Shadowing Practice: How I became a UI/UX Designer in 3 months | No degree, no experience, self-taught - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
You're not good enough.
⏸ Paused
89 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
You're not good enough.
2
Your dreams are too big.
3
You need a degree.
4
You don't deserve any of this.
5
I don't even know why you're here.
6
You're useless to any of this.
7
Hey, I'm Rachel.
8
I'm a senior product designer working in Malaysia and this is how I got started in UR UX design.
9
In high school, I always thought I had my life planned out.
10
I studied really hard to secure a scholarship,
11
but I failed to do so.
12
I even took a part-time law degree while working to fund my college fees.
13
But I dropped out eventually because it just wasn't my jam.
14
I self-studied a diploma in accounting because I thought I needed a cert to prove my worth.
15
So I decided to not pursue a degree as I didn't know what I wanted to do.
16
Since 2013, I worked in different roles.
17
A call centre for hotels,
18
a sales promoter for body lotion,
19
a direct sales agent, a real estate agent,
20
an account executive in an ad agency,
21
and a digital marketing manager.
22
These jobs have shaped my personality.
23
They have built my soft skills,
24
they have trained my resilience,
25
and without them, I wouldn't be who I am today.
26
But these jobs have one thing in common.
27
It's just something that I do not enjoy,
28
I hate waking up to,
29
and I just feel like it's not me.
30
And then I wonder, is this how my life is going to turn out to be?
31
Am I going to wake up to a job I hate for the rest of my life?
32
So I began searching for what I'm passionate about by paying attention to the things that I enjoy the most.
33
And I realised no matter what job I'm in,
34
I get caught up in the visual design process.
35
It was something I see myself doing every day.
36
So I thought to myself,
37
that's it, that's the one.
38
I don't know how I'm gonna get there, but I'm gonna try.
39
I've been told that my lack of qualification will not get me anywhere.
40
And someone even told me that,
41
you know, you should be happy that you even have a job at our company.
42
On 4th of March 2019,
43
I quit my job as a digital marketing manager
44
and I told myself that I will prove these people wrong and that's how my self-learning journey began.
45
So, I gave myself a three-month deadline to have a job
46
because I couldn't afford to have no income and that's how I get started.
47
I started learning UX with the free resources available online and Google is my best friend.
48
I also learned how to code on the site with Free Code Can
49
because I feel like learning coding will help me become a better designer and that I also have a passion for coding.
50
My learning process was messy.
51
I learned Adobe XD and started playing with the tool.
52
I needed something to showcase in my portfolio and I took a Google interview question and turned it into a case study.
53
So I wrote a case study in the form of a Medium article
54
and at the same time I started preparing my CV.
55
I read up a lot of job descriptions online to make sure that I am well prepared for the job.
56
I was well aware that my lack of qualification will put me in a tough spot
57
because competition is really high and I'm very aware
58
that I need to prove myself
59
that I am able to take on the designer role even though I have no experience and no degree.
60
So I did whatever I can with the free resources online to brush up my skills.
61
I studied day and night on design and code.
62
During the three-month period, I stumbled upon a hackathon.
63
I offered design help and front-end code help.
64
Despite having zero idea how I might not do that,
65
to be honest, I was really grateful because we got top 10 in the hackathon team.
66
I got offered an interview with the bank shortly after.
67
I had a few job interviews,
68
but I failed all of it because they wanted someone who could do both graphic design and UX design.
69
And one of the recruiters told me that I am too ambitious,
70
that's why they don't want to hire me.
71
I applied to a few startups in Malaysia that I see myself working with,
72
who has great culture and a mature design team.
73
And then something wonderful happened.
74
Faith called me up and offered me an interview.
75
Knowing that my chances are really slim,
76
I told my boyfriend that How about I just give up on this opportunity,
77
don't continue with it and just go with the offer that the bank has given me.
78
But I'm glad I listened to him and I went for the interview straight away.
79
So this is how my assignment looked like.
80
Before the interview, I practiced my presentation in front of my computer at least five times to make sure
81
that I nailed the interview.
82
To my surprise, I got the job and here I am.
83
I'm sharing my story with all of you
84
because I wanted to remind you one thing You have everything you need to start
85
and you'll never feel like you're ready anyway,
86
so you might as well just start People will doubt you,
87
but don't you doubt yourself.
88
Oh, and by the way if you haven't subscribed Here you go
89
You

Download App

AI scoring for every sentence you speak

Scan To Download
Scan To Download
Download on theApp Store
Get it onGoogle Play
TRENDING

Popular

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice the valuable skill of speaking and comprehension by analyzing the journey of a self-taught UI/UX designer, Rachel. With a focus on her personal experiences and challenges, you will engage in the shadowing technique to improve your English speaking skills. The objective is to enhance your fluency and understanding while becoming familiar with industry-related vocabulary. By the end of this lesson, you will feel more confident in discussing careers, overcoming obstacles, and the importance of passion in your life choices.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • UI/UX Designer - A user interface/user experience designer responsible for creating interfaces and experiences that are user-friendly.
  • Self-taught - Acquiring knowledge or skills through one's own efforts rather than through formal education.
  • Scholarship - A financial award to help students pay for education, based typically on academic or other achievements.
  • Resilience - The ability to recover quickly from difficulties; a key quality in adapting to change.
  • Passion - A strong enthusiasm or interest in a particular activity or subject, crucial for motivation.
  • Visual design process - The method of creating products or interfaces that visually communicate with users.
  • Coding - The process of writing computer programs, which can enhance a designer's skill set.
  • Job satisfaction - The feeling of fulfillment or enjoyment that comes from your job, which is essential for long-term career happiness.

Practice Tips

To effectively use the shadowing technique with this video, follow these suggestions:

  • Listen Carefully: Play the video at a slower speed if needed, focusing on Rachel's tone and inflection to capture her emotions and intentions.
  • Repeat After Rachel: Pause the video frequently, mimicking her speech immediately after she speaks. This shadow speech practice helps improve pronunciation and intonation.
  • Record Yourself: Use a shadowing app or your smartphone to record your voice while practicing. Listening back will help you identify areas for improvement.
  • Focus on Key Vocabulary: Be sure to incorporate the key vocabulary from this lesson into your shadowing practice. Understanding these terms will boost your confidence in discussions related to careers.
  • Personalize Your Practice: Share your own stories related to the themes of passion and resilience. This makes your practice relatable and engaging, enhancing your learning experience.
  • Learn English with YouTube: Explore more videos focusing on career paths or personal growth for an enriched learning journey using the shadowing technique.

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.

☕ Buy us a coffee