Shadowing Practice: How to Deal with Regret - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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You ever do something and immediately think, why am I like this?
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Maybe you sent a risky text, made an awkward joke, or agreed to something that your future self is now side-eyeing you for.
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Yeah, welcome to the club.
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Regret is that little gremlin in our heads whispering, you should have done this instead.
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But what if I told you that regret isn't actually your enemy?
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What if it's kind of your secret weapon?
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As the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, life can only be understood backwards, it must be lived forwards.
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Regret is just your brain trying to make sense of the past while you're still stumbling into the future.
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Why do we regret things?
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Regret is basically your brain's quality control department.
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It's there to analyze mistakes and make sure you don't repeat them.
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In psychology, this is known as counterfactual thinking, where we imagine alternative realities that could have happened.
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There are two types.
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Upward counterfactuals, if only I had done this differently, and downward counterfactuals.
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Oof, that could have been worse.
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Turns out, people who reflect on their regrets constructively actually make better decisions over time.
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But those who just wallow in it?
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Yeah, they end up stuck in an endless regret spiral.
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So how do we regret less?
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Here's the deal.
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Regret isn't about erasing mistakes.
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It's about learning from them without letting them define you.
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Number one, reframe your perspective.
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Think of your past self as a well meaning but slightly clueless character in a video game.
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They didn't have all the information you do now.
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So instead of thinking, I messed up, try, oh, past me made a choice with the knowledge they had.
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Psychologists call this self-compassion, and studies show it helps people bounce back from regret way faster than self-criticism.
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Number two, accept that perfection is a myth.
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Regret loves to make us believe that there was a quote-unquote perfect choice but here's a plot twist, there wasn't.
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Every decision comes with trade-offs, even not making a choice is a choice.
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Ever heard of the paradox of choice?
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The more options we have the more likely we are to regret whatever we pick.
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So next time you ever think, Just remind yourself there is no perfect path only the one you choose
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Number three ask yourself will this matter in five years?
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Most regrets fade over time
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that embarrassing thing you said last week probably not a core
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memory for anyone else The quote-unquote five-year rule helps you zoom out
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and see the bigger picture
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if it won't matter in five years Don't spend more than
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five minutes stressing over it number four use regret to level up Instead of seeing regret as a punishment,
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think of it as a tutorial level in a game.
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It's just teaching you how to play better next time.
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Neuroscience actually backs this up.
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When we analyze regrets, our brain strengthens neural pathways related to decision-making and emotional regulation.
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So technically, regret isn't just pain.
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It's growth in disguise.
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At the end of the day, regret is proof that you care about your choices, your impact, and your future.
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But don't Don't let it hold you hostage.
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Instead, use it to make decisions that future you will thank you for.
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And hey, if all else fails, just do what Marcus Aurelius said.
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Waste no more time arguing about what a good person should be. Be one.
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So what's one regret you're ready to let go of?
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Let's chat in the comments.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Deal with Regret”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: regret, choice, decision, instead, self. This video has 53 sentences and 595 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:15. The speaker talks fast, about 183 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 9 of its 53 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| counterfactual adjective | /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/ | Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue. |
| unquote | Used in speech to indicate the end of a quotation. | |
| analyze verb | /ˈæn.əˌlaɪz/ | To subject to analysis. |
| constructively adverb | In a constructive manner. | |
| embarrass verb | /ɪmˈbæɹəs/ | To disrupt someone's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely. |
| gremlin noun | /ˈɡɹɛmlən/ | An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery. |
| neuroscience noun | The scientific study of the nervous system. | |
| reframe verb | To mount in a frame again. | |
| stumble verb | /ˈstʌmbəl/ | To trip or fall; to walk clumsily. |
| wallow verb | /ˈwɒ.ləʊ/ | To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud. |
| clueless adjective | /ˈkluː.ləs/ | Without any clues or hints. |
| paradox noun | /ˈpæ.ɹəˌdɒks/ | An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa. |
| erase verb | /ɪˈɹeɪs/ | To remove (markings or information). |
| upward adverb | /ˈʌpwɚd/ | In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin. |
| downward adverb | /ˈdaʊnwɚd/ | Toward a lower level, whether in physical space, in a hierarchy, or in amount or value. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| mess up verb | To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss. | |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. | |
| zoom out verb | /ˌzuːm ˈaʊt/ | To decrease the focal length of a zoom lens in order to obtain a reduced magnification of the image, or a wider-angle view. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You ever do something and immediately think, why am I like this?
- What if it's kind of your secret weapon?
- Why do we regret things?
- Regret is basically your brain's quality control department.
- They didn't have all the information you do now.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be understood · is known |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who reflect · those who just |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, isn't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/, strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/, myth /mɪθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: compassion /kəmˈpæʃ.ən/, perfection /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: counterfactual /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/, philosopher /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/
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 counterfactual, unquote, analyze.
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.