Shadowing Practice: I learned 3 languages to a C1 level, so you can just copy me - Learn English Speaking with Video

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hey guys welcome back to easy english with kat I am a native English speaker, but I have spent years learning languages.

I speak German, Portuguese, and Polish.

And so today I'm going to share with you my exact system from going from zero to fluent in a new language.

You can take this system and apply it to any language.

And let me tell you, since I have learned three languages, I really know what does and does not work.

And this just You know, everyone is different.

But this is exactly what works for me.

And so I'm just going to share my system and you can copy me if you'd like.

My personal system follows three phases.

So I will explain each of those phases.

And then in the end of the video, I will share with you my exact daily routine for maintaining this system,

how I actually am able to achieve that every day.

So let me break it down first.

There are three phases.

Phase one is just when you're starting.

I mean, you're literally starting at zero.

So how do you get just something?

So it's that beginner stage.

The second stage is all about building.

You have just enough of the basics.

Now you need all the real stuff.

Grammar, vocabulary, input, output.

I mean, all the real stuff that actually builds a language.

That is what we start To be honest, phase three is endless.

So once you get to that point, You just have to continue for as long as you want to speak that language.

It's all about integrating it into your life.

living, and creating immersion for yourself.

Even if you're not in the place, you have to create immersion.

Let's dive into phase one.

This stage really has to do with vocabulary and pronunciation.

And I like to think of this part of the process like how kids learn languages.

Now, if you think about kids when they're starting to learn to speak, it's not like their parents or teachers are sitting them down at the table every day.

Not at all.

That is not how kids learn.

And it's not how we should be beginning the process of learning a language.

Now, of course, grammar is important.

Structure is important.

You have to practice this.

But that's not the start of the language learning journey.

And the way that kids learn languages is they hear vocabulary and they practice the same words.

Their first words are super simple.

It's the words they need the most.

The most common words.

So we're gonna start there.

And what I always like to do is I start with the top 1000 most common words in that language.

This is super easy to find if you just search the language Spanish, top 1000 words.

there will be a list and you just print out a document of that list and you have it.

That's all you need to do.

Or you can ask AI, say make me a list of the top 1000 most common words of this language and it will give it to you.

So you need this list and I like to have it printed and I keep track.

And at this point, I choose a number of how many I'm going to learn a day now.

when I first started learning languages I was doing I think 20 words a day.

And as I became a more experienced, more advanced language learner, I started to do a hundred words a day.

But obviously you don't start there.

That's like the advanced mode.

So you can pick.

I just recommend doing more than 10 a day.

So just something more than 10.

But even 20, 15, that's fine.

Do that, okay?

And for this phase, I like to use flashcards.

I use them all the time actually, so they're great.

But in this phase, I like physical real flashcards.

Because there's something important about studying using your senses to experience the language.

Just like I was talking about kids before, kids experience language.

They don't just take it in like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

You know, it's part of their life.

And you want to try your best to create this.

Even if you have to manufacture this environment, it's really important that you are really experiencing the words,

where you are really using your senses and feeling them.

And it will help you learn it so much faster, I promise.

Especially for this beginner phase, there's something really good about connecting the word to a physical item.

So you have your flashcards, okay?

Now you're studying your words every day.

Perfect.

The other thing that you need to do early on in the process is focus on pronunciation.

A lot of people wait to focus on pronunciation and this is a huge mistake.

Pronunciation is actually essential to building your foundation for a language.

Without it, it makes the language just feel blurry in your mind.

The times where I have lacked in focusing on pronunciation, the language learning journey has been so much harder.

And the problem is it doesn't get better.

You need to focus on it early on because When you continue making the same mistakes in your speech,

they start to form habits and you think that that's actually how a word sounds.

So it is an essential focus.

If you are learning English, I actually have a seven day pronunciation workout, which is designed to help learners at any level.

So if you haven't taken the time to really fine tune and focus on your pronunciation,

I totally recommend doing that just to even that out so that your actual mouth muscles

are at the same level as where you are in your brain.

We want to be at the same level.

You have the pronunciation skills to keep up with the vocabulary and knowledge that you have.

But just to recap here, phase one, this beginning phase is all about learning words, and focusing on pronunciation.

One way

that I love to focus on pronunciation early on too is

every time I am going through my new flashcards for the day, however many I have, I look up every single word on Google Translate just to press

that play button on there because then you can hear it said.

And I sometimes play it five, ten times just to get a real, real feel how that word sounds.

And then I practice.

So I know it's a little time consuming.

You can't just sprint through the cards, but the goal here is about actually learning the language,

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not getting something done as fast as you can in the day.

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So that is phase one.

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Let's move to phase two.

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Like I said before, phase two is about building the structures

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and the foundation that you need now to really grow in that language.

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So you already have the very basics.

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You have the top 1000 words and you have the pronunciation skills that you need.

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Now we're going to introduce grammar, sentence structure, all the fun stuff.

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For this phase, you need three things.

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You need a workbook and you need a notebook and you need a vocab notebook.

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Now, let me explain the differences here.

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For the workbook, this is actually going to be your course.

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This is where you're going to get your daily lesson.

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And this is absolutely essential.

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Now, I always find my course book by looking up In the place where they speak that language,

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you look up their language courses and you see which course book they teach that foreign language in.

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Now, I don't know if that makes sense.

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So if you are learning Spain Spanish, you would look up language schools in Spain.

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And you do a little research here to see

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which workbook they use at these language schools then you're gonna buy that workbook.

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It's usually about 20 to 30 USD.

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Now I know it's a lot, but compared to courses and all kinds of other things, it's not very much.

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So you need to buy that workbook.

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And that is what you will use every day.

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I typically like to do one chapter a day.

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And these typically have about 30 chapters in them.

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So it actually is quite reasonable.

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So you start with that A1 course book and just start working your way through it.

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Now, every day when I'm doing that lesson, I have two notebooks.

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The first notebook is for taking notes, jotting down.

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It's ugly, it's messy, it's for practicing the grammar chart, it's for writing out sentences, it's for organizing my thoughts.

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It's just a messy, messy notebook that actually puts the information from my course book into my brain.

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Then the second book I have is a vocabulary book and this book is precious.

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Now, I like to have a small one

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because I like to keep it in my purse and every single time I run into a new word, it goes in there.

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Now, these vocabulary books, I have so many for every language I've learned and I still refer to them all the time.

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Like they are some of my most important items.

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Like if there was a fire in my house and I had a few minutes just to grab everything, I would get these books.

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I'm not kidding.

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They're so important.

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And what I do here is on one side I put the language I'm learning

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and then on the next side I put my native translation.

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So for me that's English and I always keep the sides right, okay?

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So every time I see a new word, I write it down in there.

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And it really helps solidify it.

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I mean, you see it in your workbook, you're like, hmm, I don't know that word, and put it in my notebook, and it just takes a second.

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You're not even memorizing it right then but it really helps that word stick with you.

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And then a couple days later when you think to yourself, I think I've seen that word before.

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Instead of looking up the word again, you just flip back the pages and you see it and that act just

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really helps the word solidify and stick with you.

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It's kind of that same feeling like

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when you're reading a paper copy of a book and you remember a part of the book, you literally imagine the page is on.

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You know what I mean? That feeling?

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Well, you have that feeling with your vocabulary too.

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And so it just helps you remember it so much more.

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Then once a week, I personally choose Sundays, but once a week I do a review of that.

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vocab book, just looking back throughout the week, all the words I encountered.

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And it doesn't take you very long.

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You just kind of read through it, but it really helps you remember those words.

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I also like to hold a paper to the book and so you cover up

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one side of the words and just run it down

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and see which words you can remember even just from that one previous encounter.

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and which words you can't.

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And usually doing this too, I like to highlight the words I didn't remember, and so then the next time I kind of know and I focus on them just a little bit more.

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So that is everything that you need for phase two.

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You just need those books.

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And essentially it comes down to doing one chapter of your workbook a day.

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taking notes on your notebook and then writing your vocabulary in your vocab book That's essentially what it boils down to.

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But at this point, you also need to change your mindset.

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You are no longer an initial beginner.

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And here you need to start focusing on creative ways to have input.

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So, You know, you need to integrate the language into your life.

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That means listening to music, listening to podcasts, I like audiobooks of fairy tales and kids stories.

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You can usually find those pretty easily on Spotify or Audible, watching TV shows and movies.

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And Ideally here, you understand 80 % of the content you are taking in.

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That is the golden rule for taking in content, so you really need to aim for that 80%.

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So you need to aim to find things that are your level.

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Like I said, kids stories are really helpful for just easy, accessible input.

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but there's tons of content these days.

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You can find any kind of anything you're interested in.

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If you're interested in video games, Watch video game YouTube videos in that language.

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Like literally anything, turn your phone into that language.

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I mean, just get creative and really start upping the input So you need to shift your mindset a little bit, but that's not the main focus here.

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The main focus is really building the grammar and sentence structure,

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foundation, adding in vocabulary, But remember to mix that with some more input and a little bit more output if you can.

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All right, let's move to phase three.

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And phase three is all about...

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high input, high output, and immersion.

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At this point, if you haven't gotten to your C1 workbook, you're still moving through those.

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But that now is just, you don't even have to think about it.

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It's just a part of your life.

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You just do it and you don't even think about it.

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Now you're getting to the level of really really prioritizing all the input that you can.

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So if you're driving your car, you have something playing in that language.

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If you are walking somewhere, You're listening to something in that language.

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If you are going on a run, you are thinking in that language.

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If you're taking a shower, you're thinking in that language.

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So, You need to create an immersive experience for yourself.

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Haven't you heard people say, "Oh, the only way to learn a language is by moving there and you learn by immersion"?

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Everyone says that.

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And it's not true.

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I can tell you, I have lived in many different foreign countries, and some of the foreign countries I live in, I speak the language.

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I live in Poland right now, and I speak the language.

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But, I've also lived in countries where I literally did not learn a single word.

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and that is totally possible.

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I mean we have Google Translate, you can literally use ChatGPT as a translator now if you didn't know that, Like...

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It is fine.

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You can get by just fine.

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not knowing a single word.

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So that is not true.

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But what people mean when they're saying this is that immersion is essential to language learning.

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And that is true.

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But the thing is that you can create immersion for yourself.

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It's actually one of the coolest things.

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You can literally say, I'm going to begin living in this language.

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And when you shift your mindset to that, you will become fluent.

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If you don't, fluency is going to take you a lot longer.

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And maybe you actually will have to go move to that place.

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But if you can just flip that switch and say, "Okay, now I think in the language.

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Now I drive listening to the language.

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Now I grocery shop in this language.

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Now every time I'm working out, I'm thinking in that language, right?

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Just any way that you can integrate it into your life, now is the time that you need to do it.

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Input is important, but you also need to find opportunities for output.

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And this gets a little bit harder because if you don't have friends to speak with, you don't know people that speak that language, It gets hard.

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But one thing is you can talk to yourself out loud all day long.

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I've done that so much.

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It's embarrassing.

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I know.

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Luckily now I have a baby.

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So I just talked to my baby in different languages and it seems a little less weird than just talking to myself.

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But Yes, you just need to talk.

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Just get it out.

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And so if you have friends, that's amazing.

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Speak to them.

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Use that.

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Build that friendship in that language.

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Or you can use the ChatGPT app and literally put it in that language.

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And then there's like a speaking button.

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And I've actually seen in the comments of the videos

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that some of you guys say that you do this and I love it.

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You just hit speak and you start talking to ChatGPT and it will literally answer you.

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So definitely try it out.

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creative here, you need to find ways to actually start talking and build that confidence.

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And that confidence is going to grow the more that you are able to talk, the more that you are able to create output.

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So try to do it as much as you can.

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Okay.

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So that is our phase three and let's just sum up all of our phases really quickly.

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before we jump into my actual daily routine and how I manage this.

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Phase one is the initial language learning phase and here you focus on vocabulary and pronunciation.

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Phase two is where you start building all the structures.

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And here you're focusing still on vocabulary, but you're using your workbook to learn grammar and sentence structure, and you're starting to introduce input.

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And then phase three is about creating immersion for yourself.

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So high, high, high input, and also creating output, speaking as much as you can.

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So for my daily routine, the first thing is that it's important to find one

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little piece in the day about an hour

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that you can study every day and this Consistency will help you

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so much just to have it built into your schedule just

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you know from this hour to this hour I study this language

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and it's a non -negotiable and nothing is ever scheduled during this time and Right?

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So for me, the easiest way to do that is by doing it early in the morning.

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And I know it's a commitment.

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Nobody likes to wake up early in the morning just to sit down and study.

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But there are a few reasons why the morning is amazing.

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I mean, if you're not a morning person, don't do it in the morning.

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But for me, I like being able to study language with a coffee,

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with a candle, and like make it this cozy fun experience.

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And also in the morning usually my brain is really sharp for this kind of stuff.

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And as the day goes on I'm tired and I'm exhausted

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and the last thing I want to do is sit down and study a language.

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Also, languages are one of the highest priorities in my day, so I like to start the day with getting that done, checking it off, and then for the rest of the day,

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I already feel accomplished and I have this momentum to continue the day.

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So for me, early mornings are the best option, but find what's best for you.

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Take that same mindset of, What is going to be the time that I can carve out every day?

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When am I going to enjoy language learning?

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When am I going to be able to make it a fun experience?

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When is my brain going to be awake?

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So take that into consideration and find the best time for you and schedule that in.

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So every day it's the same.

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So then when I sit down to study the language, the first thing I do is I review yesterday's vocabulary in my vocabulary book.

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and yesterday's work in the workbook.

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So I just do a quick review.

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And this should only take you about 10 minutes.

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If that, it's important because it just wakes up your brain, reminds you really quickly what you've been up to.

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And then if you had learned kind of complicated, difficult grammar things the day before, it's fresh in your mind to continue building on that today.

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So I start with that.

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Then I start the next chapter in my workbook with my vocab book right next to it.

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And this actually shouldn't take you that long.

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It should take you between 30 minutes and an hour max.

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But it should not take you an hour.

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You know, so as you're studying in your workbook, you're writing down every new word in your vocab book, and that's what you're doing.

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You're also using your other notebook to take notes, jot things down, whatever you need.

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And then after I've done that, I move to practicing pronunciation.

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And I usually do this for about 10 minutes.

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Now this I get creative with.

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If I have a pronunciation workout or exercise that I'm currently focusing on, I'll do that for my 10 minutes, practice using the mouth muscles, you know, all the things that are important here.

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But if I don't have something like that, then I'll just practice reading my workbook out loud, whatever I can do just to practice the mouth muscles. But...

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In every language, there are sounds that are particularly difficult in that language.

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And for example, in English, the th, the th, the sound is really hard for people.

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And so language learners actually really need to focus specifically just on that th.

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saying this, that, these, those, that kind of thing.

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And that's more of like a workout or tongue twister.

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So just find something that you can use.

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every day and do about 10 minutes of pronunciation here.

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Now this all together should only take you about an hour

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if you're on the longer side of things It will take you about an hour and 20 minutes Yes, every day.

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Then you are going to be able to learn this language really effectively.

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I can promise you that.

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And then for the rest of the day, all you're doing is focusing on ways that you could bring immersion into your life.

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So be creative about it.

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Just when you're already doing something, do it in that language.

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And by doing these two things together, a little bit of study time, and immersion you will be successful learning the language.

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And after learning three languages, I have really found that that is the very best method.

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You really combine everything that your brain needs to be able to learn it.

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and you're able to learn it very quickly.

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So thank you so much for watching this video.

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I really hope that this helped you.

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If you want to check out that pronunciation workout I mentioned, it's linked right below.

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and I'm going to catch you in the next video.

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Thanks for watching.

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Bye!

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Bye.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “I learned 3 languages to a C1 level, so you can just copy me”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: language, word, phase, pronunciation, learning. This video has 321 sentences and 3819 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:15. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% 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
pronunciation noun	/pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/	The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
workbook noun	/ˈwɝk.bʊk/	A book, used by a student, in which answers and workings may be entered besides questions and exercises.
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.
immersion noun	/ɪˈmɝʒən/	The total submerging of a person in water as an act of baptism.
notebook noun	/ˈnoʊtˌbʊk/	A book (physical or digital) in which notes or memoranda are written.
vocab noun	[ˈvoʊ.kæb]	Vocabulary, especially that acquired while learning a language.
flashcard noun	/ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/	A card used to aid rote memorization. One side of the card contains data of one kind, or a question, and the other side contains the associated response which…
mindset noun	/ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/	A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one.
workout noun	/ˈwɝk.aʊ̯t/	An exercise session; a period of physical exercise.
learner noun	/ˈlɜɹnəɹ/	One who is learning; one receiving instruction.
beginner noun	/bəˈɡɪnɚ/	Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started.
integrate verb	/ˈɪn.tɪ.ɡɹeɪt/	To include as a constituent part or functionality.
messy adjective	/ˈmɛsi/	In a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.
solidify verb	/səˈlɪdɪˌfaɪ/	To make solid; convert into a solid body.
fluent adjective	/ˈfluənt/	That flows; flowing, liquid.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look up verb	/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/	To have better prospects.
sit down verb		To assume a sitting position from a standing position.
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come down to verb		To reach by moving down or reducing.
cover up verb		To conceal or disguise.
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
keep up with verb		To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one.

Sentences worth repeating

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

Phase one is just when you're starting.
I mean, you're literally starting at zero.
You know what I mean?
When am I going to enjoy language learning?
When is my brain going to be awake?

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 spent · have learned · have lacked
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is designed · is ever scheduled

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 81 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, immersion /ɪˈmɝʒən/, flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/, negotiable /nɪˈɡoʊʃəbəl/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, solidify /səˈlɪdɪˌfaɪ/, audiobook /ˈɔdi.oʊbʊk/, negotiable /nɪˈɡoʊʃəbəl/

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 pronunciation, workbook, vocabulary.

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 →

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28 May 2026

how i learned 7+ languages: tips no one talks about (for some reason)

The Reading Method That Changed My Language Learning

4 Language Habits That Get You Fluent FAST

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?