Shadowing Practice: How To Make Any Room Actually Cool - Learn English Speaking with Video
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10 things
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that can transform your space with the last one being my favorite number one almost a year ago
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I made a video on transforming my childhood room
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and one of the best things I added was different lighting
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this is what my desk looks like with no different light
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and then boom adding some different lighting just transforms the way
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this area feels one of the best ways to get better
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lighting is by adding cool unique lamps look at the areas in your room
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that are dark and see if you can add some cool lamps to light
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that area up but why do I need different lighting
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if I have an overhead light because the overhead light makes your room feel like a hospital
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Lamps can also change the way a room feels based on how they look physically.
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For example, if I were to put an old house lamp on my little nightstand right here,
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it kind of makes this spot look a little older and a little bit more bland.
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But if I put one of these IKEA lamps right here, it makes it feel a bit more modern and unique.
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Even the color of the lighting plays a part.
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You want a warmer feel to your space, you get an orange warmer light.
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There are also so many other ways to get lighting other than lamps.
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Art lights, candle warmers, even aquariums work.
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Number two.
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Before I started working on my room, I had to find the style I wanted everything to be.
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One of the most important parts of a room is its theme.
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For my room, I kind of wanted it to be kind of coastal or whatever you call this.
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I wanted a lot of lighter wood stuff.
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Your space has to have some cohesion to it.
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A theme can be a bunch of different things.
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Industrial, mid -century, modern, but make it fit that style you picked.
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I'm not saying you can't add the things you want, but just make it fit with a style.
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It makes the room look a lot cleaner.
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If you want to add something that doesn't really match, add it with something that does.
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Number three, a small worthless object.
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One of my favorite parts of my room is all the little things I put in it.
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Knickknacks.
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Little things you feel yourselves with.
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Little details.
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Look at what you like and add stuff from it.
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It doesn't even have to be some expensive thing.
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But adding stuff you think is cool makes the room a whole lot more personal.
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Little things like a bobblehead.
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A keyholder.
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Even just a poster works.
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Just make it unique to you.
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Add stuff you like.
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Number four.
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When coming up with things I wanted to add to my room, one thing kept coming up a record player.
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Now mine isn't anything crazy but having a spot to play some form of media can make a room so much cooler.
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It doesn't have to be music.
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It can be anything.
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A reading corner, TV spot, even a little
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Wii or something.
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But I find that having some spot for
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that type of thing adds a lot more depth to a room and again it shows your personality a little bit more.
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Number five.
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Most people have hobbies and if you don't you wish you had time to do more hobbies.
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The thing is you
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You can make it a lot easier to do your hobbies in how you set up your room.
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I want to draw more, so I have sketchbooks near my desk.
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Maybe you want to play more piano, maybe you want to paint more,
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so put the necessary tools required for those hobbies in a certain spot in your room.
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Make your hobbies easily accessible.
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Not only does this help you prioritize your hobbies a little bit more, but it again shows what you like.
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Number 6.
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For some reason a few years ago, a ton of people started making these crazy RGB light -up desk setups.
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I used to love these.
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Desk setups are one of the most common things in someone's space.
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A desk is almost like a mini room.
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Pick a theme, find some lighting, and fill it with what you want.
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Look again at the style you chose and try to make your desk fit that.
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For me, I knew I wanted a light wood desk.
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I wanted a section for books, a monitor, and a few other little things,
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but I tried to make it still fit the style I was going for.
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Desk setups don't have to be insane.
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Obviously, put what you need on it, and along with the desk itself, you have to find a chair that fits.
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I really like the old light brown leather in some old cars and I found some chairs that kind of fit that.
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So try to find something that fits your desk.
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Number seven.
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Mess makes everything harder.
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You're less organized.
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You can't find what you need.
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So make your space functional.
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Add things that make your life smoother.
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Maybe that's getting an Alexa to turn things off and on.
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Maybe it's removing things that distract you.
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But make it to where your room helps you go towards your goals.
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If whenever you go into your space you become lazy and distracted that's not a very good spot to be.
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I'm not saying don't make your room relaxing.
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Just don't let it affect the good habits you've built.
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Make you productive in what you want that space to be.
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Number eight.
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One of the last things I added to my room was also one of the most important things.
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Plants.
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I find that adding even just a little plant somewhere in your room can fill a spot, add some color, and most of the time,
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they fit in any room.
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You can make a forest, or you can just add a little plant on your window.
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Take care of them, though.
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Don't just let them die.
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You can even go crazy and make a tiny terrarium.
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Number nine.
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Being organized is one thing, but what you organize with is another.
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There are so many ways to store things.
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Baskets, racks, drawers.
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Maybe you have a blank spot on your wall you want to fill.
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Putting a pegboard would be perfect.
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There are so many different types of drawers and shelves.
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Wooden ones, curvy ones, skinny ones.
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You can add bookends for books, a small TV stand for records, little nooks for mugs.
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The point is, think outside the box.
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Number 10.
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When trying to fill my walls, I knew I wanted some posters.
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I really like these minimalist type posters, but the posters weren't of stuff I really wanted, so I made my own.
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One of the coolest things you can add to your room is your art, your own designs, your own creations.
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It could be a carving on your desk, it could be a poster you made, but put something in your room that you created.
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It has a story to tell.
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It's personal.
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There's a reason you created it.
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And most of the time, it's one of one.
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No one else has that.
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So show it off.
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When changing your room, your kitchen, your office, whatever it might be, make it something you want to go to.
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Make it something you get excited to live in, but add what you want to your room.
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Look for different textures, eras, styles, but make your space yours.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How To Make Any Room Actually Cool”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: add, desk, spot, fit, space. This video has 121 sentences and 1265 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:19. The speaker talks fast, about 238 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| lamp noun | /ˈlæ̝mp/ | A device that generates light, heat, or other electromagnetic radiation. Especially an electric light bulb. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| poster noun | /ˈpoʊstɚ/ | A picture of a celebrity, an event etc., intended to be attached to a wall. |
| setup noun | /ˈsɛtʌp/ | Equipment designed for a particular purpose; an apparatus. |
| transform verb | /tɹænsˈfɔɹm/ | To change greatly the appearance or form of. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| overhead noun | /ˈəʊvəˌhɛd/ | The expense of a business not directly assigned to goods or services provided. |
| drawer noun | /dɹɔɹ/ | An open-topped box that can be slid in and out of the cabinet that contains it, used for storing clothing or other articles. |
| distract verb | /dɪˈstɹækt/ | To divert the attention of. |
| mini adjective | /ˈmɪn.i/ | Miniature, tiny, small. |
| insane adjective | /ɪnˈseɪn/ | Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad. |
| smooth adjective | /smuːð/ | Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough. |
| monitor noun | /ˈmɑ.nɪ.tɚ/ | Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone. |
| leather noun | /ˈlɛðɚ/ | A tough material produced from the skin of animals, by tanning or similar process, used e.g. for clothing; often denotes leather from cattle when no qualifier… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| light up verb | To illuminate, to bring light to something, to brighten. | |
| set up verb | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | To make ready for use. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You can't find what you need.
- Maybe it's removing things that distract you.
- I'm not saying don't make your room relaxing.
- There's a reason you created it.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · the most important · the most common |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started working · kept coming · started making |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | had to find · has to have · have to be |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm not saying |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, doesn't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, leather /ˈlɛðɚ/, worthless /ˈwɜːθ.ləs/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shelf /ʃɛlf/, cohesion /kəʊˈhiː.ʒən/
- Long words — get the stress right: accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, aquarium /əˈkwɛɹ.i.jəm/, minimalist /ˈmɪn.ə.məl.ɪst/, prioritize /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/, terrarium /təˈɹɛɹ.i.əm/
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 desk, lamp, hobby.
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.