Shadowing Practice: Learning from Mistakes in English | Easy English Conversation for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Enjoy English Talks, where every conversation helps you learn.
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I'm Judy.
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Hello, Judy.
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Hello, everyone.
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I'm Jake.
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How are you today, Judy?
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I am wonderful today.
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Thank you.
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The sun is shining, and I am happy to be here.
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And you, Jake?
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I am okay, but something happened yesterday.
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I made a mistake.
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A mistake?
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What happened?
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I was at a coffee shop.
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I wanted to say, I want a cup of coffee, but I said, I want a cap of coffee.
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A cap of coffee?
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Cap like a hat?
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Yes, a cap, like a hat.
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The woman looked at me.
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She was confused.
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Oh, Jake, that is okay.
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Everyone makes mistakes.
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I know, but I felt embarrassed.
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I felt bad in front of other people.
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I understand.
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But Jake, that one small mistake is not a problem.
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It is a normal part of learning.
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Really?
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Really.
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And that is actually our topic today.
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What is our topic?
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Today, we're talking about mistakes and why it's okay to make them.
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It's okay to make mistakes?
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Yes, it's okay to make mistakes.
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That is our big message today.
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But first, we have a small request.
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Yes, if you like our podcast, please click the like button.
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Please subscribe to enjoy English talks.
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And share this episode with your friends and family.
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Thank you.
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It helps us so much.
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We love our listeners.
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Okay, now let's start.
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First, let's talk about an important word, mistake.
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Jake, what is a mistake?
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A mistake is when you do something wrong, an error.
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Yes, a mistake is an error, something that is not correct, like saying cap when you mean cup.
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Like me yesterday.
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Yes, but here's the truth, Jake.
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Everyone makes mistakes.
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Every single person in the world.
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Even you, Judy?
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Even me.
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I make mistakes every day, and that is okay, because mistakes help us learn.
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Mistakes help us learn.
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I like that idea.
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Let me show you what I mean.
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Think about learning English.
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Many people are afraid to speak English.
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Afraid?
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That means scared, right?
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Yes, afraid means you feel scared, scared to try something.
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Many people think, what if I say the wrong word?
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Ah, that is how I feel sometimes.
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My brain says, Jake, don't speak, you will sound silly.
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Your brain says that?
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Yes, my brain says stay quiet.
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It is safer.
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Many people feel this way.
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But here's the thing, Jake.
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If you stay quiet, you don't practice.
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And if you don't practice, you don't improve.
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Improve?
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That means to get better at something.
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Yes, improve means to get better at something.
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And the only way to improve is to try.
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And when you try, sometimes you make mistakes.
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And that is okay.
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Yes, it's okay to make mistakes.
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Think about a baby learning to talk.
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A baby?
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Yes.
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A baby says wah-wah for water.
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Is that wrong?
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Well, yes, but the baby is learning.
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Exactly.
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The baby is learning.
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And nobody says, that baby is bad at talking.
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Nobody.
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Everyone smiles and says, the baby is trying.
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And I am like the baby.
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I am learning yes you are learning
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and your mistakes are part of the journey part of the journey i like
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that judy can i tell you another mistake i made of
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course tell me last week i was talking to my friend i wanted to say i went to the store
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but i said i go'd to the store i go'd to the store
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and what happened my friend smiled
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and he said you mean i went to the store
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and how did you feel i felt a little embarrassed my face turned red
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but my friend was kind he was not laughing at me he was helping me that is what good friends do.
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They help you.
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Yes, and he said, don't worry, Jake.
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I make mistakes too.
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Everyone does.
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See, your friend understood you.
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He knew what you wanted to say.
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The message was clear.
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The message was clear, even with the mistake.
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Yes, and now you know.
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The past of go is went, not goad.
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I will never forget that, because of the mistake.
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Exactly.
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The mistake helped you remember that is the power of mistakes mistakes have power
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that is a very new idea for me now let me
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give you another example not about English think about riding a
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bicycle a bicycle yes Jake do you remember learning to ride a bicycle yes I was maybe six
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or seven years old did you ride perfectly the first time no No, I fell down.
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Many times.
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What happened when you fell?
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My knees were hurt, my hands were hurt, and I was scared.
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I wanted to cry.
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That is normal.
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Falling hurts.
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It is scary.
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Yes, and I thought, maybe I can't do this.
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Maybe riding a bicycle is too hard for me.
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Your brain was telling you to stop.
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Yes, my brain said, this is too difficult.
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Give up.
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But did you stop?
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No. My dad said, get up, try again.
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So I got up, I tried again, and again, and again.
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And one day?
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One day, I could ride.
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I was riding my bicycle and I felt so free, so happy.
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That feeling, that happy feeling, it came because you did not give up.
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You fell 10 times, 20 times, but you always got up.
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Yes.
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Every time I fell, I learned something.
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I learned how to balance, how to turn, how to stop.
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See?
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You made mistakes, but you got up every time, and now you can ride a bicycle.
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Nobody rides perfectly the first time.
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That is true.
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Falling was part of learning.
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Without the falling, there was no riding.
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It's okay to make mistakes.
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That is how we learn.
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On a bicycle.
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And in English.
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Just like English.
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When I make a mistake in English, I fall down, but I get up and try again.
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That is beautiful, Jake.
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Falling in English is not dangerous.
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It does not hurt your knees.
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No, it only hurts my pride a little.
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Pride.
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That means the feeling of being good at something.
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When you make a mistake, your pride hurts a little.
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Yes, but pride heals fast.
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Faster than knees.
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Yes, much, much faster.
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Now, one more example.
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Last month, I tried to cook a new recipe.
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What did you cook?
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Soup.
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A vegetable soup.
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But I put too much salt.
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Too much salt?
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Ah, yes.
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Way too much.
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The soup was terrible.
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I could not eat it.
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Oh, no. That is sad.
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It was sad.
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I was disappointed.
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Disappointed means I felt sad because something did not go well.
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Disappointed.
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I know that feeling.
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Like when I said cap instead of cup.
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Yes, that feeling.
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It is not a good feeling, but it is a normal feeling.
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Everybody feels disappointed sometimes.
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What did you do after the bad soup?
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I wanted to give up.
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My brain said, Judy, you are not good at cooking.
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Stop trying.
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Your brain said that?
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Yes, but I did not listen.
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I said, no, I will try again.
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Good for you, Judy.
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You were brave.
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Thank you, Jake.
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So, the next week I tried again, the same recipe, and this time I put less salt. And?
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It was delicious.
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The mistake taught you.
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Exactly.
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The first mistake taught me.
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Now I know how much salt to use.
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My mistake was my teacher.
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So, mistakes are like teachers.
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Yes, exactly.
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Three examples.
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English, a bicycle, and cooking.
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Three very different things.
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But the lesson is the same.
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The lesson is the same.
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Mistakes help us learn.
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It's okay to make mistakes.
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They teach us important things.
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Every time.
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Every time.
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Now, Jake, I want to share three secrets.
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Three secrets about mistakes.
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Three secrets?
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I love secrets.
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Tell me, Judy.
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Secret number one.
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Don't be afraid to try.
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Don't be afraid to try.
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Many people don't try because they are afraid of mistakes.
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Fear says, don't speak.
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People will laugh at you.
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Fear says that.
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I can hear it in my head.
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But courage says, try.
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You will learn something new.
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Fear says, don't try.
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Courage says, try.
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Yes, and being brave is not about being perfect.
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Being brave means you try even when you feel afraid.
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Brave.
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That means I try even when I'm scared.
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Yes, that is exactly what brave means.
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And Jake, you are brave.
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Me?
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Brave?
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Yes.
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You speak English every week on this podcast.
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That takes courage.
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Um, I never thought about it that way.
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Thank you, Judy.
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Think about it.
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The first time you spoke English on this podcast, were you afraid?
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Yes, very afraid.
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My hands were shaking.
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But you did it.
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You spoke.
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And every week you get better.
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Because I keep trying, even when I am afraid.
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That is secret number one.
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Don't be afraid to try.
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Don't be afraid to try.
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I will remember that.
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Good.
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Secret number two.
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Every mistake is a lesson.
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Every mistake is a lesson.
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Your mistakes are not your enemies.
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They are your teachers.
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When you say cap instead of cup, now you know the difference.
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Forever.
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That is true.
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I will never say cap of coffee again.
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See?
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The mistake taught you.
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Your mistake was a gift.
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My mistake was a gift.
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I never thought about mistakes that way before.
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Think about all the words you know now.
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Many of those words you learned from mistakes.
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You said them wrong once.
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Someone helped you and now you remember.
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That is true.
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Mistakes put the words in my brain.
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Deeper than a textbook.
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Deeper than a textbook.
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I love that, Jake.
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What is the last secret?
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Secret number three.
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Try again tomorrow.
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Try again tomorrow.
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One bad day is not the end.
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One mistake is not the end.
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Tomorrow is a new day.
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You can always try again.
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Tomorrow is a new day.
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I like that a lot.
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Many famous people made many, many mistakes.
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Scientists, musicians, writers… they all made mistakes, but they did not stop.
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They kept trying, and they got better.
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Really?
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Even famous people?
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Yes.
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Every good English speaker was once a beginner, just like you.
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And every beginner makes mistakes.
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The important thing is to keep going, to get up after you fall, just like the bicycle.
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Just like the bicycle.
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Get up and try again.
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Think about this.
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Maybe today you tried to speak English and it did not go well.
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Your brain says, see, you are bad at this.
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Stop trying.
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My brain does say that sometimes.
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But you can say back to your brain, No, I am learning, and tomorrow I will try again.
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I will try again.
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That is powerful.
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Yes, the people who learn the most are not the people who never make mistakes.
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They are the people who never stop trying.
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The people who never stop trying.
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Wow.
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And nobody is perfect.
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Perfect means no mistakes, 100% correct.
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but nobody is perfect.
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Nobody?
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Nobody.
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Not me, not you, not your teacher, not anyone.
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And that's okay because perfect is not the goal.
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What is the goal?
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The goal is to improve, to get a little better every day.
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Not perfect, just better.
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A little better every day.
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That is a beautiful goal.
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And every mistake you make is one step closer to that goal, one step closer to speaking English well.
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One step closer.
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I like that.
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So let's remember our three secrets.
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Secret one.
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Don't be afraid to try.
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Secret two.
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Every mistake is a lesson.
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And secret three.
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Try again tomorrow.
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Very, very good, Jake.
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These are very good secrets.
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I feel better about my mistakes now.
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I'm glad.
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And now I want to say something to our listeners.
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Yes, please listen, everyone.
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If you are listening right now, we are so proud of you.
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You are learning English, and that is amazing.
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Yes, we are proud of you.
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You are doing something difficult, and that takes courage.
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We know it is not easy.
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If you made a mistake today, that's okay.
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If you forgot a word, that's okay.
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If you said something wrong, that's okay.
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It's okay to make mistakes.
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Because every mistake brings you closer to your goal.
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You are not failing.
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You are learning.
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You are brave.
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You are strong.
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And you are getting better every single day.
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We believe in you.
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You don't need to be perfect.
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You just need to try.
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Try one new word this week.
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Try one new sentence.
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Say hello to someone in English.
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Write a comment in English.
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Read one page of a book in English.
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Small steps.
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Every day.
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And if you make a mistake, that's okay.
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Because mistakes are your friends, not your enemies.
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You can do it.
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We know you can.
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Okay, let's review.
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Yes, let's see what we learned.
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Today we talked about mistakes and why they are okay.
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Yes, mistakes help us learn and improve.
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Good, and we learned three secrets.
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Don't be afraid to try.
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Every mistake is a lesson, and try again tomorrow.
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Perfect.
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You remembered everything.
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I learned a lot today.
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And I am so proud of you for trying, Jake.
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Well, that's all the time we have for today.
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Thank you so much for listening to Enjoy English Talks.
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Yes, thank you everyone.
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It was fun.
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Please subscribe to Enjoy English Talks.
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Give this episode a like.
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And share it with a friend.
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Now, we have a question for you today.
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Yes, please leave a comment below.
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Tell us, what is one small thing you will try in English this week?
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maybe say one new word or write one sentence.
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We would love to read your answers.
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See you next time.
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Bye everyone.
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Keep practicing your English.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Learning from Mistakes in English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mistake, English, Jake, secret, afraid. This video has 395 sentences and 2306 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:17. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| bicycle noun | /ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/ | A vehicle that has two primary wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s… |
| brave adjective | /bɹeɪv/ | Strong in the face of fear; courageous. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| disappointed adjective | /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/ | Defeated of expectations or hope; experiencing disappointment; let down. |
| courage noun | /ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate. |
| soup noun | /sup/ | Any of various dishes commonly made by combining liquids, such as water or stock, with other ingredients, such as meat and vegetables, that contribute the food… |
| knee noun | /ni/ | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| 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… |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| recipe noun | /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/ | Any set of instructions for preparing a mixture of ingredients. |
| embarrassed adjective | /ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/ | Having a feeling of shameful discomfort. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| textbook noun | /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/ | A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges. |
| beginner noun | /bəˈɡɪnɚ/ | Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| fall down verb | /fɔl ˈdaʊn/ | To fall to the ground. To collapse. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What is our topic?
- It's okay to make mistakes?
- First, let's talk about an important word, mistake.
- What happened when you fell?
- What did you do after the bad soup?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who learn · people who never |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | Stop trying · keep trying · kept trying |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was talking · was not laughing · was telling |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | Faster than · Deeper than |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, go'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, shine /ʃaɪn/, musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/
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 bicycle, brave, lesson.
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.