Shadowing Practice: How to End Your Phone Addiction | Slow English Conversation (B1) | The Cozy English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B1
Hey everyone, welcome back to The Cozy English.
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Hey everyone, welcome back to The Cozy English.
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I'm Emma.
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And I'm Daniel.
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Thanks for spending part of your day with us.
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Whether you're listening while commuting,
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doing chores, taking a break from work or maybe holding your phone right now… Which would be extremely appropriate for today's topic.
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Very true.
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Before we begin, a quick reminder that there's a PDF worksheet for this episode
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if you'd like to review the vocabulary and expressions later.
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And today's conversation is perfect for A2 to B1 learners,
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so just relax and enjoy listening.
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Emma, can I confess something slightly embarrassing?
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Please do.
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Yesterday I picked up my phone to check the time.
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OK.
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Ten minutes later, I was watching videos about people restoring old houses in the countryside.
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Yeah.
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And the worst part?
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What?
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I still didn't know what time it was.
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That is one of the most modern problems I've ever heard.
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Honestly, I think millions of people do this every day.
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I agree.
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And that's actually why today's topic is so interesting.
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Because we're talking about phone addiction?
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Yes, but not in a dramatic way.
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Right.
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We're not talking about throwing your phone into a river and moving to a mountain.
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Exactly.
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Because most phone addiction doesn't look dramatic.
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That's the important part.
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People imagine addiction as something obvious.
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But phone addiction often looks completely normal.
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Checking notifications.
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Opening Instagram.
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Watching one video.
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Looking at messages.
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reading comments.
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Things everybody does.
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And that's why it's so difficult to notice.
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I started paying attention to my own habits recently.
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What did you notice?
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Sometimes I unlock my phone without any reason at all.
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Oh my God.
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What?
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I do that constantly.
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Yeah.
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Sometimes I'll lock my phone,
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put it in my pocket,
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stand somewhere for five seconds and then immediately take it out again.
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Just because you're bored?
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Exactly.
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That's fascinating when you think about it.
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It really is.
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Our brains became uncomfortable with tiny moments of waiting.
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Waiting for a bus.
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Standing in line.
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Waiting for a friend.
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Sitting in a cafe.
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Even waiting for an elevator.
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The second nothing happens, our hand automatically reaches for the phone.
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It's almost like muscle memory.
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That's a great way to describe it.
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Sometimes I open Instagram, close it,
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open TikTok, close it, check messages, then open Instagram again.
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Without even thinking?
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Without even thinking.
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And I think that's where today's conversation really begins.
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Before we talk about reducing phone addiction,
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we first have to notice how automatic it has become.
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Because many people aren't choosing to use their phones.
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Their habits are choosing for them.
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Wow.
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And honestly, I don't think people are lazy or weak.
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Me neither.
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I think modern phones are incredibly good at capturing our attention.
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Which means if we want to change our relationship with them,
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we first need to understand what's actually happening.
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Exactly.
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And the funny thing is,
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most of us don't even realise how often we pick up our phones until we start paying attention.
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Which can be a surprisingly uncomfortable discovery.
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A very uncomfortable discovery.
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But an important one.
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You know what I think is the biggest trick phones play on us?
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They make scrolling feel like resting.
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Oh wow, that's exactly it.
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Right?
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Because after a long day,
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nobody thinks, I'm going to exhaust my brain for two hours.
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Yeah.
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We think, I'm tired, I deserve a break.
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So we lie down on the couch… …or on the bed…
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…open TikTok… …open Instagram… …watch a few videos… …and suddenly it's midnight.
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Exactly.
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The strange part is that scrolling really does feel relaxing at first.
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That's what makes it so powerful.
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You're not solving problems.
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You're not making decisions.
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You're just consuming content.
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And your brain loves that.
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But I've noticed something weird.
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What's that?
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After a long scrolling session, I rarely feel refreshed.
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Same.
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I feel tired.
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Mentally tired.
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Like my brain ate too much junk food.
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That's actually the perfect comparison.
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Really?
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Absolutely.
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Doom scrolling is a lot like eating junk food when you're hungry.
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While you're doing it, it feels great.
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Fast, easy, satisfying.
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But afterward… You don't feel nourished.
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Exactly.
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That's how social media sometimes feels.
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You consume hundreds of videos.
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Thousands of pieces of information.
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Endless opinions.
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Endless recommendations.
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Endless news.
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Endless drama.
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But afterward, your brain feels strangely full and empty at the same time.
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Wow, that's a weirdly accurate description.
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Yeah.
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I had one of those nights recently.
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Uh-oh.
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I told myself I was going to relax for 15 minutes before bed.
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Famous last words.
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Very famous.
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Yeah.
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First I watched a cooking video.
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Reasonable.
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Then a travel video.
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Still reasonable.
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Then a guy explaining why medieval castles had spiral staircases.
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OK.
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Then a video about someone's morning routine… Of course.
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Then a video about productivity… While procrastinating… While procrastinating.
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Yeah.
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Two hours later, I put my phone down and honestly felt worse than when I started.
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I think a lot of people know that feeling.
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Because doom scrolling gives us what feels like rest… But not what actually restores us.
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That's an important difference.
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Real rest usually leaves you feeling calmer,
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more energized, more present, but doom scrolling often leaves people overstimulated.
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Exactly.
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Too much information.
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Too much noise.
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Too many emotions.
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And our brains never get a chance to slow down.
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I think that's why people often say things like,
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like, I don't know why I'm so tired.
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Even though they've spent three hours absorbing content.
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Because consuming information still uses mental energy.
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And sometimes we're not actually resting.
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We're just distracting ourselves from being tired.
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Which sounds similar, but it's completely different.
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And once you notice that difference,
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you start understanding why scrolling can feel good in the moment but leave you feeling exhausted afterward.
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You know what makes phone addiction so difficult?
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The fact that our phones are getting really good at understanding us.
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Oh, absolutely.
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Sometimes I feel like social media knows what mood I'm in before I do.
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That's honestly not far from the truth.
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It's kind of scary when you think about it.
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Very scary.
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You watch one video about stress… suddenly your entire feed becomes therapy advice.
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Burnout tips.
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Mental health quotes.
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Productivity videos.
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How to get your life together.
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Yeah.
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The algorithm immediately decides you're having an existential crisis.
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And somehow it's usually right.
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That's the weird part.
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I had something similar happen recently.
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What happened?
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I watched one video about organizing a desk.
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OK.
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Just one.
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Sure.
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The next day, my entire feed became cleaning videos,
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storage boxes, desk setups, productivity hacks and people labelling everything in their homes.
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Yeah.
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Apparently, the internet decided I was entering my organisation era.
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That's exactly how algorithms work.
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They pay attention to what keeps us watching.
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Not just what we like.
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That's an important difference.
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Sometimes I don't even like the content.
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Really?
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Yeah, but if I stop and watch for a few extra seconds,
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the algorithm thinks, perfect, give him more.
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Which explains why people fall into strange content rabbit holes.
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Exactly.
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I also think social media creates a lot of productivity guilt.
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Oh my God, yes.
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You open your phone for five minutes.
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immediately see somebody waking up at 5am.
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Going to the gym.
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Reading books.
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Drinking green smoothies.
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Building three businesses before breakfast.
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Yeah.
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Meanwhile, I'm sitting on my couch eating cookies and wondering where my motivation went.
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That's the problem.
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Comparison?
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Exactly.
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The internet constantly shows us people who seem more productive,
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more successful, more disciplined and more organised.
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Even though we're usually seeing a tiny highlight from their day.
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Not the full reality.
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Right.
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Nobody posts videos called, I spent two hours staring at the wall because I was tired.
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Although that would be very honest content.
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I'd probably watch it.
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Me too.
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I think another reason people stay attached to their phones is because phones remove boredom.
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The second life becomes quiet, we open an app.
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Waiting for a bus?
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Phone.
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Standing in line?
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Phone.
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Sitting alone for a few minutes?
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Definitely phone.
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It's almost like we're afraid of being disconnected.
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I think many people are.
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Because being disconnected means being alone with your thoughts.
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Which can feel uncomfortable.
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Especially after years of constant stimulation.
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That's why phone addiction isn't really just about technology.
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Exactly.
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It's connected to boredom, stress,
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comparison, loneliness, validation, and all the little emotions we try to escape from.
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makes the problem much more human than most people realise.
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And maybe that's why solving it isn't just about using your phone less.
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It's also about understanding why you keep reaching for it in the first place.
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OK, so we've talked about automatic habits,
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doom-scrolling, algorithms and all the reasons phones are hard to put down.
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Which brings us to the obvious question.
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How do we actually use our phones less?
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preferably without moving into a forest and communicating through smoke signals.
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Yes, something slightly more realistic.
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Because I think people sometimes make phone addiction harder than it needs to be.
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What do you mean?
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They try to change everything at once.
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Ah.
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Delete every app.
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Start a digital detox.
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Become a completely different person overnight.
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Which usually lasts about three days.
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If we're being optimistic.
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Yeah.
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I've learned that small changes work much better.
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Same.
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For example, one thing that helped me was moving my phone charger away from my bed.
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That's a surprisingly powerful trick.
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Before that, my phone basically slept next to me every night.
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Like an emotional support device.
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Exactly.
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Yeah.
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Then I'd tell myself, just one video before sleep.
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Dangerous sentence.
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Very dangerous.
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And suddenly it's 1 a.m.
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Or 2 a.m.
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Or a time we don't want to discuss publicly.
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Correct.
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Putting the charger across the room creates a little friction.
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That's the key word, friction.
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Because now you have to physically get out of bed to grab your phone.
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And sometimes laziness actually works in your favour.
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One of the few times in life.
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Yeah.
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Another trick I tried was turning my screen to grayscale.
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Oh, I've heard about that.
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It makes your phone black and white instead of colourful.
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Did it help?
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Surprisingly, yes.
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Really?
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Social media suddenly looked much less exciting.
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That makes sense.
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Apps are designed to grab our attention with bright colours.
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So when the colours disappear,
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some of the attraction disappears too.
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Exactly.
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I also started leaving my phone in another room when I work.
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That's a great habit.
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Because I discovered something embarrassing.
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What?
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If my phone is on my desk, I will check it.
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That's not embarrassing, that's human.
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Maybe, but apparently I have the self-control of a squirrel.
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Yeah.
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If the phone is nearby,
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my brain keeps thinking about it.
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But if it's in another room?
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I forget it exists for a while.
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That's actually really helpful.
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Another thing I've started doing is having phone-free meals.
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I love that idea.
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Just eating without scrolling.
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Which sounds simple but feels surprisingly strange at first.
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Very strange.
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It's amazing how often people eat,
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watch videos, answer messages and check notifications all at the same time.
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Then they barely remember the meal.
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Exactly.
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I think that's the biggest lesson here.
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What's that?
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Most people don't need a dramatic digital detox.
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They just need a few small habits that make mindless scrolling a little harder.
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And make real life a little easier to notice.
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Because the goal isn't to hate technology.
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It's to stop letting technology automatically control every free moment we have.
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You know, Daniel, after everything we've talked about today,
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I think the real challenge isn't using our phones less.
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I think the real challenge is learning how to be bored again.
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Wow.
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Does that sound strange?
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Honestly, no. Because when was the last time you were truly bored?
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That's a surprisingly difficult question.
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Right?
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These days, boredom barely has a chance to exist.
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The second we feel even a tiny moment of emptiness.
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We open an app.
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Exactly.
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Waiting for coffee?
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Phone.
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Standing in line?
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Phone.
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Sitting alone for three minutes?
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Definitely phone.
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It's almost automatic now.
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And I think that's why silence feels uncomfortable for many people.
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Because we're not used to it anymore.
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Exactly.
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I actually noticed this recently.
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What happened?
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I was waiting for a friend at a cafe.
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OK.
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My first instinct was to grab my phone. Of course.
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But for some reason, I didn't. And?
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For the first few minutes, it felt weird.
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Weird how?
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Restless.
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Hmm.
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Like my brain kept asking,
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shouldn't we be doing something right now?
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That's such a familiar feeling.
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But then something interesting happened.
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What?
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I started paying attention to everything around me.
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The people?
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The people, the music, the conversations, the rain outside.
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And honestly, it felt surprisingly peaceful.
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I think that's something many people have forgotten.
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What's that?
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Quiet moments aren't empty.
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Wow.
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They're just different.
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I love that.
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Some of my best ideas arrive when I'm not looking at a screen.
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Same.
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During a walk.
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In the shower.
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Looking out a window.
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Sitting on a bus.
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Those moments used to be normal.
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And now we've filled them with content.
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Endless content.
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Videos.
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Posts.
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Notifications.
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News.
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Recommendations.
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More videos.
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Always more videos.
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Yeah.
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I also think boredom gets an unfair reputation.
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Definitely.
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People treat boredom like an emergency.
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When actually, boredom can be useful.
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Very useful.
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Creativity often starts there.
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Reflection starts there.
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Sometimes self-awareness starts there too.
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Because when distractions disappear, you finally hear your own thoughts.
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And that can feel uncomfortable at first.
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Very uncomfortable.
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But maybe that's not a bad thing.
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I agree.
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I don't think the goal is to stop using phones completely.
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Me neither.
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Phones are useful.
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They're part of modern life.
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The goal is balance.
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Exactly.
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To choose when we use our phones instead of letting our phones choose for us.
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That's a beautiful way to put it.
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Thanks.
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And maybe the next time you're waiting somewhere,
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sitting quietly or feeling bored for a few minutes.
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You don't have to reach for your phone immediately.
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Maybe just look around.
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Take a breath.
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Watch the world for a moment.
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Because sometimes the life we're trying to escape from is actually pretty interesting.
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I love that.
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Alright everyone, thank you so much for spending time with us today.
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We hope this conversation helps you build a healthier relationship with your phone and with your attention.
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And remember, the goal isn't perfection.
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Just a little more awareness.
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We'll see you again soon on The Cozy English.
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Take care everybody.
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Bye everyone.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Engaging with the content of this video offers a unique opportunity to learn English with YouTube while addressing a modern issue that many individuals face: phone addiction. The real-life scenario portrayed by Emma and Daniel allows learners to immerse themselves in relatable dialogue, enhancing their own speaking skills and comprehension.
As a B1 learner, practicing with this conversation helps you develop your ability to discuss everyday topics, making your English more practical and relevant. The informal style of their exchange not only makes the process enjoyable but also encourages confidence in speaking. By repeating phrases and mimicking intonation, you'll enhance your fluency, making it easier to express similar sentiments in your conversations.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout the dialogue, several key structures and expressions provide excellent material for learners to focus on:
- Present Continuous Tense: Expressions like "I’m doing" or "I’m watching" highlight real-time actions. Practicing these can help solidify your grasp of ongoing activities.
- Everyday Vocabulary: Phrases such as "check the time" and "scroll through notifications" are common in daily conversation. Integrating these into your vocabulary will allow you to sound more natural.
- Asking Questions: The dialogue frequently employs questions—like "Can I confess something?" This structure is critical for conversation practice, as it encourages interaction and keeps dialogues flowing.
- Expressions of Realization: Phrases such as "I started paying attention to my own habits" teach learners how to express newfound awareness, which is a vital skill in both speaking and writing.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When working on your improve English pronunciation, pay attention to some common pronunciation traps within this conversation:
- “Addiction” – Be cautious of the stress on the second syllable (ad-DIC-tion), as misplacement can lead to clarity issues.
- “Normal” – Ensure you pronounce the 'r' clearly, particularly in an American accent, to avoid dropping it in connected speech.
- “Honestly” – The ‘h’ sound is essential, so practicing this word can help improve your listening and speaking skills in various contexts.
By incorporating these elements into your IELTS speaking practice and using shadowing techniques, you can greatly enhance your proficiency in English. Regularly reviewing materials like this video not only equips you with vocabulary and expressions but also helps solidify your phonetic skills for clearer communication in any setting.
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.
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