Shadowing Practice: Kids Book Read Aloud: Little Girl Big Dream! | Vooks Narrated Storybooks - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Have you ever had a really, really big dream?
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Have you ever had a really, really big dream?
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One of my big dreams is to be a swim coach,
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because I just like seeing smiles on other kids' faces.
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Samantha Pescik had big dreams,
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and she didn't give up on them either.
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She ended up going to the Olympics!
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Check it out in this book's story, Little Girl, Big Dream.
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Little Girl, Big Dream.
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The Story of Olympian Samantha Peshek.
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Little Samantha Peshek loved gymnastics.
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More than toys.
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Even more than ice cream.
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And that's saying something.
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When she was just five years old,
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she watched the Olympics for the first time with her mom and dad.
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Of course, her favorite part was the gymnastics competition.
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She loved the way the athletes moved on the floor,
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the vault, the uneven bars, and the balance beam.
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It was right then and there that Samantha had a dream.
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A big dream!
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I'm going to be an Olympian, she shouted.
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Her mom and dad said, Dream big, Samantha.
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You can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
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Samantha thought, to be an Olympian,
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I must be the very best gymnast out there.
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So Samantha practiced.
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And dreamed.
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And practiced.
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And dreamed.
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And practiced and dreamed some more.
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She even had her mom help her hang the word dream up in her room,
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so she would never forget her big plan to be the very best.
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In her room, she would close her eyes and pretend to compete in front of the world,
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just like the Olympians on TV.
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She told everyone she met about this dream.
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I'm going to be an Olympic gymnast someday,
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she told her teacher, her neighbor,
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kids at the park, her coaches, the grocer.
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And that means I have to be the best,
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she'd let them all know.
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The more Samantha practiced, the better she got.
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She soon found she was great at all of the events,
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except for one, the balance beam.
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She would climb onto the beam,
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put her arms in the air,
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take a deep breath, bend her knees to jump, and then...
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Nothing.
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For some reason, she was too afraid to do it.
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This made Samantha very upset.
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I couldn't do it, Mom.
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I have to be the best.
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Or else I won't be able to go to the Olympics.
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Samantha's mom looked at her and said,
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You have to have the bad days to appreciate the good days.
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Dream big, Samantha.
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You can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
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She remembered that when she went to bed at night,
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staring at the word dream on her wall.
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I can accomplish anything.
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I won't give up, no matter what.
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That meant it was time to keep trying at that scary balance beam.
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And with the help of her new coach,
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Peter, she finally overcame her fears.
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With Peter's coaching and her parents love Samantha felt unbeatable next stop nationals or so she thought
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when it was time to compete for her big chance
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Samantha made a couple mistakes she didn't make the team and became an alternate.
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Samantha was very upset again.
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Two little mistakes made her feel like one big failure.
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I'm so mad I didn't win.
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She mumbled on her drive home that day.
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Her parents Samantha looked at her and said,
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We don't love you because you win.
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We love you because we love you.
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Dream big, Samantha.
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You can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
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Samantha kept practicing.
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And dreaming.
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And practicing.
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And dreaming and practicing some more.
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Finally, the day came.
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The day she had dreamed about since she was five years old.
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She made the Olympic team!
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She was all set to compete and be the very best when something terrible happened.
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While practicing right before the competition, Samantha hurt her ankle.
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Oh no. So, Samantha was very upset.
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And then, she remembered her mom and dad's words.
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I have to have the bad days to appreciate the good days.
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I'm not loved because I win.
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I'm loved because I'm me.
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Maybe being the very best doesn't always mean winning the gold medal after all, Samantha thought.
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Maybe being the very best me today means supporting my team.
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Samantha cheered on her teammates during their floor routines.
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You can do it!
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She cheered them on during all of their routines.
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Yeah!
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Dream big, she told them.
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Yeah!
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You can accomplish anything you set your mind to, she said.
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And they did!
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Woohoo!
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Even with her hurt ankle,
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she was able to compete in the uneven bars.
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And it was her best routine ever.
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She stood on the Olympic podium and was awarded a silver medal.
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She watched as everyone cheered for her and for her team.
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Today, Samantha coaches kids just like you and reminds them to keep dreaming,
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keep practicing, keep supporting each other.
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Do you have a dream like Samantha?
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Go Samantha, go Samantha, go Samantha.
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I don't know about you but I'm inspired to dream really big.
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My favorite part was when she hurt her ankle
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and she wouldn't let that stop her so she practiced on the uneven bars and she got a silver medal.
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It made me feel kind of.. this may sound weird but kind of like bubbly and happy.
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Maybe I'll grow up to be a veterinarian.
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Maybe not a veterinarian but maybe a swim couch.

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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

Practicing your English speaking skills using engaging content like the video titled "Kids Book Read Aloud: Little Girl Big Dream!" can provide numerous benefits. The story of Samantha Peshek encourages viewers to dream big and demonstrates the importance of perseverance. Learning English with YouTube allows you to hear authentic expressions and pronunciations used in a natural context. Not only does this enhance comprehension, but it also encourages you to mimic the speaker’s intonation and pace. By employing the shadowing technique, where you repeat what you hear immediately after the speaker, you can significantly improve your fluency and confidence in speaking.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The video features a variety of useful grammatical structures and expressions that can enrich your English vocabulary:

  • Future Intentions: Phrases like "I'm going to be an Olympian" highlight how to express future plans and ambitions.
  • Descriptive Comparisons: The phrase "more than toys. Even more than ice cream" illustrates how to make comparisons effectively using structure.
  • Conjunctions in Lists: The repetition of "and practiced" emphasizes the importance of practice and can be a model for creating detailed lists in your own writing.
  • Encouragement Expressions: "Dream big, you can accomplish anything" gives insight into using supportive language in conversations.

Understanding and using these structures can help you become more articulate and expressive in your English speaking.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you practice with this video, be aware of certain pronunciation challenges that may arise:

  • ‘Olympian’: Ensure you pronounce this word with the correct stress on the second syllable (o-LYMP-ian).
  • ‘Gymnastics’: This word requires attention to the 'G' sound at the beginning and the smooth flow of the 'nastics' part, which may be tricky for some learners.
  • Words with double consonants: In phrases like “practice and dreamed,” focus on clearly enunciating the 'd' and 'p' sounds to improve your overall pronunciation clarity.

Utilizing the shadow speech method while watching this video can further help you navigate these common pronunciation traps, allowing you to improve English pronunciation and become a more confident speaker.

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.

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