Shadowing Practice: I asked men why they are insecure - Learn English Speaking with Video

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I had my first kiss when I was 26, which is unfathomable for some people.

And I felt insecure about this a long time, and I'm setting the record straight on camera now.

And my lies of, oh yeah, my first kiss when I was 15, those were lies.

I was 26 actually.

I always had these thoughts from I'm very insecure about myself.

Like the way I look, the way I speak.

I will never know how people react the moment I take my shirt off, whether they will be repulsed by it as much as I am.

The first thing people say is like, oh, it's not that bad.

It's not that big a deal.

Like, you know, I don't even see it.

I don't even notice it.

But I feel like that's kind of where the importance is, is that it is not about them noticing, it's about you noticing it.

And so I just felt like I was unattractive.

And then I felt really awkward in my later teen years.

I went out of my way very drastically to avoid getting close to someone.

Would you mind taking off your shirt?

Yeah, sure.

Hopefully nobody sees me.

You see immediately.

Hopefully nobody sees me right silly but yeah would you mind taking off your shirt no it's okay yeah

sure that's fine

What does that feel like?

I think this might have been the most scariest thing that I've done in years.

Horrible.

Every time in a public space, immediately...

Everything you're looking at, and you know...

It's a lot of...

Bad memories, I feel and I've been inhaling my stomach every day since I turned like eight.

Like it's been a big thing and I hope my insides are still doing okay, you know.

But yeah, it's just been really, really bad.

And I feel it even now, like it's like I'm in my head, I'm hoping nobody will see me, you know.

So yeah, that is the thing.

The parts I feel really insecure about is my belly.

And I tried to hide those parts by tucking it in my underwear, actually.

Even now, right now I'm hiding it unconsciously because I don't want to show it.

Like a bear cub with a bunch of hair on his face, hair on his body and stuff like that.

I think a lot of people see me in my face like, oh yeah, this mustache, nothing, no beard, nothing else like that.

Like, oh, surprise, I have a forest.

And a lot of people don't really like that or find it very crazy.

In the beginning I'm really insecure about the fact that I'm shorter.

Or when I was dating with girls I was really insecure that once a girl was longer than I was, she wouldn't see me.

And it's also because there's a kind of trend going on that,

in my opinion, I have the idea that a kind of trend is going on.

That a guy needs to be at least 1 meter and 85 centimeters.

I love taking my shirt off now and it didn't used to be like that before.

The moment I saw the scars I knew that it was right and it was mine.

I love touching it.

I feel like it's something that I'm really proud of and it feels really nice.

And on a really bad day I see the same kid

that I was when I was 13 or 14

and getting maybe bullied for being a bit overweight

and not feeling good about myself or not feeling worthy of being in places

and having experiences in life that I never felt like I should be worthy of.

So it depends on the day.

When I stand up straight you can see my bones, my ribcage and then people say, do you eat enough or stuff like that

and then yeah i don't know that just brings me down

and then i look at myself in the mirror and i'm like maybe they're right

Like no matter what, this is like the first instinct when I see a mirror, to just see if I look okay.

And even though I'm aware of all of those things, I don't know why I can't let go.

I would really love to.

I don't think I've ever particularly been happy with how I look or who I am as a person, I think.

And I don't know if it's something that's gotten necessarily better or worse with time.

but it's something I try to not think about as much even if I haven't necessarily accepted it

do you really think I'm beautiful like why did you fall in love with me am I

that beautiful and then she says yes you are look at yourself and then somewhere I do believe her but then

And that part again of my brain tells me that I'm not.

So, you know, it's a battle.

It's a constant battle in my head.

And I know, like I'm saying now, I know I'm beautiful, but I just got to believe that.

But now it's something that I really carry as a token.

It's something that I really did for myself and I'm really proud of that.

I think it looks really sexy now. So, yeah.

It's mine, so I can't really spend too much time...

...not liking it.

Because someone has to.

That has to be me.

First, at least.

We all feel this way.

And it's okay to talk about these things.

Because it's only by talking that you feel more comfortable about them

and if you struggle with these things by yourself in your room at night at 2 a .m

the only thing you're gonna find is videos on tiktok that's gonna help you

and a lot of the times they won't help you

and i feel like talking with your friends about it talking with the people around you about it

and those you feel comfortable enough to talk about with them i think with them

you should talk about it and you should find that time to talk about it

She reassures me a lot like I don't look at those other people

I like you just the way you are and

then you know that makes me happy like last time

when we were going to swim she she told me that

because I said I told her the same thing I don't want to swim

because I don't want to take off my shirt

or swimming with a shirt is you know

so then she told me you know I really love

you just the way you are it doesn't matter what you look like I love you for who you are

and then yes she convinced me and I went for a swim with her

and yeah I don't know it it made me feel like hey maybe

I am crossing this bridge like you are beautiful so stop telling yourself you're not are you beautiful Are you beautiful?

Yeah Yeah?

100

Yeah Yeah, I am Thanks for asking I am Nice Are you beautiful?

101

Yeah, I think so

102

You think so?

103

Yeah Nice, I'm glad

104

That's true Thank you Same.

105

Thanks man.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “I asked men why they are insecure”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: beautiful, shirt, insecure. This video has 105 sentences and 1209 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:49. The speaker talks at a steady 137 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 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
insecure adjective	/ɪnsəˈkjʊɹ/	Not secure.
swim verb	/swɪm/	To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
necessarily adverb	/ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/	Inevitably; of necessity.
mirror noun	/ˈmiɹɚ/	A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
worthy adjective	/ˈwɝ.ði/	Having worth, merit, or value.
bone noun	/boʊn/	A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
horrible adjective	/ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/	Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
sexy adjective	/ˈsɛksi/	Having sex appeal; attractive.
stomach noun	/ˈstʌmək/	An organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion.
silly adjective	/ˈsɪl.i/	Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
scary adjective	/ˈskɛə.ɹi/	Causing fear or anxiety
awkward adjective	/ˈɔk.wɚd/	Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.
convince verb	/kənˈvɪns/	To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence.
depend verb	/dɪˈpɛnd/	To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
react verb	/ɹiːˈækt/	To act in response.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
take off verb	To remove.
stand up verb	To rise from a lying or sitting position.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I don't even notice it.
Would you mind taking off your shirt?
Everything you're looking at, and you know...
It's a constant battle in my head.

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	I've done · it's been · it's just been
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	avoid getting · mind taking · love taking
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should be · should talk
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	I'm setting · you're looking · are still doing

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 44 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: worthy /ˈwɝ.ði/, unfathomable /ˌʌnˈfæð(ə)məb(ə)l/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: moustache /ˈmʌstæʃ/, reassure /ˌɹi.əˈʃʊɹ/, unconsciously /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəsli/
Long words — get the stress right: necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, unconsciously /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəsli/, unfathomable /ˌʌnˈfæð(ə)məb(ə)l/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like insecure, swim, necessarily.

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: I asked men why they are insecure - Learn English Speaking with Video

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