Shadowing Practice: Oscar winning actor & writer Tom Hanks gives the Oxford Union an acting lesson - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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that there are no small parts, there are only small actors.
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Thank you.
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Hi.
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Wow.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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All right.
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Okay.
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All right.
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The way...
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What you have to get over in order to do what I do for a living, and a handful of other people in this room also do for a living,
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is you have to get past any sense of self-consciousness.
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You cannot care what you look like or what you sound like.
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You cannot care if you are sounding artificial.
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You cannot be artificial.
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You can only get up, hit the marks, and tell the truth, no matter what the line is, no matter what the circumstances,
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no matter what the emotion is, that you must not fake, but recreate at that individual moment.
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Spencer Tracy said you have to hit the marks and tell the truth.
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That is a very hard thing to do naturally.
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So we are all going to take part in an acting class tonight, every single one of you.
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Alright, this first, this first and probably most precious exercise is called repetitions.
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If you take an acting class, which in all honesty I never did, but if you take an acting class, one of the ways you break down self-consciousness,
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which is your own concept of what you look like and how you sound.
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You do this little exercise called repetition.
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I'm going to give you a line.
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It's a very simple line.
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And what you have to do, and we're going to do it out loud so everybody can get past it in that.
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No one's going to be called on the carpet, but everybody does have to participate, otherwise I'll cripple you.
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You have to say these words.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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But you can't just say the words.
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You have to wring out every possible meaning, every possible cadence, every possible variation of that line of dialogue.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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In a repetitions class, you would have to stand in front of everybody else in the class
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and keep saying it again and again and again in a different form.
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And you only lose your chance to do that when you repeat yourself.
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All right?
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So the line is, is there something I can do for you?
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And we are all going to now say that as many different ways as we can.
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All right?
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You're just you.
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You're nobody else.
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You're just who you are.
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Okay?
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The line once again is, is there something I can do for you?
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All ready?
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Ready?
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Let's begin in three, two, one.
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Is there something I can hear.
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All right, fine.
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So you know the words, and you've already experienced it.
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Okay, now I'm going to give you the circumstance.
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You are you, all right?
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You are having a magnificent day.
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You're going to go off and you're going to have a cup of coffee with someone
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that you have a great crush on, and you believe that person has a great crush on you.
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You're at the beginning of a marvelous relationship with someone who you think is going to perhaps give you, if not a lifetime of happiness,
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a few weeks or a few months.
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All right, you're done with your work for the day.
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You don't have any, you get to sleep in late tomorrow.
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Tomorrow it's going to be a lovely, lovely evening, and you are going to go and have a delightful exchange with somebody you're looking forward to.
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But up in front of you, an elderly person carrying a package has tripped and fallen down onto their knees.
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All right.
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What do you say at that moment?
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Is this something I'm going to give you?
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Okay, ready?
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So, all right.
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Now, now, okay.
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All right, you have the circumstances.
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It's outside.
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It's cold and someone who looks like one of your grandparents
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or an elderly neighbor has fallen down and landed on one knee.
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And you say in three, two, one.
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Let's try it again.
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Ready?
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Three, two, one.
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All right.
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Let's try it.
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One more.
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It must be different from what you just did.
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Okay, ready?
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One, three, two, one.
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I can do for you.
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Okay, very good. And cut.
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Excellent.
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Well, all right.
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Now, the same exact words.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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Except now, you are a civic employee.
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You work in an information booth at City Hall.
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All you do all day long is say those words to everybody that comes in through the door.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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These people are idiots.
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They're morons, they're clucks, sometimes they don't speak your same language, but it doesn't matter because your job, the way you earn your living,
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is to sit in that booth and all day long say, is there something I can do for you?
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You've said it eight million times in the course of the last three years, right?
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Not only that, your spouse at home, you've been arguing with them like crazy, your kids are all brats, you'd like to go off,
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you haven't been to see a movie in months because you can't afford it.
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You are not a happy person on this middle, midweek exchange, your hours that you're putting in.
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You are bored, you are tired, and you're angry.
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But guess what you have to say to everybody that comes into the hallway?
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You have to say, you're way too passive, far too, far too interested.
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Again, you're going to be, you're going to be, look at the clock, realize that it's still 17 minutes to lunch, and you're going to look up and say, okay, ready?
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That's right.
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Three, two, one.
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All right, that's not bad.
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Can you, can you, can you be a little more angry, bored, and what's the, and vituperative, if I'm using that word property?
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One, two, three.
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All right, let's change it a little bit.
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Someone has stood in front of you for a few minutes and hasn't asked a question.
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You're just going to look up to them and say, three, two, one.
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Something I can do for you?
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All right, look at the difference between those two lines, the two different circumstances.
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One, you're incredibly happy and you feel sorry for somebody who's there.
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This one, you're incredibly bored and unhappy, and you have to say this to this person.
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Is there something I can do for you has very, very, very, very, very different connotations.
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All right, here's the last one.
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You ready for this?
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You're a shopkeeper in a relatively tough part of town, and you have to deal with thieves who steal cigarettes from you,
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theft from all of your shelves, that you come in and you get hassled by the neighborhoods who don't like you.
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Essentially, you have to deal with people that are going to possibly rob you, because as they walk in, you don't like the color of their skin, you don't like the clothes that they're wearing,
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you don't like that you've seen them around before, and you just know this person is going to be trouble, and you are not going to let anybody rip you off again,
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because you've worked too hard in order to build this little shop in order to pay for your kids clothes
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and the house that you live in
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so the last thing you're going to do is be polite to this person because you know
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that this person is probably going to steal from you so what do you say to them in three two one
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right right as in you know you sure you want to
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come in here right now what let's try it again Three, two, one.
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All right, that's not bad, but wouldn't it kind of be like, hey, is there something I could do for you?
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Right?
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All right, let's try it again one more time.
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You hate this person that walked in.
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Ready?
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You're going to call the cops on this person.
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If it gives you any lip whatsoever, you're going to call a policeman.
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Three, two, one.
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That's what I'm looking for.
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All right.
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A third variation on a very simple lie.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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What have you learned about yourself just in those three iterations?
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One, that you can be kind and you can fake it.
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Two, you can be bored and you can fake it.
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Three, you can be angry and suspicious and you can fake it.
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But it's a thousand times better, and will hit the audience in a way that is undeniable,
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if you truly are kind to that old lady who fell down, or bored by that person who comes in.
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Because what you say and how you say it is part of the procedure
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and the behavior of how we all live our lives right now.
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And you, the audience, we've all sat down and watched a movie and said, I don't believe that.
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And the reason you don't believe that, because those people didn't really go there.
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So if you see a movie in which somebody says, can I help you because an old lady, or is it something I can do for you because someone fell?
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You, the actor that is in that place, has to be the conduit of that reality and that true procedure and behavior.
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Because at the end of the day, you can have as many humps and different makeup styles and hair and wigs and costumes.
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But if you're not actually adhering to the procedure and behavior of the moment, you're faking it.
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And therefore, you're not part of the great social purchase that goes between the audience and the storytellers, because that's what we all are.
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All right.
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Now we're going to flip it now.
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All right.
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We're going to have another line.
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We'll start with the repetitions exercise.
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The line is, it's all right.
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I'm OK.
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All right.
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Let's it's all right.
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I'm OK.
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Say it once.
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It's all right.
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I'm OK.
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Now let's have a few minutes of repetitions.
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Work out that line in as many different ways as you can.
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It's all right.
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I'm OK.
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Ready?
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Go ahead.
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It's all right.
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All right.
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Very good.
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Very good.
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All right.
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It's all right.
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I'm okay.
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Same scenarios, except this time you're playing the other character.
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You're the elderly person who fell down.
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You're who you are when you fell down.
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You're embarrassed.
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You were trying to juggle all these things.
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You're trying to get home at a period of time.
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You hit a slippery part of the sidewalk.
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You went down.
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You know what?
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And you actually did hurt your knee a little bit.
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All right?
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But what you hear from behind you is, is there something I can do for you?
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Right?
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Was that the line?
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What was it?
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How can I help you? Was it?
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How can I help you?
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All right?
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So, I will give the line, how can I help you?
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And you tell me, it's all right, I'm okay.
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But this first time, you're embarrassed.
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You don't want anybody to help you.
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You just want to get out of an uncomfortable social circumstance.
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Ready?
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All right.
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I'll give you the line, and you'll say, it's all right, I'm okay.
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And, what was the line?
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Is there something I can do?
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By the way, this is the problem.
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When you get a little bit older, you start forgetting the one.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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Thank you.
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All right.
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Ready?
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Hey, is there something I can do for you?
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Let's try that again, all right?
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You're falling down.
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Feel the pain in your knee right now.
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Actually, be rubbing your knee as I say this.
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Okay, ready?
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In three, two, one.
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Hey, is there something I can do for you?
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That's a little loud, guys.
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I think, you know, you can bring it down just a little bit.
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Just almost be saying it to yourself.
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Is there something I can do for you?
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Okay, all right, good.
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All right, so what have you learned about yourself there?
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You could be humiliated at the same time you could be helpful.
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Okay, now the next scenario.
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The board person at the office, you have come into City Hall.
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You know exactly what room you have to be in.
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And yet you're not quite sure if you have all the correct papers, and you'd like to ask this person in the booth whose
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job it is to help you get through your day
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when you're at the end but this person has been looking down at their watch, and you are waiting for them to acknowledge you, and they don't, they don't, they don't, until they look up and say,
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is there something I can do for you, all right?
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And you're going to say, all right.
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Now, why would you say that in this circumstance?
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Why would you say that?
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Because you're intimidated, because you've been ashamed by this person, you've been embarrassed by this person.
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You don't have the social confidence in order to say, yeah, I need some help.
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No, you actually don't want to be in more trouble from this lady.
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Okay, ready?
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Is there something I can do for you?
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Again, way too confident, folks.
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Imagine you're saying it and backing away at the same time.
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Ready?
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Is there something I can do for you?
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All right.
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All right.
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You've been in another incredibly uncomfortable circumstance, and if you actually felt uncomfortable while you were doing that, you've told the truth.
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Okay, now it's the last one.
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You are exactly who you are.
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You look exactly the way you do.
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You're going into, you're just going to pick up, you know, a packet of crisps and a soda to a shop that you're not familiar with.
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and the person who owns this shop obviously hates your guts
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for some reason you have no idea why you're just a customer wanting to do it
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and as soon as they as soon as they hit you with this line
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is there something i can do for you you realize
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that this person looks at me like i'm the enemy i'm the enemy
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so the fact is is that no i'll just pick this stuff up
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and i'll pay i'll get out of here as soon as i can all right
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so that's your that's your circumstance right now your line again
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is it's okay what is it it's all right I'm okay
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ready okay ready is there something I can do for you
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one more time okay maybe add just a tiny bit of moment
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because it's almost like he slapped your face you're not quite sure why you're getting this
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while you're getting this attitude from this person ready is there something I can do for you
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Then I'm just going to follow you around.
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Okay, so they just had this little acting lesson that leads into a couple of territories,
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I think, that are undeniable if you're open to the necessities of telling the story.
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It's not only an examination of a social circumstance, but it is also a situation where you,
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the individual, the character, gets to participate in an empathetic process because the person who said,
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can I help you, to the old folk, that's just caring for somebody.
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That's actually kind.
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The person at the information booth might, at the end of that night, come back and say, well, I was in such a cranky mood with that guy last night.
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Maybe I should examine my own part of this.
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And the shopkeeper said, I jumped all over that guy and he turned out to be a pretty cool guy.
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He wasn't one of the people who kind of ripped me off.
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Likewise, the old person who hurt their knee would go home and say, a young person just was so kind to me today
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and they didn't have to be and I really appreciate that you actually made my day.
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The person in the city hall that was bringing in the papers said, well I ran smack dab into the man today
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and guess what the patriarchy is still taking something out of me
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so I'm going to avoid that person from now on not have to do it again.
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And the last one the guy walked into a shop just said
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so long and I love you
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so much we
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made a
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movie together called the circle that was one of the most magnificent time to remember yeah take Take care, darling.
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Now, everybody, please be cool.
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Don't try to search Emma out, you know.
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Just acknowledge the fact that she's here studying and advancing the nature of storytellers just the same way we all are.
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So, what I wanted to do in that basic exercise is, you know, there's this old saying that there are no small parts, there are only small actors.
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And if you go back in the great lexicon of film, you end up, if you study old movies,
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you can find these tiny moments where someone who is great actually has a very small part in a very big movie.
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You look at Turner classic films, you probably know all these yourselves.
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Sometimes there is just somebody in a film, you just say, who is that?
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And they end up being something huge and big.
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Why?
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Because they told the truth, because they actually stretched the concept of the empathetic moment that anybody can have in a movie.
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If they say something so beautifully and so truthfully, so accurately, and is so real, even if the lines are only,
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is there something I can do for you?
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Or, it's alright, I'm okay.
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You can move mountains just with those two lines.
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Thanks everybody.
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So now we'll talk.
Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing your speaking skills with Tom Hanks' engaging lesson offers numerous benefits for English learners. By immersing yourself in a real-world context, you'll learn not only the language but also how to convey emotion and authenticity in your speech. This practice is especially valuable for IELTS speaking preparation, where expressing yourself clearly and confidently is crucial. Hanks emphasizes breaking down self-consciousness, a barrier many learners face. As you engage with this content, use the shadowing technique to mimic his delivery, rhythm, and intonation, enhancing your fluency and overall speaking abilities.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
In Tom Hanks' acting lesson, he utilizes several key phrases that can enhance your English speaking skills:
- "Is there something I can do for you?" – This phrase not only displays politeness but also encourages interaction. It’s an excellent example of how to make requests or offer help.
- "You have to get past any sense of self-consciousness." – This structure teaches the importance of overcoming personal insecurities while speaking. Understanding the phrase's essence can help learners build confidence.
- "You must not fake, but recreate at that individual moment." – This statement emphasizes the significance of authentic expression. In speaking practice, aim to embody the meaning behind the words you say, enabling better connection with your audience.
By analyzing these structures, students can incorporate them into their own speech, making their communications more effective and relatable.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While practicing shadow speech with Tom Hanks, be attentive to potential pronunciation challenges:
- The phrase "Is there something I can do for you?" contains linked sounds that may be tricky. Focus on the fluid connection between "Is there" and "something", practicing slowly before speeding up.
- Pay attention to the word "do" in context. Hanks pronounces it clearly, emphasizing the action and inviting engagement. Mispronouncing this can lead to misunderstandings.
- Emotional variation: As Hanks demonstrates different cadences, practice varying your tone and pace. This helps improve your English pronunciation and makes your speech more dynamic and engaging.
Implementing these strategies will elevate your speaking skills, enabling you to express yourself with clarity and confidence in any situation.
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.