Shadowing Practice: Living With Purpose Episode 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome to Live With Purpose with New Perspective founder Todd Novacek.
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In this episode, Todd is joined by Richard and his daughter Chris.
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He dives into their transformative journey to senior living and the profound impact it's had on their lives.
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Get ready for an inspiring conversation.
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Chris and Richard King, so nice to have you at New Perspective Senior Living.
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I appreciate you coming in this morning.
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And before we get started, I'd like to make a comment.
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If I'm correct, you're going to be celebrating quite a big moment in time.
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100-year birthday party.
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Wow.
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And you have 48 grandchildren.
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I think that's right.
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That's what I heard. And how many children?
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Ten children.
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Your bride is a saint, right?
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She just got nominated for sainthood, right?
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Oh, yeah.
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Good for you.
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Oh, children.
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Gosh, that's phenomenal.
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Well, we're just going to chat a little bit about your experience,
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maybe before you got involved in living that new perspective, and maybe a little bit about what's going on now,
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how things go for you.
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So prior to getting involved,
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maybe Chris, you could share just a moment of what was Richard's lifestyle like when you would visit and you see him,
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etc. When my mother died, we moved Dad into independent living in Stillwater.
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And that went real well.
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Last fall, he fell and needed to go into assisted living.
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Oh, okay.
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And one of your family members, Holly.
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That's my daughter.
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Yes.
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Took us over to New Perspective, and he's been there ever since.
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And he just, he loves being there.
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It's a perfect place for him.
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The people are wonderful.
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What do you feel when you're there?
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What kind of environment would you, how would you characterize the environment there?
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Actually the whole system otherwise is pretty doggone good.
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They've got things going on all the time.
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But I've never played all the games they play.
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I've never had time to do things so quiet as they are.
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They play a lot of cards, they play to hit the ball over the fence
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and I don't do any of them because I finally worked my way out of it.
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But you have enough other stuff going on that keeps you busy.
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Yeah, I can go back to my room and use the computer.
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Oh, wow.
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I ran the first computer ever made on a B-29.
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The first computer ever on a plane.
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So you were involved in electronics way back...
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I was running a gunnery system.
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Okay.
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You don't want to talk about that.
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No, but, you know, listen, those are important.
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You went involved for your country and honored your duty for your country.
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Just flying an airplane in those days was a thrill.
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Yeah, I bet it was a real thrill.
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When you transitioned from your home to senior living, How did that decision get made, Chris?
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Was it a group decision?
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Were you and Richard just deciding what you wanted to do?
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Well, it's always a family decision.
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But when he moved from Stewartville up here, we put him into independently because he was doing real well.
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And we just wanted a place where there would be some help for him.
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Right.
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When he broke his hip, we needed more attention, and that's why we ended up at New Perspectives.
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And he has improved so quickly.
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Would you say because you're in a senior living community,
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does that help you, force you in a way to be more involved
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and to get on your walker and move through the building?
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Do you have to actually get more involved than maybe you would if you were just at home?
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They do have a time every day that they have now where we all meet together and have a lunch every day.
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I like to not so much read, but I've got many books from World War II.
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I have a terrific best collection in the country.
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Really?
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Probably the United States.
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I don't know, but I have a hell of a collection.
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It's history, yeah.
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It was three years of bang, bang.
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You know, I mean, it was a life.
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Yeah, that's your history.
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You take off in the morning for six hours, and you train, you shoot guns.
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I've run all the gunnery systems, so we did a lot of target practice.
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I mean, I'm coming into a world of, I mean, I'm down.
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And I'm getting used to it, though.
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Yeah, I would encourage you, and I'm sure you're probably already doing this,
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but the more you can keep moving throughout the building.
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I move around a lot.
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He uses the recumbent bike there.
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He had physical therapy with his hip for several months after he moved into it.
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You did, okay.
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I make it a point to do something every day.
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I'm not outlandish, I just get a little bit.
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But you look like you're in great shape, and so you're...
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That is up to God, I don't know how he's done that actually.
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I have no idea.
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You can give me the credit.
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I don't smoke, I don't smoke, I don't chase women.
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One of the studies that just came out a few weeks ago and maybe you heard about this,
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but they did a big national study with older adults who lived in their homes.
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The bottom line of the study was they found
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that most people responded responded to the survey that the biggest challenge they had living on their own at home was loneliness.
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So my question to you is, do you feel that there's less loneliness?
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I think we all have some loneliness, but do you feel there's some less loneliness in not only your life, but do you see it in other people?
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The people that are there now, I don't see much loneliness at all.
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They pretty well entertain each other.
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That's interesting.
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They have a lot of things.
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The lady runs it and it's something, it's not in my life because I've never done that, but they do all these things,
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different things at different hours, different days.
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They do good.
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So your feeling anyway is that the general loneliness issue is less if these other folks,
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folks or you were living in your own home by yourself.
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Another thing is I take 15 medicines a day.
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Okay.
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And they come into my room.
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You actually have a doctor that comes into New Perspectives and visits monthly, I believe it is.
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And I get the updates and it's just wonderful.
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I'm glad you're using that service because we believe in it a lot.
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We like to have the doctors in our communities, seeing folks, because that's their life, that's where they're living.
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So the doctor now can actually see you in your environment and see what you're doing and ask you questions like,
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hey, are you going to the gym every day and working out?
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And you'll say to him, yeah, I'm going in the gym every day and working out, and he can actually go see what you do.
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that's pretty cool.
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Chris, if I could ask you,
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what do you see as maybe the one or three best benefits of having a father move into a senior living community?
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What have you noticed or what do you feel?
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He feels safer.
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Safer.
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He had been having night dreams and he'd been hearing noises,
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and he had all kinds of little things that he didn't like and they take care of those things.
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He's probably in a better spot right now than a couple of years ago.
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And he loves coming up and talking to them and having them taken care of.
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He was having me do all this stuff before.
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Well, for Chris, it's just like Christmas.
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Well, you know, you're right.
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I mean, now I think maybe you get more attention.
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Well, he does.
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And the thing, he wears the...
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The pendant.
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The pendant around his neck.
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That pendant's the best thing ever.
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Whenever he has a problem, he calls me and I say, push the button, Dad.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Well, that just saved your trip.
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I don't have to run over there.
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That just saved your trip.
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That's right.
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My mom lived, she was 91, but she lives in and we lived in Chanhassen,
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I can't tell you that the number of times my wife Sherry or I would be driving from Chanhassen to Roseville, it was always during rush hour,
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because she needed something, we needed to be there.
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It took me a long time to get her into senior living, which then worked out really well for her.
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She went in with a real negative attitude, and within about 30 days, all of a sudden, she started meeting people,
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and her whole life changed.
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I know what you've gone through in having to be there you know, when there's a need.
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And there's nothing wrong with having to have a need, but as an adult child, you feel now the benefit is that at least you've got help.
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I would say that it's, you know, your life just improves exponentially.
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You have people there, you have people that care for you.
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They have all these activities that he doesn't do, but a lot of the other people do.
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And I mean, it's just, it's a community and you're not sitting alone in your house.
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This is total freedom, I think, for Chris.
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I can trust the people there to do what they need to do and to call me when they need me.
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That's really wonderful.
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And I'm happy you've got maybe a little bit more personal time.
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Thank you for your time.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for sharing your story.
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and I think it's just so timely that you're going to be turning 100.
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I mean, that is just such an exciting.
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Well, thank you very much again.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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That was fun.
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Boost Your Conversational Fluency with This Inspiring Clip
If you’re working on english speaking practice, this video is a goldmine! It targets real-life conversational flow—perfect for mastering how to ask questions, share stories, and respond naturally in everyday interactions. Whether you’re chatting with friends or meeting new people, the casual tone and personal anecdotes make it ideal for shadowspeak (repeating phrases aloud to mimic rhythm and tone) to build confidence fast.
Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions for Daily Chats
- “Get ready for an inspiring conversation” – Great for introducing a meaningful discussion.
- “I’d like to make a comment” – Polite way to shift focus or add a thought.
- “How would you characterize the environment?” – Useful for asking for descriptions.
- “I’ve never had time to do things so quiet as they are” – Natural phrasing to contrast past and present.
- “He just loves being there” – Simple, heartfelt way to share someone’s experience.
Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation & Rhythm Tips
This dialogue is perfect for improving english pronunciation of connected speech. Notice how “doggone good” flows smoothly—practice saying it quickly to avoid pausing between words. Also, pay attention to the question intonation in “What kind of environment would you…?”—raising your voice slightly at the end makes it sound natural. Try shadow speak by pausing the video and repeating each line immediately, focusing on matching the speed and stress. You’ll be surprised how quickly your rhythm improves! For extra practice, highlight phrases like “worked my way out of it” and repeat them until they feel effortless. Remember, small daily efforts with shadowspeaks can lead to big progress in your speaking skills.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | he's been · I've never played · I've never had |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is joined · were involved |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was running · was doing · were living |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | keep moving · loves coming · started meeting |
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.