Shadowing Practice: How I Became a Full-time Artist 🧚 #clayartist #smallbusiness - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B1
⏸ Paused
Let's talk about how I became a full-time artist while I refill my fountain pen.
28 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Let's talk about how I became a full-time artist while I refill my fountain pen.
2
My friend sent me her favorite burgundy inks
3
but this one has already been filled with turquoise so I want to clean it real fast.
4
Growing up I was always really into art and making things
5
and crafting but throughout middle school and high school I actually never really took any art classes.
6
I think I was just really lost on who I was
7
and then during my senior year of high school I had this epiphany.
8
I wanted to be an artist.
9
I didn't know what kind of artist, but I just knew that's what I wanted to do.
10
I applied to my local university for graphic design.
11
I live in Denver, Colorado, so it was not very competitive at all.
12
It was also a very affordable university.
13
I did not care about prestige.
14
I just wanted education.
15
It was there in graphic design school that I really discovered my love of design and art and, most importantly, storytelling.
16
I think my program did a really good job at teaching
17
me the merits of graphic design in terms of marketing and branding and selling a product.
18
So during my second year of college in 2020, the pandemic happened of course.
19
My parents were really struggling with money back then so I was thinking of ways that I could ease their load.
20
I saw a ton of people online sculpting with polymer clay
21
and polymer clay was actually my favorite medium when I was a kid.
22
It felt like fate.
23
I started my business called Uncomfy Studio.
24
I started posting online and that's kind of how I got my start on my career.
25
Over the years, my brand
26
and my art has really just become a love letter to my inner child
27
because I know what it's like to not believe in yourself and I just want you to believe in yourself too.
28
Thanks for listening.

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Scan QR
Scan QR
Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Why practice speaking with this video?

This video offers a unique opportunity to engage with personal storytelling from a full-time artist, as they share their journey towards finding their passion. Listening to tales such as this can provide context that enhances both listening and speaking skills. By practicing with content like this, learners can improve their ability to express personal experiences, describe their artistic pursuits, and articulate emotions related to self-discovery—a key aspect of effective communication.

Using the shadowing technique, you can repeat phrases and sentences after the speaker, which helps develop your fluency and pronunciation. This method is particularly effective for learners who want to sound more natural and confident in their English speaking abilities. Additionally, using a shadowing app can help track your progress as you improve your skills. You can also practice your shadow speech during conversations with others, allowing for richer, more dynamic exchanges.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In the video, the speaker uses several grammatical structures and expressions that are valuable for language learners:

  • Past Simple Tense: "I wanted to be an artist." This structure expresses a desire in the past, which can be used to tell personal stories.
  • Compound Sentences: "I did not care about prestige; I just wanted education." The use of conjunctions creates complex ideas, a common feature in natural speech.
  • Inversion for Emphasis: "It felt like fate." Starting with an emotional descriptor highlights feelings effectively, an excellent tool for storytelling.
  • Relative Clauses: "that I really discovered my love of design." This structure adds detail and clarity, enabling speakers to provide more depth to their narratives.

Common Pronunciation Traps

While listening to the speaker, pay attention to several pronunciation elements that learners often find challenging:

  • The word "sought" can be tricky due to the silent 's' and soft 'th' sound.
  • Watch for the pronunciation of "polymer clay," which may lead to confusion. Breaking it into syllables can help clarify.
  • The phrase "a love letter to my inner child" carries emotional weight, so practicing the intonation and stress can enhance understanding and delivery.

By focusing on these elements, learners will not only expand their vocabulary but also refine their listening and speaking skills. Utilizing resources like learn English with YouTube videos embedding such contexts will bolster your journey towards fluency.

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.