Shadowing Practice: How to Speak About Your Hobbies in English (Slow and Clear) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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In this slow English video, I'm gonna show you English using the world around me.
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In this slow English video, I'm gonna show you English using the world around me.
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I'll show you how to speak about your hobbies, how to ask someone about their hobbies,
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and finally, I will show you a very powerful speaking exercise that only takes one minute a day.
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This is a frisbee.
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I am throwing the frisbee.
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And I am catching it.
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I just caught the frisbee.
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Now to talk about your hobbies, you can say I like playing frisbee.
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I enjoy playing frisbee or the very native way I'm into frisbee.
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You say I'm into something when you really enjoy doing it.
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You really like doing it.
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I am into frisbee.
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I love it.
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Now, all of this frisbee is making me thirsty.
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This is a coconut.
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There is a straw inside the coconut.
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I am sipping the coconut.
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That's refreshing.
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Coconuts are one of my favourite fruits.
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I'm a big fan of coconuts.
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When you say I'm a big fan of something it means that you really, really like it.
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I am a big fan of coconuts.
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I love them.
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Now it's time to get changed and I I am gonna get changed into my trunks.
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These are red trunks and I am tying a knot.
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I'm tying the string.
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Now I'm gonna go swimming.
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I'm going to go swimming.
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Let's go!
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I'm running on the sand to the ocean.
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Hello!
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I'm underwater.
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In the distance, you can see the mountains.
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This line is called the horizon, and where the ocean meets the sand is called the shore.
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This is the shore.
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Now, I am drying my hair with a towel.
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This is a white towel.
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I was just swimming so my hair is wet.
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I'm drying it with the towel.
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That was a lovely swim.
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I'm a big fan of swimming.
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Do you like swimming?
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How do you ask somebody else about their hobbies.
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In England we don't say what are your hobbies that much, we tend to word it slightly differently.
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We would say what do you do in your free time?
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What do you do for fun?
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What do you do when you're not working?
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And finally What are you into?
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And my top tip, when somebody responds, when they answer your question, you can ask a follow-up question.
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You can say, how did you get into that?
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For example.
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What are you into?
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I'm into videography.
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Making videos.
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How did you get into that?
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Well Mario, that's a good question.
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I got into videography two years ago when I started making short-form videos.
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Speaking of videos, now let's walk around and film some POV English and POV is point of view.
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Woohoo!
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B.O.B.
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by J.
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This is a beanbag.
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A blue beanbag.
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Let's sit down.
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I am sitting in the beanbag and sunbathing.
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The sun is shining.
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I'm sunbathing in the beanbag.
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Okay?
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These are tents.
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There are two white tents and these tents are for glamping.
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Glamping is like fancy camping.
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You have a bed and a lamp.
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Glamping.
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fancy camping.
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These are the showers and the part of the shower where the water comes out,
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this part, it's called the shower head and this is the tap.
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If I turn on the tap, The water is coming out of the shower head and there is Chang filming me with...
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Let's show the camera.
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Our camera.
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If you're interested it's a Sony ZV-E1.
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A beautiful thing.
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Now, I'm walking down a small path and there are plants either side of me.
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And now I'm coming out into the sun.
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It's the weekend and everyone is chilling by the beach.
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I'm lying on the grass and to my left this is the mat.
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I'm sunbathing.
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The sun is very bright, so I'm squinting my eyes.
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I'm squinting because the sun is bright.
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Let's continue.
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This is our mat, our white mat where we are sitting.
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You can see my shadow.
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You can see my shadow on the white mat.
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This is a shadow.
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Now I'm going to go into the shade.
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The shade.
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I'm cooling down in the shade.
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The shade is a larger area with no sun.
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I'm chilling in the shade.
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If you love this POV style English then I'm posting a brand new series on sproutlanguage.com.
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I'll post a beginner POV video every Tuesday which will help beginners learn English through me showing you the world around.
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After you watch the video, you can talk with J.I.
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J.I.
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is an AI version of me and he sounds just like me.
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What part of the video did you find most interesting.
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You can talk with J.I.
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about the words that you learned in the video and he will ask you
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questions so you can practice your speaking in a relaxed, stress-free way.
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If you want to sign up, check the link in the description.
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Now let's play the jam game.
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This is the jam that we eat, but what about the jam game?
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Jam stands for just a minute.
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How do you play?
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Choose a random word or a random topic.
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Set a timer for one minute and then talk.
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Here's a useful tip.
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Try not to say um, uh, ah.
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You can fill it with silence.
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Here's an example with the word book.
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Right, one minute timer, start.
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This is a book and I bought it recently when I was traveling in Hanoi with my uncle Li and my partner
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Chang.
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I bought this Vietnamese picture dictionary because I love to learn languages.
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I already speak French and Spanish and now I want to learn Vietnamese.
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So I read this book every single day.
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I also read this book to understand the mindset of a language learner.
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So as a teacher I can help people in a better way.
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I can help people learn English more effectively.
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Time's up and stop.
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So notice that I didn't say um instead I paused.
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It's okay to pause and if you guys want to make this exercise even more powerful then
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for the brave ones, you can take your phone, record yourself for one minute and watch it back afterwards.
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Recording yourself gives you direct feedback and it is really going to improve your English speaking.
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If you practice this exercise every day, I promise you, You will get fluent in English.
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Now to summarize how to talk about your hobbies.
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You can say, I like, I enjoy, I'm into, or I'm a big fan of.
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How to ask someone else about their hobbies.
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You can say, what do you do for fun?
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What are you into?
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And after they respond, you can say, And finally, the jam game.
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Pick any word or topic.
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Speak for one minute.
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Try not to say, And if you're brave, you can record yourself on your phone.
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Thank you for watching this video.
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I hope that it helped you.
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and if you want to level up your English even more, you can practice speaking about hobbies with JI.
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Click the link in the description to find out more.
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Have a beautiful day.
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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will develop your ability to discuss hobbies and leisure activities in English, enhancing your conversational skills. You will learn how to express your interests clearly and ask engaging questions about others' pastimes. Through a fun and interactive example of playing with a frisbee and enjoying a refreshing coconut, you'll gain insights into natural and native expressions commonly used in everyday conversations. This practice is vital for improving your fluency, especially for tasks such as the IELTS speaking test.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • I like - a simple way to express enjoyment.
  • I enjoy - a more pronounced way to communicate pleasure in an activity.
  • I'm into - a casual phrase indicating strong interest in something.
  • I'm a big fan of - an enthusiastic expression denoting strong admiration or fondness.
  • What do you do in your free time? - a common question to ask about someone's hobbies.
  • How did you get into that? - an excellent follow-up question to encourage deeper discussions.

Practice Tips

To effectively improve your speaking skills, consider using shadowing techniques highlighted in this video. Shadowing involves mimicking the speaker's pace and intonation for better retention and pronunciation. Since the video is clear and slow, it’s perfect for beginners and those preparing for the IELTS speaking practice. Use a shadowing app that allows you to repeat phrases immediately after hearing them. This practice during your free time can enhance your listening capabilities and speaking fluency.

As you listen to the video, focus on repeating not just the words but also the emotion and expression used by the speaker. This method is particularly effective when learning English with YouTube, as it allows you to familiarize yourself with authentic language. Remember, the goal is to sound natural and confident when discussing your hobbies or in any conversation. Regularly practicing with resources like this shadowing site will lead to significant improvements over time. Happy learning!

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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