Shadowing Practice: Michelle brings Barack to tears and trolls Trump in heartfelt speech at Obama Center opening - Learn English Speaking with Video

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You told me all those years ago that you couldn't promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life.
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And of course you outdid yourself and managed to give me both.
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I know it hasn't always been easy,
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but there hasn't been a single second through this experience that standing by your side hasn't left me in awe.
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Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat.
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Not once did you let it harden you.
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Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence,
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your stubborn optimism and unflinching courage,
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your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency,
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your ferocious work ethic, an absolutely unshakable moral fiber.
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And to do it all as a first and the higher standard that comes with all that,
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the claims that a U.S senator and constitutional law expert wasn't qualified for the job.
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The lies about your birthright, your faith, your patriotism.
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The outrage when you stated the biological fact that if you had a son, that he too would be black.
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Yet, you were unflappable at every turn,
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always focused, always calm, always looking at the long view.
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How absurd it is to even imagine that you might have buckled under the pressure even once,
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lashed out in frustration, lost your temper.
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How absurd it is to imagine that you might have done anything but make our family and this entire country proud.
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No, you were too busy.
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I'm not done, y'all.
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Not done.
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So much to say.
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We were doing the people's work, rescuing our economy, expanding health care,
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ending a war, ordering the bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize.
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Keeping us safe from Ebola, regulating the banks, standing up for marriage equality,
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listening to science, and comforting an entire nation in the face of unspeakable tragedies.
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And you did it all with such grace and class
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and cool that you made the hardest job in the world look like a walk in this beautiful park.
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Your mother, two Gramps, you are a tribute to their love.
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They are up there grinning and hugging today because you never forgot who you are and where you came from.
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Single mother working hard to get by and get an education and show her son the world.
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Grandparents who didn't have much, but they had the perfect recipe to nurture your flame.
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You never forgot the folks in the union halls and church basements here in Chicago, where you first put your ideals to this test.
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You never forgot all the voters you registered and students you taught and neighbors you organized.
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You never You never fell for the temptation of a quick fix or an easy payday.
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You never changed from that idealistic summer associate who showed up on that rainy day when we first met without an umbrella.
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You always gave us the very best within you.
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And in doing so, you reminded the rest of us that we could too.
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Barack, there are no words to express how proud I am of the way you showed up
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and continue to show up every single day.
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It has been an honor to be by your side.
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You have made me a better person and have given us all an example that we should strive to emulate.
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And I hope you know, oh, there is truly no higher calling than that.
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All right.
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To all of you joining us today, our invited guests and everyone listening and watching from afar,
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The Obama Presidential Center was created as a beacon of hope, a monument to our unshakable values,
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the ones my husband has exemplified his entire life.
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Equality, empathy, honesty, inclusion, fairness.
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And especially during these anxious and divisive times, it is so important that we remember that those values are not unique to my husband.
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They are the same ones that your husbands and wives, your parents and children, your friends and neighbors exhibit and pass on.
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Every single day, millions of people in this country wake up doing their very best.
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to live decent and purposeful lives.
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Yeah, we're all tested in one way or another.
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And there are plenty of times we all fall short.
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But deep down in our hearts and souls, we all know right from wrong.
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We know selflessness from greed, righteousness from injustice.
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We understand that we all rise and fall together,
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that every last one of us is an invaluable contributor to the greatness of America.
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And I'm talking about the workers living paycheck to paycheck, hoping to give their kids a better future.
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The teachers using their own money to take their students on field trips.
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The business owners struggling to meet payroll but refusing to close their doors.
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All those folks sweating over stoves to provide meals for their communities.
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Folks shivering in the freezing cold to deliver our packages.
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Picking up trash to keep our parks clean.
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volunteers dedicating their weekends to coaching t-ball or directing the church choir or mentoring a child.
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That's where the truth of this country lies,
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not in grabbing as much as we can get for ourselves or knocking folks down to prop ourselves up,
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But in the overwhelming goodness,
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the relentless striving, the quiet dignity that is inside all of us,
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our greatest hope is that this center can reflect back just a fraction of that light.
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And it can capture the beauty of who we all are, no matter what we look like or where we come from
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or how much money we earn or how we pray or vote or speak or love.
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It's why during our administration, we threw open the White House doors to all sorts of folks who don't usually get to meet the president
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or first lady.
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The families pinching pennies to send their first child to college.
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The teenagers who know that a hot afternoon means the bullets start flying.
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The military spouses and children serving and sacrificing just like their loved ones in uniform.
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The Native kids showing us that resilience and pride can never be stolen.
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The 4-H'ers and FFA members with calluses on their hands from feeding livestock.
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The immigrants proving what it truly means to be a dreamer.
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These folks, these folks aren't Americans too.
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They are America.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will engage with an inspiring speech delivered by Michelle Obama at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center. By following along, you will practice key vocabulary and phrases that reflect themes of resilience, optimism, and commitment. This lesson is particularly valuable for those looking to enhance their English pronunciation through the shadowing technique. As you listen, focus on mimicking not only the words but also the emotion and cadence in Michelle Obama's delivery, which is filled with warmth and conviction.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Promise: A commitment to deliver what was stated.
  • Optimism: A hopefulness and confidence about the future.
  • Grace: Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
  • Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
  • Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
  • Beacon of hope: A symbol or source of inspiration and hope.
  • Inclusivity: The practice of including people from different backgrounds and experiences.

Practice Tips

As you practice with this speech, consider these tips to improve your English speaking practice using the shadowspeaks method:

  • Listen Carefully: Pay close attention to the intonation and rhythm of Michelle Obama’s speech. Aim to understand the emotional weight behind her words.
  • Shadow Effectively: Start by listening to small segments of the speech. Repeat them immediately, trying to match her speed and intonation. This will help you with your pronunciation and fluency.
  • Emphasize Emotion: Focus on expressing the feelings conveyed in her speech. This not only improves pronunciation but also enhances your ability to communicate effectively in real-life situations.
  • Record Yourself: Use a voice recorder to capture your shadowing sessions. Listening back will allow you to identify areas for improvement in your articulation and pacing.
  • Engage with Subtitles: If available, use video with English subtitles. This helps reinforce your understanding of the vocabulary while you practice shadowing.

By applying the shadowing technique to this heartfelt speech, you can significantly enhance your English pronunciation and overall communication skills.

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.