Shadowing Practice: How Cell Phones Impact Our Relationships - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
I just want to show you something.
2
This is the psychological power of the device.
3
What if I was sitting here talking to you, holding my phone?
4
It's not buzzing, it's not beeping, no one's calling me, I'm just holding it.
5
Do you feel like you are the most important thing to me right now?
6
No, you don't.
7
That's the association.
8
So when we show up for a meeting, or we sit down for dinner with our families, and we put the phone on the table,
9
it sends a psychological message to everyone sitting there that you are not the most important thing to me right now.
10
And putting the phone upside down is not more polite.
11
Put it in an airplane mode to take away the temptation that something's coming in,
12
and and put it in a bag or on a shelf out of sight.
13
And this is how we should be interacting with people, giving them our full attention.
14
Because the idea is not that we hear the words they say, but that they feel heard.
15
And this is one of the tricks.
16
If you wake up in the morning
17
and you check your phone before you say good morning to the person sitting next to you, you probably have a problem.
18
If you have to take your phone from room to room, no matter where you go, you probably have a problem.
19
And just like any recreational drug, the more you practice leaving it away, for example, if you go out for dinner,
20
you don't need four telephones.
21
Leave one at home, leave one in the car, you have one with your spouse, it's fine.
22
I mean, if you have a client meeting, leave it in the car, leave it in the bag, never take it out, and it becomes easier and easier,
23
and you find it easier not to be sucked in by the fear -mongering as well.
24
So, like any addiction, it just takes a little work.
📺 Same Channel
B2373
The Definition of Leadership: It's a Skill, Not a Title | Simon Sinek
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B28
The Short-Term "Mistake" That Made Long-Term Impact
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C17
Leadership Is a Learned Skill | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B27
"You Don't Even Know What You're Missing"
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B23
Simon Sinek and Trevor Noah on the Quality More Leaders Need To Talk About | Full Conversation
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
Work & Life Are Not Opposing Forces | Simon Sinek at LinkedIn Speaker Series 2019
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B23
Why Are We Friends? | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
The Rise of Real Life Experiences in the Age of AI | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B23
Sometimes, You Don't Have to Prove Yourself
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B26
How to Make People Feel HEARD
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B24
What Diversity & Inclusion is REALLY About | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B27
CHOICE Makes Us Better at What We Do | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B21
What We Get WRONG About Business | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25
The Best Mindset for Accountability
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
Doing Business in a Chaotic World PART 1: Meet Your Coworkers and Clients Where They're At
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B22
Why Saying Yes Is Making Things Worse | A Bit of Optimism: Feelings at Work | PART 1
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
How to Adapt to Changing Times | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25
What Keeps Me OPTIMISTIC About the Future | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
Simon Sinek on Avoiding Burnout and the Modern Work-Life Balance
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B23
How to Get Better at Love (According to Science) | Relationship Expert Amy Chan
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
✨ Recommend Video
![[B2] Smartphone Addiction Conversation | English Listening & Speaking Practice](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DRhbklTkLM0/mqdefault.jpg)
B2468
60 sentences
[B2] Smartphone Addiction Conversation | English Listening & Speaking Practice
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
14 sentences
Blue Dot Effect: Problems Never Feel Solved
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C11
116 sentences
Objectify him: texting
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
37 sentences
Stop Wasting Your Time: 5 Simple Changes That Actually Work #StopWastingTime#TimeManagement
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
128 sentences
How to Master Your Morning in Just 10 Minutes (Data PROVEN)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B228
496 sentences
Your phone addiction is keeping you from achieving flow state | Arthur Brooks
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B27
9 sentences
How to Stop Mindless Phone Scrolling | Dr. Andrew Huberman
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
28 sentences
#ZFold8 Has A Big Problem, it Isn't #iPhoneDuo #appleiphoneduo #samsungvsapple #iphoneduovszfold8
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
166 sentences
If You’re in Your Late 20s, Watch This | Raj Shamani
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B28
32 sentences
How Is Your Phone Changing You?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B2587
13 sentences
The Distracted Mind
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 24 sentences and 332 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:05. The speaker talks at a natural 160 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 91% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| psychological adjective | /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/ | Of or pertaining to psychology. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| suck verb | /sʌk/ | To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast). |
| telephone noun | /ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/ | A telecommunication device which converts data or sounds (usually speech) into electrical signals which are then transmitted to enable two or more people to… |
| addiction noun | /əˈdɪkˌʃən/ | A state that is characterized by compulsive drug use or compulsive engagement in rewarding behavior, despite negative consequences. |
| buzz noun | /bʌz/ | A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones. |
| interact verb | /ɪn.təˈɹækt/ | To engage in communication and other shared activities (with someone). |
| shelf noun | /ʃɛlf/ | A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects. |
| upside noun | /ˈʌpˌsaɪd/ | The highest or uppermost side or portion of something. |
| spouse noun | /spaʊ̯s/ | A person in a marriage or marital relationship. |
| airplane noun | /ˈɛɹˌpleɪ̯n/ | A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings: a fixed-wing aircraft with at least one engine or electric motor. |
| polite adjective | /pəˈlaɪt/ | Well-mannered, civilized. |
| recreational adjective | For, or relating to, recreation. | |
| temptation noun | /ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/ | The act of tempting. |
| beep noun | /biːp/ | The sound produced by the horn of a car, or any similar sound. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| take away verb | /ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/ | To remove something and put it in a different place. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: addiction /əˈdɪkˌʃən/, shelf /ʃɛlf/, temptation /ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/
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 psychological, trick, suck.
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.