad habit.
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It's not that bad.
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I check the news.
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I check my messages.
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You watch funny videos.
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Okay, yes.
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Some funny videos.
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Maybe many funny videos.
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I knew it.
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Okay, what about you, Tom?
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Do you exercise in the morning?
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I used to, but lately...
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Not really.
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You?
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Yes.
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I walk for 20 minutes every morning.
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It is a great habit.
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I feel so good after.
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20 minutes of walking Every morning.
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I could never.
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You can, Tom.
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That's what today is all about.
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Anyone can build good habits.
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Even you.
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Even me.
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Okay, I believe you.
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Maybe.
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Alright everyone, before our main lesson, let's look at a grammar point we will use a lot today.
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Yes, we are going to use the phrase "I always", "I usually", "I sometimes", and "I never".
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These are called frequency adverbs.
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They tell us how often we do something.
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Let me show you some examples.
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I always drink water in the morning.
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That means every day.
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Every single day.
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Always.
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I usually go to bed at 10 o 'clock.
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Usually means almost every day, but not always.
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I sometimes eat fast food.
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Sometimes means a few times, not every day.
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And I never exercise before coffee.
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That's me.
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Never.
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Not one time.
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We believe you, Tom.
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So remember: always, usually, sometimes, never.
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These words help us talk about habits.
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Let's use them in today's lesson.
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okay let's learn our vocabulary for today we have eight great words
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and phrases ready ready let's go the first word is habit
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h a b i t habit a habit is something you do regularly you do it again and again for example
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Drinking coffee every morning is my habit.
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Or, checking your phone at night is a bad habit.
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I want to share a little story about this word.
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When I was a student, I had a habit of studying at night.
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Only at night, never in the morning.
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Really?
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Why?
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Because mornings were for sleeping, Tom.
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Okay, I understand that completely.
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But then I changed my habit.
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I started studying in the morning, and everything got better.
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My memory improved, my grades improved, everything.
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Wow!
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So changing one habit changed many things.
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Exactly.
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change your life.
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Our second word is routine.
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R -O -U -T -I -N -E.
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Routine.
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A routine is a set of habits, things you do in the same order every day.
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For example, my morning routine is wake up, stretch, eat breakfast, brush teeth.
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Or, she has a good bedtime routine.
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She reads, she drinks tea, she sleeps at the same time every night.
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I also have a routine, but mine is a little different.
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Tell us, Tom.
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My routine is wake up, grab phone, watch videos, forget to eat breakfast, run to work.
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Tom, that is terrible!
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I know, I know.
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That's why I'm here - to learn!
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Everyone, do not copy Tom's routine, please!
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Word number three is important.
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It is discipline.
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D -I -S -C -I -F -L -I -N -E.
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Discipline.
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don't want to.
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For example, "It takes discipline to wake up early every day." Or, "She has a lot of discipline.
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She never skips her exercise." Discipline is not easy, but it is very powerful.
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I agree.
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I really want more discipline in my life, especially in the mornings.
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Aw, that's a great goal, Tom.
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I think you can do it.
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Thank you, Lily.
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A personal story about discipline: when I started this podcast, I had to record every day.
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Every day.
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Some days I didn't want to.
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I was tired.
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I was busy.
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But I did it anyway.
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That is discipline.
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And now look at us.
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Daily English talk is growing every day.
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So discipline works.
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Word four is skip, S -K -I -P, skip.
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To skip something means to not do it, to miss it on purpose.
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For example, he always skips breakfast, that is a bad habit.
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Or I try not to skip my morning walk.
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I skip many things: breakfast, exercise, vegetables.
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tom vegetables are not optional sometimes they are lily sometimes they are okay
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but seriously everyone try not to skip your good habits even when you are tired even one small action counts
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right if you skip your habit one day that's okay
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but don't skip two days in a row that's when habits break
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that is really great advice tom see tom is wise sometimes sometimes word number five improve
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I -M -P -R -O -V -E.
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Improve.
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To improve means to get better, to make progress.
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For example, if you practice English every day, you will improve fast.
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Or, she improved her sleep by going to bed earlier.
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This word is very important for us here at Daily English Talk.
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Every day you listen, you improve.
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That's why we upload every single day, so you can improve every single day.
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My story about improve: I could not swim.
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Not at all.
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I was afraid of water.
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But I took lessons every week.
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And after three months, I could swim.
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I improved.
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Wait, you couldn't swim?
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You seem so confident.
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I was not confident in that swimming pool, but I didn't stop and I improved.
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That is such a great story, Lily.
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See, everyone?
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Improvement takes time, but it always happens if you keep going.
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Ugh, this next word.
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This is my word.
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Word 6: Procrastinate P -R -O -C -R -A -S -T -I -N -A -T -E.
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Procrastinate.
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To procrastinate means to delay doing something, to wait and wait instead of starting.
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For example, I procrastinate a lot.
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I say I will do it later, but later never comes.
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Shocking, truly shocking news, Tom.
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I know, I know.
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Okay, here is my story.
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Last month, I needed to clean my apartment.
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I said I will do it on Sunday.
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Sunday came, I procrastinated.
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I watched TV.
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I made excuses.
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So what happened?
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My mom came to visit, unannounced.
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And my apartment looked like a disaster zone.
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No, Tom.
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It was so bad, Lily.
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It was so bad.
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She looked at me and said, Thomas.
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She called you Thomas?
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She never calls me Thomas.
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It was not a good day.
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Okay, everyone.
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Don't procrastinate.
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Tom's mom will be very disappointed.
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Please, learn from my mistakes.
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Word 7 is: Consistent.
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C -O -N -S -I -S -T -E -N -T.
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Consistent.
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If you are consistent, you do something regularly.
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You don't stop and start.
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You keep going.
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For example, to learn a language, you need to be consistent.
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A little every day is better than a lot one day.
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Or, she is very consistent with her exercise.
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She never misses a day.
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Seriously, it is the number one thing.
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Small steps every day.
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That adds up to big results.
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My teacher in school used to say, "You don't need to be perfect.
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You just need to be consistent." I never forgot that.
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That is a beautiful quote.
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Your teacher was very wise.
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She really was.
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And that's why we are here every day, everyone, to help you be consistent with your English.
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And our final word for today, Word 8.
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replace.
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R -E -P -L -A -C -E.
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Replace.
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To replace means to put something new in the place of something old.
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For example, I replaced my bad habit of drinking soda with drinking water.
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Or she replaced watching TV at night with reading books.
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Now she sleeps much better.
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This is a great strategy for building good habits.
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Don't just stop a bad habit, replace it with a good one.
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That is so true.
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When I wanted to stop eating too many sweets, I didn't just say "no more chocolate." I replaced chocolate with fruit.
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And it actually worked.
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Really?
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You don't miss the chocolate?
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Every single day.
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Honest.
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But fruit is good and I feel better.
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So the replace strategy works.
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Try it, everyone.
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Okay, time for our vocabulary review.
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We're going to do a fun repetition drill.
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Listen and repeat after us.
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This is great for your memory.
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Ready?
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Let's go!
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Say it with us: habit.
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Habit.
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Waking up early is a good habit.
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Again, habit.
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Checking your phone too much is a bad habit.
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Routine.
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Routine.
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My morning routine starts at 7 o 'clock.
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Routine.
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A good routine helps you feel calm and ready.
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Discipline.
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Discipline.
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It takes discipline to exercise every day.
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skip skip Don't skip breakfast.
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It gives you energy.
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Skip.
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Try not to skip your good habits, even on hard days.
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improve improve.
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Every day you listen to this podcast, you improve your English.
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Improve.
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She improved her health by sleeping 8 hours every night.
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You are doing so well.
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Keep going.
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Procrastinate.
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Procrastinate.
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Stop procrastinating and start today.
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Procrastinate.
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Don't wait for the perfect moment.
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Start now.
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consistent.
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Consistent.
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Be consistent with your English practice.
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consistent consistent small steps lead to big changes and our last one replace replace Replace your bad habits with good ones.
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Replace.
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She replaced her bad sleep habit with a relaxing bedtime routine.
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Amazing!
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You did it!
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Great job, everyone!
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Wonderful!
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You now know eight powerful words about habits.
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Okay, now it is time to reveal the answer to our question from the beginning.
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Oh, no. Oh, no, no,
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no. We asked, "What is Tom's bad habit that he does every single morning?" Just say it.
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Tom.
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every single morning, hits the snooze button on his alarm.
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Not once, not twice, but five times.
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Five times is not that many!
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Five times, Tom?
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You set your alone for 6 o 'clock, but you always wake up at 7 :30.
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Okay, okay.
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It's true.
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The snooze button is my biggest enemy and my best friend at the same time.
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Did you guess correctly, everyone?
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Write "I knew it" in the comments if you guessed right.
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And if you also hit snooze five times, write, same, Tom, same.
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We are not alone in this world, Tom.
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That actually makes me feel a lot better.
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Now we have a question for you.
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Write your answer in the comments below.
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What is one good habit you want to start, and what is one bad habit you want to replace?
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Write it in English.
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It's great practice.
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We love reading your comments, and we respond to many of them.
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There are no wrong answers.
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Just write.
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That's the habit we want you to start today.
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Thank you so much for spending this time with us today.
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You showed up, you listened, and that is already a great habit.
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Keep coming back every day because we upload a new English lesson every single day just for you.
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If this video helped you, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe so you never miss a lesson.
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You are doing an amazing job learning English.
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We are so proud of you.
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Keep going.
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Stay consistent, stay curious, and we will see you in the next lesson.
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Bye -bye.
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See you tomorrow, everyone.
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Take care.
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About This Lesson
Welcome to this engaging lesson where you will delve into the world of good habits and bad habits in English. This session, inspired by our lively podcast discussion, aims to enhance your vocabulary and improve your speaking skills. You will practice using common phrases related to daily routines and habits while also applying the shadowing technique to develop your pronunciation. By the end of this lesson, you will not only expand your word bank but also learn how to effectively express your thoughts about habits in English.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Good habits – positive behaviors or routines that benefit your life.
- Bad habits – negative behaviors that can have detrimental effects on your health or productivity.
- Wake up – the act of getting out of bed in the morning.
- Check the news – to look for the latest updates about current events.
- Messages – communications sent via phone or computer.
- Funny videos – entertaining short films often shared online.
- Exercise – physical activity to improve fitness and health.
- Daily routine – a set pattern of activities that you do each day.
Practice Tips
To get the most out of this lesson and to effectively use the shadowing technique, you should listen carefully to the podcast and repeat what you hear. Since the discussion features a friendly and casual tone, feel free to emulate the speakers’ emotions and intonations for better results. While listening, pay attention to their speed; it’s conversational but clear, making it suitable for beginners and lower intermediate learners (A1-B1). Try practicing shadow speech by repeating phrases immediately after hearing them, which can greatly enhance your ability to improve English pronunciation.
Incorporate pauses to give yourself time to imitate the sounds and rhythm. By engaging with the content actively, you will not only learn vocabulary but also how to use it in context. Remember, practicing with the podcast means you are learning English with YouTube in a fun and interactive way, so enjoy the process!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started studying · stop eating · Stop procrastinating |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will tell · will use · will improve |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are talking · is happening · is growing |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | had to record · needed to clean · need to be |
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.