Shadowing Practice: How to Improve Your English Quickly - 6 Tips - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hi, Bob the Canadian here.
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In this video, we're going to look at six things that you should be doing every day to help improve your English.
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Learning English takes time and practice.
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Here are six things that you should be doing every day to help improve your English.
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Number one, you should be reading.
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I highly recommend that you read the news, especially because you may already be familiar with what is happening in the world in your own language.
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And this allows you to make a connection when you read the news in English.
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You should also be reading a good book.
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You may wanna start at kids' books, work your way up to young adult fiction, and then work your way up to everyday fiction.
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It also helps if you read slightly above your level.
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You don't wanna read too far above your level as this becomes too difficult.
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You should also try to read books that are based on movies that you have already watched,
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either in your normal language or in English.
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And last of all, and this is the hardest one, you should always read everything at least two or three times.
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I recommend that you read it two times right away, especially if it's a short news article,
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and then read it again later in the day or the next day.
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The second thing that you should be doing is listening.
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You should definitely listen to the news.
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Having already read the news in English, listening to the news in English will cover the same stories
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and allow you to reinforce what you have learned in your reading.
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You should also definitely be listening to music.
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Music is catchy and it's fun to listen to
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and it has the added advantage of you like listening to it more than one time.
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So if you listen to a good song a number of times, you start to learn the words in the song.
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I also recommend that you watch at least one short English TV show every day.
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I find TV shows better than movies because you get to know the characters and their particular way of saying those words.
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And lastly, the same as with reading, you should try and listen to things more than once.
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When you're watching a YouTube video or another video, be sure to rewind and re-listen to parts that you've missed.
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The third thing you should be doing every day is writing.
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You should be writing at least three or four sentences every day in English.
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You should also be using some sort of online spell checker and grammar checker.
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But writing only goes so far by itself you should really think about joining an online English learning group,
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either on Facebook or another website, so that other people are reading what you have written.
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This also helps to turn writing into more of a conversation, where you're encouraged to answer questions that other people ask.
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The fourth thing you should be doing is speaking.
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You should be speaking to help improve your pronunciation.
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You should find recordings where people demonstrate how to pronounce something, and then you should repeat the words after them.
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You should also start to talk to yourself.
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And I know this sounds a little bit funny, but if you have an opportunity when you are driving in a car by yourself
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or when you just have some time to yourself, you should try to have a pretend conversation with yourself.
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This really helps to start to bring the vocabulary and other things you have learned to the forefront of your mind.
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You should also try to record yourself speaking and then listen to it again later.
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If you record yourself speaking English and then listen to it later,
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your ear can hear some of the mistakes that you have made and you can correct them later.
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The fifth thing you should be doing every day is vocabulary building.
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You should set a goal for how many English words you want to learn in a year, and then divide that by the number of days in the year.
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If you were to learn three new words in English every day, you would learn over 1,000 words in a year.
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And although this isn't enough to become fluent, learning 1,000 words outside of your reading, listening
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and other practice is just a really good idea to help
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build a solid vocabulary foundation the sixth thing you should be
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doing is having an English conversation this can be one of the hardest parts about learning English
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but you need to find a native English speaker
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that you can have a short conversation with every day
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if you can't find someone to talk to every day at least find someone that you can talk to once a week.
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If there's no native English speakers in your area, try to look at websites like italki
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or preply to find someone who you can pay via Skype to have an English conversation.
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You can find people at very reasonable rates.
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If cost is a problem, another option is to try and find someone who wants to learn your language.
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Meet with them via Skype or in a cafe spend 15 minutes speaking your language,
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and then spend 15 minutes learning English with them.
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This is a great way to learn English at no cost.
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Well, that's a number of ways that you can practice English every day.
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If you do all six of these and make a real effort, after a few months, your progress in English will be incredible.
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Bob the Canadian here, learn English with Bob the Canadian.
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I certainly hope you enjoyed this video.
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Don't forget to subscribe below.
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Thank you so much for watching and have a great day.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 67 sentences and 971 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:28. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 93% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| fiction noun | /ˈfɪkʃən/ | Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| sixth adjective | /sɪksθ/ | The ordinal form of the number six. |
| spell noun | /spɛl/ | Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. |
| pretend verb | /pɹəˈtɛnd/ | To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance. |
| demonstrate verb | /ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/ | To show how to use (something). |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| divide verb | /dɪˈvaɪd/ | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| lastly adverb | /ˈlæstli/ | Used to mark the beginning of the last in a list of items or propositions. |
| reinforce verb | /ˌɹiː.ɪnˈfɔːs/ | To strengthen, especially by addition or augmentation. |
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| fluent adjective | /ˈfluənt/ | That flows; flowing, liquid. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have already watched · have learned · you've missed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who you · someone who wants |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should be · should also be · should also try |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may already be · may wanna |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 10 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, wanna, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
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 vocabulary, fiction, everyday.
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.