Shadowing Practice: How to be a creative motherf***er - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Some people are just born creative.
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They can look at a canvas and a glorious painting will appear.
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They can look at a wall and write the next good old hunting.
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Maybe they're all Picasso's illegitimate children.
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Or maybe they're just...
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Pablo never came back with the milk, so...
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I guess I'm just gonna have to learn.
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I gave the old staring at an empty canvas thing a go, but that's when I realised I don't know what I actually like.
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Taste is a muscle, and in the comfort blanket of the internet and algorithms,
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mine has become that half of a digestive you accidentally drop into your tea.
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So, it was time to start collecting.
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And this is where you've got to be picky and focus on the rare things that really make you stop.
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The things that led you into a spiral of investigation, that piece of art that you spend the next hour researching who the artist is, the inspiration, the subject, the type of paint,
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the film you watch that you still think about a month, a year later, the one that visually blew your fucking mind away.
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those are the pieces of art and inspiration that you collect.
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So you end up with a rare, tight -knit collection of things that remind you of why you started.
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And this mood board should be something that, when it's all collected together, you step back and out of pure excitement your mind just goes...
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Five.
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Four!
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I mean five!
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I mean fire!
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Another thing that us creatives tend to do in our attempts to be edgy
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and different is we ignore the masters on purpose.
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I mean we see old screenwriting books or renaissance painters
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and say fuck em I don't need rules I'm creative I'm meant to break em.
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But without an understanding of these rules how can we know how to break em?
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Instead of stealing a shot idea from Instagram, study artists and see what compositions they use and why.
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Instead of aimlessly copying the slow shutter trend, which I am guilty of,
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go and watch Wonka -Wai's films and see how he used the effect to isolate his characters, not just for a fancy transition.
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Watch a classic detective noir, inspired by the bold colours of a comic series
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and get inspired to make your very own city out of cardboard
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because you can't quite afford to look off New York yet.
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Once you understand why techniques are used, when you do use them it means something and that's
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when you're actually creating with a purpose and not just because it looks cool.
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Then it's time to experiment.
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I mean your studio or wherever you work should be a mess.
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Piles of unfinished ideas, rough outlines, projects that took you weeks to finish that make you way too embarrassed to invite your mates around for dinner.
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You should be making things that make you glad you've only got 31 followers on Instagram.
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Because you're not making a masterpiece, you're finding out what happens.
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And sometimes what happens is shit, and other times what happens is the shit.
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That was a really bad joke, but the The point is, not everything has to be good, the point is just to make things.
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Like this stop motion where I spontaneously decided to paint each individual window
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and give up that around 50 frames and move on to something else, but at least I gave it a go.
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So after all that preachy bollocks from me, I'm guessing you're wondering what I ended up making.
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Or maybe that's just me being a bit too forward on our first day, but I'm going to show you anyway.
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And before I do, the final step is having something to say.
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Creating art isn't about getting views, likes or receiving another where's the colour grading tutorial comment.
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It's about sharing your perspective of the world.
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Telling stories that only you can tell.
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Making something that means something to you.
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And for me, for some reason as you may have noticed, I have this weird fascination with lonely old humans smoking.
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Whatever it is, I find myself drawn to these weird little characters who are off in their own little weird worlds, thanks to the soothing little death machine we like to call cigarettes.
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And I find myself constantly drawing these odd balls out of proportion, mainly with tiny heads and massive hands.
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I'm not sure why, but I couldn't quite find that one character to make a big piece of.
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And then I thought back to one of the films that really made me want to become a filmmaker.
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I'm sorry, Average Hitchcock.
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Dad?
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 57 sentences and 783 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:40. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| collect verb | /ˈkɑlɪkt/ | To gather together; amass. |
| inspiration noun | /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm, as part of the act of breathing. |
| inspire verb | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | 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… |
| canvas noun | /ˈkæn.vəs/ | A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for… |
| ignore verb | /ɪɡˈnɔː/ | To deliberately not listen or pay attention to. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| transition noun | /tɹænˈzɪʃ.ən/ | The process of change from one form, state, style or place to another. |
| mood noun | /muːd/ | A mental or emotional state, composure. |
| muscle noun | /ˈmʌs.əl/ | A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement. |
| comic noun | /ˈkɑmɪk/ | A comedian. |
| comfort noun | /ˈkʌm.fət/ | Contentment, ease. |
| steal verb | /stiːl/ | To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. |
| experiment noun | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of… |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| fancy noun | /ˈfæn.si/ | The imagination. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| look off verb | To put off by one's facial expression | |
| step back verb | /stɛp ˈbæk/ | To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: algorithm /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/, soothe /suːð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, transition /tɹænˈzɪʃ.ən/, composition /ˌkɑm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/, proportion /pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/, unfinished /ʌnˈfɪnɪʃt/
- Long words — get the stress right: inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, composition /ˌkɑm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/, accidentally /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/, visually /ˈvɪzju.əli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like collect, inspiration, inspire.
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.