Shadowing Practice: How I went from B1 to C1 in English (7 tips that worked) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
C1
Like you, I was also stuck at this intermediate level for a long time.
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Like you, I was also stuck at this intermediate level for a long time.
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Way too long.
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Yes, I was studying, practicing, doing all sorts of things, but I couldn't see real progress.
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And it wasn't until I started doing these seven specific things that I finally reached an advanced level in English, where I could understand everything, speak confidently, make fewer grammar mistakes, and have good pronunciation.
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So in this video, I'm going to show you exactly what helped me go from B1 to C1 and what's now pushing me close to C2.
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If English is something you use only when studying or from time to time, you will never become advanced.
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Fluency happens when the language becomes part of your life.
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And that's what I was missing.
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I got stuck at the intermediate level because I wasn't using English in my daily life.
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Yes, I was learning words, studying, watching videos about fluency, and doing all these basic things that helped me get to intermediate in the first place.
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And I had a pretty good understanding level.
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I could speak a little, but there was no way this was going to make me advanced.
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So at some point, I decided to surround myself with English and use it every day as much as I could.
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So books, movies, phone settings, video games, journaling, whatever, I switched most of them to English.
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Like if I was going to watch something anyway, I watched it in English.
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If I needed to write a to-do list, I wrote it in English.
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If I had to search something on Google, I did it in English.
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Like some days I was using it more than my own language.
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And this wasn't something I forced myself to do.
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I actually liked it very much.
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It was like an experiment for me.
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Look, I'm not saying to forget your native language and only use English.
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I'm just saying you could maximize the usage of English to help you improve.
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And for me, this was one of the best decisions I made in my English journey.
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Because after so much usage of the language, I became pretty comfortable with it.
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To the point where English doesn't feel that foreign anymore.
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It feels natural.
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I actually have an entire video about this on my channel, so if you want to know more about creating this English environment, you'll find that video right up here or in the description below.
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Look, everyone's got this problem.
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You understand English, but you can't speak it very well.
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That's a sign you got stuck somewhere at the intermediate level.
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And I'm no exception.
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That's exactly where I was.
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Like at that point I was practicing a lot by myself, talking to myself, recording videos, and that definitely helped.
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But advanced English only came when I started talking to actual people.
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So the first thing I did was take online speaking classes.
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I just found the course on the internet and got to talk to native speakers, also with other learners like me, and it was an interesting and very helpful experience.
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Then later, because I was making videos on YouTube and Instagram, I met other online creators, even some subscribers, and talked with them often.
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That gave me even more practice.
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Talking to others in the language you're learning improves your speaking skills massively.
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When you have a real conversation, people interrupt you, ask unexpected questions and react to what you say.
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So that's when you learn to think fast and adapt to what they're saying.
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And also if the person you're talking to is more advanced than you or a native speaker, you also get feedback, which is super useful.
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Now, I know people are afraid to take this step to engage in conversations in English.
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And of course, I was scared too.
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I was afraid of sounding stupid.
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I was afraid of getting stuck mid-sentence.
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And honestly, I never figured out a way to overcome that fear.
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I just did it being scared.
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Then I quickly realized it wasn't as scary as I thought.
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Nobody was really judging me or laughing at me because they knew I wasn't a native speaker.
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And in the end, it's totally okay to make mistakes or mispronounce words.
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That's exactly how you get better.
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So practicing speaking with people is the deal.
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This gave me a lot of confidence and improve my speaking skills to the point where I can talk in English with anyone about anything I want.
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I can even have a YouTube channel and make videos like this.
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Cool stuff, isn't it?
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Pronunciation is way more important than people think.
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A lot of you completely ignore it and that's why you sound unclear, get misunderstood or struggle with pronouncing many words.
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Look, to be advanced, you don't need to sound native, but you do need to sound clear and natural.
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I've always wanted to sound close to a native speaker and this is something I'm still working on but here are a few useful things I did to get better at pronunciation.
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First, I read out loud a lot and still do.
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This is an amazing practice because you hear yourself and you practice every word with your voice not just in your head.
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Second, I really paid attention when watching movies and stuff.
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I focused on how native speakers talk.
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Their pronunciation, intonation, tone, mouth movements.
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Sometimes I even repeated words or sentences to try to copy exactly how they said them.
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Third, I watched a bunch of videos about specific sounds.
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I was more interested in American pronunciation so I practiced sounds like TH, the American R, flap T and so on.
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I'm not gonna lie, pronunciation came a bit easier for me.
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I don't know why but it still came from practice and understanding how sounds work in English.
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All these things combined made me sound clearer, more natural, reduced my native accent when speaking English, which was something I wanted, and also it helped me understand natives and their fast speech better.
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By the way, good pronunciation actually gives you a lot of credit because even if you don't have a very big vocabulary and you make grammar mistakes, people often assume you're advanced just because you sound good and you pronounce the words correctly.
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Speaking from experience.
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To be advanced, you need more than basic words.
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You need a bigger, more flexible vocabulary so you can express yourself in many different ways and not sound robotic like, I'm fine, thank you, and you.
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I hate that phrase, by the way.
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So I started focusing on learning more phrasal verbs, which natives use a lot, more expressions, idioms, and even some slang.
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Now, there are many ways to learn vocabulary.
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I could probably make a whole video about it, and I already have one on my channel but let me share with you a few things I keep in mind when learning vocab.
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I never try to learn every single new word I encounter.
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I don't want this process to become a pain in the ass where I'm looking up every new word I hear in a movie or read in a book.
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There are too many words out there and I don't need to know all of them so I just focus on words I come across often because that usually means they're common and actually useful and the most effective way I found to memorize new vocab is to actively use it.
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Like make sentences, say it out loud, try to use it when speaking, and review it regularly to make sure it actually sticks.
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So having a bigger vocabulary, which I'm still working on, helps not only in English, but in your native language too.
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You can express yourself more easily in conversations and sound more natural, less repetitive.
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Grammar is important, okay?
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It helps you speak correctly, which is a big part of sounding advanced.
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A lot of people online say, ignore grammar.
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You'll learn it naturally.
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And they're not completely wrong, but it will take you a lot of time and not everyone can learn it naturally.
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Because I know people who moved to English-speaking countries, lived there for years, and still make basic grammar mistakes.
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So I wanted to speed up this process and learn more advanced stuff, like all 12 tenses, for example, which I'm not sure I could have learned naturally.
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So I turned to YouTube, which in my opinion is the best place to learn stuff.
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There you can find tons of videos with simple explanations for any grammar topic you need.
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And I watched lots of those videos.
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I took notes, reviewed them every day, nothing special really.
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Then I practiced by making sentences with each rule and tense.
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I try to use them when speaking.
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That's how I got to understand most grammar rules and use them correctly.
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Now, obviously, I still make grammatical mistakes, but not as nearly as often as before.
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This can take your understanding to a new level.
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With subtitles, it's easier because if you miss a word, you can read it.
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But without subtitles, you're forced to really listen.
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You start paying more attention to pronunciation and how natives actually speak.
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At first it was uncomfortable for me.
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I missed a lot of things because of different accents and fast speech but quickly I got used to it and now I rarely use English subtitles.
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This was a simple change that helped me understand about 99% of English without putting too much effort into it.
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I started to understand different accents, pronunciation, dialects, although there definitely some British accents I'll never get.
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Reading is another useful way to improve your vocabulary, but I wanted to talk about it separately because I feel like it had a huge impact on my English.
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I was never really a reader, but when I started learning English, I slowly picked up the habit.
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Look, when you read, a lot of English goes through your brain, and whether you want it or not, you're going to learn something.
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Some things will stick.
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Formal words, advanced sentence structures, even quotes.
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And if you're wondering what kind of books you should read, the answer is anything you enjoy.
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I always chose books I was genuinely interested in, not just level appropriate ones.
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Because I didn't need to understand every single word to get the main idea.
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Plus, you usually understand a lot from context, so that shouldn't be a problem.
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Because I read a lot of English books, I improved my reading speed, learned advanced vocabulary, I can now recall when speaking and I'd say it helped me sound a bit smarter and form sentences more easily.
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All right these are the most essential things that took me from intermediate to advanced.
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I spent a lot of time thinking about this and choosing only seven that had the biggest impact because when you're learning English you know that there are so many things you could focus on.
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I really hope I explained each of these tips clearly and showed you how they can help you.
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By the way I'm still using them to this day to reach C2, which I'm close to, I think.
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And if you apply at least some of them consistently, I believe you can make a lot of progress too.
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And finally get to C1 or C2.
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Speaking of consistency, that's another huge part of becoming advanced in a language.
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So check out this video right here where I talk about how to be more consistent with studying and practicing English.
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Thanks for watching.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video serves as a fantastic resource for English learners who want to overcome the challenges of reaching the advanced level in their speaking skills. The speaker shares personal experiences and practical tips that can directly aid your IELTS speaking practice. By immersing yourself in English and integrating it into your daily life, you not only reinforce vocabulary and grammar but also build confidence in your speaking abilities. The transformative journey from B1 to C1 highlights the importance of engaging in real conversations, which provides valuable feedback and helps you develop fluency. Practicing speaking with this video will equip you with the necessary tools and motivation to tackle your own English speaking journey.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Understanding grammar and expressions is crucial for effective communication. Here are three key structures used by the speaker that students can incorporate into their own practice:
- “It wasn't until I started…” - This phrase emphasizes the importance of taking action for progress. It suggests that results come from deliberate practice.
- “I decided to surround myself with English…” - This structure illustrates a proactive approach to language learning. By surrounding yourself with English in daily tasks, you can make learning feel more natural.
- “I was practicing a lot by myself…” - This highlights the value of self-study combined with interaction. Balancing solitary practice with conversations enhances overall proficiency.
These structures can be beneficial in your speaking practice sessions. Try using them in your own sentences as you shadow speak with similar content.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When practicing your speaking skills, paying attention to pronunciation is vital. Here are some tricky words and phrases found in the video that learners should focus on:
- “Confidently” - Make sure to stress the second syllable (con-FI-dently) to sound natural.
- “Experiment” - This four-syllable word can be challenging; practice breaking it down (ex-PE-ri-ment) to improve clarity.
- “Feedback” - A common term in language practice, ensure you blend the sounds smoothly (feed-back).
Additionally, the flow of natural speech can vary with accents. Engaging in shadow speech exercises using this video can help you master pronunciation nuances. Embrace the accents you hear and practice replicating them for more authentic communication.
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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