Shadowing Practice: 💔"My grandma passed away" - Gu Ailing Eileen in tears after freeski halfpipe gold｜China｜Olympics｜谷爱凌 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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As a competitor, I don't want to generalize,
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As a competitor, I don't want to generalize,
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but as a competitor myself,
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I think we yearn, the thing we yearn for most is a worthy opponent.
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I think there's something so beautiful in that.
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It's not about beating other people,
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but it's about this sense of healthy competition.
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That's what sportsmanship is.
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That's what the Olympics are about.
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If I went to a middle school and beat everybody at free skiing there,
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it's not exciting for anybody.
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What's exciting is that year after year,
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we get to see the progression of a sport as the average of everybody
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and everybody's average rises and we all get better.
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And maybe the people at the top are contributing a little bit more,
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but everybody is contributing to that growth.
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And that's something that's really special to me.
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So do I welcome that?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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I mean, I love to compete.
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I love to compete.
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I love to win, but I love to compete and I love to ski.
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And so if I were to put that in order,
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I would say I love to ski first and then I love to compete and then I love to win.
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But at my heart and soul, I like to ski.
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Yeah.
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And then I know you said that was the last question,
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but I just want to say something really quickly.
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The reason I was late is that I just found out that my grandma passed away.
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And she was like a really,
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she was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely.
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She was such a strong,
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she was a fighter and I think what's so interesting is that a lot of people just cruise through life,
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but she was a steamship.
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Like this woman commanded life and she grabbed it by the reins
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and she made it into what she wanted it to be.
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And she inspired me so much.
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The last time I saw her before I came to the Olympics,
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she was very sick, so I knew that this was a possibility.
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I didn't promise her that I was going to win,
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but I did promise her that I was going to be brave.
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She has been brave.
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And that's why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks.
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It actually goes back to that promise that I made my grandma.
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And so I'm really happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud.
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But it's also a really difficult time for me now.
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So I really apologize for being late,
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but like that's what was going on.
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Sorry.
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Guo Zhengfeng.
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Yeah, that's my middle name, Feng, for her.
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Yeah.
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Gua Eling, thank you for sharing your emotions with us.
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That's all what we have for today.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This emotional moment featuring Gu Ailing Eileen after her Olympic victory provides an excellent opportunity for English learners to practice speaking in context. By analyzing her heartfelt reflections, you can gain insights into how genuine emotions influence language. When learners engage with this video, they not only enhance their vocabulary and structures but also improve their delivery by connecting words to emotions, fostering a more natural speaking style.

Moreover, the theme of competition and personal growth offers rich discussion points. By using a shadowing app, learners can imitate Eileen's intonations and emotional expressions, which is crucial for becoming fluent in English. This method encourages an understanding beyond mere words, allowing learners to connect with the speaker's feelings, an essential skill in real-life conversations.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In the transcript, several key grammatical structures and expressions can be analyzed:

  • “I think we yearn”: The phrase demonstrates a complex verb structure. The verb “yearn” exemplifies a deep desire, emphasizing emotional engagement.
  • “What’s exciting is that…”: This construction allows learners to express opinions clearly. It positions the speaker's viewpoint as a central theme in their discourse.
  • “…commanded life and she grabbed it by the reins”: This metaphorical expression offers a vivid way to describe taking control of one's destiny, a great idiomatic structure for advanced vocabulary.
  • “I didn’t promise her that I was going to win…”: The use of past forms alongside conditional structures helps students learn how to discuss promises and expectations effectively.

Using these expressions in practice can significantly enrich a learner’s vocabulary, helping them articulate complex thoughts and feelings in English more authentically.

Common Pronunciation Traps

In Eileen's speech, several words and phrases may pose pronunciation challenges for English learners:

  • “grandma”: Pronouncing the "a" as a short vowel can be tricky. Practice by listening closely and repeating, using a shadowing site for accurate mimicking.
  • “brave”: This word requires that learners emphasize the long "a" sound correctly. Shadowing this will help improve English pronunciation of similar adjectives.
  • “progression”: A common difficulty is the three syllables. Breaking it into segments can aid comprehension and retention.

When learners use a shadow speak approach, they can focus on these tricky words and develop better articulation. Recording oneself and comparing it against the original can be a powerful method to refine pronunciation.

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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