Shadowing Practice: How to Introduce Yourself in English | Speak Like a Native! - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello and welcome back to my Slow English Podcast.
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Hello and welcome back to my Slow English Podcast.
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This is a place where you can listen to slow, clear English.
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English you can feel, not just memorize.
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Remember, speed this video up to 1.5 if you want a challenge.
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Today, we are learning how to introduce ourselves.
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Now, not in a basic way.
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Not just your name or your job.
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Today, we will learn how to introduce the deeper parts of ourselves.
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If you are intermediate or advanced, then this episode is for you.
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Follow along with me, speak out loud, pause when you need to, and comment your answers.
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I'll read them all.
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And shout out to my top commenters on my last video from Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Bangladesh.
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Thank you as always for being here.
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Thank you for your support.
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So, who am I?
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Today I want to introduce myself to you.
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Not just my name, but my story.
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My name is Tiana Ortiz.
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That is the name I was given.
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But it's not the whole story.
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I am someone who has lived between cultures, between places that both feel like home.
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I don't just want to introduce myself, I want to tell you what shaped me.
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First things first.
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My name, Tiana, means the most beautiful flower, according to my parents.
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I'm not so sure about it, but I know it is of Aztec origin.
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I was born in the United States, Nebraska, and that is where my life started.
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But of course, a home is not always permanent.
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When I was eight years old, my dad was deported back to Mexico.
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So everything changed.
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My life turned upside down.
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And I think that moment taught me a lot about loss, adaptation, and resilience.
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It taught me how fast life can change.
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how strong we are deep down and how capable we are of adapting to change.
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Now, when you introduce yourself, you can ask, where am I from and what formed me?
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What experience changed you?
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What moment made you grow up faster?
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What place in the world taught you who you are?
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Tell me about it.
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Write it down in the comments.
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I attended a bilingual school.
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They taught English and Spanish.
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Not very good Spanish, but nevertheless, they taught me something.
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All the basics that I would need to survive, basically.
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My sister wasn't so lucky.
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She didn't know any Spanish when we arrived, and my sister entered into middle school.
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And that's a rough year to enter a new school.
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Now add on the pressure of not knowing your classmates' language.
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It was difficult for her.
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But I feel especially sympathetic for my sister.
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I was able to pick up the language pretty quick.
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Since I was eight years old, it came naturally.
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But at the beginning, it was difficult.
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Don't get me wrong.
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I definitely struggled making friends and relating to people at first.
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I went through all of elementary school, middle school, and high school in Mexico.
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But I did not go to university.
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I learned through experiences, through making mistakes, through work, and through lots of curiosity.
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Curiosity for the world in general.
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I traveled a lot and I learned that education does not only live in a classroom,
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but it lives in conversations, in travel, in culture, in failing but trying again, in stepping out of your comfort zone.
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Something I learned to do was to be inspired instead of envious.
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So now, when I feel I'm judging someone and I know I'm envious of them, I decide to feel inspired.
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I take action on what I need in my life.
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on what my body is telling me I need because I'm judging that
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other person now it's your turn what's something that you've
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learned about yourself outside of the classroom how do you learn best through structure or freedom,
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through books or life.
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If you did study something in school, what's something it taught you about yourself?
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Not just about the subject.
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What's something you learned about yourself in the classroom?
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Let me know in the comments.
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I'm really curious to hear your stories.
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I work as an English teacher.
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But that's not the full truth.
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What I really do is make people feel safe.
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Safe using their voice.
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I help people feel less afraid.
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afraid of being misunderstood.
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I hate it when someone is learning a language and you can
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see they're learning a language and there's always that one person who acts like they can't understand
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what you're saying or they don't make the effort to try to understand
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what you're saying they'll say huh what I can't understand your accent and
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that's what I'm here to destroy that belief that maybe someone else made you think
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being soft being patient being kind as we should
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what you're doing is a very courageous thing to even attempt and you need to feel proud of yourself I'm here
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to help you tune out all the people who want to discourage you.
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Teaching is not just my job.
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It's how I connect, how I listen, and how I have learned so many things.
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So many.
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Just from teaching online.
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now ask yourself what do you really do
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beyond your title what problem do you solve what
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do others come to you for what kind of energy do you bring to the room.
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Don't let those discouragers get the best of you.
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Listen to me instead.
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I speak English and Spanish, and I'm learning Chinese.
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You guys know this.
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Language changed my life.
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It changed how I think, how I express emotion, how I connect with people.
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Every language I learn teaches me a new version of myself.
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Does this happen to you yet?
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Maybe with another language or maybe with English.
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Maybe the more you learn, the more you'll discover your new personality.
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Because I feel like I have two personalities, one in English and one in Spanish, for sure.
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Your turn.
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How has language shaped you?
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Which language feels like home and which language feels like growth?
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What do I love?
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I love walking through cities, biking through cities,
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when there's no traffic, with my headphones on, listening to my favorite songs,
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stopping by small shops or markets and having quiet moments.
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I need to slow down.
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We all need to slow down sometimes.
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It reminds me that my life doesn't need to be super productive, to be meaningful.
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I love traveling and learning new things, not to escape, but to understand more and more about myself.
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It's so important to get to know yourself.
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Now your turn.
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What do you love?
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What activity makes time disappear?
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What brings you back to yourself when life feels heavy?
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Now, take your time.
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Reflect on each question You don't need to be perfect to start You just need to start And try
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And make mistakes You know this Repeat Pause Think And if you want, ask me questions in the comments
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But mostly, tell me about yourself Let me get to know you better.
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And remember, guys, never stop learning.
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Bye.
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Context & Background

In the video titled "How to Introduce Yourself in English | Speak Like a Native!", the speaker, Tiana Ortiz, shares her personal journey of self-introduction that goes beyond the basics of name and profession. Tiana highlights the importance of revealing deeper aspects of oneself during an introduction and emphasizes learning through experiences that shape our identities. Her story illustrates how challenges, such as adapting to a new culture after her father's deportation, contribute to personal growth and resilience. This context reinforces the value of sharing meaningful life events in conversations, providing English learners with substantial material for practical communication.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • “My name is…” - A standard opener for introductions.
  • “I was born in…” - This phrase helps describe your origins and background.
  • “I grew up between…” - Use this to convey a multicultural upbringing.
  • “One experience that changed me was…” - An excellent way to share transformative moments in your life.
  • “My name means…” - Discussing the meaning of your name adds a personal touch to introductions.

Integrating these phrases into your daily conversations can significantly enhance your English speaking practice and facilitate deeper engagements with others.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To maximize your learning from this video, utilize the method of shadowing, which involves mimicking the speaker's words and intonation in real-time. Follow this step-by-step guide to effectively improve your speaking skills:

  1. Watch and Listen: Start by watching the video without pausing. Pay attention to Tiana's accent, pronunciation, and emotional expression.
  2. Pause and Repeat: Select short segments of the video where Tiana introduces herself. Pause after each sentence and repeat what she says out loud to practice pronunciation and intonation.
  3. Write It Down: Take notes on key phrases and vocabulary used in the video. This step enhances retention and encourages active learning.
  4. Record Yourself: After shadowing, record your own introductions using similar structures. Compare your recording with Tiana’s to identify areas for improvement.
  5. Engage with Others: Try to use your new skills in conversations with friends or language partners. Share your personal experiences and incorporate the phrases you learned.

By implementing this shadowing technique and practicing with resources on a reliable shadowing site, you can significantly improve your ability to learn English with YouTube and develop effective communication skills that feel natural. Embrace every opportunity to practice shadow speech—it’s key to sounding like a native speaker.

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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