Shadowing Practice: Language Learning and Technology - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey everybody what's going on this is Matt

and today I want to talk about technology and language learning

and this is kind of a fun interesting subject maybe a little bit different than what I normally talk about

but it is a subject that I think is kind of interesting

because you know I've seen in a lot of cases people

that approach language learning almost as if they're like kind of stuck in the past

and the thing about it is that with all the technology that we have today,

language learning is more effective and easier than it ever has been.

You know, there's so many apps to choose from.

There's so many free resources out there.

There's so many ways to approach everything.

You know, there's just tons of free audio content.

There's tons of free language learning apps.

There's ways to talk and communicate with other people and practice your speaking.

You know, it's really amazing.

And even from just, you know, a couple of years ago, you know, 10, 20 years ago, you know a lot of these resources didn't exist

or they didn't really exist to the scale that they exist at now especially before the internet you know I mean

people had to rely on less effective ways probably to acquire vocabulary to go out

and seek people to practice speaking with you know and things like

that so I think that kind of when you

when you think about it and you're learning a language

and maybe get discouraged you know try to take that that confidence and appreciation that,

you know, it's now easier than ever to learn a language and you can do it.

And people were successful learning languages before all these resources, so you can do it too.

You know, I mean, it really is amazing what is available now.

So, you know, I mean, just from the perspective of prior to the Internet, right?

I mean, if you wanted to find audio content, you know, you're probably going to have to go to

that country to listen to radio shows or TV or things like that or go buy audio content, right?

Versus having something like YouTube where there's just tons of audio content you can listen to for free.

Same goes for speaking, right?

You can get conversation partners online for free or paid ones, but in the past, you'd have to go seek those people out.

It would be way more difficult.

Same goes for vocabulary.

These SRS flashcard systems didn't work.

You might have had to make flashcards by hand, get books to read them, and do a less efficient way to acquire vocabulary.

Same with something like reading, right?

You don't have a Google Translate.

You have to look up words in this dictionary, this very tedious process.

So I think that sometimes it's important to just think about what we have available to us

and to have that appreciation that it's just so much easier

and so much better and so much more fun to learn a language.

So I think that appreciation is important, especially when you're facing difficulties, you're discouraged or whatever it is when you're learning a language.

Now, what I think is interesting, though, is that in a lot of ways, language learning is still like, I think for some people,

stuck in this past, right?

I mean, if you go to a bookstore and you go to a language section,

it's really interesting to find there's so many books at the bookstore dedicated to language learning.

And I think some of them are probably okay, but there's a lot of them that it's just they're really ineffective methods, right?

And they cost you money, right?

There's probably more efficient ways to learn a language than all these language learning resources that you see at the bookstore.

But there's an entire shelf, there's an entire real estate space in the store dedicated to it,

which is almost good to show you that I think

that there is some of this dynamic where people are still

thinking in the past on how to learn a language even some language learning blogs

I've seen online whether maybe it's just footage to use in the video

but it's it's almost like they're resorting to vocabulary lists by hand

and reviewing it like like as

if it was 30 years ago you know why do that

when you have the ability to read in a foreign language

or use SRS flashcard systems and I understand

that probably for certain languages there's less resources out there right for less commonly spoken languages,

you probably don't have as much resources and you have to maybe rely on some things like that.

But I mean, I've even seen it for very common, very popular languages.

So, you know, I think that a lot of people that probably watch these videos are very tech savvy anyways,

but I think it's important to just always ask yourself, what can I do that's more effective in my language learning, right?

Can I use technology that I'm not using right now?

Am I really stuck and comfortable with using this language learning book or whatever it is?

Because there are so many resources available online for completely free

that you can use in your language learning effective methods and even

if you want to kind of take the paid route there's tons of paid option language learning apps

and things like that that are very effective right so i think

that sometimes you know it's it's it's you know some of these books

and these older methods and resources are good and effective

but don't neglect the technology because that really is making language learning just

so much easier so much so much more fun

and exciting in general

so that's why I had to say on the subject I think it's important to just have

that appreciation for what we have now let me know what you think

and I'll see you in the next video take care

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208 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Language Learning and Technology”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: language, learning, resources, effective, vocabulary. This video has 78 sentences and 1018 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:16. The speaker talks fast, about 193 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
resource noun	/ɹɪˈzɔːs/	Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel.
audio adjective	/ˈɔ.di.oʊ/	Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight.
ton noun	/tʌn/	The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each.
appreciation noun	/əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/	The act of appreciating.
vocabulary noun	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
efficient adjective	/ɪˈfɪʃənt/	Making good, thorough, or careful use of resources; not consuming extra. Especially, making good use of time or energy.
rely verb	/ɹɪˈlaɪ/	To trust; to have confidence in; to depend.
acquire verb	/əˈkwaɪɚ/	To get.
discourage verb	/dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/	To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject.
dedicate verb	/ˈdɛdɪˌkeɪt/	To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate.
commonly adverb	/ˈkɑmənli/	As a rule; frequently; usually.
resort noun	/ɹɪˈzɔɹt/	A place where people go for recreation, especially one with facilities such as lodgings, entertainment, and a relaxing environment.
difficulty noun	/ˈdɪfɪkəlti/	The state of being difficult, or hard to do.
versus	/ˈvɝsəs/	Against; in opposition to.
dynamic adjective	/daɪˈnæm.ɪk/	Changing; active; in motion.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
go out verb		To leave, especially a building.
look up verb	/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/	To have better prospects.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

You know, there's so many apps to choose from.
You know, there's just tons of free audio content.
You know, it's really amazing.
Can I use technology that I'm not using right now?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 20 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, didn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/, shelf /ʃɛlf/, flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/
Long words — get the stress right: appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like resource, audio, ton.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Language Learning and Technology - Learn English Speaking with Video

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