Shadowing Practice: 🧠-health mini: train your brain during war - Learn English Speaking with Video

Welcome back to another segment of mental health minis with me.

Here are two mental health minis

that I wanted to share with you to make up for how it's been a while since I shared anything with you.

So here's part one.

So I don't know who needs to hear this, but you too can train your RAS.

Howdy.

If you've been with me for a while, you know

that I have been actively trying to train my reticular activating system part of my brain following the Iran war

that is still ongoing.

To say that the Iran war has rattled my nervous system is an absolute understatement.

However, there's not a whole lot that I can do.

So anyways, I watched this episode on Mel Robbins and she was talking about a social experiment, if you will.

Try to train yourself to look for hearts in the ground.

I did that for some time, didn't really keep up with it.

But what I have been trying to do subconsciously is look for petals in the ground

or plants growing from somewhere that seems like it is unconventional

that has i think been redirecting my focus showing me

that you can grow and you can bloom in places

that seem unorthodox this goes to show the power of the brain

so train it keep up with it you'd be surprised here's part two i just left a meeting

and in the meeting we were talking about how we are all studious we're all academic

and they were asking me they know who they are shout out to you

but they were saying to me how i have a lot of knowledge

and a lot of years under my belt in terms of research

and school and academia and it is true

and got me thinking why am i like this

because i've always been like this as long as I could remember this thirst for knowledge that never ends.

I make sure to learn something new every day.

I make sure to read a couple pages of a physical book every day.

I do research every day.

And so I naturally was listening to Andrew Huberman, who I've been listening to a lot lately, who's a neuroscientist,

said this line in this podcast that is so fitting

because law of attraction and he said

and I quote learning is an anti -forgetting process

so I don't know who needs to hear this

but anti -aging is beyond you know the skincare

which is very important go to a library get some books do some research whatever is interesting to you

but don't discount being a nerd don't discount it because it has a lot of benefits so the more you know.

I hope that these are able to support you as they have been supporting me.

You know, I try to do things with brain science and neuroscience and psychology.

So if you're going through a hard time, you're not alone, especially if it's because of the socioeconomic climate of the world.

As I said that, there was a drop of rain.

I think good things are coming.

I wish this energy for you as well.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 44 sentences and 537 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:10. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
mini adjective	/ˈmɪn.i/	Miniature, tiny, small.
discount noun	/ˈdɪskaʊnt/	A reduction in price.
naturally adverb	/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/	In a natural manner.
belt noun	/ˈbɛlt/	A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.
lately adverb	/ˈleɪt.li/	Recently; not long ago; of late; not long since.
experiment noun	/ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/	A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of…
ongoing adjective	/ɒnˈɡəʊ.ɪŋ/	Continuing, permanent, lasting.
psychology noun	/saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/	The study of the human mind.
segment noun	/ˈsɛɡmɛnt/	A length of some object.
actively adverb	/ˈæktɪvli/	In an active manner.
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…
attraction noun	/əˈtɹækʃn̩/	The tendency to attract.
shout verb	/ʃaʊt/	To utter a sudden and loud cry, as in joy, triumph, exultation or anger, or to attract attention, to animate others, etc.
anyways adverb	/ˈɛn.iˌweɪz/	Anyway, anyhow, in any case.
bloom noun	/blum/	A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
keep up with verb	To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one.
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thirst /θɝst/, unorthodox /ʌnˈɔɹθədɑks/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: attraction /əˈtɹækʃn̩/, shout /ʃaʊt/
Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, academia /ˌæk.əˈdi.mi.ə/, reticular /ɹəˈtɪkjəlɚ/

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 mini, discount, naturally.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been trying · I've been listening · have been supporting
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've been · have been · has rattled

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

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?