Shadowing Practice: I used the KonMari method to transform my life (it really works!) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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When you think about decluttering, whose name comes to mind first?
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For me, it's Marie Kondo.
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I first read her book years ago, and I remember reading that she loved organizing even as a child.
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So I assumed that her KonMari decluttering method worked for people just like her.
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Someone who is naturally organized and genuinely loves cleaning up.
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I don't quite fit that description.
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I actually thrive in a bit of chaos, and I got interested in minimalism because I needed to make that chaos a little bit smaller.
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I convinced myself that the Kalmari Method would never work for someone like me.
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But recently at the bookstore, I saw her new book and it was calling my name.
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So I decided to give it a go with an open mind.
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And after all of these years, I realized I may have missed her whole entire point.
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The Kalmari Method was never about the folding technique or even having less.
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It was always about joy.
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Creating a life filled with things, routines, relationships, and experiences that spark joy.
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And it made me wonder, what would my life look like if I let joy guide the choices that I make?
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What brings you joy?
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If somebody asked you this, you might have to take a second to actually think about it.
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But as children, we knew this feeling so well.
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And I think the ability to feel joy didn't just go away one day.
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It just got buried under all the responsibilities and complexities of being adults.
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We're taught to make decisions based on what's practical, what's logical, or what's efficient.
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over time, this makes us stop paying attention to what makes us feel alive.
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That's also how I approach minimalism.
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I feel like I was being very practical, so I did a process of elimination to get rid of all the things that I didn't need.
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And to be fair, my life was such a mess that it did help me to simplify my life.
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But I feel like the KonMari method really takes it one step further.
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Instead of just thinking practically about what we don't need, the Kamari Method asks us what we actually want.
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And that shift makes all the difference.
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It really forces us to get out of our own heads and connect with our intuition again.
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So what's left isn't just by default.
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It is because we chose it.
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So I should probably explain what the KonMari method is.
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It's basically a decluttering method by Marie Kondo where you hold each item and pay attention to how it makes you feel.
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If it sparks joy, you keep it.
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And if it doesn't, you thank it for the role that I played in your life and let it go.
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And the purpose of all of this is to really rediscover who you are in the season of life, pay attention to what makes you happy,
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and to actively participate in creating the life that you want.
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And to be completely honest, I feel like this never resonated with me before.
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And I think it's because the majority of my life, I was really living in flight or flight mode.
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If somebody came up to me and asked me, what sparks joy?
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I would have probably just stared at them.
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But the more that I took control of my own narrative and I began to feel safe.
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It really came with the belief that, oh, of course I deserve joy.
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And it's not just me, but everybody does.
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So maybe this belief is where the Kalamari method really begins.
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Before we can choose the things that bring us joy, we have to believe that deep down, we deserve it.
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I love that she uses the term sparks joy because I feel like that's exactly how I feel joy.
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It feels so vibrant and colorful and it feels alive.
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But I just want to say that joy can come in many different forms.
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Sometimes it's excitement, other times it's peace, comfort, relief.
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And if you're still not sure, try to remember a moment in your life where you felt deeply joyful.
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You can close your eyes and notice where you feel it in your body.
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Is it warm, expansive, heavy, or light?
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We need to recognize these physical sensations
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and use them as a guide to know what we want to keep in our lives.
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I feel like when we're connecting with what brings us joy, we're really connecting with the truest parts of ourselves,
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who we were before we learned what's acceptable and what's not.
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Imagine waking up every day being surrounded by the things that only bring you joy.
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Books that fuel your spirit, clothes that make you feel confident, soaps that smell divine, and dishes that you can't wait to put food on.
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So Marie Kondo encourages us to go through things by category than by room.
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And it might be a little bit time-consuming, but try on the clothes, flip through the pages, shuffle through the papers and the greeting cards,
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maybe even hold up the sentimental item to your chest.
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And for practical things like broom, measuring tape, or can opener, They help us to take care of our homes and the way
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that it supports our lives can be a source of joy as well.
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So for practical things, maybe the better question is to ask, does this item support the life I want to live?
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In our routines, joy can feel like peace and presence.
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Our habits shape our identity and if we want to be more peaceful and present, our habits have to align with that identity as well.
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Think about the things that you do automatically every single day.
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Which part of your routine do you genuinely look forward to?
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Which moments make you feel grounded and help you feel more like yourself?
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Highly recommend making a list of all the things
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that you love to do in your routine and then make it easier to choose.
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So maybe you want to leave your journal by the nightstand or your yoga mat where you'll see it.
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You want to place a book on your pillow instead of your phone.
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Also, what habits do you think would bring more joy into your routine?
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Replace one current habit that you want to stop doing with a habit associated with your new identity.
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For commitments, I think joy looks like meaning or alignment.
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Take a look at your calendar.
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What events or obligations are taking up your time?
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So many of us say yes or overbook ourselves because we don't want to disappoint anyone.
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And even though the intentions are good, then we are not living in alignment with ourselves.
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I just want to acknowledge that some commitments won't directly spark joy.
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Like if you are taking care of an elderly parent
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or you have to go to a dentist appointment or maybe you're there for a during a hard season of their life.
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But these commitments are part of caring for ourselves and the people that we love.
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And even responsibility can be meaningful if it's something that we value.
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So go through each commitment until the end of the month and ask yourself, does this leave me feeling more alive or depleted?
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What am I saying no to every time I say yes to this?
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And only put on the calendar the things that truly align with your current life.
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As a former people pleaser, I like to remind myself that when I say no to others, I'm actually saying yes to myself.
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And instead of letting my thoughts run wild and think about other people not liking me because I said no,
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I'm thinking about how good I feel by saying yes to me.
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In our relationships, I feel like even the people that we love the most will challenge us or disappoint us.
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So the phrase, do they spark joy, doesn't really apply to them all the time.
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So I like to see my relationships as a circle.
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There's the inner circle and the wider circle.
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For my inner circle, like family or close friends, I feel like joy feels like safety.
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Am I safe to be myself around them?
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And for my wider circle, I feel like joy feels like expansion.
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After I interact with them or have a conversation, do what I feel expanded.
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If you are not sure, I highly recommend going through your contacts in your phone and saying their name out loud and ask yourself, can I be myself around this person?
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Does it feel forced or does it feel effortless?
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Do I feel expanded after our interaction?
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Does this relationship add something meaningful to both of our lives?
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Minimalism was never really about having empty shelves.
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It was always about creating more room for the life that you want to live.
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And I hope that moving forward, your life doesn't become simpler because you're tracking every little expense and being so careful that you're afraid to live,
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but because you know that you deserve nothing but joy and you become selective about what you bring into your life.
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Now you can do this for all the other areas of your life.
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Take out a piece of paper and ask yourself, where do I need more joy in my life?
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And whatever that looks like for you, I hope you choose it unapologetically, knowing that choosing joy is choosing yourself.
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And if all of this feels impossible right now, that's okay.
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Just make one small decision today to bring you just a little joy.
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Then do it again tomorrow, until you realize that your joy was always there, waiting to be chosen, waiting to guide you home.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “I used the KonMari method to transform my life”. This video has 114 sentences and 1636 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:24. The speaker talks at a natural 157 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 18 of its 114 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| spark noun | /ˈspɑɹk/ | A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction. |
| declutter verb | /diːˈklʌtə(ɹ)/ | To remove clutter from, to tidy. |
| minimalism noun | /ˈmɪn.ə.məl.ɪz.əm/ | A style of art that emphasises extreme simplicity of form. |
| align verb | /əˈlaɪn/ | To form a line; to fall into line. |
| disappoint verb | /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnt/ | To sadden or displease (someone) by underperforming, or by not delivering something promised or hoped for. |
| alignment noun | /əˈlaɪn.mənt/ | An arrangement of items in a line. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| cloth noun | /klɒθ/ | A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes… |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| meaningful adjective | /ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/ | Having meaning, significant. |
| bookstore noun | /ˈbʊkstɔː/ | A store where books are bought and sold. |
| deplete verb | /dɪˈplit/ | To reduce the amount of; to remove (a substance from something) |
| effortless adjective | /ˈɛfə(ɹ)tlɪs/ | Without effort. |
| expansive adjective | /ɪkˈspænsɪv/ | Comprehensive in scope or extent. |
| joyful adjective | /ˈd͡ʒɔɪfl̩/ | Feeling or causing joy. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. |
| come up to verb | To approach. |
| flip through verb | Synonym of thumb (“to turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily”). |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. |
| hold up verb | To wait or delay. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- When you think about decluttering, whose name comes to mind first?
- I don't quite fit that description.
- What events or obligations are taking up your time?
- Am I safe to be myself around them?
- Do I feel expanded after our interaction?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, doesn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: cloth /klɒθ/, thrive /θɹajv/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shuffle /ˈʃʌfəl/, intuition /ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən/, sensation /sɛnˈseɪʃən/, elimination /ɪlɪmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/, shelf /ʃɛlf/
- Long words — get the stress right: minimalism /ˈmɪn.ə.məl.ɪz.əm/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, intuition /ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən/, elimination /ɪlɪmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/, complexity /kəmˈplɛk.sɪ.ti/
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 spark, declutter, minimalism.
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.