Shadowing Practice: My Awkward Love Confession - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Today, I'm going to be talking about confessions.

More specifically, how I confessed my love to my girlfriend, Hono.

And like most things in life, it did not go smoothly.

But before I plastered all over the internet how pitiful and awkward my confession went, we got to rewind all the way back to the beginning

of how I even started talking to her in the first place.

So back in February of 2021, I got an email from Hono asking to collaborate on the video she was working on.

At the time, she was a humble aspiring content creator who made story time videos just like me.

When I first saw the email, I thought to myself, aw, she's so sweet.

And also, I really loved her videos.

She had an amazing art style, super funny humor, and just all around had so much potential.

It was a no -brainer.

I was more than delighted to voice lines for her.

Except, I forgot to reply back.

I know, I know, I'm horrible, I feel horrible, I swear I genuinely had all intentions to do the voice lines,

but I kinda just put it off for later, and unfortunately, that later never came.

Not only do I have the memory and attention span of a goldfish, but admittedly, having a gazillion tabs open at all times didn't really help either.

So guess what?

I kissed my old browser goodbye, and downloaded one that's far superior in every way possible.

Is this a segue to us?

This video was sponsored by Opera!

For all my fellow chronic tab hoarders and disorganized peeps out there, Opera is an actual godsend.

With their tab islands feature, you can easily group tabs by their respective project, name them, collapse and expand, and even color coordinate them accordingly.

It's as easy as manually dragging and hovering the tab over one another.

For me, I have one for art references, one for YouTube, one for memes, and even friends I respect and look up to for.. inspiration.

Another feature I found incredibly useful was being able to directly access Google services in the sidebar.

For someone like me who uses Gmail to communicate with my team and other work -related stuff all the time, having the app just one click away has been super helpful and convenient.

It's as simple as clicking on the three dots in the bottom of the sidebar, and choosing the ones you need under Google services.

On top of all these, you can even fully customize the theme's mode,

intensity, animation, color, and shade however you prefer in order to create the perfect modern and clean environment you desire.

My personal favorite is this one called Frutiger Aero, because it gives my work sessions a more focused and soothing vibe.

If all these features sound right up your alley, you should definitely give Opera a try by clicking the link in the description

or the pinned comment below to download it today thank you again to opera for sponsoring the video

and now back to the story so anyways i forgot to reply back to her

and that was the end of

that now skip to the month of june i was casually scrolling through the bird app

and there i stumbled upon a fan art

that was retweeted by a popular up -and -coming storytime youtuber

who was celebrating her 100k milestone considering how she was a part of the same storytime community, I thought it'd be nice to congratulate her.

And so I hover my mouse over to her profile name to make my way over to her DMs and...

Hono Bread?

Hono...

Yep!

It was the exact same Hono Bread who sent me that collaboration email five months ago.

I ghosted her for five months.

The level of guilt I felt in that very moment was unbearable.

So to make things right, I decided to go out of my way to apologize to her.

But because I thought it'd be a bit disingenuous to do it over DMs, I asked her if she could get on call.

Hey, you wanted to talk to me about something?

Yeah, um, first of all, massive congrats on the 100k milestone.

Been really loving your videos.

Aw, thank you.

That's really sweet.

I love your videos too.

Oh, thanks.

Anyways, about that collab email you sent like five months ago, I just wanted to genuinely apologize for...

Even though she was super embarrassed about it, she calmly explained it was okay, and that she was actually hoping I'd forgotten about it and it wasn't that big of a deal.

I still apologized profusely and after that, we kind of chatted for a little bit and ended the call there.

And with that, my guilty conscience was satiated and everything between us was cool.

In fact, we actually got on a lot more calls over time and the more we talked, the more we discovered how much we had in common.

Sharing a conversation with her felt so effortless.

So much so that our calls would sometimes go on for like 12 hours straight

and we wouldn't even notice the time go by.

At some point, these calls quickly became the thing I looked forward to the most throughout my day,

and shortly after, I knew that I was starting to catch feelings for her.

Realizing this, I naturally made more of an effort to spend more quality time with her.

We did some anime watch parties, played some comfy games, and shared more in -depth conversations concerning our values and personal upbringings.

We even started drawing little doodles or comics of our characters, and use that to invite each other to call sometimes.

And the more we bonded, the more certain I became about how I felt about her.

And then one day, it hit me.

I knew I had to do it.

I was gonna confess my feelings to her.

Fortunately, my birthday was coming up, and I knew this was the perfect chance for me to tell her how I feel.

So I called her up on Discord, asked her if she was free to hang out on my birthday, to which she replied, Yes?

Let's fucking go!

and nervously prepared myself for the biggest moment of my life

on the day of the plan it started out flawlessly we

chatted for a bit played some games with some adult juice

and celebrated my birthday with some cute pictures of cake it

was genuinely one of the most fun i had in a while

and of course at the end of it once the mood

was set i knew the time had finally come uh hono I...

I have something important to tell you.

Oh, what is it?

So, you see, I...

Um, well, I...

Uh...

You know, so I...

Wanted to say, um...

Uh...

I...

Uh...

I choked.

I Freaking.

CHOKED!

And you might be thinking, why was it so hard to just tell her how I feel?

Well, you see, out of nowhere, I was getting hit by thoughts like, what if her liking me back was all in my head?

What if she wasn't actually into me?

What if she only wanted to be friends, and I'm overstepping boundaries?

100

And I kid you not, I was stuttering and struggling to tell her how I felt for almost 10 insufferable minutes.

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Like, I swear, she must have thought I was having a massive stroke or something.

102

And just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I completely pulled the brakes when she said this.

103

So you see, I...

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I...

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You know, if it's too hard to share with me, maybe you don't have to force yourself.

106

now look here when she said

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that i didn't have to force myself to me it almost

108

sounded like she didn't want me to confess to her

109

which then led me to think i might have completely missed a mark on how she felt about me

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so in a moment of panic i said oh yeah yeah

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you're right uh i'm gonna go get some water at this point i was fully convinced

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that she had zero interest in me

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And telling her how I felt now would only end up in me getting painfully rejected.

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So to save myself from further embarrassment, I decided not to confess.

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When I returned, I apologized for acting all weird

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and thanked her for taking the time to spend time with me on my birthday.

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And then we just kind of awkwardly ended the call.

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It was over.

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That night, I remember just sitting in front of the computer trying to process what just happened.

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And all I could think of was whether I should call her back right then and there, and just tell her how I feel anyway, or just put things to rest and move on.

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I'm not even joking.

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I literally sat in the exact same position, contemplating this for hours, until eventually, the sun came up.

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Then, I realized.

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She kind of already rejected me once.

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What do I have to lose now?

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I'll just tell her how I feel, and that'll be the end of that.

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And whatever happens, happens.

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And as soon as I made up my mind, I clicked the call button at 6am in the morning, with crusty eyebags and all, and gave it one last go.

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Hello?

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Isn't it pretty early there?

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Uh, yeah, it is.

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Oh no, are you okay?

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You sounded like you didn't get any sleep.

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I'm okay, I'm okay.

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Uh, Hono, if you had a guy you had strong feelings for,

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but somehow failed to tell him how you feel, would you try again?

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Well, if it's someone I really like, I think so.

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Why?

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I - I have feelings for you.

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Romantic feelings.

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I - I can't stop talking to you.

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I can't stop wanting to call you every chance I get.

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I enjoy being around you so much that it's - it's becoming more

144

and more difficult to get off call sometimes and even

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if you don't feel the same way it's okay cuz oh I have feelings for you too huh you do yeah

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okay how do I explain this

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so apparently for some reason she thought instead of a love

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confession she was afraid i was trying to tell her

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that we should hang out less

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because i didn't want to seem like i was leading her on

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and stuff hence why she was okay with not hearing what

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i had to say i guess i'm happy to know i

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wasn't the only one overthinking things anyways after clarifying we both had a good laugh about it

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and from then on we just kind of look back on

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this memory fondly sometimes things are not always gonna go your way

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but even if that's the case i think it's better to be brave

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and take a chance than to regret in the future of wondering what it could have been.

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And for me, I'm glad I took that chance.

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Amen.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “My Awkward Love Confession”. This video has 159 sentences and 1859 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:15. The speaker talks at a natural 152 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
opera noun	/ˈɒp.ə.ɹə/	A theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance.
apologize verb	/əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/	To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends
confess verb	/kənˈfɛs/	To admit to the truth, particularly in the context of sins or crimes committed.
genuinely adverb	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/	In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly.
anyways adverb	/ˈɛn.iˌweɪz/	Anyway, anyhow, in any case.
confession noun	/kənˈfɛʃən/	The open admittance of having done something (especially something bad).
horrible adjective	/ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/	Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
sponsor noun	/ˈspɒn.səː/	A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or…
tab noun	/tæb/	A small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.
choke verb	/t͡ʃoʊk/	To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air…
milestone noun	/ˈmaɪlˌstoʊn/	A stone milepost (or by extension in other materials), one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of…
naturally adverb	/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/	In a natural manner.
shortly adverb	/ˈʃɔɹtli/	In a short or brief time or manner; quickly.
superior adjective	/sʊˈpɪɹ.i.ɚ/	Higher in rank, status, or quality.
mood noun	/muːd/	A mental or emotional state, composure.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
call over verb		To ask (someone) to come to one's location, especially when raising one's voice towards someone within earshot.
get off verb		To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it.
look forward to verb		To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
look up to verb		To show respect or admiration for (someone); to see (someone) as a role model.
make up verb	/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/	To constitute, to compose.
start out verb		To emerge suddenly; to jump out.

Sentences worth repeating

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

Is this a segue to us?
Hey, you wanted to talk to me about something?
What if she wasn't actually into me?
What if she only wanted to be friends, and I'm overstepping boundaries?
What do I have to lose now?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 34 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, didn't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/, soothe /suːð/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: confession /kənˈfɛʃən/, shortly /ˈʃɔɹtli/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, superior /sʊˈpɪɹ.i.ɚ/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.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 opera, apologize, confess.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: My Awkward Love Confession - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?

REACTING TO FAN FICTIONS ABOUT US uncomfortable

Your Sign to Start a Film Journal. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower