Shadowing Practice: Life Regrets of 90 Year Olds - Learn English Speaking with Video

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If you could speak to your 20-year-old self, what would you say?
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I'd say keep going, enjoy yourself, keep busy, just take life as it comes.
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Don't worry about too many problems, you can't solve them all yourself.
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I would decide that I wouldn't want to go back to 20 years of myself.
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I like my life the way it is.
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I don't want to go back.
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And I hear people say, oh, the good old days.
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Oh, I wish I was back.
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I said, not me.
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I want to go forward and find out what it's going to be like forward, not backwards.
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I'm not a backwards person.
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I think the same thing that I did say to myself, and that is keep having fun while you're doing your life.
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Make sure you are honest about it.
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And don't expect to find everyone as you would like them to be.
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Every individual is each an individual and each have their own pluses and minuses.
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Get up and do more.
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Go enjoy yourself more.
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I was a little afraid to do stuff and go out.
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I should have went out more.
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What do you mean by that?
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Go where?
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Go anywhere.
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Go on trips.
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I've never been to another country.
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I could have went to another country.
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Sort of scares me.
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I don't like flying.
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I don't even remember back that far.
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20 years old.
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I was still in college.
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I was married.
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I had one son.
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My best advice would be think twice before you marry a minister.
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It's a very demanding job.
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I'd say, keep on this road, keep going, love everyone, and just be happy with where you are.
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I'm probably going to freak out everybody, but pray.
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God's the only one that can change things.
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You can't change them if they're really bad, but He can in an instant.
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Oh, they think that once we're old, you can just shove us in a closet and we don't have any mind to think with.
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I mean, some of us don't, but I've been very blessed in that I have my own mind
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and my own hearing and my own everything is still intact.
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That is no fun to get old, but I think it is.
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I think it is fun.
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You could cherish everything.
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Oh, growing old?
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Yeah.
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It's worse than you think if you don't have friends and people and you don't have your mind, I guess.
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What would you say to somebody who's afraid of growing up?
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You don't have a choice, so you might as well do the best you have.
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It's one thing that nobody can tell you, tell you if you can do it or not.
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They think it's hard.
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It isn't.
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It isn't hard at all, it's far too easy.
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What do you mean?
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Well, what I mean is that they think that life diminishes.
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It doesn't.
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It goes on exactly as you see it.
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And if I see it as diminished, then it is diminished.
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But I don't see it that way.
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I see it as life changes as we go.
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And it doesn't change a whole lot.
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You still have the same values.
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It's rather miraculous.
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I don't have longevity in my family.
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So for me to be 85, I've already outlived both of my parents.
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and I had a major major fall last November so
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that is why I am in this wonderful place I never thought
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that I would live to see 85 to be quite honest
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it's a God gift to me what does it feel like to be 92 same as always
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Meaning I have plenty of energy and I can do anything I want to, almost.
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I don't run anymore.
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But, you know, my age is only a number.
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If you think of yourself as being old, then you are.
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If you don't think of yourself as being old, then you are where you are.
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What does it feel like to be 97?
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I'm lucky because I felt twice.
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I broke my arm and wrist and side and I'm able to do everything back again.
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And I'm fine.
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I don't have to go to a doctor for a year.
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I said well a year's a long time.
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Who knows where I'll be.
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It feels like an age.
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I have no idea.
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I've been through a heck of a lot in my age.
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You look amazing, by the way.
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You look amazing.
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What does it feel like to be 90?
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Nothing.
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If my legs worked, I would still be out, working.
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But my legs don't work anymore.
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But no different.
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I'm very blessed, I'm healthy, I can go places, I can walk properly.
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I'm so blessed.
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And so, it's actually fun.
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You have to make your own secret to happiness, because if you don't, you won't be happy.
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You have to learn to live with people and have to learn to agree on everything that you want to do.
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And if you agree, it's fine.
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If you don't, you let it go.
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Be yourself and enjoy every moment of it of it.
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You only have one life that we know of.
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Actually, my belief is that we come back over and over and over again.
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We've all lived hundreds of times, probably thousands of times throughout the millennia.
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Well, you have to have a little fun too, but I did a lot of singing and that I loved the best
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and I had a trio so we went around Boston singing
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and we sang for a lot of service people and that really helped.
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The key to happiness is to know your God and have a really good faith.
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That's the key not only to happiness but to pure joy
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and there's a difference don't ask me to explain it but joy and happiness are two different things.
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External things can make you happy,
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but it's the joy that comes from deep within and having a good faith.
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Do you have any life regrets?
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No. I shouldn't have married a second husband, but outside of that, I'm already sick.
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Sure, lots of them.
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But I can't tell you what they are.
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They're not that important.
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What do you mean?
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Well, you know, if I said the wrong thing to someone at some point,
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I would not like to be hurtful to anyone by saying the wrong thing or whatever.
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You know, one needs to be kind to oneself and to others.
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That's one of the most important things in life, is learning to be kind to yourself, learning to be kind to others, always.
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No exceptions.
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If I had my life to live over again, I would live it exactly the same way.
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I'd like to take more trips.
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I have a bucket list that's still a mile long, which I know will never get fulfilled.
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I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that my life changed drastically when I fell a year ago in November
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and broke my femur.
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My sons and my brother kept saying, you'll never go home.
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and I wanted to prove them wrong, and they weren't.
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And so I kind of do it vicariously.
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Each time my grandson or my granddaughter go someplace, I live that through them.
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My older son right now is in Scotland with his wife.
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I'm living that vicariously through them.
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And they're very good about sending me pictures and letting me know how things are.
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Boy, that's a really good question.
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When I was young and in my early 20s, yeah, there was regrets because of the way I got pregnant.
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My mom and dad were embarrassed and furious at me,
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so they didn't like the fact that I was pregnant so young and unmarried.
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As life went on, they became calmer about it.
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And you know, the most wonderful thing are people and your children.
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I think you should be kind to people
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and I try not to argue with anybody
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because it doesn't do any good and
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when they got in trouble I just rolled my eyes and they'd laugh so that that would solve it.
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I'm still enjoying life.
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I tell the kids Don't worry about anything when I leave because I had a great life.
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And I did a lot of traveling when I could.
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I'd go on the cruises and things like that.
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So I can't complain.
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To be good to people.
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To be good to you.
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because if you don't love yourself, you don't love anybody.
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How do you love yourself?
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I love myself because I am happy.
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I'm still kicking, essentially.
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And I am enjoying life, and I enjoy life here.
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Everybody is good to me.
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and I'm equally good to them.
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Don't be rude to anybody.
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Be loving to all because love is the answer and the key to almost everything in this world.
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Being good to one another, being kind to one another, loving to one another.
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How do you do that when it feels impossible?
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Pray.
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Just simply pray.
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Briefly, and the Lord will guide you.
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Thank you.

Context & Background

The video, "Life Regrets of 90 Year Olds," presents poignant reflections from elderly individuals who share their thoughts on life choices, regrets, and the essence of growing older. As they recount their experiences, they stress the importance of living in the moment and embracing both the joys and challenges of life. Their wisdom provides learners with real-life conversational English, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their language skills and fluency.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "Keep going, enjoy yourself." – An encouraging phrase to motivate oneself and others.
  • "Don’t worry about too many problems." – A reminder to focus on what can be controlled rather than getting overwhelmed.
  • "Get up and do more." – A call to action, promoting the idea of taking initiative in life.
  • "Go where?" – A simple yet effective question to prompt discussions about travel or experiences.
  • "Think twice before you marry a minister." – A humorous yet reflective advice that might spark conversations about relationships.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively utilize the shadowing technique from this video, follow these steps:

  1. Watch the Video: Begin by watching the video once without any distractions. Pay attention to the speakers’ tones and emotions.
  2. Transcribe Key Sections: Write down a few sentences or phrases that resonate with you. This will enhance your understanding of the content and context.
  3. Practice Shadow Speaking: Play the video again, but this time, pause after each sentence. Repeat what you hear using the shadow speech approach. Focus on mimicking the intonation and pace of the speakers.
  4. Use a Shadowing App: Consider using a shadowing app to reinforce your learning. These applications often provide repetitions and exercises tailored to improve fluency.
  5. Engage in IELTS Speaking Practice: Incorporate phrases from the transcript into your daily conversations or practice sessions. This will help you feel more comfortable using them in real-life situations.

By consistently applying these steps, you'll improve not only your understanding of conversational English but also your confidence in speaking. Embrace the linguistic nuances shared by the speakers and enrich your English language journey with their life lessons.

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.