Shadowing Practice: Moana | Bringing Moana To Life - Learn English Speaking with Video

Moana has brought such joy to families all around the world.

Moana has resonated so many years after it came out.

It allowed everybody to see their family.

It's the perfect film to take from animation to live action.

It has all these elements of size, scale, culture, humor...

Boatsnurik!

...and real Moana.

First time.

I'm really excited.

All right, here we go.

There's no movie about Moana.

From the second I met Katie, there was a spark there that was really apparent.

It could only be her.

My family was definitely the first people to find out.

I went to the car with my mom and we pulled my siblings and my dad.

She just has that spirit, that Polynesian spirit about her.

Katie, aloha.

Talofa, it's DJ.

I just wanted to tell you, I cannot wait to work with you.

We're gonna have the best time.

We're gonna have so much fun.

How crazy is that?

Being able to step into the legacy of Moana is an incredible honor.

Getting to represent the Pacific Islands is something I've always dreamed of doing.

It is such a joy to see Catherine take on the life of this character.

And my gosh, she's strong, she's beautiful.

She's all these things that we know and love about our heroine.

What's amazing is how alive she feels.

She's got that spark.

It was her singing and her vibe that just felt indomitable.

Whenever you're ready, pal.

So here I'll stay, my home, my people beside me.

And when I think of tomorrow, there we are.

It felt like she was unafraid and curious.

And I just was thrilled to see how willing she was to play.

It was insane getting all of the sailing and stuff accurate.

Especially because that's so vital to the story.

It was really fun.

We were Voyagers.

The stories are true.

The story has just begun.

In my youth, we didn't have a seat at the table, but Katie is so proud to be Polynesian.

She's being geared for this moment in time.

I'm about to meet Catherine who plays Moana.

Moana.

Here we go.

I think she's off.

There is nothing I have to offer but to get out of the way here.

Kia ora.

How are you?

Thank you.

How are you?

I'm okay.

I'm happy to meet you.

I'm very happy to meet you.

How are you doing?

I'm good.

I'm excited.

My first thought was she, like Moana, is destined for this role.

All I have to do is look at her eyes.

That young girl is a star.

Is there something you want to tell me?

You should come visit.

Montanoi is that way.

As a visitor to the culture, what I wanted to make sure was that the movie feels like the real thing.

So we wanted to create an island that is drawing inspiration from cultures throughout Polynesia.

Right now in the Chiefs Valley.

The village just looks stunning.

It just looks stunning.

Everything was genuinely a representation of the islands.

It really felt like I was home.

I was born in Samoa and lived there for a few years as a young child.

It even had these similar smells, and it was surreal.

I'll be dying.

The character of Maui is so meaningful to me.

Maui distinctly represents my grandfather, the late High Chief Peter Maivian.

When you hold up pictures with all his tattoos and his massive build, it's striking.

So this live action version was for him.

We were doing the hair and makeup test for him.

The Maui hair was there, the tattoos were there.

And I was just like, when you got it, you got it.

Pagak!

The first time I met him, there were these giant double doors.

And I remember them opening.

And he was like backlit from the sun.

He's so tall.

He's just like a body.

There's nothing like being on set.

It's full body performance.

Maui is big, he's bold.

Good job, me.

You really have to be in tune with every part of your body because every part of his body is alive.

Ow, what?

There's a dark cave I'm gonna put you in. And thank you!

One of the most exciting things about Moana is the music.

For live action Moana, We all agreed that Lin-Manuel should write one more song.

We wanted to do something that could be really distinct to this film.

Tommy had the notion of what if there's some kind of musical conversation between Auli'i's Moana and Katie's Moana.

100

Then find yourself along the way.

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Along the way.

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Along the way.

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We're on our own.

104

We're on our own. On destination. On destination.

105

Wayne and Al-Li'i get to sing about finding me along the way and our journeys colliding.

106

To sing something Lin-Manuel Miranda has written specifically for you is incredible and it sounds like a sentence I've made up.

107

This song along the way is Al-Li'i, our original OG Moana, and it is Catherine and Lin is your boy.

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It's Maui coming in and the end.

109

Dust yourself off, you're still alive.

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One foot in front of the other Moana, you want to stay on it until you arrive.

111

Anytime Lin writes something, especially for me, I think he was pissed when I beat his favorite pro wrestler back in the day

112

that he writes these lyrics for me.

113

He pushes me to go to places that are hard to go to.

114

It makes you want to stand up and dance.

115

I think people are going to love it.

116

It begins to sink in, the enormity to have Polynesian culture represented in this way this way.

117

We put together a remarkable team of artisans

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and craftspeople from Polynesia who have the expertise in how to make all of the things that our performers need.

119

I was born on the island of Tongatapu.

120

This is my dream job.

121

Not only does it involve making beautiful costumes, but it involves my culture.

122

And I felt it was really important that everything felt true to the crafts of Polynesia.

123

Liz and her team are making our clothes out of the same materials

124

that would have existed with the same technology that they're making by hand.

125

Maui might look like the simplest costume.

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In fact, it was the hardest costume.

127

Nothing looks and feels like the real thing.

128

And so we make these teer-leaf skirts for Maui.

129

We make three a day, every day, while he's on.

130

Playing 1UP is such a special experience.

131

She's so fearless and confident.

132

Playing her gave me pieces of her that I can carry onwards.

133

It was really just one of the greatest experiences I've ever had in my career.

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It means everything, legacy, life, pride and soul.

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I am a mother!

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Are you ready to be the hero?

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112 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Moana, Maui, culture, felt. This video has 136 sentences and 1155 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:40. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
costume noun	/ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/	A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.
stun verb	/stʌn/	To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.
spark noun	/ˈspɑɹk/	A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction.
tattoo noun	/tæˈtuː/	An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.
destination noun	/dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/	The place set for the end of a journey or to which something is sent; place or point aimed at.
involve verb	/ɪnˈvɑlv/	To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include.
artisan noun	/ˈɑɹtɪzən/	A skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft.
backlight noun	/ˈbæk.laɪt/	Light shining from a source behind the object of interest or attention.
collide verb	/kəˈlaɪd/	To impact directly, especially if violent.
craftsperson noun	/ˈkɹæftspɝsən/	Someone who is highly skilled at their trade; an artificer.
enormity noun	/ɪˈnoɹmɪti/	Deviation from moral normality; extreme wickedness, nefariousness, or cruelty.
excite verb	/ɪkˈsaɪt/	To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement.
indomitable adjective	/ɪnˈdɑmɪtəbl̩/	Incapable of being subdued, overcome, or vanquished.
onward adverb	/ˈɒnwəd/	In a forward direction.
resonate verb	/ˈɹɛz.əˌneɪt/	To vibrate or sound, especially in response to another vibration.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
find out verb		To discover, as by asking or investigating.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
hold up verb		To wait or delay.
make up verb	/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/	To constitute, to compose.
play up verb		To misbehave.
put together verb		To assemble, construct, build, or formulate.
stand up verb		To rise from a lying or sitting position.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

We're gonna have the best time.
We're gonna have so much fun.
I'm happy to meet you.
Is there something you want to tell me?
Are you ready to be the hero?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was thrilled · being geared · is destined
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has brought · has resonated · I've always dreamed
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the best · the most exciting · the simplest
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should come · should write

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 24 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thrill /θɹɪl/, cloth /klɒθ/, grandfather /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, notion /ˈnoʊʃən/, animation /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, enormity /ɪˈnoɹmɪti/, indomitable /ɪnˈdɑmɪtəbl̩/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, animation /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/

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 costume, stun, spark.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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