Shadowing Practice: Introducing Yourself and Meeting New People - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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185 sentences
1
Hey!
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2
Looks like we're gonna be lab partners this semester.
0:14.14 – 0:16.80 (2.7s)
3
I'm Emma.
0:17.96 – 0:18.84 (0.9s)
4
Hi, I'm Trevor.
0:19.32 – 0:20.30 (1.0s)
5
Nice to meet you.
0:20.30 – 0:21.48 (1.2s)
6
Nice to meet you too.
0:22.46 – 0:23.70 (1.2s)
7
You don't look very familiar to me.
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8
Are you new to this school?
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9
I am.
0:28.12 – 0:28.92 (0.8s)
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My family and I just moved here last month.
0:28.92 – 0:31.04 (2.1s)
11
Where did you live before?
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We lived in Mason Heights.
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13
Did you live in Mason Heights your whole life, or were you born somewhere else?
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14
I was born in Mason Heights and lived there until now.
0:42.58 – 0:45.46 (2.9s)
15
When were you born?
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16
I was born on December 14, 2007.
0:49.24 – 0:51.88 (2.6s)
17
It was a Friday at 6 o'clock in the morning.
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18
I guess I'm an early riser.
0:55.80 – 0:57.94 (2.1s)
19
Friday is my favorite day of the week.
1:00.02 – 1:02.10 (2.1s)
20
It's the closest to the weekend, and we have less lessons than usual.
1:03.18 – 1:06.84 (3.7s)
21
Yeah, it's my favorite day of the week, too.
1:08.06 – 1:09.84 (1.8s)
22
What about you?
1:11.18 – 1:11.94 (0.8s)
23
When were you born?
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24
I was born on May 25, 2007.
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25
We're the same age.
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26
Were you born here in Jeffersonville?
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27
No, I was born in Greece and moved here when I was five years old.
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28
My dad got a green card and got a job here.
1:31.34 – 1:34.12 (2.8s)
29
Wow, that's nice.
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30
So do you go back there very often?
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31
Yes, my family and I spend our summer vacations in Greece every two years.
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32
So it certainly feels like my second home.
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33
It's where my roots are.
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34
Can you speak Greek?
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35
Yes, I can speak Greek fluently.
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36
That's awesome!
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37
So, do you like living here?
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38
Yes, I love it.
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39
And I love this school too.
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40
I feel so comfortable here because the teachers are really nice and helpful.
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41
I joined a lot of clubs when I came here and I have a lot of friends.
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42
What sports facilities are there in this school?
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We have a team and a stadium.
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44
We are also lucky to have a swimming pool in our school.
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45
Wow, that's great to hear!
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46
I've been thinking of joining a sports club to try to meet more people.
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47
That's a great idea.
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48
We have so many clubs for all kinds of sports and hobbies.
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49
What do you like to do?
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I love athletics.
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That's my favorite thing.
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52
I also like swimming a lot.
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53
What is your favorite subject?
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54
My favorite subject is science because I like doing experiments.
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55
What subject do you find the most difficult?
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It's social studies because I have to take a lot of notes.
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My favorite subject is math because I like solving problems.
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58
The most difficult subject for me is history.
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59
I'm very bad at memorizing dates and names.
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60
I pretty much feel the same way.
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61
What are some of your favorite places to go here?
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I like going to the mall, the park, and the Grand Plaza Market on Saturdays.
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63
Is there a movie theater here?
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The mall has its own movie theater and is a short walk from our school.
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It has all of the newly released movies.
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66
That's awesome!
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67
I'm going there this Saturday with some friends.
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68
You can join us if you like.
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69
Great!
3:59.78 – 4:00.40 (0.6s)
70
I can't wait.
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71
Excuse me, is this the right place for the meeting about the Spain trip?
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72
Yes, you're in the right place.
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73
It seems we've arrived too early.
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74
Are you thinking of studying abroad in Spain next semester?
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75
semester?
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76
I am.
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77
I have been wanting to go on this trip since my freshman year.
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78
Me too.
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79
I'm very excited to hear all the details.
4:33.28 – 4:35.88 (2.6s)
80
I'm Martin, by the way.
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81
Nice to meet you, Martin.
4:38.28 – 4:40.48 (2.2s)
82
I'm Jasmine.
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83
Do you speak Spanish?
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84
I don't, but I'm hoping I'll learn during this trip.
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85
I've always wanted to become fluent in a second language, so I think this opportunity will be perfect for me.
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86
How about you?
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87
Do you speak Spanish?
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88
I speak a little bit, but I want to improve.
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89
I actually speak French pretty well, so I'm hoping that will help.
5:02.64 – 5:06.84 (4.2s)
90
Are you from France?
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91
I was born in the States, but my parents are from Belgium.
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92
How cool!
5:15.18 – 5:15.96 (0.8s)
93
How about you?
5:17.08 – 5:17.98 (0.9s)
94
Where are you from?
5:17.98 – 5:19.02 (1.0s)
95
I was born in Chicago, but I grew up in Michigan.
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96
Then I decided to move to Tennessee for college.
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97
How did you end up here at the University of Tennessee?
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98
Well, my parents moved from Belgium to Tennessee for my dad's job before I was born.
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99
Once they had me, they decided to stay in Tennessee and raise me here.
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So I've been in Tennessee all of my life.
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101
Is your family nearby?
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102
They all live about two hours from here.
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103
Do you have siblings?
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104
No, I'm an only child.
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105
What about you?
5:59.38 – 6:00.38 (1.0s)
106
I have an older sister who goes to college in New York.
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107
I don't get to see her very often, but we both try to get back to Michigan for the holidays.
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108
That's good.
6:12.76 – 6:13.56 (0.8s)
109
What is your major?
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110
I'm studying international business, hence the trip to Spain.
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111
I think it will be cool to learn about how other cultures conduct business, and to learn a language.
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112
For sure.
6:29.68 – 6:30.44 (0.8s)
113
That will be very useful.
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114
What are you majoring in?
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115
I'm studying architecture.
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116
I want to get to Spain and get inspired by the amazing buildings and historical designs.
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117
I bet they are beautiful.
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118
I'm sure I'll take millions of photos.
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119
Me too.
6:57.20 – 6:57.66 (0.5s)
120
Would you be interested in getting a coffee after the meeting to talk about the trip?
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121
I would love that.
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122
We will discuss all the details after the meeting.
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123
Great!
7:10.84 – 7:11.38 (0.5s)
124
Looking forward to it.
7:11.38 – 7:12.60 (1.2s)
125
Me too.
7:14.14 – 7:14.82 (0.7s)
126
Hello.
7:23.80 – 7:24.42 (0.6s)
127
Welcome to the neighborhood.
7:24.42 – 7:25.84 (1.4s)
128
Hi.
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129
Thank you.
7:27.30 – 7:28.42 (1.1s)
130
I'm Stacy.
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131
Pleased to meet you.
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132
I'm Amanda.
7:31.10 – 7:32.20 (1.1s)
133
Nice to meet you as well.
7:33.26 – 7:34.54 (1.3s)
134
It's been a crazy few days of moving and unpacking.
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135
We haven't had a chance to introduce ourselves to anyone in the neighborhood yet.
7:40.74 – 7:44.48 (3.7s)
136
No worries at all.
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137
I could see you had your hands full trying to get settled.
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138
I wanted to wait a few days before stopping over to say hello.
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139
Thanks.
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140
Have you lived here for a while?
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We have.
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142
We actually built our house about 15 years ago and we've been here ever since.
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143
That's quite a while.
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144
That's right.
8:06.92 – 8:09.06 (2.1s)
145
Where did you guys move from?
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146
We used to live in Atlanta.
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My boss asked me if I'd be willing to transfer to California and I I thought it would be great to move out here.
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148
It is fantastic.
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149
The weather is great.
8:25.94 – 8:27.54 (1.6s)
150
The people are nice.
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151
It's a great place to be.
8:28.54 – 8:30.20 (1.7s)
152
That's what I heard.
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153
So what do you do?
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154
I'm in IT.
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155
I work for a large computer company that develops software for lawyers and courthouses.
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156
That sounds interesting.
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157
It is.
8:48.54 – 8:49.80 (1.3s)
158
I really enjoy it.
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159
What about you?
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160
What do you do?
8:52.34 – 8:53.58 (1.2s)
161
I'm a nurse at the local hospital, and my husband is a teacher at the high school.
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162
Nice.
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163
My husband worked as a realtor in Atlanta, and he hopes to continue to do that here.
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164
I'm sure he will have no problem getting a job selling houses out here.
9:09.36 – 9:13.28 (3.9s)
165
The market is incredible right now.
9:14.38 – 9:16.72 (2.3s)
166
That's what we're hoping.
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167
Do you have any kids?
9:19.48 – 9:20.68 (1.2s)
168
We have three boys.
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169
Aiden is 14, Ryan is 12, and Ian is 10.
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170
That's awesome.
9:28.74 – 9:29.84 (1.1s)
171
We have two boys.
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172
Leo is 13 and Zach is 11.
9:31.08 – 9:34.12 (3.0s)
173
Do they like to play basketball?
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174
They love basketball.
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175
That is great.
9:39.92 – 9:41.82 (1.9s)
176
We have a park with a nice basketball court at the end of the street where my boys play all the time.
9:41.94 – 9:47.34 (5.4s)
177
I'm sure they'd love to take your boys there.
9:50.26 – 9:52.48 (2.2s)
178
That would be so nice.
9:53.56 – 9:55.26 (1.7s)
179
They've been dying to make some new friends and burn up some energy.
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180
Would you and your family like to come over for our cookout tonight?
9:59.94 – 10:02.66 (2.7s)
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Nothing fancy, just some hot dogs and burgers.
10:03.58 – 10:06.48 (2.9s)
182
We could introduce our boys to each other and introduce our husbands as well.
10:07.54 – 10:11.58 (4.0s)
183
What do you think?
10:12.70 – 10:13.48 (0.8s)
184
Thank you so much, we would love that.
10:13.98 – 10:16.54 (2.6s)
185
It will be a fun evening for all of us!
10:18.12 – 10:20.12 (2.0s)

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "Introducing Yourself and Meeting New People" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

How to Practice Effectively on ShadowingEnglish

  1. Choose your video: Pick a YouTube video with clear, natural English speech. TED Talks, BBC News, movie scenes, podcasts, or IELTS sample answers all work great. Paste the URL into the search bar. Start with shorter videos (under 5 minutes) and content you find genuinely interesting — motivation matters.
  2. Listen first, understand the context: On your first pass, keep the speed at 1x and just listen. Don't try to repeat yet. Focus on understanding the meaning, picking up new vocabulary, and noticing how the speaker stresses words, links sounds, and uses pauses.
  3. Set up Shadowing mode:
    • Wait Mode: Choose +3s or +5s — after each sentence plays, the video pauses automatically so you have time to repeat it out loud. Choose Manual if you want full control and press Next yourself after each repetition.
    • Sub Sync: YouTube subtitles sometimes appear slightly ahead or behind the audio. Use ±100ms to align them perfectly so you can follow along accurately.
  4. Shadow out loud (the core practice): This is where the real work happens. As soon as a sentence plays — or during the pause — repeat it out loud, clearly and confidently. Don't just mouth the words: mirror the speaker's exact rhythm, stress, pitch, and connected speech. Aim to sound like a shadow of the speaker, not just a word-by-word recitation. Use the Repeat feature to drill the same sentence multiple times until it feels natural.
  5. Scale up the challenge: Once a passage feels comfortable, push your limits. Increase speed to <code>1.25x</code> or even <code>1.5x</code> to train high-speed language reflexes. Or set Wait Mode to <code>Off</code> for continuous shadowing — the most advanced and rewarding mode. Consistent daily practice of 15–30 minutes will produce noticeable results within weeks.

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