Shadowing Practice: How I Improved My Listening and Speaking in English 🇺🇸 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hey you guys, welcome to this channel.
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Hey you guys, welcome to this channel.
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My name is Alba and I'm an English teacher.
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I've been teaching English for more than eight years now
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and today I just wanted to sit down and have a nice little chat with you.
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English is my second language.
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I learned it as an adult.
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So in today's video, I'm going to share with you some of the tips that have helped me improve my speaking,
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listening and just overall confidence.
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So here's the thing.
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Back in school, I was really good at English.
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At least that's what I thought.
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Well, English was my favorite subject.
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I absolutely loved it and my teachers were very happy with my performance.
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And later I went to college, studied business English there.
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Then something happened.
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I moved abroad and I started making friends who were native speakers as well as non-native speakers and I realized something.
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My vocabulary was so limited.
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I struggled to understand people,
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especially in fast casual conversations.
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And don't even get me started on speaking.
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I couldn't express myself.
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I was hesitating and just felt stuck all the time.
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And that's when it hit me.
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Even though I had studied English for years,
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I had almost no real practice.
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In school, we did a lot of grammar exercises like filling in the gaps,
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reading, and stuff like that.
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But we almost had no listening or speaking practice.
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At that time, I decided to do something with it.
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You know, I made a decision to start improving my speaking and listening.
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I started watching TV shows,
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movies, YouTube videos in English every single day.
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So sometimes I would just play it in the background,
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you know, while doing some chores and stuff.
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But most of the time I was really paying attention.
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And my goal was not to understand every single word or like translate every unfamiliar word.
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No, my goal was to help my ears and my brain get used to hearing English speech every day.
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And here's something that I've noticed,
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not just in myself, but also in my students.
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I can immediately tell when a student watches content in English.
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It's just so obvious.
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The ones who do, they sound more natural,
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they understand native speakers better,
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they're more comfortable with different accents,
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and most importantly, they have a better sense of the language.
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It's just like they can feel it, you know?
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So if you're not doing this already,
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seriously, pick a show or a YouTube channel you like and make it a daily habit.
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And also what I usually recommend to my students,
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do not try to understand every single word, you know?
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Don't pause every time you hear an unfamiliar word and look it up in the dictionary or translated.
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That's not the whole point of watching videos or TV shows.
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The point is to enjoy this process, right?
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Trick your brain into learning English in this easy, lazy way.
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If you start translating every word and writing the words down,
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this is not enjoyable.
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Yeah, this is a daunting task and your brain will not like it.
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So yeah, you can turn on the subtitles if you wish,
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but you don't have to understand every single word,
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especially if you are a beginner.
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Moving on to the next tip, let's talk about shadowing.
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Boy, do I love this method.
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I just wish I was more consistent with it.
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So shadowing is when you repeat what a native speaker says immediately and as accurately as possible,
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and you imitate, you try to copy their tone,
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their rhythm, their pronunciation, everything.
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However, a lot of people find this technique uncomfortable.
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They say that it just doesn't feel natural.
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They feel like they're pretending to be somebody else.
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And they say, what if I lose my voice?
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What if I lose my individuality?
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But shadowing is not about becoming a different person.
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It's about training your mouth and your muscles to produce the correct English sounds.
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Think about it.
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When you speak in your native language,
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you use a certain set of muscles, right?
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But for English, we need to use different ones.
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And if those muscles aren't trained,
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you simply cannot produce the sounds correctly.
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So when we shadow or imitate native speakers,
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our goal is not to copy their identity,
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but to build muscle memory to train those pronunciation skills and to become more comfortable and fluent.
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So how do you choose a native speaker that you would like to shadow or copy?
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I personally have a couple of girls,
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bloggers, YouTubers that I follow and I love their voice.
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I love how they express themselves.
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I love their accent, their pronunciation.
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I also noticed that it's not just about their voice but also about their personality.
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So if their personality matches my vibes,
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I'm more willing to practice shadowing with them.
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This technique changed the way I speak and it's done the same for many of my students.
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So highly, highly recommend you try it as well.
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Another thing that I absolutely love doing is reading out loud.
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I truly believe that people who read a lot express themselves better.
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They sound more sophisticated, more clear,
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their speech is well structured.
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So whether it's a book,
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an article, a magazine, a newspaper,
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or whatever you enjoy, just read it out loud.
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And the last tip, I just have to mention it.
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It's not going to surprise you because all the teachers talk about it all the time.
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Practice English with real people.
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The only way to get comfortable with speaking is to speak.
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And I'm talking about real people,
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not AI, not chatting online, which is also good.
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It can be useful, right?
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But nothing can replace real human communication because this is how we develop soft skills,
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how we build connections with the language and with the people,
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how we start using it as a tool, a communication tool.
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That's the whole point of learning a language, isn't it?
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And how do you do that?
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How do you find somebody you can practice with?
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Well, there are lots of different apps and platforms available where you can find teachers,
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tutors, language exchange partners.
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You just try them and see what's best for you.
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So that's pretty much it.
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I have a lot more to say but it's getting dark outside and I have to wrap it up.
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Anyway in the end I just wanted to mention that the key to learning a language in my opinion is consistency.
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Stay consistent, stay curious, and surround yourself with English every day.
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Let me know in the comments below what you think of these tips.
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If you find this video helpful,
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give it a like, subscribe,
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and share it with someone who's learning English too.
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Thanks so much for watching.
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I'll see you next time.
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Bye!

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About This Lesson

This lesson is designed to help you improve your English listening and speaking skills through effective practice techniques inspired by native English speakers. You will focus on integrating everyday English media—such as TV shows, movies, and YouTube videos—into your daily routine. The techniques you will learn here will help you build confidence in your speaking abilities and become more comfortable with natural conversation, which is crucial when preparing for challenges like IELTS speaking practice or casual dialogues with friends. By incorporating listening to native English content, you can achieve a greater sense of the language and develop a natural flow in your speech.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Vocabulary: A limited set of words that you use in conversation.
  • Fast casual conversations: Quick, informal dialogues that you might have with friends or acquaintances.
  • Confidence: The feeling of self-assurance due to your skills or qualities.
  • Real practice: Engaging in activities that replicate genuine language use, such as speaking and listening with others.
  • Content: Material (like videos or books) used for learning or enjoyment.
  • Shadowing: A technique where you listen and repeat what you hear in real-time to improve pronunciation and fluidity.

Practice Tips

To enhance your English speaking and listening skills effectively, try the method of shadowing—a fantastic technique often used by language learners. Here’s how to implement it using the materials you’ll explore:

  • Select content: Pick a TV show or a YouTube channel, ideally one with dialogues that interest you. Make it engaging, as your motivation will play a big role in your practice.
  • Listen first: Run through an episode without pausing. Focus on understanding the overall message instead of every single word. This mimics real-life listening situations.
  • Shadow speech: After your first listen, replay the content and begin the shadowing technique. Speak along with the characters as they converse. Match their speed and intonation to develop a natural flow in your speech.
  • Daily habit: Integrate this shadowing practice into your daily routine, dedicating at least 20-30 minutes every day to practice listening and speaking. Consistency is key in language acquisition.
  • Mix it up: Challenge yourself with different accents and speeds over time to become a more adaptable speaker. This will greatly improve your capacity to comprehend various native speakers.

By applying these techniques, you can significantly enhance your ability to learn English with YouTube and develop your listening and speaking skills more effectively.

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.

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