Shadowing Practice: Is YouTubes biggest competitor a Chinese app? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Chinese social media is opening up.
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There are now more
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Western users than ever on these platforms.
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Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
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In today's episode, I'll be sharing my thoughts.
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Stay tuned.
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to The John Pang Show.
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In today's episode, we're going to be talking about how Chinese social media appears to be opening up and changing.
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Or is it?
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You see, in the last few weeks of you hearing this episode right now,
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a platform called Bilibili recently went global.
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What does that mean?
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That means instead of only being able to be downloaded via the Chinese app store, they have gone global.
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They are now accessible from everyone all around the world.
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Now, what exactly does this mean?
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Well, it's actually quite interesting.
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A lot of people have said, well, finally, YouTube has some competition.
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Well, I don't know about that, but it definitely could be a step in the right direction.
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But today, what I actually want to talk to you more about is kind of the pros
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and the cons that I've seen from Chinese social media opening up more to the Western world.
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So, first of all, if you know nothing about Chinese social media, let me tell you a little bit about it.
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I think a lot of you, if you are not from China, you know the app TikTok.
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Now, actually, there is a completely different version in China that's called Douyin.
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And these two apps are basically two separate apps.
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The features are similar, but the entire user base, the entire content base is completely separated.
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Now, most of the apps in China are like that until something happened.
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In case you don't remember, TikTok got banned in the USA for a little bit of time.
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And when that happened, that's when we had the great TikTok refugee situation.
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That's because why?
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Because an app called Red Note in China called Xia Hongshu,
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that's because this app actually was available to be downloaded overseas.
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And when that happened, that's when a lot of TikTok refugees went to this app.
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So I think that's when the Chinese social media scene started to change a lot.
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You see, this is one of the first times in history that Chinese people and people overseas,
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and when I say that, I mean Americans, Europeans, blah, blah, blah.
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This was one of the first times that regular common people began interacting with each other,
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seeing where they live, learning about each other's countries, traditions, cultures, habits, and languages,
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and daily lives without being misguided or jaded or lied to by the news.
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I'll give you an example.
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So for me, I've been living in China for a long time now, I believe over 20 years, and I have family here,
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I have friends here, I have a good life here.
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But before I went to China, I was under the impression that it'd be like this
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dirt roads kung fu pagodas very stern people not a fun place a dark scary place
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because that's what was always portrayed to me by the news
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but then once i got here i realized oh wait a minute no that's it's not like
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that at all it's an amazing place an awesome place the people are friendly
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Everything is convenient.
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It's very technologically advanced.
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It's fantastic.
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Amazing infrastructure, blah, blah, blah.
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Now, of course, this could be said for a lot of different countries.
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But the problem is you never really know until you go or you actually interact with the locals, the people that live there.
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And I think this was a really big moment in time
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because China had always been a complete mystery to many people something
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because the internet has kind of been walled off in a set the fact
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that not everyone could access it unless you were in China or, for example, on the Chinese app store, blah, blah, blah.
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So this was a great moment in time where people from
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all over the world were starting to get to know their Chinese brothers and sisters.
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And I would say that since then,
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China has actually become a lot more popular in a sense that before it was always like this complete mysterious place,
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whereas now people are becoming Chinese or going through a very Chinese part of their lives, right?
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So in one way, I think that's been an amazing thing.
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And of course, when people from all around the world can exchange cultural ideas, be friendly with each other,
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break down boundaries, that of course is a beautiful thing.
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Now, remember, I'm talking very nice right now because we're talking about the positives,
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the good things that I've seen from Chinese social media becoming more open.
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Now, besides the TikTok refugee situation,
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there was another huge event that I think really put a lot of eyes on China,
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life in China, daily life in China, what China is really all about.
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And that was when iShowSpeed, one of the most popular streamers in the world, or probably the most, I'm not sure,
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when he did one of his trips here.
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And when he did his stream here, I think that's when that brought way, way, way more attention to what life is like in China.
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So it's been interesting to see how Chinese social media is now becoming more open to the Western world.
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You're now seeing more and more
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Western content creators come to China, create China -based content, and bring more attention to life in China,
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as well as all the tourist spots and the food and the cuisine, the culture as well.
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now I think that this definitely did a lot of great things
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but I think
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when a lot of good things happen you always can't forget the bad things as well
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and I think this is really the
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meat and potatoes of what I want to talk about today
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because I kind of want to complain a little bit about this migration of Western people,
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including myself, to the app.
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So let's talk about Billy Billy.
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So Billy Billy went global.
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And if you don't know what
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Billy is, Bilibili is like the equivalent of YouTube in China.
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But listen, I love Bilibili, but Bilibili is a lot smaller than YouTube,
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a lot, lot smaller in the sense that it's not the biggest player in China, I would say.
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That would probably be Douyin.
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Now, Bilibili is considered the YouTube with China because that's generally where long -form content is king.
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This is a big issue in China right now because I think a lot of the platforms, they want people to consume more long -form content.
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But the attention span is not good.
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I believe they say that Asians are the top consumer of short -form content.
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And so the attention span is really, really, really low.
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In fact, I might think this might be a global thing.
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I'm going to the USA this month.
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I'll let you know.
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But it is very common if you're walking around in China
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that you'll be hearing a lot of people swiping through short -form social media.
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So I've noticed a few negatives with the influx of foreign creators coming to the Bilibili platform.
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And the first thing is, the For You page is a mess.
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It is a mess.
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I am used to seeing some great Chinese content.
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Now I'm seeing people from India.
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I'm seeing Brazilians.
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I'm seeing Russians.
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And I'm not saying I don't like these people.
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I'm saying that I have no interest in this content.
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It's just not for me, you know?
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I like what I like.
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Like my For You page has been clearly curated to my interest.
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But now I'm just getting a random Indian guy saying, hello, everybody, welcome.
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I'm the Indian guy.
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I'm not going to do an accent, guys, okay?
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I'm not going to do an accent, right?
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I know I have Indian fans following me, okay?
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Don't get me.
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I'm not going to do an accent.
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But now it's just like an Indian guy in a city.
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Or a Brazilian guy from a village, just like, this is my home.
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And I'm like, cool, but I didn't search for this.
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Why did you show me this, right?
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And I think what has happened is that, Billy, the platform has not been really ready for this influx of people coming over.
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Because one rule of social media is that when a new platform shows up, you want to be an early adopter.
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because if you can be there early, that means a lot less competition.
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That means that you could probably go viral earlier.
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You can accumulate more followers.
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You can gain a following and hopefully you can monetize as well.
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And so I think right now, everybody is saying, whoa, new platform.
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Whoa, YouTube competitor.
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Let's go, let's go, let's go.
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But we'll see what happens there.
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Now, besides the For You page, being a mess, there are still a lot of issues with the localization.
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And I think this is a really important thing.
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And I think it is really one of the biggest reasons why a lot of Western companies fail in China
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because they fail to localize to what Chinese want.
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In China, things are done differently.
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Much like where things are done differently in other places as well.
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But in China, specifically, you really, really, really have to localize.
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And there are a lot of videos I'm seeing where there are no subtitles, where the thumbnails are written English.
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Let's get this straight, everybody.
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And I think this is something that a lot of people need to know is
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that if you're going to migrate to Chinese social media, it's not like getting on YouTube or Instagram where you get the world.
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No, it is China only.
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And a lot, a lot of Chinese, obviously, being the world's second largest population, right?
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So you really got to find some way to adapt in there, find a niche, or find something that appeals to the Chinese people.
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Now, with every influx of popular content with new creators comes the bad side of creation as well.
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And for me, I've also started to see a lot of some content that I'm not a big fan of.
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You know, politics is always a sensitive subject.
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But I believe since the influx of a lot more overseas
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users to the Chinese platforms has then brought the rise of the political content creators talking about politics regarding
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China and the USA and comparisons of this is bad you are bad, we are better, et cetera, et cetera, from both sides.
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Now, don't get me wrong.
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Politics are important, but it's just not my cup of tea.
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And I also do know that for the most part, that a lot of political content is designed to get you upset,
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to spark a debate, to rage bait you into leaving a comment.
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And so sometimes I question the, how do I say this?
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The intent of some of these creators talking about that stuff.
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But everybody, the John Pang show is not a political commentary show.
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We're not going to get into that.
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I'm just sharing my thoughts.
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And if you like my thoughts, I appreciate that.
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Now, the worst type of content creator I'm seeing right now.
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And you may say I'm being hypocritical.
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Maybe I am, but hear me out.
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Ever since China's become popular, ever since Chinese apps have become more open to the Western world,
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you have a massive influx of people that love China.
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Oh, that's interesting.
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All of a sudden, you have the American guy talking about, wow, China is amazing.
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This food is incredible.
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Ha ha ha.
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They don't really believe that.
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They don't really think it's a great place
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or they're just here for a short amount of time or they don't think the food is that great.
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Listen, Chinese food is good, but let's not pretend here that everybody loves every single dish.
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It is vastly different from, for example, what people would eat in the US on a daily basis.
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All right.
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And so you have a certain type of content creator right now,
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really capitalizing and exploiting on the China popularity trend right now.
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As an example, there are a lot of advertisers that want to spend money on these types of creators.
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You'll see it a lot.
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You go through Red Note and you'll see, wow, this is the best dish I ever had in my entire life.
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Wow, this Chinese coffee.
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Wow, we have espresso back in my home country.
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This is much better.
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Listen to me.
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Listen to me.
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Okay?
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Are we really going to pretend like a fast food chain of coffee that's probably really,
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really, really cheap, good, convenient, but let's not pretend it's the highest quality bean here, is better than a high -quality,
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traditionally roasted coffee or espresso back in your country where coffee is revered in a tradition
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and has a lot of expertise? and love and passion put into it?
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No, it's not.
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For the most people, it's not.
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And for people that understand coffee culture, it's not.
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But you know what is delicious?
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That nice paycheck you're getting.
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It's always about the money, baby.
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There is so much content like this right now of foreigners in China talking about how this is amazing, that is amazing.
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And what's strange to me is that there's also a large audience for this as well, a very large audience for this as well.
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But I think that, yes, it is interesting to see somebody else from a different place enjoying your culture,
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absolutely for sure, especially because there is definitely not as many foreigners in China as there used to be.
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but a few once in a while is one thing but then all of a sudden a lot more than before
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hundreds more than before people don't speak a word of chinese
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and all of a sudden that's their whole content
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now something is a little off don't you think don't you think now
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there's a lot of good ones as well don't get me wrong for example
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if you want to follow a great content creator, my friend Sam, a British guy.
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Hello, governor.
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Port of water.
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Sorry, Sam.
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My friend Sam, this is a guy that has been living in China for a long time, a long, long time, learned Chinese in China,
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really understands Chinese culture, speaks fluent Chinese, someone that has really embraced the culture, learned the language, and again,
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has really become Chinese in himself.
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Now, when I see content like that from people like that, I tend to trust them a bit more,
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just a bit more validity to their claims, right?
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But if we're talking about all of a sudden the random person that just got to China today is like,
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oh my God, the most amazing place ever.
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Look at this.
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It's amazing.
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Clickbait, trying to make money, trying to get views, don't fall for it, okay?
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It's funny because years ago, years ago, I believe maybe,
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I'm going to say over eight years ago, six or eight years ago,
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there was a big backlash actually against foreigners that would use Chinese social media.
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And that backlash was that there were a few content creators where all their content was, I love China.
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I love China.
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I love China.
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And then there'd be a large amount of people.
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They have huge following, huge video numbers saying, well, this foreigner is good.
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He really loves China.
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How do I know?
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Because he said it.
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He said it.
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This would eventually become what they called a traffic password.
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In Chinese, that translates to a traffic password.
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What that means is that if you say these words in a video, you are guaranteed to get good numbers and good traffic.
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So let's just use that formula.
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And that went on for a while until literally, I forgot exactly when.
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And Chinese people were like, no, you don't.
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You don't love China.
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You're just trying to capitalize.
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You're just trying to save these things because you just want to make money.
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So I think it will be interesting to see where all this goes right now.
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I think it will be very interesting to see if there will be any backlash or if things might change,
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which I'm kind of hopeful about as well.
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Again, I've been living in China for a long time I am Chinese
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I'm an American -born Chinese But I have family here I've been living here for over 20 years
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And Recently, China has made it a lot, lot easier for you to travel here visa -free,
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made it easier for you to get around, made it easier for you to make payments, and that's a big thing.
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China really needs to work on more acceptance of credit cards because overseas, credit card is king, and they are making it easier.
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So I am definitely excited about what this holds for the future, that people will come here,
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see this amazing country, see the sites, judge it for yourself.
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You like it, you like it, you hate it, you hate it.
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That's totally fine, but definitely give it a shot.
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Now, besides all that stuff, besides the political content creators,
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besides the I love
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China content creators, there's a few things also that I think has become worse on the Chinese social media side. So, a few things.
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As more Western content creators are coming to the Chinese side,
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they are discovering a dark fact of life.
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And that is, hey, how come when I post my videos on the Chinese side, they get banned right away?
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Why is it that I'm getting a copyright strike when I posted this all, when I, when I, when I,
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when I post this, hey, wait a minute.
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Wait, oh my God.
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Why is there an account pretending to be me?
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Why is there an account that's already posted on my videos?
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Wait a minute.
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Why is there an account in China that's already put subtitles on my videos.
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Copyright is a huge, huge issue on Chinese social media.
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And I think even for the average Chinese person, obviously everyone's algorithm is a little different.
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But if you swipe, you'll notice something.
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If you swipe and you see a video of someone that doesn't look Chinese speaking English, but there's a lot of subtitles on the video,
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take a look at the account.
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It most likely is not the original content creator.
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It most likely is somebody that stole, yes, stole the video from that person's account
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and repurposed it to post it on their Chinese social media account for them to get followers
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and sums and possibly monetize as well.
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This is a huge issue.
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And as these Chinese apps are really making a big pull to pull these creators in, something's got to give, right?
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Because as an example, if you wanted me to come to one of these platforms, for example, the platform contacts me,
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tells me they have a great plan to get me involved, to an incentive, blah, blah, blah.
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I'd say, great, fantastic.
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I look it up.
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I find all my videos already there.
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Well, the first thing I'm going to say the platform is, yeah, I will join your platform, but you need to get rid of these channels.
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You need to delete all of these videos. Is that fair?
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If you ask me as a content creator, absolutely.
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If you steal my content, if you download my content, you steal it without my consent,
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I will get you and I will copyright strike you if the method exists.
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And this is the big thing.
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This is the big issue.
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You see, even on the Western side of social media, this happens all the time as well.
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But in reality, only YouTube has a true robust tool to really find these copycats,
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copyright strike them, and get their channels terminated.
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I do it weekly because every week, some dumbo is downloading my stuff without my consent,
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never asked me, and they're downloading my video, repost it.
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Sometimes they don't even add anything.
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They don't even app me, and they pretend that they're, oh, I made this original content, or maybe they'll put a few subtitles,
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to put a caption or some music.
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Thieves.
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Thieves.
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And yes, you, you are a thief if you do this as well.
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And so what's about to happen is that something has got to give.
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Because a lot of these
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Western content creators, especially the big names, are going to realize that on a platform like
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Billy Billy, Red Note, the ones that are open to them, there's a lot of channels here that have already stolen their content.
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that have already downloaded it, edited it, added Chinese subtitles to localize it, already gained a massive audience.
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So what happens from here?
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Well, that's entirely up to the platform.
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And if you ask me, yes, I'll have some empathy here.
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It does suck in a sense if somebody dedicated their time to building a channel,
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You know, but what doesn't suck is that now if this issue does become a key issue for platforms like
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Billy Billy to combat piracy, that means that now if these laws get better, if these rules get stricter,
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the quality of content from everybody gets better because they are now protected.
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because now these accounts like this that don't have an ounce of creativity can't rely on stealing anymore. But maybe I'm wrong.
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You tell me what your thoughts are.
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Let me know.
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Because prior to Bilibili opening up to the Western world, that's all we had before.
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It's funny because YouTube is not accessible in China.
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But a lot of people say, why do I need YouTube?
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We already have all the YouTube videos here.
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because there are so many channels on Bilibili that just literally rip the channels from YouTube and post it in China.
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They repost it.
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There is literally a channel, I think it's called the best of YouTube on Bilibili.
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And these channels, I think, are about to find a hard lesson coming up.
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But we'll see, maybe not.
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And I think this will be a really key issue to see.
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Well, if Bilibili wants to go global, well, you got to protect these foreign content creators, right?
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And perhaps here, that's where the clash will happen. But who's to say?
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None of my business.
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But yes, if I do see you're stealing my content, I will strike you down, get your account banned.
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Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
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Another issue I think is really important.
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So there's a lot of stuff that you cannot post in China.
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I'm not going to get into the serious political stuff or that stuff.
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It is what it is.
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But one thing that is not available in China, and I have to think about it.
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I have to think about how I'm about to word this right now.
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You cannot watch videos of people doing things with each other that adults usually do with each other.
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Those videos are not available here, okay?
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They're not available here.
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You may have your ways.
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I don't know, but I'm just saying they're blocked.
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They're banned, okay?
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And because of that, even the insinuation,
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for example, if somebody is maybe showing too much cleavage or if they are showing maybe a little bit too much skin,
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these are easy ways to get your videos censored as well.
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Not censored, but sometimes just the traffic will get restricted.
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Or you might get a warning.
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But I've come to realize, and I don't know when this happened exactly, within the last few years,
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Chinese social media has gotten a lot spicier, a lot sexier, dare I say.
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And I am seeing a lot more straight up half nude men or women in my feeds, mostly women.
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There might be a dude there once in a while, but I get away from that, okay?
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I don't want to see that, okay?
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A lot of women.
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And honestly, in very skimpy outfits, showing a lot of skin, showing a lot of everything.
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And it wasn't like this before.
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And I think there's good and bad to this.
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Now, hear me out.
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First of all, Instagram has been like this for ages, for ages.
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And how do I say this by being completely respectful?
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I will say this.
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My concern is not about these women and what they're doing.
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First of all, it's their body.
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It's their life.
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They can do whatever they want.
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I don't care, right?
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It's not affecting me in any negative way.
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It's not hurting me.
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And it's not against the law, I think.
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I'm not sure.
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My concern is this.
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It wasn't as prevalent as it is right now.
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And I think the biggest issue is that young people are on these apps.
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and if a 11 -year -old girl sees that type of content of somebody being overtly sexual,
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showing a lot of skin,
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possibly getting money in the shape of gifts from a live stream or from a video or tips or,
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hey, maybe from private messages and stuff offline as well or, I don't know, outside the app.
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What precedent does that set for then these younger girls when they see content like that?
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Is it a good thing?
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Is it a bad thing?
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I don't know if I am qualified to talk exactly about that.
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You know, I believe very much in, of course, a woman's right to express herself,
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a man's right as well to express herself any way they want.
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There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
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And again, in the West, we have the rise of many different types of platforms and ways to make money that way.
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But all I'm saying is that it has gotten a lot worse in China the last few years.
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Way worse than it used to be.
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And I don't know if this is a restriction of the rules.
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I don't know if it's that culture is changing.
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Because remember, again, this is usually the younger generation now.
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You have to remember that
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China has changed dramatically recently, whereas China used to be more traditional and conserved and quieter.
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Now it's becoming a new age, a new generation of people that are more exposed and more and whatnot.
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And so now the newer generation now wants to express themselves in many different ways.
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And I think that's a beautiful thing.
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Again, my only concern is that if a younger girl or boy sees these things, how does that affect them?
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How does that affect their mindset?
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How does that affect their thoughts towards their futures?
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I'm not saying that's a bad future.
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I'm just saying that is it the best choice?
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I don't know.
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Not for me to say.
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I can say that my opinion is that it can be easy.
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In fact, there are creators like that, man and woman, that make a lot of money,
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a lot of money, showing a lot of skin and things like that.
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But because it's an easy way, it can be easy.
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I'm not going to say it's an easy thing, but it's a low barrier to entry is the best way for me to say,
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because anyone with a phone can do it.
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It's a low barrier to entry.
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I just wanted to end up where that becomes a norm
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and possibly like one of the first choices to pursue something like that.
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Now, I might be wrong in what I'm saying, and I apologize if I offend anyone with what I'm talking about right now,
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but it is a concern I have, and that's all.
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That's all.
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Especially because you have to understand that me being here and trying to notice these things, I am seeing the trend change a lot.
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And of course, you can tell me what your thoughts are in the comments, All right.
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And keep it civil.
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Now, what are my thoughts on Chinese social media going forward?
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You know, they talk a lot about Chinese apps and,
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for example, not having these other apps available in China, right?
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You know, you can't easily access Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, et cetera, et cetera.
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You have these homegrown platforms.
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On one aspect of it, yes, it is a sense of, you know, not being able to access something.
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But I also do believe that,
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in a sense, too, it does allow these platforms to really build a base and become a player in the market.
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So with the case of Billy Billy Billy Billy is not a YouTube knockoff.
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No way.
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It is very different in a way in a lot of ways.
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It has a large focus on anime and gaming.
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It is a lot more niche in a sense and if you really are interested in long -form content about China
432
that's a platform for you.
433
Can it be a competitor with YouTube?
434
I hate to say it, but I don't think anyone can be a competitor with YouTube, especially when it comes to monetization,
435
pay, and also making a living out of doing it.
436
But, again, competition is always a good thing.
437
It is always good to have another player out there, and we'll see.
438
These are just some thoughts and the pros and the cons I've had about Chinese social media recently.
439
And for you, if you're watching right now, it doesn't matter if it's about China or any other country.
440
You can tell me about the things I've talked about today.
441
What are your thoughts?
442
What do you think about what I said today?
443
Please let me know.
444
I'd love for you to share your thoughts and feedback with me, okay?
445
Now, man, I just realized I say now a lot.
446
Let's talk about something else right now.
447
So again, if you're just with us right now, our format generally is as follows.
448
So we have a main subject for the channel.
449
We have a main subject for each episode.
450
And then I kind of talked about how my day has been going recently.
451
And sometimes answers some of your questions as well.
452
And I want to say to everybody that the John Pang show is growing fast.
453
And I'm growing as well.
454
I'm still learning so much right now, especially about how to grow the channels,
455
how to reformat content, how to market in different ways and sometimes I feel like, man, I just don't have enough time,
456
but I'll tell you what, everybody, seeing the growth of the podcast has been incredible and in a lot of ways has really
457
reignited my passion for creating content.
458
And the fact that you can watch me or listen to me talk for an hour is insane.
459
You're insane.
460
I'm insane.
461
We're insane together.
462
And I am just so thankful and so blessed to have you here with me.
463
Okay.
464
Uh, every week when, sorry, let me sit up a little bit.
465
Every week, every week when we launch our episode on the Chinese side,
466
our episode is generally in the top 10 of rising episodes or new creators of the week or month.
467
And it's a very exciting feeling.
468
It's a very validating experience.
469
We're still working on the Western side with YouTube and Spotify and Apple, but it takes time.
470
It takes time.
471
Sometimes I look at the success of some of these huge podcast channels
472
and I forget that they've been doing this for years.
473
This is only episode 11.
474
So we still have some time.
475
So, recently I went traveling.
476
It's been a while.
477
I recently went to a city called Changsha in China, in the Hunan province.
478
And I got to say, the food was fantastic.
479
Very nice city.
480
Very cool place.
481
If you've never traveled to China before, there's a few destinations you have to go to.
482
Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu.
483
Some people would say Shenzhen.
484
I think Shenzhen has become more popular recently.
485
I don't really know what you would do in Shenzhen.
486
I guess you could see like robots and tech and the fake electronic market.
487
Not fake, the cheap electronic market, whatever you want to call it, okay?
488
I believe that's also where every stolen iPhone in the world eventually goes to die.
489
Okay, so you can go see if you can find your iPhone that you lost or that got stolen from years ago.
490
But Changsha is a really cool place.
491
Hunan food, if you don't know, is spicy.
492
And I love it.
493
I feel like Hunan cuisine, if you don't know, is very spicy and usually like a light oily spicy,
494
a lot of stir -fried spicy, and a lot of like dry spicy.
495
Whereas to me, like food from Chengdu or Sichuan, if you're American, you probably say Sichuan,
496
like Sichuan cuisine, what they called in like Los Angeles.
497
To me, Sichuan cuisine is more oily spicy.
498
and Hunan's more dry spicy.
499
If you are from any of these places, if you're Chinese, I'm getting it wrong.
500
Sorry, sorry, my bad.
501
That's just how I feel about it, okay?
502
But I gotta say, Hunan cuisine on top of white rice,
503
oh, like a stir -fried pork in some chilies.
504
Ooh, wait.
505
The best dish I had there, I can't believe I'm going to say this.
506
Literally, stir -fried eggs.
507
Stir -fried, like, boiled eggs, not like scrambled eggs.
508
Stir -fried eggs in, like, a chili sauce, chili pepper, like a little crunchy on top of rice.
509
This is one of the best dishes I've ever had in my own life.
510
I didn't realize eggs could taste so good, especially stir -fried fantastic really amazing but my main complaint with Changsha China
511
holy beep
512
so many people so so many people my friends
513
if you never travel to China before okay there are two times you definitely do not want to travel.
514
Do not travel during national holiday, which is generally during October, and spring festival, which is generally like in February.
515
These are the world's largest migration of people because there's Chinese people traveling everywhere domestically in China.
516
And if you go there, there is a term in Chinese called 人山人海, which is people mountain, people see,
517
which means people, as far as the eye could see, packed like sardines.
518
And I don't know what it was, the time I went to Hunan this time, I think it's because it was the end of summer vacation,
519
like the last vacation time, kids are out.
520
There were so, so, so many people there.
521
It was insane.
522
I can't believe how many people were there.
523
so packed so crowded i i for me i i think
524
because i i'm a content creator because i i create
525
so much content i kind of sometimes prefer like more like low key
526
and chill this was just way too many people but aside from
527
that really cool place it's definitely like a a city
528
that even like at three o 'clock in the morning there are still like families walking
529
and like eating at restaurants really cool, really interesting.
530
But anyways, you can all tell me what is another place I could travel to in China, okay?
531
All right, ladies and gentlemen, that does it for another episode of The John Pang Show.
532
Remember, everybody, please like the video, like the podcast, like the audio.
533
Please subscribe.
534
The most important thing you can do for me, everybody, please leave a comment.
535
Watch a little longer, but definitely leave a comment for me.
536
When you leave a comment for me, when you like it, commenting is better.
537
Liking is okay, but when you leave a comment, that type of engagement really helps the podcast.
538
And then from there, I will also try my best to respond to you as well.
539
That helps me grow.
540
And I am trying to be a top podcast.
541
I need your help.
542
So if you generally like me, you like my stuff, please share your support.
543
I'd appreciate it.
544
With that said, thanks again, and I'll see you next time.
545
Bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: China, chinese, content. This video has 545 sentences and 6094 words to shadow. The speech runs for 43:47. The speaker talks at a steady 139 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| creator noun | /kɹiːˈeɪ̯təː/ | Something or someone which creates or makes something. |
| steal verb | /stiːl/ | To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. |
| spicy adjective | /ˈspaɪsi/ | Of, pertaining to, or containing spice. |
| stir verb | /stɝ/ | To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it. |
| fry verb | /fɹaɪ/ | To cook (something) in hot fat. |
| insane adjective | /ɪnˈseɪn/ | Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad. |
| pretend verb | /pɹəˈtɛnd/ | To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| cuisine noun | /kwɪˈziːn/ | A characteristic manner or style of preparing food, often associated with a place of origin. |
| influx noun | /ˈɪnˌflʌks/ | A flow inward or into something; a coming in. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| overseas adverb | /ˌoʊvɚˈsiːz/ | Abroad. |
| copyright noun | /ˈkɑpiˌɹaɪt/ | The right by law to be the entity which determines who may publish, copy and distribute a piece of writing, music, picture or other work of authorship. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| whereas | /(h)wɛɹˈæz/ | In contrast; whilst on the contrary; although. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| open up verb | To open. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. |
| come over verb | To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. |
| going forward adverb | In the immediate future and beyond. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- In today's episode, I'll be sharing my thoughts.
- Why is there an account pretending to be me?
- Why is there an account that's already posted on my videos?
- I'm just saying that is it the best choice?
- What do you think about what I said today?
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 living · has been living · has been going |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you swipe, you'll notice · if you ask me, yes, I'll have |
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have gone · have said · I've seen |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 145 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thief /ˈθiːf/, algorithm /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/, thankful /ˈθæŋkfəl/, empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: dish /dɪʃ/, backlash /ˈbækˌlæʃ/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, migration /maɪˈɡɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
- Long words — get the stress right: competitor /kəmˈpɛt.ɪ.tɚ/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, infrastructure /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like creator, steal, spicy.
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.