Shadowing Practice: How to Think in English (Stop Translating in Your Head) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The single biggest thing holding you back from speaking English fluently is not your vocabulary and it isn't your grammar.
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It's that you are still translating in your head before you speak.
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Today, I am going to train you how to think in English so that you stop translating in your head.
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If you are at B1 level or above, you already know enough English to think in it your brain just hasn't been trained properly yet.
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The key to thinking in English comes down to two things.
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The first, giving your brain the right kind of material.
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This is something called comprehensible input.
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And two, taking that input and turning it into real conversations.
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I've put my top five recommendations to help you do exactly that so that speaking feels effortless.
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Let's get into it.
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Number one, the thing you should do first, this is the best place to start, narrate your day.
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The simplest way to start thinking in English is to make it part of what you're already doing.
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As you go about your day, narrate it.
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Out loud, if you can, but in your head works too i swear
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that this is what led me to speak fluently in spanish it sounds almost too simple
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and maybe a bit silly but that's
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because you haven't tried it yet it works it works
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because you're training your brain to reach for english automatically in real time
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and for relevant vocabulary which is exactly what you want first start with the basics present tense present continuous.
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I am making breakfast.
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I make breakfast every day.
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I'm taking my dog for a walk.
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He loves to run in the park.
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Then, when you're ready, push yourself further.
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Bring in other tenses.
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Compare today with yesterday.
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Today I'm making eggs with toast, but yesterday I prepared a full lavish breakfast.
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Sometimes it's nice to do things differently.
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You can get as creative as you like, depending on what you're doing or what you want to practice and what level you're at.
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Now, this internal monologue is already powerful on its own, but it becomes even more powerful when someone responds to it,
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when someone asks you follow -up questions and keeps the conversation going.
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But the problem is
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that most people don't have an English speaker on hand at seven in the morning while they're making breakfast.
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I have a solution for you.
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I want to tell you about Langwa.
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Langwa is a brilliant AI -powered language learning app designed for real -time speaking and conversation practice.
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I actually partnered with them because I tried it out myself for my Italian
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and my Spanish and it genuinely blew me away.
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I'm Lucy from the UK.
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Would you like to practice speaking English with me?
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They've even cloned my voice in the app.
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So you can practice by having a real conversation with AI Lucy, my AI clone.
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Just open a chat, tell AI Lucy what you're doing, and she takes it from there.
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She will ask you questions to keep the conversation flowing naturally.
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You can also get real -time corrections, which is huge.
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It completely takes away the fear of making mistakes.
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The best part is that you can try langwa for free right now using the link below
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or the qr code on screen
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if you decide to get the unlimited annual plan you can
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use code english20 to save 20 percent it will blow your
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mind okay let's move on to recommendation number two feed your
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brain the right kind of material now as i mentioned at the beginning comprehensible input is the foundation of everything.
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It's a fancy name for taking in English content that you can mostly understand with just enough new language to stretch you,
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to challenge you.
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Your brain can't think in a language it barely recognises, so getting this right is what makes everything else possible.
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I know you've probably heard the classic advice, just put on an English podcast to immerse yourself, but that's just English happening at you.
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Passive input only works if you understand most of what you're hearing.
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Not all of it, but most.
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The key is finding content at the right level.
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And the rule of thumb is that you should understand most of what you're listening to or reading,
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and be able to guess the meaning of new vocabulary and structures from context.
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It's all about balance.
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Too easy, and you're not learning anything new.
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Too hard, and it's exhausting.
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Your brain just switches off.
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Luckily, there is no shortage of options.
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You are in the age of options.
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Certain news websites publish articles at different levels.
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You can find books for specific learner levels.
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My channel alone has hundreds of videos ranging from intermediate B1 -ish level right up to C2.
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And if you're not sure what level you're currently at, I have a free level test linked below
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that will help you figure out exactly what kind of content you should be looking for.
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Now, if you want one option that does the level sorting for you,
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Langwa has a podcast section with a featured selection of content organized by approximate level.
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Not all podcasts have this label, so keep that in mind,
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but what makes these podcasts absolutely brilliant is that you can follow an interactive transcript alongside them.
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You can choose one that interests you, listen once all the way through, and see how much you understand and guess from context.
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Then listen again, read along with the transcript, tap any word you don't understand for a definition and save it in one tap.
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It turns a listening session into a proper English workout.
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Your task right now, pick one podcast or piece of content at your level
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and keep that transcript handy
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because you will need it next number three stop learning single
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words start learning chunks now look learning individual vocabulary is still
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important you're going to encounter loads of new words in your daily english practice
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and should absolutely save them and practice them but
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if you really really want to start thinking in english you need to focus on chunks of vocabulary
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and chunks of grammar and chunks of vocabulary and grammar together.
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In natural conversation, we speak in chunks of language.
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Even something as basic as, how are you, is a chunk.
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Now, spotting chunks on your own takes practice.
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So here is where Langwa makes this a lot easier.
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Once you've listened to your podcast and worked through the transcript, go into discuss and chat and select custom practice.
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Now, because AI Lucy has the context of the transcript, you can ask her directly,
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what are the most useful chunks of language from this episode for natural spoken English?
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She will pull them out for you, explain them, and then she'll practice them with you in conversation if that's what you want to do.
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This is the kind of thing that used to require a private tutor, but now it's available anytime, day or night, as often as you want.
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Once you've built up that language, the vocabulary, the chunks, the feel of the content, you're ready to take things even further.
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And this is really where it all starts to come together.
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Number four, discuss what you take in.
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So think about what you've done so far.
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You've listened to content at your level.
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You've worked through the transcript.
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You've identified the vocabulary and the chunks you need to talk about the topic.
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You've even practiced some of them, which means that right now, everything you need to have a real conversation about this subject is fresh in your mind.
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And that is the key to thinking in English.
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So let's go back to discuss in chat, but with a different goal.
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This time, choose comprehension questions or opinion questions.
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AI Lucy will ask you about the episode you just listened to, giving you the opportunity to respond using the vocabulary and chunks you've just been working on.
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And because it's all language you learnt in context, it feels so much more natural than trying to recall a lesson you read in a textbook.
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And it doesn't stop with podcasts.
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Say you watched one of my videos and downloaded the PDF.
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You can upload that PDF directly into Langwa and do exactly the same thing.
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I can't overemphasise how amazing an opportunity this is.
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Imagine telling someone 20 years ago that you are going to be able to learn a language in this way.
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You'll be able to discuss what you just learnt, go deeper into vocabulary or grammar,
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practice with questions, and work with the material until it feels truly incorporated into your everyday speaking.
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And if you're in one of my courses, you'll know that I always provide audio clips for lessons so that you can listen on the go.
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Well, you can download and upload those audio files to Langwa as well.
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Discuss the lesson further, practice with the language, and really solidify everything you've been learning.
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This is what makes Langwa so powerful.
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It takes everything you consume, all of the input you take in, and it gives you a way to use it...
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practice with it, and make it automatic so it's ready when you need it.
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It's the full circle of language learning.
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Comprehensible input, active vocabulary building, and then production in a natural conversation, all from a single piece of content.
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I promise you, this will do more for your fluency than hours of passive listening.
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Now, just one more piece of advice before you rush off to start using Langwa, and it might be the most important of all.
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Make it daily.
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To be honest, none of what I shared with you works without consistency.
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Dedicate a specific amount of time you can realistically stick to every single day, whether that's 5, 10, or 30 minutes.
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A little bit every day does
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so much more for your brain than trying to cram hours of English into one session at the weekend.
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And if you ever get stuck on what to study, Langwa has a feature called My Path that recommends what to practice next based on your level,
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your interests, and how you've been progressing.
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One tap and you're straight into it.
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No decisions required.
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So really, the only thing standing between you and thinking in English is showing up every day.
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Do just that and everything else takes care of itself.
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So there you have it, my top five recommendations to train you to think in English.
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I know it was a lot, but give it just one month of consistent practice and I have a feeling you'll start dreaming in English.
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I've dreamt in Spanish.
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I've dreamt of my English parents speaking to me in Spanish.
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And remember, you can try Langua for free, the link is in the description box, or you can scan the QR code on screen.
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You can also get 20 % off the unlimited annual plan with the code English20.
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Go and have a chat with AI Lucy.
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I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it.
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She's pretty clever.
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Let me know how it goes in the comments.
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And remember to create your account on the website first, and then you can download the app and log in with that account.
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I'll see you in the next lesson when you'll already be thinking in English.
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Bye!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Think in English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: english, practice, chunk, vocabulary, langwa. This video has 150 sentences and 1910 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:14. The speaker talks at a natural 156 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| chunk noun | /t͡ʃʌŋk/ | A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| 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… |
| transcript noun | /ˈtɹæn.skɹɪpt/ | Something which has been transcribed; a writing or composition consisting of the same words as the original; a written copy. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| comprehensible adjective | /kɒmpɹəˈhɛnsɪbəl/ | Able to be comprehended. |
| recommendation noun | /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/ | An act of recommending. |
| fluently adverb | In a fluent manner, as expressing oneself easily, especially in a foreign language. | |
| narrate verb | /ˈnæɹeɪt/ | To relate (a story or series of events) in speech or writing. |
| clone noun | /kloʊn/ | A living organism (originally a plant) produced asexually from a single ancestor, to which it is genetically identical. |
| translate verb | /tɹænzˈleɪt/ | To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another. |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| upload verb | /ˈʌpˌloʊd/ | To transfer data to a computer on a network, especially to a server on the Internet. |
| passive adjective | /ˈpæs.ɪv/ | Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction. |
| unlimited adjective | /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/ | Limitless or without bounds; unrestricted. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| work through verb | To get past a difficult or stressful situation by thinking or talking about it. | |
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. | |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. | |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| follow up verb | To take further actions remaining after an event; to continue, revisit, or persist; especially, to maintain communication or verify. | |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I'm taking my dog for a walk.
- Then, when you're ready, push yourself further.
- They've even cloned my voice in the app.
- Too easy, and you're not learning anything new.
- You've listened to content at your level.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've just been working · you've been learning · you've been progressing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | hasn't been trained · I've put · haven't tried |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | vocabulary which is · corrections, which is · them, which means |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 50 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, you've, you'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, lavish /ˈlævɪʃ/, comprehension /ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/, corrections /kəˈɹɛkʃənz/, shortage /ˈʃɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, comprehensible /kɒmpɹəˈhɛnsɪbəl/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/, solidify /səˈlɪdɪˌfaɪ/
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 chunk, vocabulary, podcast.
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.