Shadowing Practice: My Day - Slow English With Brian (Level A2-B1) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hi, welcome to Slow English with Brian.

I'm Brian.

This is a Slow English podcast where you will experience clear,

slow, and natural speech that helps you to learn English the way your brain wants to learn English.

In today's episode, we will focus on shadowing practice

and how you can use comprehensible input to improve your English-speaking skills.

You will repeat real sentences from my daily routine while I explain important grammar,

cultural context, and English vocabulary,

the kind Americans actually use every day.

This episode is designed especially for English beginners,

but learners at any level can benefit.

Let's dive into how to learn English naturally and confidently using the rhythm of real life.

Let's talk about my morning routine.

I wake up at 6.30 a.m every morning.

Let's say that again.

I wake up at 6.30 a.m every morning.

Notice the phrasal verb wake up.

In everyday English conversations, native speakers use phrasal verbs constantly.

This is an example of comprehensible input in English.

It is easy to understand because you know what it means already.

The first thing that I do is check my phone.

Let's say that again.

The first thing that I do is check my phone.

In American culture, this is very common.

We love our phones.

and I think people all over the world also love their phones.

The structure, the first thing I do is,

is great English vocabulary for beginners and more advanced learners.

Then I brush my teeth for two minutes.

Let's say that again.

Then I brush my teeth for two minutes.

That's actually a health tip.

Most Americans know that dentists recommend two full minutes of brushing.

Small facts like this are helpful to practice English while we learn about culture.

Then, I make coffee in my kitchen and toast bread.

Let's say that again.

I make coffee in my kitchen and toast bread.

People in America and in Vietnam like to toast their bread.

If you like to toast bread, please tell me in the comments.

We can use other verbs with coffee, not just make.

We can brew coffee, we can grab coffee, and we can have coffee.

These everyday verbs are essential in your English-speaking practice.

I sit at my table and eat breakfast while reading the news.

Let's say that again.

I sit at my table and eat breakfast while reading the news.

This is how real Americans describe multitasking.

Multitasking is doing more than one thing at a time.

So, if we are eating breakfast and reading the news, we are multitasking.

Multi means many.

This is very good comprehensible input because it connects new phrases to familiar phrases.

After eating breakfast, I go to the gym at 7.45 a.m.

Let's say that again.

I go to the gym at 7.45 a.m.

I go there on a motorbike because I live in Vietnam.

Most people here in Vietnam ride motorbikes.

But some people drive cars.

I like to drive cars, but I really like riding motorbikes.

To get to my gym, I only need to ride the motorbike for a few minutes.

It's very close to my house.

Let's say that again.

It's very close to my house.

After working out for about an hour, I go home.

Let's say that again.

After working out for about an hour, I go home.

Here, the word about means approximately or roughly.

So, it means on some days I might work out for 50 minutes,

and on other days I might work out for 70 minutes.

It's about an hour.

After getting home from the gym, I take a warm shower to freshen up.

Let's say that again.

I take a warm shower to freshen up.

Here, freshen up is a natural phrase we use

when we make ourselves clean again and make ourselves feel relaxed because we are clean.

Then, I have lunch with my wife at the kitchen table.

Let's say that again.

Then I have lunch with my wife at the kitchen table.

We usually eat rice, grilled chicken, and vegetables.

Let's say that again.

We usually eat rice, grilled chicken, and vegetables.

These are simple, healthy foods that many Americans enjoy too.

Here, grilled means cooked like this.

We cook it over heat without oil.

That is a very good word for your food vocabulary.

We talk and enjoy each other's company.

Let's say that again.

We talk and enjoy each other's company.

Here, company does not mean a business.

It means being with each other.

So, enjoy each other's company means we feel happy and like being with each other.

Talking and sharing food.

Later in the day, I have a video call with my family in the U.S.

Let's say that again.

Later in the day, I have a video call with my family in the U.S.

Sometimes we talk about the news or food or funny things from our lives or things that my daughter learned.

This is how we stay connected.

It's real-life communication, but across the world.

After the video call, I teach my daughter.

Right now she is not ready for school because she is very young,

so my wife and I teach her.

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We read books with her and teach her how to read in English and Vietnamese.

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This helps her to learn English and Vietnamese and be close to us,

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all at the same time.

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After that, we take a nap.

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Naps are very common in Vietnam and in many other countries.

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But, in America, people rarely take naps,

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especially people who are my age, in their 30s.

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That's because in America, many people work very long hours and don't have time for naps.

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Tell me in the comments if most people take naps in your country.

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I am curious.

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Taking a nap helps me to recharge for the rest of the day.

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Here, the word recharge is something that we do with phones and computers, like this.

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But we can use it with our bodies, too.

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I start to teach in the afternoon at around 5 p.m.

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Let's say that again.

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I start to teach in the afternoon at around 5 p.m.

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I finish teaching at about 8 or 9 p.m.

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That's because I teach students after they finish their normal school.

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I teach them extra classes so that they can learn English, like you.

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Students in Vietnam study for a long time every day.

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After I finish teaching, I make notes about what I taught that day.

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Then I make plans for what I will teach the next day.

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I stay organized by making notes and making plans when I finish teaching.

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That is a really good phrase to practice.

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Let's say I stay organized again.

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I stay organized.

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After that phrase, we say by, and then we say how we stay organized.

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You can say, I stay organized by cleaning my house,

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or I stay organized by talking with my coworkers about the next day.

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We say by and then say a verb with ing at the end.

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By writing, by making, by talking.

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Like that.

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After I finish my notes and my plans, I eat dinner with my family.

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Let's say that again.

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I eat dinner with my family.

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We often have noodles, soup, or stir-fried vegetables for dinner.

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Here, stir-fried looks like this.

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It is a way of cooking with a pan and just a little bit of oil.

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These words are very useful when we talk about food.

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After dinner, my wife and I wash the dishes together.

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Let's say that again.

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My wife and I wash the dishes together.

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I do the scrubbing like this,

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and my wife takes the dishes and puts them into a dishwasher.

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A dishwasher looks like this.

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That way we finish doing the dishes very quickly every day.

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After that, I take a shower to get ready for bed.

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Let's say that again.

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After that, I take a shower to get ready for bed.

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After shower, my daughter, my wife, and I all spend time together.

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I often wrestle with my daughter because she really likes to play that way.

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Sometimes my daughter likes to draw in that time.

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She draws pictures of me and my wife and animals.

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She also also likes to play with clay, but it has some grease in it.

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So she has to wash her hands if she plays with the clay.

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Moments like those are very fun for our family.

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They help us to bond.

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Bond means become closer.

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Let's say that together.

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They help us to bond.

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We use the word bond with family members and close friends.

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We can use it with co-workers, but sometimes it feels too close.

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At bedtime, my wife, my daughter, and I each tell a story.

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That way we can practice my daughter's English when I tell a story and her Vietnamese when my wife tells a story.

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Then my daughter sometimes tells a story in English and sometimes she tells a story in Vietnamese.

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The stories are often about animals, families, or heroes.

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The phrase tell a story is very common in English.

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We tell stories about things.

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So you can say, my co-worker told me a story about a friend.

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I go to bed at around 10.30 p.m.

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That way I get enough sleep for the next day.

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Sometimes I keep thinking about teaching and that can keep me awake a little bit.

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So I have to tell my mind to be slow and quiet so that I can sleep.

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Sleep is very important for health, for learning, and for happiness.

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Now you know a little bit about my normal days, and you learned a lot of good vocabulary and grammar.

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Please tell me in the comments about what you do with your work routine, like me.

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When do you wake up?

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When do you go to work?

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When do you stop working and go home?

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me things like that in the comments.

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If you are a student, you can tell me when you start to study in the day, and when you stop studying,

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and when you do your homework.

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You can use this podcast episode to practice speaking English every day by shadowing my words.

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Shadowing means you listen to me, pause the video, and then say what I said.

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That is a really, really good way to practice your English.

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When you shadow, make sure that you understand the words that you are saying.

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That way, your brain will be able to use those words in other situations.

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Remember, however, that you don't need perfect grammar,

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or perfect vocabulary, or perfect pronunciation to have a conversation,

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or even to get a good score in an English test.

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You can make some mistakes.

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That's normal.

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Keep practicing every day, and tell me about your progress in the comments.

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I'll see you in the next video.

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Bye.

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 Practice: My Day - Slow English With Brian (Level A2-B1) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Why practice speaking with this video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

What is the Shadowing Technique?