Shadowing Practice: how to save a half wasted day - Learn English Speaking with Video
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28 sentences
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1
Even if you have cultivated the perfect morning routine, the day can still get ruined.
2
I try my best to remove distractions and set myself up for success, but honestly, I still get distracted sometimes.
3
And I think that's just inevitable because there are distractions everywhere.
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The problem is that once you start procrastinating, it's really hard to stop because after a while you start thinking, I already wasted a day,
5
so I might as well just start again tomorrow.
6
And I've done that many times.
7
But what I've realized is that restarting tomorrow isn't always the answer.
8
What actually helps is having a way to recover when things go wrong.
9
For me, that starts with breaking the cycle.
10
The first thing I do is accept that it happened.
11
I got distracted and wasted some time.
12
It's not ideal, but there's no point in spending even more time being frustrated about it.
13
If my phone is the problem, I'll just put it somewhere else.
14
Then I do something simple to reset.
15
I don't try to immediately force myself into deep work.
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I just do something small that changes my state.
17
Sometimes that's going for a walk, doing some pull -ups, or just moving my body for a few minutes.
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The goal isn't to suddenly become extremely productive, it's just to create some momentum, because once you do one good thing,
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doing the next becomes much easier.
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Something else that helps me is thinking of my day in three parts, morning, afternoon, and evening.
21
This means that even if my morning was bad, I don't have to wait until tomorrow to restart.
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I naturally get another chance after lunch and another in the evening.
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I think taking a small break to move your body is one of the simplest ways to save always a day.
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There's actually research showing that movement can improve your mood and focus.
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But honestly, the biggest reason I believe in it is because I felt the difference myself.
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Whenever I feel stuck moving my body is usually the fastest way to get back on track
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because at the end of the day, you can't change what's already happened.
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You can only decide what to do next.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “how to save a half wasted day”. This video has 28 sentences and 370 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:48. The speaker talks fast, about 205 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| distract verb | /dɪˈstɹækt/ | To divert the attention of. |
| restart verb | /ˈɹiːˌstɑɹt/ | To start again. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| ideal adjective | /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| mood noun | /muːd/ | A mental or emotional state, composure. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| ruin noun | /ˈɹuː.ɪn/ | The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle. |
| recover verb | /ɹɪˈkʌvɚ/ | To get back, to regain (a physical thing; in astronomy and navigation, sight of a thing or a signal). |
| productive adjective | /pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/ | Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile. |
| inevitable adjective | /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbəl/ | Impossible to avoid or prevent. |
| momentum noun | /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/ | Of a body in motion: the tendency of a body to maintain its inertial motion; the product of its mass and velocity, or the vector sum of the products of its… |
| reset verb | /ɹiːˈsɛt/ | To set back to the initial state. |
| cultivate verb | /ˈkʌltɪveɪt/ | To grow plants, notably crops. |
| frustrate verb | /ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt/ | To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired. |
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 cultivated · I've done · I've realized |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | my best · the simplest · the biggest |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is having · is thinking |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I've, isn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, inevitable /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbəl/, momentum /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/, procrastinate /pɹoʊˈkɹæs.tə.neɪt/
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 distraction, distract, restart.
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.