Shadowing Practice: How to Remember Everything You Read - Learn English Speaking with Video

Here's the scenario.

You have a book in front of you.

It doesn't matter whether it's interesting or not.

It's full of important facts and arguments.

And you want to remember those.

You close the book.

And in 15 minutes you completely forgot everything you just read.

Annoying, isn't it?

If you want to solve this problem once and for all, there's just one thing you have to do.

Alison Preston says, nothing happens in isolation.

When you are learning something new, you bring to mind all of the things you know that are related to that information.

In doing so, you embed the new information into your existing knowledge.

So, have you ever heard about the 6 Thinking Hats method?

This approach was created by someone called Edward de Bono, who invented this method to have a tool for critical thinking.

So each colored hat represents a way of thinking, a mindset that you can use to analyze a question, a problem, or a specific part of the text.

With the blue hat, you focus on controlling your thinking and managing the decision-making process.

So you do things like asking for summaries, asking for an agenda and trying to reach a conclusion.

The green hat represents creative thinking.

When you're wearing this hat, you try to explore a wide range of ideas and different solutions to the same problem.

The red hat represents emotions, so when you're engaging this type of thinking,

you try to express your feelings regarding the problem without having to justify those feelings and those problems logically.

With a yellow hat, you look at issues with the most positive light possible.

You try to underline the benefits and the good things about the specific question

and any kind of added value that could come from your ideas.

When you're wearing the black hat, you try to be cautious and you try to assess your risks by using critical judgment

and explaining exactly why you have concerns.

With the white hat, you want to do some information gathering.

So you're thinking about the knowledge and the insights that you've already collected, but the information you're missing as well and how you can get to it.

The six thinking hats technique is a great manifestation of that one thing, that one principle I was talking about,

and that is getting more involved with your reading materials.

However, being involved in your reading process is more of a shift in mindset than the employment of a specific reading technique.

Your brain is wired to connect your emotions to your memories.

Basically, it connects your personal interpretation to the facts you're actually reading.

So when you establish an emotional or intellectual connection, you have a better chance of retrieving those memories in the first place.

That's why things like class discussion, writing papers, mind mapping the structure of a book

or teaching a chapter to a friend are things

that maximize your chances of remembering the content of the things you're reading for a long time.

It's not simply because you're reading those passages from the book for a longer period of time.

You're getting involved, you're creating your own critical thinking as you're reading the book, you're creating your notes, you are marking some of the pages,

you're creating this kind of brain to emotions connection with the book.

Let's look at a basic example.

This is my version of Atomic Habits.

This is a book I've read twice already

and the second time I read it everything stuck to me

and that's because I spent enough time making sure I was asking the right questions as I was reading the book.

So I was taking care to only highlight the sentences that stuck out to me, marking pages from the best passages of the book,

rewriting some of the sentences on the margin, posing questions, writing down my own conclusions and thoughts on the margin as well.

And if you think that this whole process takes a long time, think twice.

You know, quality is way more important than quantity, so reading a book like this one time may be better than skimming through the book three or four times.

And another great way to get involved with the content of a book is using the so-called mental models, and there are so many of them,

but I want to underline the importance of three different mental models.

You have confirmation bias, availability bias, and utilities as the most common and useful ones.

However, getting involved with a book is important of course, but repetition is also important.

But what we're looking for is active repetition and not passive repetition.

As your brain revisits the same subject, it's easier to form connections, and that's because when you're introduced to a new topic everything is new

so your brain has to work a lot to grasp the full amount of information you're being presented to

and then make the required connections between all new concepts and topics

so try to read your material twice

and use the same kind of critical thinking and active reading techniques

that we've discussed earlier the second time you're reading the book

you've already read it for the first time you've already highlighted some passages

and written your thoughts in the margin

so you can anticipate a little bit of what's coming next

and that means you can look at information next with a brand new perspective

so as you're doing your second reading you're trying to look

through the clues trying to understand new meanings about the same

passage of the book instead of just skimming through the information again and accepting whatever you're reading.

And you know who actually did this and tried to get involved with dozens and dozens of books?

The guys at Shortform who are kindly sponsoring today's video.

With Shortform you can learn the ideas from all the non-fiction books you've ever wanted to read.

You get super detailed summaries on so many books.

And if you're thinking, well, I can find a lot of free summaries on the internet, this is where it gets interesting.

Instead of just summarizing the books, Shortform actually goes beyond that, adding interactive exercises to help you apply the ideas you've just learned, as well as smart insights,

connecting ideas from different books and different items, allowing you to connect the dots and understanding everything at a deeper level.

Sometimes I find it really hard to find time to read all the books I want to read, and while I love to cozy up with a good novel,

I find it's hard to split my reading time between novels while also reading every self-help book available.

And with a full-time job and a YouTube channel to balance, Shortform really helps me stay updated on new productivity books, which also helps me deliver new ideas and new content for you guys.

When I read a guide in short form for a book I think I'll really enjoy, I then purchase a physical copy for a deeper analysis.

This was how I got introduced to Getting Things Done by David Allen very recently.

That way, I already know it's going to be good and I look forward to the full experience.

However, I can always go back to short form to at least remember the key points,

especially when I'm trying to revisit productivity concepts from a bunch of different titles and want to know how these concepts interact.

Shortform also drops new book guides and articles every week and subscribers get to vote on what books to cover.

To get a 5 days of unlimited access and additional 20% discount on the annual subscription,

join Shortform through my special link at shortform.com slash Mariana or click the link in the description box below.

I really hope you've enjoyed today's video and I'll see you next week.

Bye guys!

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What You'll Learn

This video helps you build two key speaking skills: active engagement with content (critical thinking while reading, which translates to clearer speech) and connecting ideas emotionally (making memories stick, so you can discuss what you read fluently). These skills are perfect for IELTS speaking practice or everyday english speaking practice, where explaining ideas clearly matters.

Listen For These Sounds

The speaker uses natural connected speech, like linking "nothing happens" into "nothin'happens" and reducing "you are" to "you're" (e.g., "you're creating your own notes"). Notice how "six thinking hats" flows smoothly—no pauses between words. These small sounds are key for sounding natural, whether you're using a shadowing app or practicing with a partner.

Say It Like a Native

To mirror the speaker's rhythm, stress words that carry meaning: "critical thinking," "emotional connection," "quality over quantity." The speaker pauses slightly before key points (e.g., "That's why things like...")—copy this to emphasize ideas. For shadowing technique practice, repeat short phrases like "getting more involved with your reading materials" right after the speaker. This trains your brain to match their pace and intonation. Try it with a shadowspeak exercise: pick a 30-second clip, play it, then repeat immediately. Over time, you'll notice your speech feels more natural, even in tough situations like IELTS speaking practice.

Remember, the goal isn't just to read—it's to interact with content. Whether you're marking up a book or using a shadowing app, engaging with the material helps you remember and speak more confidently. So grab a book, hit record on your shadowing app, and start turning reading into speaking practice today!

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	you've already collected · I've read · we've discussed
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are related · was created · being involved

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: How to Remember Everything You Read - Learn English Speaking with Video

How to Remember Everything || Graded Reader || Improve Your English || Listen And Practice

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What You'll Learn

Listen For These Sounds

Say It Like a Native

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?