Shadowing Practice: How Do I Know if I Made the Wrong Choice? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right.
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Here we go.
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Is it too?
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I think it's fine.
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Probably fine, right?
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Probably fine.
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Okay.
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Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and this is Essential Presents.
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So, I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like this where
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You were so sure that something was God's will and then you pursued it.
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whether that was a major in college or that was a career path or that was a relationship,
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or maybe even discernment in religious life or discernment oriented towards marriage.
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And you were so
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convinced you were so certain that this was what god wanted you to do
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and then then it wasn't right then it didn't turn out
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and sometimes i you know i hear from a lot of
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people who say like i thought i was i was i
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thought for sure this is what god wanted for me i thought for sure this was his path
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and then it didn't work out you know the uh i didn't get the job
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or um i didn't get accepted into the program
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or the person broke up with me or the people in discernment
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and formation they they said i wasn't i couldn't go on and continue formation whatever that thing is sometimes
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We can be certain that something is God's will.
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It turns out that it's not.
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And it's really easy in those moments to second guess ourselves.
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It's really easy in those moments actually even to get upset with God.
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And so what do we do in those moments?
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And so in order to kind of dive into this, I want to look at a couple different aspects of this, maybe even four things.
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The first is the things we have to consider.
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One is, that Well, God has made it very clear in some areas.
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this is what I want, always do this, and this is what I don't want, never do this.
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Like, you know, we know those things, the commandments, that kind of thing, teachings of the church.
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There are some things that God always says, don't do this.
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Don't commit murder.
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Don't commit adultery, etc. down the line.
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And there's some things God says, always do this, like always go to mass on Sunday and always have a prayer life.
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And those those things we need to do.
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Take care of the people around us.
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A lot of our choices God lets us have the choice.
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God lets us have the freedom to choose.
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How are you going to live my commandments?
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How are you going to live out my will in your life?
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That God gives us, if he doesn't make it clear that here's what I want, in a lot of ways, I think what God is doing is he's saying, okay, go ahead and choose.
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You know what?
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My broadly speaking my will my perfect will for you
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So now I'm giving you some freedom
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and you have this freedom to be able to choose in the midst of my will
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The direction you can go this way or
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that way you can your major could be engineering your committee your major could be architecture Your major could be education.
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It could be nursing You don't even have to go to
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college like all of those things can fall under God's permissive will
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and he doesn't necessarily have a a perfect will in those moments right it's kind of like that
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so number one god gives us a lot of freedom to
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choose our own now on those lines sometimes we don't like that why because we have choose God's perfect will,
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if I choose God's will, then it'll be smooth sailing.
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And if I...
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it's up to me, then...
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I don't have anyone else to blame except for myself.
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So sometimes we really like the idea that if God's will is out there, it's this mysterious kind of a thing.
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And if I pick the right thing, then things are going to be absolutely perfect.
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Of course, that's never a guarantee.
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God never promised that ever, ever, ever.
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Did he ever promise that if we follow him and do exactly what he asks, that our life is going to be perfect?
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In fact, it's the opposite.
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Sirach chapter 2, verse 1 says, My son, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials.
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Jesus himself says, In this world you will have trouble.
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You will have trouble.
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But take heart, I've overcome the world.
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to say yes to God's will as it has as as he wills it, does not preserve us from pain.
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And secondly, if it's my choice, then I have no one to blame.
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I have no one to blame about myself and I can't just automatically blame God.
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So that's the first thing.
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You have some freedom.
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Second thing is, okay, when it comes to discernment, I thought I discerned the right thing.
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And it turns out it wasn't the right thing.
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Well, we realize this.
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We realize that our discernment can be wrong.
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Like, yeah, but I was praying, I was talking to people, and I thought I was following God's will.
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I was really striving after that.
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Even in the midst of that, our discernment can be wrong.
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I mean, think about this.
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The history of the church is full of people who...
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claimed heresies, right?
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They thought this is absolutely, this is what the truth is.
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And they had to be corrected by the church.
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I mean, even for kind of a lot of the reformation, - Thank you.
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That was led by what?
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That was led by people who were praying, and people who said they were listening to God's voice, but they did exactly the wrong thing.
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It took the unity of the church and now it's splintered into tens of thousands of different denominations.
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And they did this while they were praying.
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We can discern wrong.
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We just know that.
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If that can happen on a massive scale, like the division of the body of Christ, that can happen in my life too.
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So number one, I have a lot of freedom.
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Number two, I can discern wrong.
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I can get it wrong.
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Even if I'm praying number three, I This is important.
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Just because things have not panned out how I wanted them to pan out, doesn't mean that this isn't part of God's will.
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Just because the road is now marked by pain, or the road is now marked by failure, doesn't mean that this isn't part of God's will.
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I mean, look at the life of Jesus himself.
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Jesus did the Father's will perfectly And where did it lead him?
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led him to a place of,
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yes, incredible beauty and power and miracles and people accepting him and yet receiving him and being converted,
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but it also was marked by rejection.
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It was marked by betrayal.
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It was marked by failure or apparent failure.
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He was marked by torture and death.
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So keep this in mind.
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One of the criterion is not going to be, "This is clearly God's will because I've succeeded and because I have everything I want."
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And this clearly can't be God's will because I failed and because it's hard and painful.
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We recognize that When we come to serve the Lord, we have to prepare ourselves for trials.
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And so keep that in mind.
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But the fourth thing is this.
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First thing, right, we have a lot of freedom.
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Secondly, we can discern wrong.
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Thirdly, so keep that humility.
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Thirdly, The criterion for judging whether this was and discerned well or poorly is not failure or success.
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But fourthly, It's possible that you discerned incredibly well.
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And you said, I thought for sure that God wanted me to go down this road.
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But now all of a sudden, there's a roadblock.
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I thought for sure God wanted me to go down this road, but all of a sudden I'm being forced to down this alleyway, down this side street.
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Who's to say
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that God did not want you to start going down this road so that you can get to the roadblock.
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Who's to say that God didn't want you to start going down this road
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so that you could get to the side street?
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Now, see, our problem is this.
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Our problem is we thought that when God set me on this road, I knew the destination.
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I thought when God set me on this road that I just said, oh, yeah, this is how it's going to be for the rest of...
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my life or the rest of whatever the next foreseeable future is.
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And God was like, no, no, no. I just wanted you to get on the road.
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So you discern that completely correctly.
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That was accurate.
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You did discern well.
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You said, here's a relationship.
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I thought that this was the relationship for my whole life.
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Yes, you might have, but maybe it was merely the relationship to get you to that next stage in life.
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I thought this was the major that I was going to.
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and get his career in this field, Maybe, but maybe it was just the beginning of getting you to the place where you got to make the next decision.
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Again, every act, you know, life is not crockpot.
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This is not crockpot Christianity where you kind of set it and forget it.
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Mm -hmm.
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God wants to be actively engaged in our lives.
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And so we don't just say, okay, made this decision.
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Now I'm on this track and I'm going to go until the end and how I see the end.
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It could be, okay, I'm on the road, and I'm constantly, every day, waking up and saying, "Okay, God, here we go.
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Okay, God, are we still on this road?
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Are we taking a side street?
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Are we on this road?
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Are we taking a trail?
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Are we on this road?
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Are we doubling back?" "God, where do you want me to go today?" Now, it's not to be obsessive about this, but it is to be active, right?
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It is to be cooperative with the Lord himself.
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because It might be the case that you made the exact right decision.
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that you discerned, completely accurately.
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And God got you on that road and got you moving so that He could get you to this fork, so that He could get you to this roadblock, so that He could get you to this side road.
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Because He has other places that you and I cannot even imagine.
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where he wants you to go.
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So don't give up discernment.
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Don't give up discerning because what you thought it would be turns out to be something different.
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Continue discerning, knowing that God, you're in the driver's seat.
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I am...
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here cooperating with you, and I will go wherever you lead me.
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even if it's not exactly where I thought it would be.
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Anyways, from all this here, this is my name is Father Mike.
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God bless.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice English listening and speaking skills by analyzing the themes from the video "How Do I Know if I Made the Wrong Choice?". You will learn to identify key concepts related to decision-making and discernment, which are articulated in a reflective tone. By engaging with the material, you'll improve your English pronunciation and your ability to express thoughts about choices and consequences. This practice is especially beneficial for learners who want to consciously consider their vocal delivery while connecting their speech to deeper meanings.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Discernment: The ability to judge well, particularly in making important life decisions.
- God's will: The desires or plans God has for an individual or situation.
- Freedom to choose: The concept that individuals have the autonomy to make their own decisions.
- Major: An area of study that a student specializes in during their college education.
- Consequences: The effects or outcomes that follow a decision or action.
- Clarify: To make something clear or easier to understand.
- Upset: To feel unhappy or disappointed, often in response to unforeseen outcomes.
- Reflective: Relating to deep thought, often about one's experiences or decisions.
Practice Tips
For effective shadow speaking, start by listening to the video at its normal speed. Focus on the speaker's intonation, pacing, and emotion. Repeat sections you find challenging, paying attention to how words are pronounced and connected. This technique, known as shadowspeak, is particularly useful for improving English pronunciation and gaining confidence in your speaking abilities. As you practice, try to mimic the speaker’s demeanor and thought processes, reflecting on your own decisions while you speak.
Adjust your practice by using the shadow speak method at a slower speed if needed, and gradually build up to the original pace once you feel comfortable. Consider practicing in pairs or groups if possible, as discussing the lessons and expressing personal reflections can enhance your learning experience further. Use this opportunity to learn English with YouTube and make effective speech practice a regular part of your routine.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if I choose God's will |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be corrected · was led · is now marked |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've ever been · has made · I've overcome |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who say · people who were |
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.