Shadowing Practice: How the way you watch movies affects your life - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
So this may sound weird, but I promise it'll start to make sense eventually.
133 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
So this may sound weird, but I promise it'll start to make sense eventually.
2
So I sort of observed the other day that there are two different ways that people watch movies.
3
The first group of people, they get home from work, they're pretty tired, so they sit on the couch, they have a Netflix subscription, so they throw a movie on.
4
It doesn't really matter what it is as long as it's sort of stimulating.
5
They'll be on their phone, they'll be eating something, and they're just sort of, they have the movie on.
6
It's just there for them.
7
Group number two operates completely differently.
8
When they watch a movie, it's a lot more intentional.
9
Maybe they looked up some reviews on IMDB, or maybe they heard from a friend that was supposed to be really good, so they make a night out of it.
10
They invite some friends over, or they just watch it themselves with headphones in, but they're actively engaged the whole time.
11
I call this active movie watching.
12
Now, being the film nerd that I am, I fall into group number two.
13
I very rarely just put on a movie for the sake of putting on a movie.
14
I really like film, and I'm really engaged in it, and I like the formalistic quality of it.
15
Now, as snobbish as this makes me sound, the point of this video isn't to flex on you about how cultured I am, but to explain a point.
16
The difference between passive engagement and active engagement, and how getting them wrong can actually really damage your entire lifestyle,
17
your relationships with others, and your work and everything.
18
Basically, your whole life can be ruined if you don't get this right.
19
Being actively engaged with something increases the quality of the thing that you're engaged with, whether it's your work, a conversation.
20
Active engagement is better almost every single time.
21
But there's a problem.
22
Active engagement requires willpower, and willpower is a finite resource.
23
So it's difficult, if not impossible, to be actively engaged with every single thing throughout the entire day, all day, every single day.
24
You're going to completely burn out.
25
A great example of this is we all know a guy like Tom.
26
Tom spends a lot of time at work, he's doing really well in his career, and he's actively engaged with the problems at work.
27
Work problems.
28
That's what problems at work are called.
29
He's trying hard, he's climbing the ladder, but he also has a family, and by the time he gets home,
30
he's so burnt out from work that he sits on the couch, passively watches some TV, cracks open a beer,
31
you know, maybe his wife wants to talk about some problems that she's having in her life and he doesn't really, you know, he's not really listening at all or trying to offer any sort of help.
32
Maybe his son comes up to him and says, Dad, can we play outside?
33
Can we throw the Frisbee?
34
And he's, you know, not today, son.
35
And sometimes you do need a day like this.
36
Maybe you can't be super engaged with your family every time you get home from work.
37
But for a lot of people like Tom, this is every single day.
38
And compounded over weeks, months, and years, this can really put a strain on the relationships in your life.
39
So perhaps you can relate to Tom in your own kind of way.
40
Maybe you're spending a lot of energy on things that you don't really care about, things that you don't enjoy, and things that you find ultimately unfulfilling,
41
which leaves you with next to no energy for the things that are actually important in your life.
42
So what's the solution?
43
Do you just quit your job and sit in your house in a meditative state, waiting for your wife and kids to come home?
44
The solution is to become better at mental energy management, or MEM.
45
So here are just a couple ways to better manage your mental energy.
46
Number one is to take a survey of your typical day.
47
What do you do at work?
48
What are your tasks at work?
49
What do you do when you get home?
50
And then figure out how much attention each of those things really needs.
51
So obviously there are things at work that actually do require your full attention.
52
Especially if you have a job that has a lot of creative problem solving.
53
But most jobs also have areas which don't require that much energy.
54
Like writing an email or answering a phone call.
55
Sweeping the floors.
56
Things that you can really sort of mentally disengage from.
57
Write all that stuff down.
58
Figure out what things are important, what things you can engage with, and what things you can disengage with.
59
So that's sort of the precursor to the actual tips that I have and I have four of them.
60
So tip number one is to take more restorative breaks.
61
One thing that I've noticed is that when I'm actively engaged with my most important work, say I'm video editing a very creative, say it's like a wedding video or a corporate video,
62
I pretty much have to be all there when I'm doing that.
63
But when I take a break, I make a critical mistake and a lot of the time I just browse Reddit
64
or I watch YouTube or I do something like that.
65
I go on social media on my phone and that continues to work away at my brain.
66
It's not actually restorative.
67
I'm still mentally engaged with whatever's in front of me and it's taxing.
68
It's not actually relaxing.
69
What I should be doing is going for a walk, meditating, taking a nap, maybe making myself a snack.
70
All of these things cause you to unplug and it sort of heals your brain in a way.
71
Things like browsing Reddit keeps your mind busy
72
and by the end of the day you're going to be
73
so pooped out all you're going to want to do is be a zombie in front of a TV and breathe air.
74
So tip number two is to force yourself to physically and mentally relax during less important tasks.
75
Now this one sounds kind of weird but it actually works really well.
76
So say you have something like a you know menial email
77
that you're supposed to write for an unimportant client
78
or say you're sweeping the floors or something or making a sandwich whatever your job is.
79
It's the part of the job that doesn't require a lot of thought.
80
What you should do is relax your body when you're doing it.
81
Relax your body and mind and sort of ease, float, be free.
82
Now this may sound like a little bit of woo-woo crap, but it's certainly not.
83
Listen to me, believe me.
84
Actually, you don't have to believe me if you don't want.
85
But what you can't deny is that our physiology and psychology are intimately linked in ways we can't even fully comprehend yet.
86
What affects the body often affects the mind and vice versa.
87
When you relax in your seat.
88
When you are just a little bit more lackadaisical in your posture, you can mentally relax as well.
89
So if you're stressed out writing an email and you're angry at the client and you're really rigid, that's going to mentally wear you out so fast you don't even realize it.
90
Instead, when you're doing less important stuff that doesn't require too much of your attention, just take it easy.
91
Maybe play some spa music, get someone lower down in the company to give you a little foot rub and just, you know, be a douche.
92
It's not that hard of work, so don't treat it like hard work.
93
Treat it like a little mini vacation before your actual restorative breaks.
94
Now tip number three is probably the most important one, and that is to be more intentional with how actively engaged you are with the work that requires your attention.
95
So for me, that's video editing.
96
So when I sit down to edit, I should be focused, like really, really focused, and I I shouldn't break that focus.
97
Be very, very efficient with my time so that it can be over with quicker.
98
And that's the key here.
99
Being really, really efficient in the time
100
that you do have in your most important work can get it over with quicker
101
so that you have more time to just relax, saving mental energy for the things that are important in your life.
102
Delegate a parcel of time that you dedicate fully to unadulterated productivity.
103
Screw multitasking.
104
I'm talking about diving into one thing with your full attention and being maximally effective.
105
If you learn to do that for like two or three hours and you enter this deep work space, you can get more done than you ever knew possible.
106
Not only that, but it's over with quicker.
107
So the rest of your day can be a breeze.
108
Now, tip number four, and this is kind of the obvious one, but it's barely a tip.
109
It's more like a reminder.
110
And that is just to take care of your health.
111
Obviously, if you're not getting enough sleep every night, then you're not gonna have the mental energy or willpower to focus on the important things in your life.
112
And mental energy management just won't work.
113
All right, that's it, guys.
114
So really take mental note or a physical note as to
115
when you're being more passively engaged and when you're being more actively engaged
116
and figure out if it's congruent with your actual values.
117
If you like this video, make sure to hit like because when you hit like, the algorithm blesses me with shoving this video in other people's faces so it helps them out.
118
It helps the video rank better.
119
And if you're lurking here, and this is a couple times that you've seen my face and you haven't hit subscribe yet, hitting subscribe really helps me out.
120
And especially if you hit that bell icon so that you're notified when I release a new video.
121
It's all helpful.
122
I wanna do this as a full-time job.
123
And once that's actually feasible for me, the quality of these videos is gonna increase so much.
124
I can't wait for what I'm able to create for you guys.
125
I wanna do like long form documentaries as well.
126
I'm almost there.
127
I can almost do YouTube full-time appreciate your guys's support definitely
128
write a comment down below to Let me know what you want to see in the future
129
or you know be one of those thousands of people who?
130
Comment the fact that I somehow look like Mark Zuckerberg.
131
I still don't see it at all bros not even bald I'd honestly prefer it
132
if people started calling me and Jason Statham, but I don't have the the jawline yet Yeah, that sounds like I'm working on my jawline orthotropics.
133
Yeah, I'm mewing I'm sorry.
Download App
AI scoring for every sentence you speak
TRENDING
Popular
Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with the content of this video offers a unique opportunity to not only enhance your English speaking skills but also to explore the complexities of human interaction and emotional engagement. The speaker draws a clear distinction between passive and active engagement, a valuable framework for understanding conversations in English. By practicing with this video, learners can improve their ability to articulate thoughts and feelings, essential skills in both personal and professional settings. This contextual learning is vital for effective communication, providing learners with specific examples of how to express themselves more clearly and meaningfully. Additionally, utilizing this material helps you improve English pronunciation through repetition and imitation.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker uses several engaging grammatical structures and expressions worth noting:
- “When they watch a movie, it’s a lot more intentional.” - Here, the use of 'intentional' describes a purposeful action, a useful adjective to convey the idea of conscious decision-making in daily activities.
- “This can really put a strain on the relationships in your life.” - The phrase 'put a strain on' is an idiomatic expression that describes causing tension or stress, a term useful for discussing relationships or responsibilities.
- “Active engagement is better almost every single time.” - 'Almost every single time' is a phrase that emphasizes generality, allowing learners to understand how to discuss trends and patterns in conversation.
- “You’re going to completely burn out.” - The use of 'completely burn out' is a colloquial expression that conveys exhaustion, a relatable feeling that can be rephrased for clarity in multiple contexts.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As with any spoken content, there are certain pronunciation traps that English learners may encounter in this video:
- “Intentional” - Some learners may struggle with the stress on the second syllable. Practicing this word can improve clarity in your speech.
- “Engagement” - The 'gagement' ending can be tricky. Emphasizing the 'g' sound while blending it into the preceding 'N' can help improve fluency.
- “Relationships” - The 'sh' sound can be mispronounced by non-native speakers. Focusing on this sound will greatly enhance your ability to discuss personal matters.
By shadowing the speaker in this video, you can practice these terms as part of your learn English with YouTube journey, further developing your skills in a practical context. Try repeating the phrases and vocabulary aloud to fully benefit from the experience!
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
ShadowingEnglish remains 100% free thanks to your support. Server and AI costs are high — your coffee keeps us going! 🙏