Shadowing Practice: Reading Changes your Brain ┃ Let Me Explain - Learn English Speaking with Video

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If you read 10 pages every single day, after one whole year, that is 3,650 pages, which is roughly 12 books.

Now think about that for a second.

Every single story you read, every idea you absorb, your brain treats it like a real experience.

Now reading doesn't just give you information, it changes the way your brain works.

The greatest minds that ever walked the earth, their whole life experience, their whole mindset and philosophies are condensed into a single book that you can finish in one week.

Now think about how amazing and life-changing that is.

In this video, I will show you how reading literally rewires your mind

and why you need to either get started or read a ton more.

Trust me, it is so worth it.

Now to train yourself to be able to read for longer periods of time, you need to manage your dopamine levels.

This means no scrolling your phone and checking notifications while watching this video, no reading the recommended videos on the side.

Just put this video on full screen, focus on this video and this video only, and let's get into it.

Oh yeah, one more thing before we get started.

If you're getting into reading or you're already a confirmed reader, I write a newsletter twice a week read by 4,000 plus readers.

It's free.

Subscribe if you're interested.

Link below.

And I'll talk more about that later.

Now part number one, reading is not information.

Reading isn't about learning facts.

Anybody can learn facts.

Reading is actually just about living in other experience.

It is about becoming someone else for just a moment.

You see, over the past five years, I've read over 150 books.

And in a way, every single one of those books shaped the way that I think today.

A part of me is in every book that I've read.

So for example, I read the book Fight Club and that was for detachment.

I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, which is stoicism.

For the business aspect, I read all of Alex Ramosi's books.

For Habits, I read Atomic Habits.

For Mastery and Changing the Way I Think, I read Mastery by Robert Greene.

To develop the business mindset, I read Shoe Dog, which is the Memoir of Nike by Phil Knight.

Every single book has a purpose.

Every book changes you and shapes you in a certain way.

Now in the self-improving space, there are thousands of books.

There are so many books that you couldn't even count.

And every single one of these books has a story.

It has a life lesson.

It has an experience that is condensed.

Now a fun fact is that your brain actually activates the same exact regions when it is reading versus experiencing.

So when you're actually living experience, certain areas are activated in your brain.

But when you are reading about experiences, those same areas are activated.

Now by tapping into the skill of reading, you can learn from other people's mistakes, you can copy the success of people you look up to and you can build that for yourself.

So you can just look and study any inspiring, successful person who is out there and you can just be like, I want this success for myself.

And if they can do it, then why can't I?

If you can just look at somebody who has the success that you want and you can read about them, study their stories, study how far they've come, then you will get there.

You see, if you fake bravery for long enough, you will be brave.

And that is actually the fake it till you make it mindset that is also prevalent in reading books.

You see, stories trigger emotion, they trigger empathy, fear and desire.

They don't just work on logic and because they tap into very deep emotions, these stories that you read, the people, the authors that you read, they leave an imprint on your mind.

They shape the person that you are from a very deep identity level.

You see, reading isn't just input, it is experience without consequences.

Now if you watch these videos that help you grow, then you are already putting space between you and the rest of the world.

You are already choosing and taking the initiative to become the top 1%.

The top 1% who have the dream life, who have the success, who are exactly where they wanna be

and who have the discipline and the consistency to live a very, very good life.

Now just by watching these videos, you are already going to reach a level of success that most people never even see.

And that is the power of consuming the right content.

Whether that's books, whether that's videos like these, consuming the type of content that aligns with your goals is gonna get you to your goals.

Now part number two, reading physically rewires your brain.

You see reading literally changes your brain structure.

Now there's a quote that I like and it goes like this.

Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.

Now reading just simply strengthens focus in a dopamine fragmented world.

And also if you like these videos, if you like the information and experience based content that I make on this channel, then make sure to leave a subscribe to see more of these videos.

You see reading builds neural connections tied to memory and comprehension.

It increases empathy by forcing you into other perspectives.

You see regular readers develop deeper and slower thinking.

And there's another quote, it goes like this.

Scrolling trains reaction and reading trains reflection.

You see a lot of us want to change habits.

We want to change ways of life.

We want to develop the discipline and the consistency that is going to lead to the results.

That is going to lead to being able to take the daily steps to get to where we want to be.

Now the only problem with that, even though that's amazing, is if your identity conflicts with your outcome.

Conflicts with the person you want to be and the life you want to live, then it's going to be hard.

You can never outwork your identity.

So think about what better way to make fundamental change than to change the person behind the habits.

It's the person behind the routines, the person who is doing the things.

And that comes with changing identity.

And reading is just one of the biggest things that changes your identity over time.

It's not gonna change your identity in a couple of weeks or maybe even months, but if you read for one year, if you read 12 books a year, which is 10 pages a day,

then you will see your identity start to shift.

You will start to just think differently and be a different person and, you know, just think from a different perspective. And

that takes me to part number three the future you you

see the past version of myself would be shocked at all the books

that I've read

but I'm even way more thankful to the past version of myself who decided to pick up

that first book reading has changed my life the reason why

I've been able to you know grow my youtube channel to 80,000 plus subscribers

and talk about self improvement and talk about discipline

and mindsets is you know partly due to reading in fact it is enlarged due to reading, the one habit, the one skill, the one identity change that has changed my whole life.

I am so grateful that I picked up my first book when I did, because it really changed my life.

You see, just think about 20 pages a day.

It's not that much, right?

20 pages a day is something you could do every day.

It might take 30 minutes, it might take an hour, but we all have time to spare.

Now, 20 pages a day is 7,300 pages a year, and that is 24 books.

Imagine how much of a different person you would be if you read 24 books in one year.

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You see, every single book subtly reshapes how you think.

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It changes the way you see things and the way you decide.

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Now this is something you won't notice daily but after months of reading you will notice these 1% changes,

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these 1% improvements in your character start to collect and come together and give you the final result.

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You see reading is an identity shift.

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It is not a habit.

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Now if we talk about the one habit that has changed my life in so many ways it's not meditating.

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I mean meditating is great, journaling is great, exercising is great and doing all these things they're amazing

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but And reading for some reason has changed my life the most.

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Now a final quote to leave you with, reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are.

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If you're ready to change your life, if you're ready to start reading and start picking up the habit

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that is going to shift your identity at the deepest level, then check out my newsletter where I give you the tools to make meaningful change in your life.

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Now click the link in the description below to receive weekly insights that will change your life.

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Thank you for watching, take care and you got this.

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What You'll Practice in This Lesson

Explore how reading transforms the brain while improving your English speaking skills using the shadowing technique. This lesson focuses on understanding complex ideas, mimicking natural speech patterns, and building vocabulary from a video that connects reading habits to personal growth. You’ll practice listening, repeating, and internalizing fluent English through real-world examples.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Condensed: Made shorter but keeping the main points (e.g., "Philosophies are condensed into a single book").
Rewires: Changes the way something works (e.g., "Reading rewires your mind").
Dopamine levels: Chemical in the brain linked to motivation (e.g., "Manage dopamine levels to read longer").
Imprint: A lasting effect (e.g., "Stories leave an imprint on your mind").
Prevalent: Common or widespread (e.g., "The 'fake it till you make it' mindset is prevalent in reading").

Practice Tips for Shadowing

The video’s tone is conversational and energetic, with a moderate speed—perfect for shadowing practice. Here’s how to master it:

Start with short clips: Pause every 10-15 seconds, repeat the speaker’s words, and focus on matching their rhythm. This builds muscle memory for natural speech flow, critical for IELTS speaking practice.
Emphasize emotion: The video uses phrases like "Trust me, it is so worth it" with passion. Mimic the tone to practice conveying feeling, a key skill in shadow speech.
Use a shadowing site: Slow down the video speed if needed, then gradually increase it. This helps you keep up with faster sections while maintaining clarity.
Learn English with YouTube: Replay the section about "faking bravery" multiple times. Notice how the speaker stresses "fake" and "brave"—copy this stress to sound more native.

Consistency is key: Practice 10 minutes daily, and you’ll soon notice improved fluency and confidence. Whether for IELTS speaking practice or everyday conversation, shadowing this video will sharpen your skills.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've read · they've come · has changed
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	pages, which is · Aurelius, which is · Dog, which is
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are condensed · is condensed · are activated

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: Reading Changes your Brain ┃ Let Me Explain - Learn English Speaking with Video

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