Shadowing Practice: How She Became Fluent in English (intermediate listening practice) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello and welcome back to my Slow English podcast.

Today I have a special guest, Olivia.

Hi!

Olivia or Johan.

But Olivia learned English in just three years.

Three years ago, she didn't speak any English at all.

So, today we're going to have an interview to talk about how she did it,

what her struggles were, and why she learned English.

I think that my audience would love to know if you have any tips,

anything that got you through the hardest part of starting to speak English, which is speaking.

Any tips on memorizing vocabulary, on starting to speak, on starting to build and structure sentences?

Is there anything you could tell them about?

Yeah, definitely, I have so many things to talk.

Because I also teach Chinese, so I know how the process goes for learning language. So basically,

the very useful tip I told you before is like you put a sticker on the things for memorizing the words.

For example, this is a cup, so you put the sticker on it, it says cup.

So every time you saw it, you know it's a cup.

So at that time, the first time I went to the US, in my room is full of stickers.

For example, window, I will put window and couch,

I will put couch, stove everything everything i can see in my eyes right i will wrote it

and i will write it and i will you know just help myself to remember

so every time when i'm trying to say okay i'm gonna cook today

so i'm gonna use the stove i'm gonna use uh the boss i'm gonna use a fork

and everything it's for daily life

because this is how you get around how you start to

you know understand like the daily life works for the basic

vocabulary yeah just start saying a sentence out loud for example i remember

when i first met you um i told you that i speak a little bit of chinese

and i tried to say one sentence in chinese

but i couldn't say anything and i had been studying chinese for years

but i still couldn't think of one thing to say

because i didn't know how to say window or table or cup or anything basic that was around me.

So I immediately just couldn't think of anything to say.

But by doing that, I put 床鋁 Yeah, I put stickers all over my room.

I'll show you guys like a video of all my room with stickers.

And it's helped me to improve and to start speaking Chinese more confidently.

That's really a useful way for me.

I discovered this by myself because

I just feel like

when you're learning a new language like right now I'm also learning Spanish right now you gotta get into

that language you gotta immerse yourself in that world just think in

that way for example from first beginning I like to write journals all my journals are in Chinese

and then since I start to learn English I start to

write everything in English even just like very short sentences for example I would say today I'm happy right

and why I'm happy

so maybe the day one I would say okay today I went to school

and I had fun with my friends I feel happy

and tomorrow maybe I would say a little bit like more like okay today I went to school

and I had fun with my friends I we did pool

and then we went to dinner and we talked a lot of things

and I feel happy so i just wrote everything and in english

and trying to build up my like way of thinking in

english then just like as time goes by for the last

three years it just gradually gradually changed like even right now

seriously i'm not a native i'm not a native english speaker

but i'm thinking in english even i don't speak perfectly but my mind is in english i'm really think for For example,

one plus one is equal to two.

I'm not thinking about one plus one is equal to two.

Yeah.

So I'm literally just thinking in English right now.

Yeah, yeah.

And that's a huge step.

That's something that I'm sure so many of my viewers would want to reach.

So what do you think was the biggest thing that broke through that maybe feeling of being scared or shy to speak?

What do you think got you through that hardest step of starting?

I think for me is a mindset.

Like what I said, don't think about what others think about you.

That's the most important things because you learn it for yourself.

You learn it to express yourself.

For example, when the first time I was in the US, I was hanging out with a lot of people.

While I was there, I just don't talk.

I feel like I'm transparent with a lot of people.

I feel nervous, I feel like, why should I talk?

I don't understand.

And they're talking about the cartoon that I watched when they're young.

I don't know anything.

I don't know the name.

I don't know any vocabulary.

But, you know, I just don't know what to say.

And I feel so nervous, so awkward.

But I put myself in that situation thousands of times.

I know I'm not comfortable, but every time I'm trying to speak a little bit for example i will ask what's

that cartoon oh can you show me a picture maybe can you tell me how to spell it

because maybe i don't even know how to spell it

and maybe i will look it up on the google

and i will say oh this is a cartoon maybe i will watch you a little bit later

so when the next time when they talk about this cartoon i will know about it

and i will know maybe i can talk about okay i know this character

and what does he look like yeah right it's just like slow progress

But the main thing is just to put yourself out of your comfort zone and enjoy the nervous, to be honest.

Enjoy the nervous because that's how you learn.

And when you're nervous, when you feel like, okay, something like emergency, you just feel nervous at that time.

Then you will remember better, to be honest.

Mm-hmm completely yeah.

I was thinking of like

when I go to dance class for example Sometimes the dance is

so difficult and I see everyone around me they can just

Understand it immediately and remember every step

and I'm just taking a lot longer than them and it makes me feel really

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Embarrassed and nervous but then I learned from that too I go home

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and maybe I practice that same routine so that the next class I'm better at it Exactly.

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Because you don't know, like maybe those dancers already learned that dance before.

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And that's why they're doing it so much better than me.

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So you just can't compare your progress.

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You can't compare where you are because you don't really know about anyone else but yourself.

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Like you told me yesterday, you can only compete with yourself.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Yeah, because what I think about is you really don't know the people, where they're from, where they start, when they start.

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The only thing you can see is just yourself.

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You can see a person right now it's perfect speaking english

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but you really don't know how much effort she put in the back right yeah

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but you know how much effort you put for yourself

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so as long as you are a little bit better than yesterday you're doing good you know exactly

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and also there's like people are scared they're going to be judged by others, right?

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That's a big thing.

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But that's another thing that I think you just have to get past.

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You have to realize it's not about you, it's about them.

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And if they're judging you, that's because they maybe feel insecure about themselves.

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They don't have the courage that you have of making mistakes and failing.

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Exactly.

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I feel like, for example, I'm talking to you right now.

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I'm not speaking perfect English, but I will never think about your judging me

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because you are my friend and also you wanted me to improve my language right

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so I think

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if the person for example you are judging me right now

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I don't think it will become friends anymore you know

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that means this person doesn't worth your time you know you should find someone

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that would love to speak with you you should find someone

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that will never judge you no matter it's for a language

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or for anything else is the same because you have to find the people there you feel comfortable ways.

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You know, if they're judging you, that means they're not a good person.

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Yeah, that's very true.

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And that's a perfect segue into my English community.

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That's where you can speak without feeling judged,

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without feeling the pressure to speak with someone who is maybe criticizing you or judging you.

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In the community, it's a free space to talk whenever you feel like talking

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and to talk with teachers from all around the world and have conversations like these

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naturally to boost your confidence in english yeah you can find the link in the description

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if you're interested are there any other english learning tips just to get you speaking get you out of

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that bubble i think what i did the most is shadowing

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and i told you i really like a girl like her name is Aileen Gu

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and she gave me so many inspirations she's like a competitor for like Olympics

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and she's also going for Stanford for like her university

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and also she's the model she's doing a lot of things

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and at the time I was shadowing her reels on Instagram

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like every day just one reel I will like repeat it

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I don't know 100 times 200 times I'm just repeat what she says just do the shadowing

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and also her mindset actually will go into mine as well you know it's very interesting

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and i do the shadowing like every day every day

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because you can also imitate the tongue she's talking

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and then you will know how you actually react

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when you talk to people because that's a real conversation

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and that's real logic yeah so i think shadowing definitely is very very useful

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and also watching tv shows i watched a lot of american tv shows at

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that time first of all i will have english subtitle

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and i will read the english subtitle when i'm watching it

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and i will choose some um very easy like a you know basic shows to watch i can't watch friends

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because friends has

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so many you know vocabularies at the time i watch something

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like you know high school stuff like for example like never had i ever some like a basic stuff

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because they're just talking about things in school

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and i was in school like i was in my grad school at the time

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so i will find some topic you know in common

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so i will watch it

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and i will shadow it as well okay shadowing that's one then

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and did you ever like do anything to really push yourself like speak to people in in the street

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or embarrass yourself i honestly did uh first of all i

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did you know i download some like apps for have international friends

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because before i don't have any international friends

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and living in china is hard to find the foreigners even

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i was living in shanghai it does it does have some

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but not too much so uh i was go on this app called like hello talk

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and some like you know other apps

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and I found people from all over the world they wanted to practice like sensing as your community right now

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so like I'm just there talking with people

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because people are all willing to learn so we're practicing together

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and they want to learn Chinese and I want to learn English

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so I met this guy actually right now we're best friends right now from the app and we're exchange language

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and he was learning Chinese, I was learning English at the time.

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And he actually inspired me to become a Chinese teacher and also inspired me to speak better English.

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And right now, his Chinese is way better than before as well

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because he was trying to talk with a lot of people.

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Yeah, I think those apps are super useful for learning, learning especially if you don't have maybe the environment yeah the environment

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or even just the

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if you don't have the money basically yeah to pay for

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the courses yeah there's a lot of ways to practice

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because I didn't pay for anything I learned everything by myself because you're teaching but you're also learning exactly yeah

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Olivia why did you learn English?

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I think since I was young I was fascinated by the American cultures like English songs, English movies, Hollywood.

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I like this so much because people always looks very artistic or they're very free and they're always productive.

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I wanted to know why.

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And also three years ago, I was doing my master's degree.

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I don't know what to do in my life.

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I don't know after I graduate, what kind of job can I get and where I'm going to go or stay.

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I don't know anything, but I feel like outside of China in my head has an answer for me.

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So I wanted to see, okay, what are people doing outside of China?

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So I wanted to travel.

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But to travel, the main things you need to learn, just English.

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You have to communicate with people, you have to understand things.

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So that's how I started.

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You have to understand to travel the world.

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Exactly.

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So your inspiration was travel.

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Yeah, basically.

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And I wanted to discover myself as well.

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Because I really did see a lot of people, Like, when I was younger, I went to Bali once,

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I saw people were so afraid they're doing like cliff jumping, they're like swimming with their bikini, because at that time I was in China, my mom always told me,

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you shouldn't wear too explosive, you know, so I'm like why they can't do that, so I wanted to know, maybe I can do that too,

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I can try the things I've never tried before, I can try the things maybe I like maybe I don't like yeah

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but yeah I mean I think traveling is one of the

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biggest motivators for people to learn English I think traveling

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but also job opportunities exactly was that ever a reason for you to learn English

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because for me I feel like okay at the time I

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had my master's degree even I graduate I was living in

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Shanghai Shanghai is very expensive for the rent for everything so So if I graduate, I cannot get well paid.

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But I noticed the foreigners in Shanghai, they get well paid.

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And the people that could speak English, they get well paid.

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And I was like, why wouldn't I speak English?

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If I speak English, I would definitely get better opportunities.

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That's why also another reason I start to learn English.

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Yeah, and since you learned English, how do you think that's changed your life?

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Honestly, I feel like learning English completely changed my life, about my mindset especially, because before I'm a little bit close-minded as well.

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I feel I'm a little bit conservative, very traditional, because I grew up in China

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and I have a very traditional family as well but

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because learning english let me know everything is possible like i

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really understand like you can really try everything you want to

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try don't think about others don't think about the social judgment don't think about how

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that like others think about you because for me

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in china i always feel like judged i feel like i

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do everything i have to think about what does my parents think

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and what does my friend think and how's everybody else think

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but i want to start learn english and

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because i watch a lot of movies

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so i know youtube the people are doing a lot of

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adventure they go on skydiving scuba diving they go on all the adventures i was like i want to do

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that too and i don't want to care too much about what people say so yeah that's what i started Yeah,

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I think that little push is the first thing you need to start actually reaching your dreams.

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And for most people, it's English.

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And I think English is just something that can change the people you meet, the experiences you have, the jobs that you get.

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What about the cultural difference?

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say moving from China and going to travel to a new country what was

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that like honestly from first beginning it was overwhelming the first

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time I was in the US I was in Louisiana out of nowhere

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and I met people they're like you know they're the neighbors

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they asked me hey how are you doing I was like are you talking to me

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because in China we don't have small talk

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so I never did small talking my whole life I'm like

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oh who are you talking to oh me I'm like uh okay thank you I don't know what you say

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and I feel awkward I feel overwhelmed

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because at the time I'm still thinking okay maybe they will

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think why this Chinese girl is right here what is she doing

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and she doesn't even speak English I will think maybe he's judging me

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because I don't speak English he will think I'm from first beginning that's all in my mind

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but later I realized I started to speak more people actually they like to get to know me

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and when I see they have the interest for me I will try to express myself more

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and stop thinking about okay they're gonna judge me

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because my English is not perfect and they're always being very you know supportive

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and always like inspire me oh you should talk more

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and your English is really good and then later I don't thinking about, okay, I'm dumb, I speak bad English, as long as I can express myself well,

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I think it's all that matters, because the grammar is just the way to express yourself.

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As long as people understand you, no matter what you're speaking, that's most important.

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Yeah, for sure.

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So for example, if I went up to someone in China, and I started having small talk with them,

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like hey how's the weather it's nice today isn't it then

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what do you think the reaction of a Chinese person would be you mean

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if it's you like a foreigner oh yeah yeah

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and they would be like oh wow she's talking to me I mean it's definitely you look

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so like up like different foreign yeah boring boring what about

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if it was a Chinese person

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if it's Chinese people people were saying uh why are you

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talking to me like you don't have your own business do right now yeah

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but sometimes um from some region people are very talkative especially

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for the elderly they like to talk a lot there was

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uh there will maybe you met in the elevator they will

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ask you oh where did you get this back you know sometimes they do

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but usually people don't do small talk with you they don't

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talk with you yeah okay okay they're super busy yeah

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so it's a big cultural difference then um you lived in

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the united states how how long did you live in the

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united states honestly i was traveling in the u.s at the

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time i first time i was there for like five

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and a half months i was traveling

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and then the second time i went to visit for like three months

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and the third time i actually worked there i was doing the working holiday

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because at the time i I really want to get an opportunity to work abroad, to practice more my English and also get better paid.

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So I worked there.

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So in total probably like a one year and a little bit more.

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Okay.

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And what was your first initial reaction moving from China to the United States?

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I was very excited though.

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I was very excited because I still remember the first day like the plan.

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I'm like arriving in Baylor Rouge.

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I was in Louisiana.

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Seriously out of nowhere.

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But I just feel like oh my god the air is so fresh because there's no factory you know.

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So I feel the air is so fresh

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and also I feel like I don't know I feel

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so free because that we do have a lot of restrictions back to China.

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Even like we're still very free but just like for example I cannot use google, I can use like you know instagram in China,

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but here I can just use everything I wanted to use.

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So I feel like and you can say whatever you want to say and people will accept who you are.

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So there was no big culture shock in a negative way?

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I think negative way yes.

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I think sometimes people are too nice you know

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because for Chinese we're very direct

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if I like you I would tell you I like you

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if I don't like you I'm just gonna be polite

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but I'm not gonna say it was so nice to meet you

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and I had such a great time with you I'm gonna see you again.

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If I don't feel that way, I will never say that in Chinese.

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But I noticed that when I was in the US, I thought we're friends, we had a great time together.

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I said, it was so nice to meet you, we're going to see each other again.

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And then you realize, oh, maybe for them, they don't think the same.

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But at the time, they will be like, oh, I was so happy to meet you.

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It's so nice to meet you and actually they don't mean it.

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But I understand because people want to be positive all the time, they want to be nice, they want to be always be encouraging,

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but maybe they just think I'm boring at the time, because I don't speak that much English, why do they want to know me, you know?

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But it's just that sometimes I can't know if people really mean what they say.

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Okay, more in the United States.

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Yeah, more in the United States.

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Yeah, that's something I noticed when I visited China,

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when I would approach people and they wouldn't be very enthusiastic with me.

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And I was very enthusiastic with them, but it wasn't something that they gave back to me.

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And it was strange because I thought maybe they really don't like me

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because if someone in the United States or Mexico behaves that way with you, it's because they really don't like you.

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If they're just completely reactionless and with no enthusiasm at all, then you think that they hate you, they probably do.

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So for me, that was a big maybe culture shock when I visited China.

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Because they're very like, oh, you know.

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But it makes it more special when they do react and when they are enthusiastic.

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Because it's like, oh, I guess you truly do like me.

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Because I think when Chinese people say they're very welcoming, they show their passion to you, that means they really like you.

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Because usually Chinese people are very calm.

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We like to observe that situation first.

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We're not just bumping to you and saying a lot of things.

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We like to watch, observe and to say, okay, how's the situation right now?

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And how should I react?

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We're more into our own business, like what I said, we don't do small talk.

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So we'll be like, okay, you do your own business, I do mine.

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Of course, we'll be very curious about foreigners.

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So a lot of people, when you're in Shanghai, I think you definitely experience people wanted to take picture for you, wanted to talk with you.

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Some kids might come to you practice their English.

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Yeah, in Asia a lot too, in general.

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And so what part of learning English do you think changed your life the most?

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I think it's I think for me it's definitely learning English.

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Let me find out what's my dream for.

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For me right now I'm doing my jewelry design and also collecting all the jewelries from over the world.

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Yes, so because I discovered when I was traveling, when I was talking to people from over the world

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because i love the cultural things i love the natures

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because i i've been so many different places i was in maldives costa rica korea i've been

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so many different places

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because i could speak english i could communicate with people i was talking to

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so many people for them for me talking to them it's

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like you're objecting yourself you know i was like observing myself what do I really like?

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What's my passion for?

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What I want to do in my life?

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And after this two and a half years traveling, solo traveling by myself, I discovered I like fashion.

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Since I was young, I like fashion.

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So why don't I just start something with fashion?

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And because I noticed along the way, I'm always making necklaces.

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I'm also, you know, collecting all the beautiful jewelry.

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So that's why right now I started everything and I put a lot of meaning on it.

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For example, some of my pieces, like for example this one, like the diamond one, because when I was younger, I liked the song from Rihanna, Shining like a diamond.

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So that's why I made this one, it's so beautiful.

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Can you see it?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I just want to make a close-up while you talk about it.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So I actually gave this one to my friend as a gift

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and at the time I didn't know I'm gonna make jewelry in the future

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and I told her like you can shine like a diamond

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because I feel like she's so beautiful she looks a little bit like Rihanna as well

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so I gave it to her and she told me why don't you just start something like you know

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with your fashion design with jewelry or collecting like all the beautiful things from all over the world

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I'm like yeah why not

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so that's why right now I'm settling down in Mexico City city

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and i'm trying to build up like everything like for my jewelries

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and also beautiful things i collect from all over the world

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contain all the cultural things for example for the chinese things

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like chinese design we have some you know dragons like clouds we believe in some energy

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and elements you know so i just wanted to let people to know different cultures

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and in in my way like from my perspective

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so i want to bring it back to them yeah meaning bring the energy yeah

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and each one has a story behind exactly a story of

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your traveling of your journey of your english language journey exactly

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too like right now i have this flower actually i don't know the english name though

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um in spanish you know he no hippo hippocampus hippocampus no that's part of the brain No, he's okay.

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What's it called?

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It's called.

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Guys, I just did an unboxing video on my TikTok,

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but I wanted to come on here and thank you again and show you what we have.

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I made a video thanking you guys for 1 million subscribers already.

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We did the community giveaway and I'm really excited for the 10 winners to join the community.

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I'm excited to meet you guys.

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and I'll be sending you an email if you were one of the lucky winners.

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And if you didn't win this time, then don't worry.

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I'll be doing another giveaway, hopefully soon, for more English classes so that everybody gets the chance to learn.

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Unfortunately, I can't open all the free spots, but I'm working on a system that can make it possible.

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I'll be hanging this up right there, so you'll be seeing it in my next video.

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And thank you guys for being here.

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Thank you guys for learning English, for staying motivated, for being a part of this English community that we have here,

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a lovely, lovely English community where we support each other, where we motivate each other, and where we never stop learning.

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That's the goal.

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Thank you, guys.

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Back to the video.

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To wrap up the video, What do you think are your learning English goals now?

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Now that you're at this level, now that you can have a conversation naturally with me, what's your next step?

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For me right now, yeah, I'm comfortable speaking English right now.

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But I feel like there's still certain words, you know, I cannot express myself perfectly.

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I wanted to know how to become more native.

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So I would definitely still do shadowing when I'm watching videos on YouTube.

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I do love shadowing because it's really like a real reaction you learn from people.

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And also I wanted to become more professional in my field, like a fashion field.

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Because I don't know any vocabulary about like jewelry before.

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So right now I'm gonna get into it to learn more things about my field.

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Yeah, I think this is mainly my English learning goals for right now.

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And I feel like, you know, learning a language is a lifelong journey.

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You gotta keep learning, no matter how good you can speak.

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Because there's always something out there you don't know.

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And you want to know.

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So for me, I would love to always keep learning.

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Perfect.

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Never stop learning, that's what I always say.

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Yay!

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Alright, well thank you guys for joining us us thank you olivia for being on the podcast with me

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and let me know in the comments

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if you guys want to see more interviews with olivia she

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has a lot to show you a lot to tell us

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so um yeah be sure to like and subscribe

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and i'll see you guys next time subscribe and like me oh

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and i'll leave olivia's instagram in the description

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if you want to go check out her jewelry all right bye guys bye Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 434 sentences and 5197 words to shadow. The speech runs for 31:39. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ (noun) — A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
jewellery /ˈd͡ʒʊ-/ (noun) — Collectively, personal ornamentation such as rings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, made of precious metals and sometimes set with gemstones.
shanghai /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ (verb) — To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly
vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ (noun) — A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
sticker /ˈstɪkə/ (noun) — Something or someone that sticks (pierces, or adheres).
collect /ˈkɑlɪkt/ (verb) — To gather together; amass.
cartoon /kɑɹˈtun/ (noun) — A humorous drawing, often with a caption, or a strip of such drawings.
diamond /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/ (noun) — A glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron.
react /ɹiːˈækt/ (verb) — To act in response.
observe /əbˈzɜːv/ (verb) — To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ (verb) — To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by…
bore /boɹ/ (verb) — To inspire boredom in somebody.
mindset /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ (noun) — A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one.
enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/ (adjective) — With zealous fervor; excited, motivated.
naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ (adverb) — In a natural manner.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
go on /ˈɡoʊˌɒn/ (verb) — To continue in extent.
build up (verb) — To erect; to construct.
do in (verb) — To kill or end; to defeat.
get into (verb) — To move into (an object), such that one ends up inside it.
go for (verb) — To try for, to attempt to reach.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 188 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/, enthusiasm /ɪnˈθuziæzəm/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, shanghai /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/, shock /ʃɔk/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like shadow, jewellery, shanghai.

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 speak English, I would definitely · if I like you I would tell
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've never tried · i've been
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be judged · was fascinated
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	English, which is · someone who is

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?