Shadowing Practice: Michelle Obama | WHO ARE YOU GONNA BE? | Your Motivation - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Who are you going to be?
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And if you'll notice, I'm not asking what are you going to do, but who are you going to be?
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I'm asking you about how you plan to live your life every day.
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How are you going to respond when you don't get that job you had your heart set on?
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For all of you who are going to be teachers, what are you going to do if the students in your class next year just don't respond to your lessons?
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For all of you going into business, how will you react when your boss gives you a goal that feels way too high?
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See, these are the moments that define us.
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Not the day you get the promotion, not the day you win teacher of the year, but the times that force you to claw and scratch and fight just to get through the day.
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The moments when you get knocked down and you're wondering whether it's even worth it to get back up.
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See, those are the times when you've got to ask yourself, who am I going to be?
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And I want to be clear, this isn't just some vague platitude about building character.
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In recent years, we've actually been seeing a growing body of research that shows that skills like resilience and conscientiousness can be just as important to your success as your test scores or even your IQ.
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For instance, West Point cadets who scored high on things like grit and determination were more likely to complete basic training than those who ranked high on things like class rank, SAT scores, and physical fitness.
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So what we're seeing is that if you're willing to dig deep, if you're willing to pick yourself up when you fall,
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If you're willing to work and work until your weaknesses become your strengths, then you'll develop a set of skills that you can mold and apply to any situation you encounter, any job you might have, any crisis you might confront.
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But you've got to make that choice.
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Who are you going to be?
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So graduates, think about how this will apply to your own lives in the future.
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As you move on, you're going to come across all kinds of people from all different places and faiths and walks of life.
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And you can choose to pass them by without a word, or you can choose to reach out to them, no matter who they are or where they come from or what ideas they might have.
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Embracing the diversity of experience and opinion that surrounds us everywhere we go.
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So I encourage you all, seek it out.
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If you don't just spend time with people your own age, you would be amazed at the wisdom they have to offer.
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If you're a Democrat, spend some time talking to a Republican.
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And if you're a Republican, have a chat with a Democrat.
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Maybe you'll find some common ground.
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Maybe you won't.
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But if you honestly engage with an open mind and an open heart, I guarantee you will learn something.
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And goodness knows, we need more of that.
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Because we know what happens when we only talk to people who think like we do.
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We just get more stuck in our way.
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You all can get past all that.
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You've got the freedom of an open mind.
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And thanks to today's technology, you're connected to each other and to the world like never before.
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So you can either choose to use those opportunities to continue fighting the fights that we've been locked in for decades, or you can choose to reject those old divisions and embrace folks with a different point of view.
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And if you do that, the latter, who knows where it might take you?
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And let me just share just a little secret before I end.
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As someone who has hired and managed hundreds of young people over the course of my career, the answers to those questions, believe me, are far more important than you can ever imagine.
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whether it was during my time as a lawyer, as an administrator, as a university, a nonprofit manager, even now as first lady, I have never once asked someone I was interviewing to explain a test score or a grade in a class.
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Never.
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I have never once made a hire just because someone went to an Ivy League school instead of a state school.
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Never.
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What I have looked for is what kind of person you are.
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Are you a hard worker?
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Are you reliable?
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Are you open to other viewpoints?
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Have you stepped outside of your own self-interest to serve others?
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Again and again, I have seen that those are the qualities that I want on my team.
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Because those are the qualities that move our businesses and schools and our entire country forward.
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And just understand this, those are the qualities that you all already embody.
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They're the values you learned from your parents, from the communities you grew up in.
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They are the skills you developed here at EKU as you worked so hard to make it to this day.
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And today, more than ever before, that's what the world needs.
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We need more people like you.
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So after you've come this far, after all of the ups and downs, I hope that it is no longer a question of whether or not you can make it in this world, but how and where you're going to make your mark.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

Speaking is a vital skill for successfully communicating in English, and practicing with motivational speeches, like Michelle Obama's "WHO ARE YOU GONNA BE?", offers unique opportunities for language learners. This video emphasizes resilience and character, which are essential not only in life but also in mastering a language. By shadowing the speech, you can improve your pronunciation, intonation, and emotional expression, enhancing your conversational abilities.

Michelle Obama’s powerful delivery inspires you to connect emotionally with the content while also pushing yourself beyond the mere mechanics of speech. Engaging with such material through a shadowing app or shadowing site allows you to mimic both her tone and pacing, helping you internalize the language and build confidence in your own speaking skills. Remember, it's not just about what you say but how you present it!

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Here are some key structures and expressions used by Michelle Obama that are significant for learners:

  • “Who are you going to be?” - This rhetorical question urges self-reflection, illustrating the use of future tense in a motivational context.
  • “You can choose to...” - This expression of choice is crucial for understanding conditional statements in English that denote possibilities.
  • “If you don't just spend time with people your own age...” - This conditional phrase helps students learn how to form sentences that discuss hypothetical situations.
  • “What I have looked for is what kind of person you are.” - A useful example of topic focus, this structure exemplifies the importance of defining aspects of character over mere academic achievement.

Utilizing these structures while practicing can greatly enhance your fluency, making it easier to convey your thoughts clearly and effectively.

Common Pronunciation Traps

While shadowing the video, pay special attention to the following words and phrases that may present pronunciation challenges:

  • Resilience - A multi-syllabic word that may be pronounced quickly, leading to slurs or dropped sounds.
  • Character - Be mindful of the stress on the first syllable; many learners tend to place emphasis incorrectly on the second.
  • Embrace - Practice ensuring clarity between the 'm' and 'b' sounds, which can often blend together in rapid speech.

Engaging with these pronunciation challenges through shadow speech techniques can significantly refine your speaking abilities.

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.

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