Shadowing Practice: I Turned a Table into a Living Forest - Learn English Speaking with Video

I love being outside in nature.

I wish I could just be out here all the time, but unfortunately I can't.

So what if I could bring the outdoors in and recreate a mini living nature scene?

Well, I'm going on a mission to find the answer.

The rules are simple.

I have to use a functional piece of furniture from the thrift store, and the mini forest has to have a flowing river and living plants.

Let's get to it.

First stop is the thrift store.

So begins the search to find the perfect furniture item to use.

Okay.

- Mm -hmm.

I've always just been an outdoorsy guy.

Growing up my mom took my brothers and I on tons of camping and canoe trips.

For us that was just our type of vacations and we loved it.

So I'm excited for this project because it's gonna enable me to experience

that happiness I get from nature but I can have it when I'm stuck inside working all day.

Oh, that could maybe work.

Dang, this would be awesome.

Like imagine the whole forest in there.

And then you have efficient storage and drawers.

But $225 is a bit too pricey for me.

- Thank you.

Oh, it'd be really cool.

to do it on a table.

tables galore.

Look at all these Yeah, like a little, nice, small...

A small one like this?

Thank you.

That could be pretty sweet.

Well, I think I found the one.

Check it out, it's got a full glass piece on top already.

which could work really well.

Like if I build a box, stick it underneath.

- Woo!

- Okay, this is the chosen one.

Come on, get it.

Bye.

At the checkout there was this nice old lady that was very sweet and commented on my table saying,

"That's a nice table." And so it's already getting compliments and there's not even a forest inside of it yet.

Is that sketchy or what?

It's just gonna slide around.

Once I got the table back to the studio safely, it was time to get to work.

Okay, I gotta figure out, I'm just realizing I have no clue how I'm actually gonna do this.

In my mind, I can kind of picture it.

I want the river flowing across, but then I need.. to figure out somehow to hold the water.

I've decided that I'm just gonna figure it out as I go.

The first step of my figure it out as I go project is to get some measurements.

Then I cut down some pieces of melamine board which is a great waterproof material you

I kept at it until I had all five sides of the box cut up and ready to go.

Bye.

Now, I'm always trying to make it fun for you to watch me building stuff, so I thought it would be a good idea to do some janky stop motion, which took up so much extra time to film.

So, hopefully you enjoyed those few seconds of quality entertainment, because that is not the most efficient way to do this.

I just realized that I didn't test fit it before I just built the whole thing

and put it together so oh oh No, we're good.

We're good.

Oh, yeah, okay, it fits thankfully and Check it out.

So that's how it's looking.

Are you starting to get the vision?

Whoo I am I'm getting excited Now, it's time to finish waterproofing it.

So I got out the silicone and sealed all the edges and gaps.

Thank you.

It doesn't have to be pretty, because all this will get covered.

Oh no. Thank you.

uh but it just has to work so hopefully it's waterproof uh we're gonna find out tomorrow

- The President's office is a very good man.

Okay, let's see.

Any leaks?

Whoo!

I think we're good!

Nice!

Okay, that makes me very happy.

So far, so good.

Let me give you a little idea of what I'm thinking.

I got this little pump here.

It's like, used for aquariums and stuff.

And I'm gonna mount it in one corner.

Let's say in here, boop, something like that.

And then it's gonna pump water to the other side and create that perfect little river.

I'm gonna take it for a little test drive first and see...

Oh!

Oh, what the...

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

What?

I don't want a geyser.

I just want a nice flowing river.

There must be a little adjustment or something.

Here we go.

Let's crank that way down.

Man, my chair's all wet now.

Whatever.

Test number two.

I'm kinda scared of it now.

What the heck?

Why does it do that?

Okay.

Okay, okay.

That's better.

Just like a nice gentle water flow.

So here's what I'm thinking.

100

If I do a hose, doot doot doot doot doot, all the way across, then that's going to be the nice flowing river.

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And then I'll add rocks and moss and plants and all the fun stuff that you'd typically find in the forest.

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But before we get there, I gotta do a few more things to finish up the box.

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I added this piece of decorative molding to give it a bit more fancier of a vibe to match the table.

104

And then I don't love how the white stands out, so I spray painted the whole exterior a nice matte black.

105

While it was dry and I headed to the river

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because I want the scene to be as accurate as possible to the local places that I love.

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So the materials that I can get from here, you just wouldn't be able to get them from any craft store.

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I'm going to put a little bit of water on the top.

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It was like a fun scavenger hunt as I searched for all sorts of stuff that I could use.

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It also made me appreciate the smaller details that make up such a big, beautiful place.

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Pretty soon my bag was so full and heavy that I could hardly carry it.

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So back at the studio, I mounted the box to the underside of the table.

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Whew, there's like a hundred screws in here.

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Okay, not actually, probably like 20, but it's a lot, so.

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It's either gonna be overkill or...

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It's gonna fall down and smash, but...

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Once it's full of stuff, we'll find out.

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Thank you.

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Today was a good day.

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Gotta be outside.

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spend time at the river.

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I got a coffee afterwards, so pfft.

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Anytime you have two of those things in the same day, that's a good day.

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Plus, I made a ton of progress.

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The base is officially done, and the true challenge begins tomorrow, because I gotta figure out how to build an actual flowing river.

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And at this point, I still don't have a clue how I'm actually gonna make...

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Thank you.

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Good morning.

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It's time for the ultimate transformation.

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This table He's gonna make all the other tables so jealous.

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The process of building my majestic tiny river starts with setting

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up the pump with some screen mesh around it to filter out any floaty bits.

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Then I trimmed down the tube which I would come to later regret.

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And after placing in some bigger rocks I used this expanding spray foam to hold them in place

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and add a bit more height to the I accidentally definitely cut it too short.

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So now it's longer and This stuff is so fun.

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This here is the face of a man thoroughly enjoying the sight of foam instantly expanding.

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I mean, can you blame him though?

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Just look at it go.

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I'm going to go to the next one.

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Bye.

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Using some more rocks, I formed the rough shape of the river, then added gravel as a drainage layer for the sides where I would be adding plants.

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Bye.

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Bye.

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Now this part might be just as fun as the foam.

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I saw this hack online where you mix silicone glue with soil.

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and it creates this material that you can mold and shape kind of like play -doh, but then it hardens and becomes waterproof.

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Bye!

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Slowly but surely, it's coming along.

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And I'm still just kind of making it up as I go.

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The plan is that there's like a gradual downhill to the river

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so that gravity pulls it and then it's just an infinite water flow.

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But I'm not really sure 100 % if it'll work or not.

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Although I had some doubts, I had to make it look more like a proper river first before I could actually test it.

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So like the delicious toppings of a cake,

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I sprinkled on some sand. and tiny rocks.

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Then after cleaning up the absolute messy disaster that I had made, it was time to move on to the third and final phase.

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I've been really looking forward to this part.

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Look how pretty the moss looks.

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Woo, it's gonna add so much to it.

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Okay, I'm just gonna plug in and then get to it.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

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Not that one, wrong one.

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There we go.

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Much better.

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Alright, here we go.

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Similar to making a terrarium, over top of the drainage rocks I added some screen mesh to keep the soil layer separated.

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And for that I used a

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With the first bits of moss added in my mini forest officially had life

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seeing this just patch of dirt start to get some greenery to it.

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I was making great progress.

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Ali brought me a coffee, which was awesome.

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And then I instantly dropped a piece of moss into it.

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But that didn't matter, I was just cruising right along.

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I began this project without any well thought out plan, and honestly, it's been a bit overwhelming at times.

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but also really enjoyable.

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I think when you don't have any of these set strict guidelines to follow, you can just let your creativity run wild.

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And it's been really fun to challenge myself in this way to not overthink

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so much and to instead just make the dang thing.

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Whew, the studio got so messy again, but, On a good note, I think I'm almost done.

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I've got to do a few finishing touches and then that's it.

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Oh, and I also have to really cross my fingers that this river actually works because I haven't tested it yet.

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All right.

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Thank you.

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Time to fill it up with some water.

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My heart is beating so fast I'm so nervous.

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Okay, it's fine.

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If it doesn't work, I'll fix it.

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Three full days of work all comes down to this very moment.

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Without a flowing river, this project will be a total failure.

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But it was a success!

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Oh, and of course I added some lights.

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Come on, you know I had to.

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It's pretty amazing

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that what started out as just a forgotten thrift store table

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is now like this epic mini porthole into a beautiful nature scene.

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Thank you.

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There's definitely a few things I would improve on for next time, but overall I'm really proud of how this turned out.

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And with the glass top back in place, I can now be working away inside while still experiencing the joy that I get from being outside.

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Actually, to be honest, I probably won't get any work done now.

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It's just way too distracting and cool.

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18 sentences

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will focus on practicing your English speaking and listening skills through a fun and creative project described in the video titled "I Turned a Table into a Living Forest." As you immerse yourself in the speaker's journey of transforming a piece of furniture into a mini forest, you will encounter a variety of vocabulary related to nature, crafting, and DIY (do-it-yourself) projects. This content will enhance your understanding and ability to communicate in English, making it perfect for those who want to improve their pronunciation and speaking fluency, particularly in the context of nature and creativity. This practice aligns well with IELTS speaking practice, helping you gain confidence in discussing descriptive topics.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Outdoorsy: Enjoying outdoor activities and nature.
Functional: Useful; serving a practical purpose.
Mini forest: A small imitation of a natural forest environment.
Flowing river: A river that moves steadily and smoothly.
Thrift store: A shop selling second-hand goods, often at lower prices.
Measurements: The dimensions or size of an object.
Melamine board: A type of board that is water-resistant, commonly used in DIY projects.
Compliments: Kind words of praise regarding someone or something.

Practice Tips

To effectively practice your English speaking skills, especially with this material, consider using the technique of shadowspeak or shadow speech. This involves listening to the speaker carefully and then repeating what they say, mimicking their tone and pacing. Here are some specific tips for this video:

Start Slowly: Listen to the speaker at a slower speed. Pay attention to how they express excitement and curiosity about their project.
Repeat Key Phrases: Select phrases that capture emotion, such as “I love being outside in nature,” to enhance your expressive capabilities.
Engage with the Content: As you shadow the speaker, visualize the mini forest they are creating. This connection to the content will make practicing more enjoyable and meaningful.
Focus on Pronunciation: Practice difficult words, like “functional” and “measurements,” multiple times until you feel comfortable saying them naturally.
Record Yourself: After practicing, record your own voice. Compare it to the original to identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and pacing.

By incorporating these techniques into your practice sessions, you will not only improve your English pronunciation but also develop a deeper appreciation for creative descriptions in English. Enjoy your journey as you work towards fluency!

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 always just been · I've decided · I've been
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	board which is · coffee, which was
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was making · was just cruising
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming	gonna enable · gonna slide · gonna do

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 Turned a Table into a Living Forest - Learn English Speaking with Video

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About This Lesson

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Practice Tips

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?

finally ORGANIZING MY NEW HOME 🏠 this was so satisfying omg