Shadowing Practice: How to Learn English FAST Using COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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346 sentences
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Learning a language is so hard.
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Dude, learning a language is easy.
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I'm doing it right now.
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You're not learning a language.
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You're just watching videos.
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Maddox, it's 2026.
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People don't learn a language by reading textbooks anymore.
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We learn with comprehensible input.
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What is comprehensible input?
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It's doing what I'm doing right now, watching videos in another language that you can understand,
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and then your brain will make connections automatically so you can learn without working.
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You just get to watch videos.
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Have you ever wondered what a gas station is like in the United States of America?
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Well, today you will find out as well as learn vocation.
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He's not in the driver's seat.
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or the - This thing, the gas cap on the - It says replace nozzle.
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And they're called squeegees.
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They are open 24 hours a day.
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Wow.
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That was so helpful.
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Dude, see?
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That's what I'm saying.
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Comprehensible input is the only way to learn a language
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but how do I make sure I'm learning with comprehensible input as fast as possible?
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That's a good question.
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Today we're answering that question.
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But today we are not only going to answer that one question.
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We are also going to answer two other very important questions.
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Question one, what is comprehensible input?
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Question two, why should you use comprehensible input instead of any of the other methods of learning?
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And question three is the one that we already asked.
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How can you use comprehensible input to learn as fast as possible?
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What should you do to make sure that your learning is effective
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and that you can become fluent as fast as you possibly can?
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Let's go to question one.
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Question one.
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What is comprehensible input?
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Comprehensible input is input, which is what you're taking in.
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So output would be like talking.
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Input is like a video or reading a book or something that you're taking into your brain,
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something someone else is saying that is coming into you.
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That's input.
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And comprehensible means it's understandable or it's something you can follow.
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So this is a video that you can follow.
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So it's comprehensible input.
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Now, how do you know if the comprehensible input is too hard or too easy for you?
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So, this is a good question.
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You should be able to understand anywhere from 70 to 95 % of the comprehensible input you're watching.
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So, if you can understand 70 to 95 % of what I'm saying, then that is good.
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Not 70 to 95 % of the words that I'm saying, but of the concepts and the topics.
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So if you're following 70 to 95 % of my thoughts and the concepts and the things that I'm saying, then that is good.
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Not 70 to 95 % of the words.
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You can still make progress understanding only 30 % of a video,
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but it's much less effective and you'll learn a lot faster if you can understand more of a video.
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The reason this works is because our brains are so good at making connections by themselves.
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I mean
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if you think about it all of us learned our native languages like I learned English without an English teacher
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I was just around English, being around and submerged in English.
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And so you, by watching videos like this, are just being around English and submerged in English and
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so your brain will start to understand and make connections and just understand by itself.
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You don't need to tell it anything or teach it anything.
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It's all subconscious.
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It happens by itself.
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Pretty cool.
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Okay, now that you know exactly what comprehensible input is let's get on to question two why comprehensible input
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well a big reason is that it just works we have lots
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and lots of studies explaining why comprehensible input works
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and we know for a fact
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that it does i am a testament to this i actually studied Spanish using comprehensible input
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and I took about 500 hours of listening Spanish.
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That's how much input I have and I can already understand a lot in Spanish.
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And it trains your most important skill which is listening.
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It's very very important that you're able to understand the person that's talking to you.
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If you want to come to North America and start talking to someone who is from the United States,
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then you need to be able to understand what they're saying.
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And so, comprehensible input, what you're doing is you're listening a lot.
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And so, it really really helps your listening practice.
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Also, it's just fun.
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Like, watching this video is probably a lot more enjoyable than reading a textbook and studying grammar.
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Like making the connections in your brain and doing no work
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and just watching a video is
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so much better than trying to figure out how grammar structure works and vocabulary and all of that stuff.
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This is so much better.
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Also you can learn doing anything you can go on a run
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or you can go on a walk or a hike
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or you can be cleaning in your house
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and have earbuds in listening to comprehensible input you can listen to podcasts this is what I like to do
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and that way you can go and do whatever you want to do
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and still be getting input I plan on releasing a podcast soon.
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Stay tuned.
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Alright, now that we answered what comprehensible input is and why it's the best method, it's time to answer the big question.
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How do I make sure I'm learning as fast as possible?
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This is a good question because we need to make sure that we're not wasting our time when we're studying English.
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So, like I said earlier a very important thing is to just be submersed in input
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and listen as much as possible a big thing
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that will help is podcasts if you can find podcasts to listen to then
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that will be a big help you can go on a drive
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and listen to an english podcast and learn just while you're driving
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so if you're driving for an hour that's a free hour of input
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that you could be getting if you're at your house
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and you have some free time don't start watching movies in your language start watching videos in english
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that are comprehensible just like this so make sure you're always around the language
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and also make sure you're always understanding at least 30 of what you're watching
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If you're watching a video and it sounds like this, don't keep watching it.
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You need to be understanding at least 30%, but the more you can understand, the better.
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So those are the biggest things.
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Make sure you're taking in as much input as you can.
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That will really help you advance in English as fast as possible and make sure that you're understanding it.
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Maddox, dude, have you been ignoring me this entire time?
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Why do you have headphones on?
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What?
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I've been listening to a comprehensible input podcast.
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I've learned so much.
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Oh.
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Stay tuned, guys.
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We are about to launch the English podcast on our channel.
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Hey. That was a sneeze.
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People sneeze when they're happy.
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See?
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See?
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He's happy.
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He's happy.
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Time to answer some frequently asked questions.
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I'm going to make some tea while I explain this to you guys
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so I need a mug this is the best mug we have it has Maddox right here and our friend keegs
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right here walking like an Egyptian.
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Keegs is the little brother of Peg.
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If you remember Peg from one of our last videos, this is Keegs.
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Do you see the resemblance?
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I do.
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They're pretty similar.
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Not really.
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Question number one.
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How many hours of comprehensible input do you need to be fluent in a language.
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You need a lot
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and that's why I said to be listening as much as you possibly can
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because probably around 2 ,000 hours is
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when you can do really anything in the language and you're basically a native at that point.
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Like I said, I'm around 500 hours in Spanish and I can understand most things as long as they stay on topic,
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but I still can't understand everything.
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So you need a lot.
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Just listen, listen, listen, watch, watch, watch, and if you're reading, then read, read, read.
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Get as much input as you possibly can.
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This is so funny.
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Kids these days.
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Another frequently asked question is how do you know when you should move up to harder content?
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Like how do you know
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if you should switch from watching my videos to going on
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to a harder channel like a native speaker like Mr. Beast or something?
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Just like I said, once you can understand 70 to 90 percent, then you can move on.
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So if you watch a Mr. Beast video and you're understanding almost everything, you can keep watching.
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That's going to help you learn.
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But if you're understanding very little, it's not going to be helpful and you should keep watching learning videos like mine.
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This also goes for the podcast that we're going to make.
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We're going to make the podcast
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and it's probably going to be a little bit harder to understand
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and follow than this is but as long as you're understanding 70 to 90 percent, you're good.
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Hot, hot, hot.
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I burnt my tongue.
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And for the final frequently asked question, when do you start talking?
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And how does that work?
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Because the way that we're learning is only by listening.
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So do you have to practice talking? yes but not in the way
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that you would think so talking comes a lot easier
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when you've heard a lot of the language
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if i've heard the expression i'm gonna have a good day a lot
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i'm probably not gonna say i'm gonna have a day good
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so that's why comprehensible input is so cool is
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because you listen a lot before you start talking that's the goal
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so listen listen listen if i've heard I'm gonna have a good day.
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I'm gonna have a good day.
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I'm gonna have a good day over and over from
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so many different people all the time then
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when I actually go to speak I'm probably gonna say it like I heard it.
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I'm gonna have a good day instead of using wrong grammar like I'm gonna have a day good
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or a good day I'm gonna have you know you're not gonna speak like
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that because you've heard so much of the right grammar that you know exactly how to word things.
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So you do still need some practice, but you're not going to need a ton of practice.
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I would say after you've heard a lot, like once you've gotten like 500 -ish hours of input,
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and if you don't know how much input you've had, if you can understand native speakers pretty well,
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you're probably ready to start speaking and at
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that point you want to just speak to someone who is a native
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so try talking to someone and it's going to come pretty hard at first
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but also not too bad you'll find that because you've heard
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so much you've heard and taken in
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so much input it's not going to be super hard to form what you're trying to think
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because you know the words to say
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you just have to start training your mind to start bringing those words up and speaking them.
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So long story short, once you've heard a lot of input is when you should start talking
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and practice just talking to someone who also speaks good English.
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The main reason that I say
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that you should wait to start talking until you've heard a lot of input is because it really helps your accent.
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So you're not going to have as much of an accent if you've heard a lot of the language.
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If I've heard the word log a lot, log, log, log, log, if I've heard it from so many different people,
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then I'm going to know that you don't say it like lig, log, leg, like I'm going to be like,
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oh yeah, you say it like log.
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My brain is going to start making me automatically start saying it like log.
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So maybe at first I'm going to have an accent.
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Maybe at first I'm going to say lig, lig, depending on what language is my native language.
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But then after a little bit, I'll keep saying it and my brain will start correcting it because it knows it's not supposed to be lig,
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it's supposed to be log.
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So the more you say it, the more your brain will correct it.
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And then another reason is just that you want your grammar to be good.
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You want to be speaking in proper sentence structure
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and you have to have listened to a lot of input
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in order to know how a sentence should be structured and that will come automatically.
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That's what's so cool about comprehensible input.
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You don't have to think about what you're saying.
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Like if you're learning from a textbook
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and then you try to speak you're gonna be like okay
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this word goes first then this word then this word
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but with comprehensible input your brain just automatically knows this word comes then this word comes then this word comes
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and you're gonna speak it just fine because you've heard it
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so much but if you haven't heard enough input you might start speaking with improper sentence structure
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if that's fine that you speak with improper sentence structure once in a
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while and with an accent then you can speak whenever you want
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but if you want those to be as good as possible, I would say wait to speak before you've heard lots and lots of input.
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It's totally up to you.
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So we've learned a lot today.
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We learned what comprehensible input even is and why it's the best method
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and how to study with comprehensible input so that we improve as fast as possible.
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Now let's go have some fun.
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Let's actually learn using comprehensible input for the next few minutes.
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This is gonna be good.
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Now you may be wondering why I got all dressed up.
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I also told Maddox to get all dressed up and he doesn't even know why we're dressed up.
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Maddox why do you think we're dressed up?
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Um because it makes you really good at math?
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He's doing math right now.
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No, being dressed up does not make you good at math.
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At least I don't think so.
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The reason we are all dressed up is because we are going to compete Maddox against me in a dance competition.
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Oh yeah!
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Oh no!
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First, let's compare our outfits because the outfit is the most important part to being a good dancer.
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This is my hat.
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It's a Freedom 250 hat, which was a race that
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Formula One drivers did in Washington, D .C., the capital of the United States.
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It was just a couple of days ago.
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Going down we have my very nice flower shirt.
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This has flowers all over it and it's a button up so you have to button all these different buttons.
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There's like a million different buttons going all the way down and it's blue.
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It's nice and it's gonna help me dance really good.
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And then I also have these dress pants and these white shoes.
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Basically, this was the best dancing fit outfit that's short for outfit.
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This was the best dancing fit that I could find in my closet.
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It's the best dancing fit out there.
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Let's see Maddox's.
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This is my outfit.
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I've got a pink pineapple do -rag.
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which helps me keep my head in the game so I'm locked in the entire time.
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I've got an 80s PartyTron button -up shirt, just like Jaden's where you button it up.
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So it's 80s because it looks like a shirt that would be from like 40 years ago, the decade of the 80s,
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because they would always wear crazy stuff like this.
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And then party Tron is like a made -up word that just means like crazy and cool like this.
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And then I've got these shorts.
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I don't really know what they are or where they came from, but they look like a painting of like, I think that's like the moon,
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but this is also the moon.
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There's a lot of moons.
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And then it's like a rug, like a rug like that,
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because it has these fringes on the edge to give it some nice style.
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And now all the way at the bottom.
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I've got no shoes because shoes just restrict my mobility I got to be loose for the dance,
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you know No shoes
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No problem Okay, it's time for the dance competition
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first First, Jayden will dance to a 15 second song.
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And then I will dance to a 15 second song.
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Jayden will respond with a 20 second song.
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And then I will answer back with another 20 second song.
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And then the winner, me, will be decided at the end.
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He's happy.
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Remember sneezes mean he's happy.
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He shouldn't be happy.
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He's going to lose.
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Pride comes before the fall.
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That's a saying here.
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Actually, that's from the Bible.
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First up, Jaden.
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Oh yeah!
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13, 14, 15.
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No. Rest in peace.
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Woo.
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I feel pretty good about my dance.
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I definitely went a little over on the time, but that's okay.
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I stepped across all of the stools just like I wanted to do, and then I started breaking it down and dancing just as I intended.
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The only thing is I went a little over on the time.
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Still better than Maddox.
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Round one is over.
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I'm feeling pretty confident in my performance.
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I definitely had a few miscalculations with my roll went straight into the couch.
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Jaden definitely has some slight advantages like a tennis racket
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and he went over on the time which I was not allowed to do
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so his still wasn't better and I'm coming for the W round two.
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I underestimated my opponent.
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I need reinforcements.
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Don't tell Jayden.
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All right.
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Maddox, are you ready?
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Do you think you can beat me?
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Oh, yeah.
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I've got this one down.
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Dude, remember the outfit is what makes you a good dancer, and you don't even have your outfit on.
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I left my outfit in the bathroom.
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I'll be right back.
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Kids these days.
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Thank you.
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Good game.
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Psyche!
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Oh yeah!
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Oh yeah!
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He got so psyched out.
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A psych is when you're gonna shake someone's hand or you're gonna like do something to someone or give someone something.
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And then you completely do the opposite and say psych.
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It's really funny if you're in my position.
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If you're in his position, it's not funny.
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Okay, good game, good game, good game.
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He thinks he can get me two in a row.
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No, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna.
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Nah.
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I'm gonna shake your hand.
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Come on, good game.
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You did good.
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I know I did good.
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That's why he psyched me, because he's trying to redeem himself by making me look bad because he knows that I won.
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What?
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Okay, good game.
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Okay, well, guys, he did good.
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I did good.
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We're both professional dancers by now.
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He did good.
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I did better.
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The duck mask was definitely a good secret weapon.
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I was not expecting that.
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And the way he just peeked around the corner, that was pretty good, I must say.
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So you guys, let us know.
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Did I win or did Maddox win?
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Let us know in the comments.
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Say I won.
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Can't be a duck mask.
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Well, good game.
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Psych!
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Oh yeah!
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Kids these days.
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Now that you guys know how to effectively and quickly learn with comprehensible input,
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make sure that you subscribe and watch the future videos that we have coming out.
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They'll help you a lot as you learn more English.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Learn English FAST Using COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: input, comprehensible, heard, language, watching. This video has 345 sentences and 3325 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:14. The speaker talks at a steady 122 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| input noun | /ˈɪnpʊt/ | The act or process of putting in; infusion. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| outfit noun | /ˈaʊtfɪt/ | A set of clothing (with accessories). |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| psychology noun | /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/ | The study of the human mind. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| accent noun | /ækˈsɛnt/ | A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to… |
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| dancer noun | /ˈdænsəɹ/ | A person who dances, usually as a hobby, an occupation, or a profession. |
| textbook noun | /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/ | A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| flower noun | /ˈfloʊɚ/ | A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens… |
| shake verb | /ˈʃeɪk/ | To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly. |
| mask noun | /mæsk/ | A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dress up verb | To put on special or fancy clothes. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| fit out verb | To provide a thing, a group, a person or oneself with requisites; to kit out. | |
| get on to verb | To contact (someone) in order to raise or discuss a certain matter. | |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. | |
| make up verb | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | To constitute, to compose. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How do I make sure I'm learning as fast as possible?
- Why do you have headphones on?
- Do you see the resemblance?
- Maddox why do you think we're dressed up?
- Do you think you can beat me?
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 you ever wondered · I've learned · you've heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is let · be submersed · should be structured |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | input, which is · skill which is · someone who is |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should you use · should you do · should be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 146 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, subconscious /sʌbˈkɑn.ʃəs/, vocation /vəʊˈkeɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, mobility /mə(ʊ)ˈbɪlɪti/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, underestimate /ʌndɚˈɛs.tɪ.meɪt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like input, podcast, outfit.
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.