Shadowing Practice: Harvard Orator Eunice Alison Nyang’or Mwabe | Harvard Commencement 2019 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
114 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
As a little girl growing up in a farm just outside of Nairobi, Kenya, I spent a lot of time wondering about the world outside.
2
I spent my weekends watching TV and listening to music.
3
I watched old 60s movies on school nights when I was supposed to be asleep.
4
And I read a lot of books.
5
I mean a lot of books.
6
I devoured media because I was thirsty to understand the world outside the confines of my otherwise simple,
7
comfortable, and incredibly joyful upbringing.
8
So it was no surprise that everything I knew about America, I knew from media.
9
And this was before social media, so the variety of images I had of the United States was limited to what movies wanted me,
10
an outsider, to know about this land of the free and home of the brave.
11
I watched movies about American high schools in particular and I found them absolutely fascinating and I learnt a lot.
12
For example, I learnt
13
that in America you could walk out of classes before teachers
14
dismissed you just as long as the bell had rang and I thought to myself, indeed this is the land of the free and the home of the brave?
15
Because that kind of behavior wouldn't fly where I'm from.
16
In America, because Becoming homecoming king and homecoming queen was a big deal,
17
but I never understood where home was or where people had gone enough to be coming.
18
I also learned that in America, everyone was always looking for a prom date
19
and that if you dropped your books and someone picked them up for you and gazed into your eyes, then at the end of the year,
20
they would become your prom date.
21
To date, I find it utterly impressive that the content was that consistent across the board.
22
You watched Mean Girls and it was like you had watched everything.
23
Yet these thoroughly analyzed case studies of my peers could never
24
have prepared me for the past four years as an international student at Harvard.
25
In fact, in a way, I held a lot of misconceptions about the United States because of them.
26
Now, I know more often than not, this phenomenon happens the other way around.
27
For instance, if I walk into a room and I say, Hi, my name is Mwabe and I'm from Nairobi, Kenya, a lot of things might go through your mind like,
28
Wow, she speaks such good English.
29
Or perhaps you might ask yourself the age-old question and what I'm sure we are all wondering today.
30
I wonder whether she's listened to Ariana Grande's music.
31
Yet in the same way, I too had my own stereotypes about the United States.
32
There were stories I had heard throughout my life that had embedded plenty of assumptions in my mind.
33
Racial stereotypes, stereotypes about people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, stereotypes about American preferences.
34
At times I wouldn't realize I had these perceptions in my mind
35
but I always found myself holding on to them ever
36
so tightly whenever I encountered something new or different that I wasn't willing to try.
37
The thing with stereotypes that makes them so powerful is that they menacingly appear to be true,
38
and that it can be so comfortable to hold on to them because predictability is easy to work with.
39
Nuance makes things complicated.
40
Nuance doesn't fit into policy or captivating film narratives.
41
And once you're comfortable enough in what you know, there's no reason to step out of it.
42
I have always been fascinated by people,
43
cultures, history, why we think the way we think based on where we grew up or our experiences.
44
And it was this fascination that led me to the anthropology department.
45
I was excited at the prospect of a concentration where, for the most part, I got to observe people and theorize about why they do what they do.
46
At first, this started as a self-centered process.
47
In the midst of my debilitating homesickness and reluctance to adjust, I needed an excuse to get out of having to engage with this new country
48
and its people by delving deeper to understand myself, my roots, and my culture.
49
On any lovely Wednesday afternoon, you'd find me at a section in Toza, either finding a way to connect every possible theory to the African continent,
50
or vehemently retorting to something a peer had said.
51
And it always sounded like, well, I just want to push back on that for a little bit
52
and say that that is based on a very Western framework of thinking.
53
Around my friends, I started every statement in my culture, especially when I didn't want to try something new,
54
like, in my culture, we don't eat quinoa.
55
Or in my culture, we don't ask professors about their weekends, or agree to call them by their first names.
56
I'm sorry, Dean Kura, I mean, Rakesh.
57
And while this transformative liberal arts education has given me has given me the tools to explain where I'm from,
58
or why you wouldn't find me running by the Charles in the winter when no one is chasing me.
59
Self-centered intellectual pursuit can get incredibly dissatisfying and ultimately lonely.
60
And so I began observing Americans instead.
61
Away from the images that had for so long filled my head,
62
I promptly began my fieldwork outlining the rituals among American 20-year-olds,
63
their sociality, their tribal customs and norms, what they found taboo to talk about in public,
64
their different kinship systems and values for concepts like personal space.
65
And how's it going isn't actually a question about how it's going.
66
Eventually, I too began to participate in the natives' rituals, annual festivals like the Super Bowl,
67
and this collaborative activity that was creating a March Madness bracket.
68
I started watching American news as an empathy exercise, really. And slowly but surely,
69
my eyes began to open to certain realities about the American experience through the lens of Harvard class of 2019
70
that bring it on one, two, and three could never have taught me, not even in a million years.
71
There were experiences that brought us together as a community and reminded me of the universality of our experiences.
72
It was in the looks of awe and amazement
73
and chagrin for some when we witnessed Adam's house rise like a phoenix from the ashes,
74
blessing us with what had to be the greatest housing video of all time.
75
Go at us.
76
It was in your faces every time you worried about the inequalities of your education system.
77
It was in your pain when another unarmed black man was shot.
78
It was in the face of an understaffed homeless shelter in an increasingly gentrifying town.
79
Now, I know Harvard is not representative of the entire United States.
80
In fact, if anything, this heavily endowed bubble is far from the reality faced by millions in this country.
81
But if there is anything I am thankful for, it has been the opportunity to have been part of class of 2019, a class of strong, talented,
82
beautiful, smart, ambitious young people who who have shared with me little snippets of where they're from
83
and where they hope to go.
84
And so at the end of this anthropological study, I'd like to share with you all my findings based on the statistical sample
85
that has been my interactions with the class of 2019.
86
The most important of them being that people are people and joy is joy and pain is pain
87
everywhere and we cannot limit ourselves to what we know based on where we come from.
88
In the same vein, let it not be that this Harvard experience becomes our culture,
89
if you will, that we get so attached to bleeding this crimson blood
90
that we are so unwilling to step out
91
and be challenged to learn something new or presently engage when we encounter something or someone different.
92
Statistically speaking, those who have left these grounds have had a palpable impact in the world.
93
Those who have gone ahead of us have disrupted culture, transformed global politics, revolutionized economies,
94
and we will most probably go ahead and do equally significant things, if not more.
95
But these accolades, these achievements, do not make us any better, our lives any more valuable, our joy any more valid,
96
our anger any more justified than the man across the street for whom every dollar counts.
97
And this is in no way meant to devalue our worth.
98
If anything, it takes away this pressure that we need to prove a point to the world, that we need to prove that we went to Harvard and did enough with this opportunity.
99
Class of 2019, you graduate from Harvard but you're worth so much more in and of yourself.
100
And so I implore you, in the words of the great philosopher of our day, Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar.
101
Sit down, be humble.
102
Humility not being defined by how much we downplay the power that comes with a name.
103
Humility not being saying to those who ask that we went to a school in Boston.
104
But humility being the willingness to see all humanity as equal, Harvard degree notwithstanding.
105
Humility being the willingness to learn as much as we can about those different from us outside what we know
106
and then using this Harvard degree to as we say in
107
Kumba do what we can with what we have to leave a space better than we found it.
108
The world is in need of more people who walk through life with this sense of wonder.
109
People courageous enough to engage with that which is different or strange or even unacceptable,
110
willing enough to step out of what they think they know and humble enough to learn from each experience.
111
More than ever, our generation needs leadership that is willing to love and serve within this rare blend of courage and humility.
112
Courageous enough to secure the bag, humble enough to do it without letting it define you.
113
It is my hope, class of 2019, that it shall be said of us that we embodied this in the years to come.
114
Thank you and congratulations.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
C13
Jonny Kim | Harvard Alumni Day 2026
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C14
Education gap: The root of inequality
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
C12
Bill Gates Harvard Commencement Address 2007
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C12
President Alan Garber | Harvard Alumni Day 2026
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C136
Noah Eckstein Delivers the Senior English Address | Harvard Commencement 2026
University StudentsWorking Adults
C16
Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 01 "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER"
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
C243
Natalie Portman Harvard Commencement Speech | Harvard Commencement 2015
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C1Harvard Thinking: Who should take GLP-1s?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
C16
128 sentences
【世界情勢理解】2024年ハーバード大学首席の卒業式スピーチ『知らないことの力』【英語スピーチ】 リスニング 日本語字幕 世界情勢理解
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B23
85 sentences
ENGLISH SPEECH | SARAH ABUSHAAR: The Harvard Spring (English Subtitles)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
C13
39 sentences
ENGLISH SPEECH | NELSON MANDELA: Freedom and Justice (English Subtitles)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C15
93 sentences
Ken Burns - Stanford Commencement 2016 - shortened
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C116
43 sentences
Emma Watson' full speech at UN on Sept 20,2016
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B22
79 sentences
In her Home Country | IELTS LISTENING TEST | SECTION-3
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
275 sentences
Last Lecture: Kristen Eichensehr on ‘why law and lawyers matter in a world of rampant law breaking’
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C111
212 sentences
President Obama Addresses the British Parliament
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C18
59 sentences
I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King .Jr HD (subtitled)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C111
21 sentences
Greatest Speech in American History (Abe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B292
308 sentences
Học tiếng Anh qua bài phát biểu của Taylor Swif | Tự học IELTS Speaking | ELSA Speak
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepInterview English
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 114 sentences and 1701 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:46. The speaker talks at a steady 145 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% 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
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- humility /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/ (noun) — The characteristic of being humble; humbleness in character and behavior.
- engage /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ (verb) — To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied.
- humble /ˈhʌmbəl/ (adjective) — Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming.
- incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ (adverb) — In an incredible manner; not to be believed.
- brave /bɹeɪv/ (adjective) — Strong in the face of fear; courageous.
- define /dɪˈfaɪn/ (verb) — To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
- encounter /ɪnˈkaʊntɚ/ (verb) — To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly.
- peer /pɪɹ/ (noun) — Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal (to that of something else).
- observe /əbˈzɜːv/ (verb) — To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
- ritual /ˈɹɪt͡ʃ.u.əl/ (noun) — A rite; a repeated set of actions, especially in religious contexts.
- willingness /ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/ (noun) — The state of being willing
- prom /pɹɑm/ (noun) — A promenade concert.
- courageous /kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs/ (adjective) — Of a person, displaying or possessing courage.
- homecoming /ˈhoʊmˌkʌmɪŋ/ (noun) — The act or event of returning home.
- consistent /kənˈsɪs.tənt/ (adjective) — Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- come with (verb) — To join and come along.
- fit into (verb) — To be of the right size and shape to be placed in a location.
- get out of (verb) — To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
- go ahead /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ (verb) — To proceed with; to begin.
- go at (verb) — To try to solve a problem a specific way; to undertake a task.
- go through (verb) — To travel from one end of something to the other.
- grow up (verb) — To mature and become an adult.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 19 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, wouldn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thoroughly /ˈθʌɹ.ə.li/, thankful /ˈθæŋkfəl/, thirsty /ˈθɝs.ti/, empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/, anthropology /ˌænθɹəˈpɑləd͡ʒi/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, racial /ˈɹeɪʃəl/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, shelter /ˈʃɛltə/
- Long words — get the stress right: humility /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/
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 humility, engage, humble.
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 | have prepared · have always been fascinated · has given |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been fascinated · is based · was shot |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who who · those who have · those who ask |
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.