Shadowing Practice: I switched to an iPod in 2026 (I'm never going back) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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so switching back to iPods to listen to music has been growing in popularity for a
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while now as a result of dissatisfaction with the current state
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of technology you know feeling like every digital service including Spotify just kind of exists to take our money
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and time and the fact
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that listening to music through your phone already exposes you to
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a ton of other distractions people have been buying used iPod Classics, Nanos, whatever has the click wheel design,
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and modding them, and then basically switching to listening to music on them instead of streaming services.
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As much as I found myself getting more annoyed every single day at things that Spotify does, you know, pushing random audiobooks, podcasts, videos, and even adding doomscrolling to their app,
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just to name a few, before I finally made the switch to an iPod, I would debate with myself whether or not it would actually be worth it
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because of how much music means to me
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and the value a place on being able to easily and quickly access it and discover new stuff.
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You know, at the time, the issues with streaming services and my phone seemed like they were worth putting up with
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because of how convenient it made accessing music.
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If I really did switch to an iPod or another digital audio player, I'd have to go through the trouble of finding all the music I wanted, downloading it, and putting it on the iPod.
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And because there's some amount of trendiness surrounding the iPod, quite a bit actually, I also wondered alongside my other concerns, is this just performative?
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Are people really enjoying using an iPod and is it really improving their lives?
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Well, luckily, I didn't have to ask myself these questions for much longer before getting an answer to them.
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A viewer of mine reached out saying they had just upgraded to a new digital audio player
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and offered to send me their old 30 gig iPod Classic
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5th gen after I mentioned considering purchasing one in a previous video.
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So yeah, thank you so much to the person who sent me the iPod.
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Finally getting one like this is just really cool and it genuinely means a lot to me.
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Now that I knew that I was actually going to get an iPod, I did begin trying to build up a music collection to prepare, legally of course, and once it arrived, I immediately loaded it up with the music that I had
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and started testing it out even though my library was very small at this point
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when I wanted to listen to songs
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that I knew I had in the library I would just use the iPod instead of my phone
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and in doing so gradually see if I could make the switch
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and if it was worth it now I also ordered some parts for it the iPod was pretty scratched up
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but I also just loved the look of the yellow faceplate
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and click wheel so of course I had to grab those
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and install them and
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while I was at it I upgraded the storage from the
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30 gigabyte spinning disk drive to an iFlash U -Dual microSD adapter with just one 512GB microSD in it for now.
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At the rate that my music collection was already growing, the old storage was not going to cut it for much longer.
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The original battery was also starting to get pretty weak considering how old the iPod is, so I swapped it with a 2000mAh battery that lasts long enough for my needs.
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Now I was already starting to get used to using the iPod and really enjoy it before I did the mods, and they just enhanced that experience.
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This thing is so much lighter now.
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Jesus.
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Although they were very straightforward, one of the first things that i'll point out about the ipod
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that i love
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so much is how modifying it like this really makes it feel more personal it's really hard to describe
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but opening the device up replacing parts
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and even having to overcome simple obstacles gives you this feeling
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when you put it all back together
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and start listening on it again that's really rewarding
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and just makes you value the device and the experience even more
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because you had a say in it you know this device is now more unique to you
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and wouldn't be in the current state it's in without you
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doing some work on it anyways i had installed this custom
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firmware before modding it called rockbox overall i just like it more than the default ipod one
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because the amount of freedom it gives you with file management
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and other things such as themes i've been using this one called fresh os
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which just looks really nice so yeah with the ipod basically having all the mods
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that i had wanted before even having one as well as my music collection growing
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and getting more reliable for more listening sessions i began to just use the ipod even more than before
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and i started to understand why it was great
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and why people love it you know besides getting away from
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streaming services one of the biggest benefits you'll hear about switching to an ipod is
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that it's great for productivity you know it helps fix your focus
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because you can use it to listen to music without your phone
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and since it's not connected to the internet
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or anything you'll have no distractions no notifications
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or anything else you want to scroll right it's just playing music
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and while this was initially in my mind
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when i started using the ipod i realized after i spent more time using it
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that my intention
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and i guess goal for switching to this device wasn't going to be really productivity related
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and for it to help me focus on other things you know i do seek out ways to eliminate distractions
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and be able to focus on things that i need to focus on
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and that does include decentralizing my phone for more single -use devices a lot of the time.
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I think focusing on using the iPod for this purpose
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and its potential productivity benefits is a mistake
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that we make a lot of the time when it comes to the whole idea of phone decentralization, especially when it's more fun devices.
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You know, improving focus and productivity is certainly a benefit that comes with going back to older, more intentional tech, and using it with the goal of improving productivity has its time and place.
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But I feel like especially with the iPod, it's important to remember to treat them not just as productivity devices, but as something to be utilized for our enjoyment.
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The iPod excels at doing just one thing, and that's playing music, which is usually supposed to make us feel something
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and be experienced more intentionally than something that's just background noise.
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You know, I'm not going to sit here and act like I'm old enough to have experienced any of this, but before the rise of streaming services, listening to music seemed to mean a lot more as an activity.
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You know, buying an album, whether that was digitally or physically, and putting it on meant
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that you were probably going to be more immersed in the experience and focusing on the music you just chose.
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And you probably value the music more because you made a conscious decision to acquire it, probably spending time and money to get it.
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However, nowadays, especially with streaming services, I feel like music has become a much more trivial thing, and a lot of the times serves a different purpose.
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People may see it as a soundtrack
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or just a background noise to a different activity that they're doing meant to enhance that experience, and a lot of the times don't really care or fully appreciate what they're listening to.
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Sometimes just skimming through albums to put songs on a playlist
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that fits a vibe without actually listening through it because it's
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so much less interesting when there's so much stuff available to you.
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And I've definitely been guilty of this in the past.
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I begin to realize that due to multiple reasons, maybe Spotify and other streaming services don't allow me to fully appreciate the music in the same way
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that using the iPod does.
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And so I began to love using the iPod because, above all else, it puts music first.
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And it allows me to focus purely on taking in the music that I'm listening to without distractions from that.
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Sure, I can put my phone in the other room, hit play on the iPod, and try to get some work done, and I can focus better because my phone isn't there to distract me.
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But I don't see that as much of a benefit as what it does for music.
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You know, it sounds weird, but as I keep using the iPod more and more, I feel almost more connected with the music, kind of like you do when you buy a record or CD and actually listen to it that way.
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Because like I mentioned earlier, you made the decision to get that, and listening to it feels more intentional.
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When I pick up the iPod with the intention of, say, listening to an album for the first time, the experience feels more special because I had to get the album, put it on the iPod,
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and there's nothing on the iPod that is pulling me away from listening to it.
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I just know that it's going to let me listen to the music without any personalized advertisements.
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The iPod doesn't shove music videos in my face when I click on a song that I don't want to watch.
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I open Spotify to listen to music, not to watch the music video for the song.
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I just want to appreciate the music, and that's exactly what the iPod lets me do.
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It's also just less convenient to make a bunch of playlists on the iPod
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or quickly switch songs
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so i'm more inclined to just keep listening to whatever album i put on
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and that honestly just helps me take it slower
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and stay more immersed i guess you could argue
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that it doesn't fully do this because you could put games on it
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but i think it's more of just a novelty
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that i can run them i'm not sure
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if you'd actually want to play games
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that much on here anyways yeah i spoke about the mods i did earlier
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and how that enhanced the experience but i have to mention
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that even before those the ipods aesthetic
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and physical experience really contributes to my love for it you know the classic iPod design with the click wheel
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and the screen above it just simply looks and feels cool.
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And as I mentioned, you know, modding it only enhances that.
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Yeah, finding enjoyment using an iPod within the look and how it feels is completely valid, I would say.
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You know, the iPod is a bridge between you and the music, and if it makes listening more enjoyable, then it's absolutely worth it.
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There also wouldn't be any reason to buy a, like, 20 -year -old iPod and go through the trouble of doing all this if you didn't care about the look.
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And the huge modding community wouldn't exist if that wasn't an aspect either.
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Anyways, yeah, another point I want to mention is the aspect of building a music library.
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While I was initially worried about the inconvenience of having to store all the music I wanted to listen to
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and put it on the iPod, rather than just searching it up on Spotify, I began to realize that this was completely worth it, and that I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
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Of course, none of the music I have on the iPod will just randomly become unavailable like it does on Spotify, and I have the satisfaction and security of just knowing that I own them.
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And I started to find the whole process of just building the library, regardless of the iPod, really satisfying and fun.
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You know, everything in there has been curated by me there's nothing else being recommended
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or shoved in my face and even
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when i'm on my pc i typically just listen to the
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library on music b instead of spotify anyways yeah after using an ipod for a
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while now i would say
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that it is definitely worth it sure a lot of people
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are buying it just to be performative i'm sure countless people buy it as part of the analog trend
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and never use it which by the way is hilarious
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because i don't know how this is analog
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but yeah i genuinely find value in the whole experience of
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using an ipod especially with the focus it places on just letting you listen to the music with no distractions
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and on the topic of trends, you know, we live in an era where
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so many people are focused on creating this incredibly fabricated image of themselves because of social media and all that, and I feel like music has become a part of that.
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With Spotify wrapped, public playlists, and listening activity, we think a lot about how what we're listening to affects stats or how people see us.
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Like, I've even thought about before how listening to something would affect my wrapped just for like a brief second
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and quickly just became disgusted with how I was even considering that before listening to anything.
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You know, music is an art form that's meant to be experienced without us worrying about how it can affect some stat
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or how we're perceived by others.
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Listening to my own library on my iPod has helped me appreciate the music I like even more
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and focus on listening for myself.
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Building a library of music that I love without any consideration besides my listening experience, which is how it should be.
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I'm not going to sit here and talk about how this doubled my productivity and completely changed my life because it didn't.
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What it did do was prove to be an extremely rewarding
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experience by encouraging me to be completely immersed in the music and also being really fun to modify and customize.
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And I'm also not going to act like streaming is all horrible because it's not.
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It also has its time and place and I still have my Spotify account, which I do use to quickly search things up.
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But for most of my listening, I just have my iPod and it's completely worth it.
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Anyways, that's about it.
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Thank you for watching and I'll see you in the next one.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “I switched to an iPod in 2026”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: ipod, listening, experience. This video has 155 sentences and 2483 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:39. The speaker talks fast, about 257 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mod noun | /mɑd/ | An unconventionally modern style of fashionable dress originating in England in the 1960s, characterized by ankle-length black trenchcoats and sunglasses. |
| productivity noun | /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/ | The state of being productive, fertile, or efficient. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| anyways adverb | /ˈɛn.iˌweɪz/ | Anyway, anyhow, in any case. |
| enhance verb | /ɪnˈhæns/ | To augment or make something greater. |
| immerse verb | /ɪˈmɜɹs/ | To place within a fluid (generally a liquid, but also a gas). |
| playlist noun | /ˈpleɪˌlɪst/ | A list of recorded songs scheduled to be played on a radio station. |
| performative adjective | Being enacted as it is said. | |
| intentional adjective | /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/ | Intended or planned; done deliberately or voluntarily. |
| analog adjective | /ˈænəlɔɡ/ | In which the value of a data item (such as time) is represented by a continuous(ly) variable physical quantity that can be measured (such as the shadow of a… |
| modify verb | /ˈmɑ.dɪˌfaɪ/ | To change part of. |
| enjoyment noun | /ɪnˈd͡ʒɔɪ.mənt/ | The condition of enjoying anything. |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| convenient adjective | /kənˈviː.niənt/ | Serving to reduce a difficulty, or accessible with minimum difficulty; expedient. |
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| put up with verb | To endure, tolerate, suffer through, or allow, especially something annoying. |
| reach out verb | To extend one's hand(s) forward; to reach for something. |
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 | has been growing · have been buying · i've been using |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has become · I've definitely been · has been curated |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person who sent · music, which is · experience, which is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be utilized · has been curated |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 38 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, decentralization /diːˌsɛntɹəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/, dissatisfaction /dɪsˌsætɪsˈfækʃən/, shove /ʃʌv/
- Long words — get the stress right: productivity /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, audiobook /ˈɔdi.oʊbʊk/, decentralization /diːˌsɛntɹəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
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 mod, productivity, distraction.
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.