Shadowing Practice: Improve your LISTENING and SPEAKING SKILLS with one simple method /ACTIVE LISTENING - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hey guys!
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In this video, we're going to work a little bit on our listening skills
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and at the same time hopefully we'll learn some new vocabulary and also we'll work on our speaking skills.
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Ready?
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So with no further ado, let's start.
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It's Anna and this is the English Fluency Journey.
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It's not a secret that developing and improving listening skills is a hard task.
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It takes time and effort, especially if you're not exposed to English.
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So the only thing we can do is to listen as much as possible.
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And it's not that easy because lacking of vocabulary and grammar, of course, gets in the way.
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And apart from that, it's sometimes so hard to understand native speakers
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because of the connected speech and reductions that they use all the time when they speak to speak faster and more naturally.
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But because of those reductions, the language flows, sounds smoothly and not choppy and abrupt.
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That's why in this video we're going to analyze a couple of fragments from one speech
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and TV shows that we all love to watch so much.
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To be honest, I can just binge watch TV series the whole weekend.
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So this video is also going to help us to learn how how to sound more naturally ourselves.
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First, let's watch a fragment from Mark Zuckerberg's, the founder of Facebook, Harvard Speech.
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This is an incredible and passionate speech.
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You'll find the link in the description.
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So go ahead and watch it because it's great.
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I was running late for class, so I threw on a t-shirt, and I didn't realize until afterwards that I put it on inside out and backwards, my tag was sticking out the front.
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I couldn't figure out why no one in class would talk to me.
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Now, let me tell you what is he saying.
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I was running late for class, so I threw on a t-shirt, and I didn't realize it until afterwards that I put it on inside out and backwards,
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and my tag was sticking out of the front, and I couldn't figure out why no one in class would talk to me.
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So as you can hear, he connects everything together and he pauses and makes an emphasis on the important words for delivering the message.
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And he reduces and connects all the rest of the words.
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Let's listen to it again.
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I was running late for class, so I threw on a t-shirt and I didn't realize until afterwards
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that I put it on inside out and backwards and my tag was sticking out the front.
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I couldn't figure out why no one in class would talk to me.
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I was running late for class, so I threw in a t-shirt.
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And I didn't realize it all afterwards that I put it on inside out
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and backwards and my tag was sticking out at the front.
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And I couldn't figure out why no one in class would talk to me.
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So the words, and I didn't realize it until afterwards, he pronounced it so fast and so incoherent, it's like he swallows the sounds and blends them together.
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And it sounds like, and I didn't realize it all afterwards.
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People of course understand him, but for non-native speakers, it's a good way to train your ear, but you gotta know what you're hearing in the first place.
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And also the words, and I put it on inside out and backwards, he pronounces very fast as well, because it's not that important for the message, so that's why he connects everything together.
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Now, what I want you to do, I want you to practice to pronounce these words,
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these connected words together, at least separately.
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So, let's try.
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And I didn't realize until afterwards, and I didn't realize until afterwards, you don't have to say these words not clear like he says them,
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but it's important to practice at least to try to pronounce them fast.
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And I didn't realize until afterwards.
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And now that I put it on inside out and backwards, that I put it on inside out and backwards, a lot of flap T's,
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that I put it on inside out and backwards, that I put it on inside out and backwards, it sounds like a tongue twister, a great tongue twister.
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And this is what every native speaker usually does.
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This is just a natural way of speaking.
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And also it's important to know grammar because when people ask questions like what are you doing or what do you do,
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the only difference is the words doing and doing.
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All the rest sounds the same.
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But in the first example, we're asking what are you doing, like right now.
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And the other person knows that we're asking about right now because we use the ing form of the verb, the present participle in other words, with the auxiliary verb to be.
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And the second question is, what do you do?
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Like, what do you do for a living?
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What is your occupation?
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Now, let's listen to the native speakers asking this question.
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What do you do?
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What do you do?
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What are you doing?
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What are you doing?
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So you can hear that the only difference is the words doing and do.
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But of course, just to be clear, people can ask this question clearly, like, what are you doing?
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What are you doing?
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Or, what you doing?
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What you doing? doing.
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And also you can hear something like what'd you do last night?
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What did you do last night?
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What'd you do last night?
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What'd you?
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What'd you?
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Or what's that mean?
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What's that mean?
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What does that mean?
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What's that mean?
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You can hear all of those reductions.
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It's crazy.
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I know.
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To train your ear, I recommend you to do, let's call it an exercise.
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I find it very effective.
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So watch movies, TV shows in English with subtitles, but turn them on only when you don't understand something.
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So pause the video, read the subtitles, listen to it again, try to hear all the reductions, repeat it, and if you don't know some words, look them up.
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So let's listen to and analyze some more examples.
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Sorry, I didn't mean that.
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You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it.
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You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it.
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You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it.
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So you would not have said it if you didn't mean it.
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you would not have becomes you wouldn't, you wouldn't a or you also can hear you wouldn't if you wouldn't have so you wouldn't have said it, if you didn't mean it.
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Repeat it with me.
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You wouldn't have said it, if you didn't mean it.
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You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it.
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You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it.
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— Do you want to get your face painted like a pretty butterfly?
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— No, I'm just not in the mood.
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So he says, do you want to get your face painted.. like a pretty butterfly?
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No...
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I'm.. just not in the mood So, he says, do you want to get your face painted like a pretty butterfly?
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Let's listen to it again Do you want to get your face painted like a pretty butterfly?
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So.. do you want to get your face...
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Painted like a pretty butterfly?
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So, do you want to.. becomes do you wanna? do you wanna do you wanna?
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And the word painted.. he pronounces like painted.. painted.. dropping the
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T Do you wanna get your face painted like a pretty butterfly?
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Let's try it with me.
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Do you want to get your face painted like a pretty butterfly?
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Do you want to get your face painted like a pretty butterfly?
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And one last example.
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You guys really think about getting a housekeeper?
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Because, I mean, how would you feel about paying me to do it?
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We're looking for somebody who's a little experienced.
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Wow, did you hear that?
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It's crazy how fast she pronounces those words.
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And those are, are you guys really thinking of getting another housekeeper? housekeeper
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because I mean how would you feel about paying me to do it?
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So there is no a lot of reductions but she speaks
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so fast and relaxed and connects everything together so it sounds like one huge word.
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Are you guys really thinking about getting another housekeeper?
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Are you guys really thinking about getting another housekeeper?
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Because I mean how would you feel about paying me to do it?
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You guys don't have to try to speak like that.
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This is just so you are aware of how people might speak.
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I'm telling you, that exercise works like a charm.
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Pause the video, read the subtitles, and over some time you'll understand more and more.
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Mark my word.
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And of course, we haven't talked about all the spoken contractions, which, by the way, we don't use in formal writing, such as I'm a, I'm an a,
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I'm gonna, I'm gotta, I have to, have to, and more.
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The bottom line is that we have to train our ears, and we have to know what to look for and what to pay attention to when we're listening.
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And I hope this video helps you to start noticing these things
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and to become one step closer to understanding native speaker speaking patterns.
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Thank you for watching everybody and of course don't forget to stay positive and motivated in your studies.
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If you like this channel please subscribe, like this video, hit this bell icon to stay updated and I'll see you in my next video.
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Bye!
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Master Listening & Speaking with Active Listening: A Practical Guide
Improving English listening and speaking skills can feel tough, especially when native speakers blend words together. The video breaks down this challenge using a relatable example: Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard speech. His casual, connected speech—like "I was running late for class"—shows how real conversations flow, with reduced sounds and linked phrases. This isn’t just about understanding; it’s about learning to speak naturally too.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication (From the Video)
- "Running late for class" – Perfect for explaining delays.
- "Threw on a t-shirt" – Casual way to say "put on quickly."
- "Inside out and backwards" – Describes clothing mistakes (or mix-ups!).
- "Tag was sticking out" – Useful for talking about clothing issues.
- "Couldn’t figure out why" – Express confusion in daily chats.
Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide to Nailed Connected Speech
The shadowing technique (or "shadow speech") is key here. Start by listening to Zuckerberg’s clip 3x. Focus on how he blends "and I didn’t realize until afterwards" – he shortens sounds, making it flow. Next, shadow (repeat immediately after) the phrase. Slow down first, then speed up. For "that I put it on inside out and backwards," practice the "flap T’s" (soft, quick T sounds) to sound natural. This isn’t just about mimicry; it’s about training your mouth to move like a native, which boosts English pronunciation. Try 5-minute daily sessions – you’ll notice smoother speech in a week!
Pro tip: Use the video’s phrases as "shadowspeak" drills. Repeat tricky parts ("inside out and backwards") until they feel like a tongue twister you can master. The more you practice, the easier connected speech becomes. Ready to start? Hit play and shadow away!
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.