Shadowing Practice: How An Alter Ego Helps You Focus 🤔 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
If you have a boring assignment to finish, but you really want to play video games, instead of using willpower, just pretend that you're Batman.
2
Then ask yourself, what would Batman do right now?
3
And suddenly, the assignment feels less like a personal struggle and more like a mission.
4
That small mental shift can help you zoom out, ignore distractions, and do the thing you were avoiding.

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 4 sentences and 67 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:26.

Key vocabulary in this video

13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
assignment noun/əˈsaɪn.mənt/The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks.
ignore verb/ɪɡˈnɔː/To deliberately not listen or pay attention to.
pretend verb/pɹəˈtɛnd/To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
bore verb/boɹ/To inspire boredom in somebody.
zoom verb/zuːm/To move fast with a humming noise.
distraction noun/dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/Something that distracts.
willpower noun/ˈwɪlˌpaʊɚ/The unwavering strength of will to carry out one's wishes.
suddenly adverb/ˈsʌd.ən.li/Happening quickly and with little or no warning; in a sudden manner.
struggle noun/ˈstɹʌɡəl/A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task.
shift noun/ˈʃɪft/A movement to do something, a beginning.
finish verb/ˈfɪnɪʃ/To complete (something).
avoid verb/əˈvɔɪd/To try not to meet or communicate with (a person); to shun.
mission noun/ˈmɪʃ.ən/A set of tasks that fulfills a purpose or duty; an assignment set by an employer, or by oneself.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
zoom out verb/ˌzuːm ˈaʊt/To decrease the focal length of a zoom lens in order to obtain a reduced magnification of the image, or a wider-angle view.

Pronunciation to watch

  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, shift /ˈʃɪft/, finish /ˈfɪnɪʃ/, mission /ˈmɪʃ.ən/

How to practise with this video

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

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the pastwere avoiding

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 →