Shadowing Practice: How to Break a Social Media Addiction - Learn English Speaking with Video

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So the one thing that I do want to insist is

that you have time if it's a walk or

if you're in a conversation with someone where that's the time

where you really make a point of not using the phone and even leaving it at home if you can.

That's sort of the main distraction that we all face.

But the other thing

that you want to build at the same time is you want to build powers of of focus and meditation.

How do you avoid the distractions that this generation has to face, particularly social media?

And whenever it comes to changing a habit or changing a pattern of behavior, you want to aim for real change.

You don't want to do anything drastic.

So if you can go completely cold turkey, if you say all right i'm just going to completely cut

off social media it'll be very difficult for you particularly

if you spend several hours a day on it so you have to aim a little bit small

and take kind of realistic steps so what i would do it's almost like a math equation

i would say

if i spend um two hours a day on it i'm going to begin the following day

and i'm going to cut that down by like a half hour

and i'm going to figure out

which platform i'm going to use less you know it's okay to waste time i've said

that before but the kind of the ones

that don't make you feel very good

that you really feel like you're wasting your time

and i would cut those out first

and i would slowly slowly go at it and then

so you you've reduced it half an hour then you slowly get it down to an hour

and then when you get it down to something reasonable

and you feel comfortable and what I mean feeling comfortable you don't feel

that that itch

that habit kind of grab it you don't feel like you're

depriving yourself you reach a point where it feels kind of good

and you feel a little bit liberated

and then I would take a day I would schedule like

a day a week where I would go cold turkey where I would not have it with me at all

and one thing

that I really really makes me upset even pissed off is

I take a bike ride up into these hills nearby no

cars are allowed i hardly see any people it's really wonderful

then i'll come upon somebody who's coming down the same road where there's just total silence it's

so beautiful and they're like yammering on their phone

or they're like this and i want to slap them across the face

and say just put that damn thing away for for a few seconds

so the one thing that i do want to insist is

that you have time if it's a walk

or with you're in a conversation with someone where that's the

time where you really make a point of not using the phone and even leaving it at home if you can, okay?

And so that's sort of the main distraction that we all face.

But the other thing that you wanna build at the same time is you wanna build powers of focus and meditation.

Obviously, on many, many occasions here, I've advocated meditating as a really helpful thing to help you overcome distractions and help you focus.

but there are other things you can do so like

when you're listening to music this is something i'm writing about in the chapter right now in my sublime book

when you're listening to music sometimes make it a form of

meditation where you absorb yourself completely in the sounds for half an hour you actually live listen deeply

and you don't let your thoughts constantly distract you

or you're reading a book you allow yourself to get

so deeply involved

that you kind lose yourself in those moments the opposite of the distractions are feelings of flow

when you're just absolutely in the moment and it feels wonderful

and you're just flowing with time you're flowing with the music you're flowing with the book

that you're reading so here to sum it up i would say

as a math equation slowly reduce it 15 minutes by till

you get down to an hour something kind of comfortable then try cold turkey do not use it

when you're on a walk or doing exercise or in a conversation

and maybe one day a week carve out a day where you don't use it at all

and if you make it two days a week great

and then find other forms where you can go deeply deep

focus meditation listening to music reading a book where you're completely absorbed in something i think those are realistic

and practical exercises that could really help you Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 67 sentences and 831 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:37. The speaker talks fast, about 180 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
distraction noun	/dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/	Something that distracts.
meditation noun	/mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/	A devotional exercise of, or leading to, contemplation.
deeply adverb	/ˈdi(ː)pli/	To a deep extent or degree; very greatly.
habit noun	/ˈhæb.ɪt/	An action performed on a regular basis.
realistic adjective	/ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/	Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic.
mathematics noun	/mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/	An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them.
insist verb	/ɪnˈsɪst/	To hold up a claim emphatically.
equation noun	/ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/	The act or process of equating two or more things, or the state of those things being equal (that is, identical).
absorb verb	/æbˈsɔɹb/	To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in…
practical adjective	/ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/	Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
silence noun	/ˈsaɪ̯ləns/	The absence of any sound.
helpful adjective	/ˈhɛlp.fl̩/	Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.
occasion noun	/əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/	A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance.
overcome verb	/ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/	To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of.
advocate noun	/ˈæd.və.kət/	Someone whose job is to speak for someone's case in a court of law; a counsel.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
come down verb	To descend, fall down, collapse.
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
get down to verb	To start focusing on doing something serious

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 35 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, equation /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/, occasion /əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/

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 distraction, meditation, deeply.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: How to Break a Social Media Addiction - Learn English Speaking with Video

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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

What is the Shadowing Technique?