Shadowing Practice: I went on a solo trip to spend more time alone - Learn English Speaking with Video
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146 sentences
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For over a year now, I had this idea to go on a solo trip somewhere.
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To spend a week by the sea in a cabin and do nothing but read, brainstorm, and write.
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In other words, I wanted to go on a think week.
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Life has been a complete roller coaster this year, and lately I've been craving some solitude.
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It's also been a really long time since I've traveled somewhere by myself, so I think it's time for me to experience something like that again.
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This idea has been on my radar for a long while, but I could never dedicate the time nor resources.
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But after finding the perfect little cottage in a seaside town on the east coast of Canada, I knew it was finally time to bite the bullet and go.
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To be honest, I had no clue how this week was actually gonna go.
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We got our rental car.
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But in my eyes, sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith, trust your instincts, and see where it takes you.
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I'm going to make a little bit of a piece of paper.
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Day one of my solo trip and my think week.
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Got my coffee here, got my...
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Banana bread.
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I got in late last night and it was just a full day of traveling.
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My heart is very happy that I chose this place.
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Let me give you guys a room tour.
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Honestly, the light that comes into this place is crazy.
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I chose this place because it was small, like perfect for one person.
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This is the kitchen.
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Many shelves and kitchen supplies.
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A nice seating area where I can do some writing or eat my dinner.
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along.
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This flower is from Colt because I came straight from New York.
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And this is the other side of the cottage.
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I do not.
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I had the best sleep of my life on this bed last night.
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I slept like a rock.
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There's a bathroom in there.
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Then comfy cozy Seating area.
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Working Journal, banana bread, and drink my coffee.
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- Ah.
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That was the room tour.
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So my plan for the rest of the day is I'm gonna go and journal a little bit more, set my intentions for this week.
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Got my notebook here, my pen, and my...
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second cup of coffee Okay.
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essentials.
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The purpose of my Think Week was to dedicate time solely to my craft to ruminate on complex ideas and questions, and hopefully, by the end,
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have some answers to leave with.
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you Coming here I was feeling a bit stretched then and felt like a million things needed my attention at all times.
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And while it's normal to have the distractions of everyday life, I felt like maybe I just needed some time to zoom out and think.
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It's funny doing stuff like this.
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At some points, I'm questioning all my decisions, and the next, I'm feeling like I'm right where I should be.
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I also knew this would need to be done on my own.
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Which I quickly realized is a whole different aspect in itself.
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Mama said that the growing pains won't end.
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It's the little bitty wave that'll keep the tide at bay.
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Got my coffee?
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Got my oatmeal.
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It actually took me longer than I thought.
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to settle in just because i have to drive all the way into town
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and get groceries and all that but at least i did it and now we're set
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So I got up later than I wanted to today.
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I guess in my head this whole trip I wanted it to be like perfect routine and da da da. But Alas.
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cannot dwell i also should say that i deleted my social media apps off my phone so i really only have
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you know other necessities for my apps but i deleted instagram
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and my youtube studio going into the strip i didn't really think of it as like a dopamine detox
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or anything like that 'Cause usually I'm fine, like I don't really go on
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social media apps like too often actually on my phone only really
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when I'm uploading but for some reason ever since I came here I I've been Opening the apps.
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more than I thought I would.
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And I'm like, what the heck is going on?
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So this morning I woke up and I deleted all the apps.
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It didn't have to come to this, but it did.
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I first came across the concept of a think week when I watched the Bill Gates mini docuseries on Netflix.
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Twice a year, he goes to a cabin for a week, reads a ton of books, and focuses on complex ideas.
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Something about this intrigued me and I figured that someday it would be possible on a simpler level for me to execute.
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We live in such a connected world, so to me, it's important to step away from external influences whenever I'm trying to ideate.
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Arguably, you can do all these things at home, of course, but we're way more prone to the distractions of the day and sometimes we just need a reset here,
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i'm off my emails, off social media, and my obligations end with whatever my essentials are and the less distractions that I have,
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the more I can give space to this process.
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I wondered how it would be spending so much time with myself.
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But so far, it's been nice to be able to be on your own schedule and not worry about splitting an itinerary.
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I can create the routine that I want to, with no pressure to do anything else.
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And to this day, I still think
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that learning how to be comfortable in your own company is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
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One thing that I'm really happy that I did for this week was incorporate meditation into my routine.
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Meditation is something that I picked up around six years ago.
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I was curious about stress management and mental clarity and that led me to meditation.
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Luckily, I was able to partner with Headspace for this video, which is a little bit surreal because I have been using their app for ages now.
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Actually, their app is the reason why I was able to keep up with this habit for so long.
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to as long as 20 minutes.
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They also have exercises on breathing, before bed, managing distractions and more.
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Personally, I started out using their basics course and to this day it's still my favorite.
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So sitting comfortably Just taking a big deep breath.
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Throughout my meditation journey, I noticed how important it is to have some sort of app to guide you along your way,
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to help you understand what meditation is and why you're even doing it in the first place.
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And even if you are familiar with meditation, the app is a great tool to introduce you to techniques for focus that you may have not known before.
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I love starting my days with meditation.
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It sets the tone for the day, sets the pace, I feel like I can do everything else.
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If you want to see how Headspace can be helpful for you, you can try it completely free for 60 days when you sign up with the link in my description.
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Thanks Headspace, and back to our Think Week.
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Good morning, good morning. So...
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Today we're gonna go explore outside.
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I've been holed up in this little cottage for a while.
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So I thought it'd be good for me to go outside for a bit.
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In Nova Scotia, I've never been to Nova Scotia.
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A lot of the touristy sites are a bit farther away from where I'm staying.
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So I'm just gonna try to check out some local spots.
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It's been a while since I've been somewhere new and exploring on my own.
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It's going to be a fun day.
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Also, I'm pretty sure it's freezing outside, so I'm trying to bundle up as much as possible.
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What?
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Alright.
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Ready for a day of exploring?
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- Yeah.
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I found this local cafe near the beach that I wanted to go to.
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Let's get some lunch.
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I thought since it's been so long since I've traveled by myself, there was a tiny part of me that was a bit worried I would feel lonely.
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Thank you and going out to places by myself in an unfamiliar place didn't make me a little nervous at first, but only in the beginning.
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It's honestly not as bad as we think it is
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and often surpasses what we think it would be if we give it the chance.
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It's interesting because I came here for a think week, but I think coming here alone was a bigger aspect than I thought it would be.
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And I was surprised at some of the things that I started to reflect on.
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The first time I ever traveled alone was a few years back.
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When I dropped out of school and booked a one -way ticket the furthest my saved up money would take me.
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At the time, I was lost, I was running away from problems, and I had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do with my life.
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And so now that I'm back solo traveling for this week, It's interesting to look back at that time.
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So much has changed since then.
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no longer running or searching, feeling a little more sure of myself, and I can't help but feel a little grown up.
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What I'm trying to say is, if you're wondering if it ever gets better, It does.
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It's good to spend time with ourselves.
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There's a certain freedom to it.
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To see who we are when we're not around anyone else in a place that no one really knows you.
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Over the course of our lives, we'll want to experience so many things.
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and maybe sometimes we won't have someone to do those things with.
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- But that's okay.
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I still think we should do those things anyway.
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- I love a day.
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I ran out of coffee.
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- Overall, this week was a much needed reset.
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I didn't film much of the working process because most of the time I was literally on this couch.
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For the first half of it, My think week was about absorbing and brainstorming.
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I read books, journaled and reflected, and wrote down as many questions that would come to me.
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And by the time the second half rolled around, I was able to find some clarity and was fostering new ideas.
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By the end of the week, I truly love the solitude.
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Being unplugged and having the space to focus so intently was something I needed coming here.
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Most of the time, I was able to work for hours with minimal to no distractions.
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I can't believe I wanted to do this two years ago and I finally did it.
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And honestly, It was over way too soon.
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I can't believe it's my last day, my last evening here at my sweet little cottage.
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I'm so so glad that I decided to go on my Think Week and also do a solo trip.
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It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.
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I'm so glad that I didn't let it stop me
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and I would recommend it to anybody who needs a little solo retreat.
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The past week has been pretty magical.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 146 sentences and 1917 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:39. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| meditation noun | /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/ | A devotional exercise of, or leading to, contemplation. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| cottage noun | /ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ/ | A small house. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| explore verb | /ɪkˈsploɹ/ | To examine or investigate something systematically. |
| delete verb | /dɪˈliːt/ | To remove, get rid of or erase, especially written or printed material, or data on a computer or other device. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| reflect verb | /ɹɪˈflɛkt/ | To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| cabin noun | /ˈkæbɪn/ | A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those… |
| banana noun | /bəˈnænə/ | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. |
| clarity noun | /ˈklæɹ.ɪ.ti/ | The state or measure of being clear, either in appearance, thought or style; lucidity. |
| reset verb | /ɹiːˈsɛt/ | To set back to the initial state. |
| dedicate verb | /ˈdɛdɪˌkeɪt/ | To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate. |
| tone noun | /ˈtəʊn/ | A specific pitch. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| keep up with verb | To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| roll around verb | To move about on the ground while rotating and turning one's body. |
| run away from verb | To avoid or shirk a problem or consequences; to rush to back away from or disclaim responsibility 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 | I've been craving · I've been Opening · have been using |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · It's also been · it's been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be done · I've been holed · was lost |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | video, which is · anybody who needs |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 51 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, furthest /ˈfɜː(ɹ)ðɪst/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, intentions /ɪnˈtɛnʃənz/, obligation /ˌɑ.blɪˈɡeɪ.ʃn̩/, shelf /ʃɛlf/
- Long words — get the stress right: necessity /nɪˈsɛsəti/, incorporate /ɪŋˈkɔɹ.pɚ.eɪt/, unfamiliar /ˌʌnfəˈmɪli.ə(ɹ)/, docuseries /ˌdɑ.kjəˈsɪɹ.iz/, itinerary /aɪˈtɪnəˌɹɛɹi/
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 meditation, distraction, cottage.
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.