Shadowing Practice: Reward Yourself to Build Good Habits | Easy English Conversation for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi everyone!
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Welcome back to Everyday English Talk,
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the podcast where we practice simple, everyday English.
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I'm Anna.
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And I'm Ben.
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Thank you for joining us today.
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Wherever you're listening, at home,
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on the bus, or out for a walk,
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we're really happy you're here.
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Today we're asking a very interesting question.
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Why does one small piece of chocolate make exercise feel easier
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most people think building good habits only comes from hard work
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and discipline
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but today we explore why tiny rewards actually help your new habits stick building routines can be difficult
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and boring at first we'll show you how a simple reward
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makes hard tasks much more enjoyable make sure to stay until the end to learn the secret science behind this
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And don't forget, you can download our free PDF transcript and practice exercises in the description below.
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Alright, let's get started.
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So, Anna, in the introduction,
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we talked about small rewards,
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but I know some people think rewards are a bad idea.
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What do you think?
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Yes, I'm usually one of those people.
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Let me explain why.
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Please do.
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Let's say I go for a run because I want to be healthy.
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If I eat a piece of chocolate after my run,
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I feel like I cancel the healthy effect.
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I understand what you mean.
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You think the reward is a distraction.
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You think it ruins all your hard work.
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Exactly.
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I think a good habit should just be about discipline.
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You should do it because it's good for you.
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No chocolate or treats needed.
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That sounds very strong.
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But let's look at real life.
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Why is it so hard for people to build a new habit?
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Because new habits are usually not fun.
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They feel like hard work.
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Waking up early is hard.
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Studying English grammar is hard.
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Cleaning the house is hard.
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Right.
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In the beginning, new habits feel painful.
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You want the long-term goal,
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like speaking fluent English or being very healthy.
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But the long-term goal is very far away.
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That's true.
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Speaking fluent English takes months or even years of practice.
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And humans naturally love instant pleasure.
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We want to feel good right now.
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If a task is hard and the goal is far away, we feel tired.
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We want to stop.
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I see.
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That's why many people quit their new routines too early.
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It feels too difficult, and they don't see fast results.
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Exactly.
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And if you only use strict discipline every single day,
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there's a big danger.
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What danger?
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You might burn out.
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You get too tired.
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Your brain feels stressed.
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And you completely stop trying.
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Oh, I know that feeling.
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I always feel guilty when I treat myself.
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I think, Anna, you should be stronger.
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You shouldn't need a reward to do basic things.
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Many people feel that way.
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We're taught that hard work must be painful.
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But our brains don't work like that.
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They don't?
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No. If something is always painful,
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our brain says, Stop doing this right now.
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That's why I always quit going to the gym after two weeks.
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It hurts.
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I'm tired.
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And I see no changes in my body.
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Right.
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Your brain sees no reason to continue.
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But what if?
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You buy a special coffee only on the days you go to the gym.
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Ooh.
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Then my brain says, OK,
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the gym is hard, but we get that delicious coffee afterward.
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Exactly.
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It's about balancing the hard work with a little bit of joy.
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That makes sense.
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And the reward must match the habit, right?
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If my goal is to save money,
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my reward for saving $10 cannot be buying a $50 shirt.
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That's a great point.
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The reward must be small.
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Just a small treat to keep you moving forward.
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Like a micro reward, something tiny,
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like a five-minute podcast, or a cup of your favorite tea.
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Perfect examples.
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And here's a useful trick.
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You can use the if, then structure.
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If I finish studying for 20 minutes,
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then I listen to one song I love.
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Oh, I like that.
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If, then makes the rule very clear.
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There's no excuse not to follow it.
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Exactly.
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It removes the decision.
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Your brain knows exactly what to expect.
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It's time to learn some phrases from our chat today.
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Let's look at five useful expressions.
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First, treat yourself.
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It means to do something nice for yourself because you deserve it.
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Example, you worked very hard today.
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You should treat yourself to a nice dinner.
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Second, burnout.
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It means to become extremely tired from working too much.
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Example, if you work every weekend without resting,
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you will quickly burn out.
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Third, long-term goal.
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It means a plan or target you want to reach in the future, not right now.
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Example.
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Buying a house is my biggest long-term goal.
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Fourth.
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Micro reward.
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It means a very small, simple reward.
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Example.
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A cup of tea after studying is a perfect micro reward.
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Fifth.
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If.
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Then.
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A simple rule to link a task with a reward.
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Example.
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If I clean the kitchen,
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then I watch one funny video.
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Now we want to hear from you.
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Do small rewards help you stay motivated or do they distract you from your goals?
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Tell us what you think and share your answer with us in the comments.
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Now that we understand why strict discipline isn't always enough,
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Let's talk about the science behind habits.
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Science?
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That sounds a bit complicated.
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Is it difficult to understand?
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Not at all.
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It's actually very simple.
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It's all about a special chemical in our brain called dopamine.
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Dopamine.
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I've heard that word before.
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What exactly does it do?
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Think of dopamine as a happy messenger in your brain.
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When you do something enjoyable, your brain releases dopamine.
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It makes you feel good.
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Okay.
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So when I eat a delicious piece of chocolate,
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my brain gets dopamine and I feel very happy.
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Exactly.
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But dopamine does something else too.
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It's not just about feeling happy.
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It's also about motivation and memory.
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How does that work?
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When your brain feels that happy dopamine rush,
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it says, Wow, that was great.
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We should do that action again.
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So the brain remembers the action that caused the good feeling.
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Right.
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This creates something called the reward loop.
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It has four simple steps.
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What are the four steps?
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Step 1.
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You have a task.
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Let's use cleaning the house as an example.
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Okay.
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Step 1 is the task, cleaning the house.
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What's step 2?
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Step 2 is doing the hard task,
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but adding a small reward at the very end.
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After you clean the living room,
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you watch one funny video on your phone.
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That sounds nice.
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Step 3 must be the brain's reaction.
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Yes.
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Step 3 is the good feeling.
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Your brain releases dopamine because you watched the funny video,
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you feel happy and relaxed.
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And step 4?
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Step 4 is repeating the habit.
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The next time your house is dirty,
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your brain remembers the funny video it makes cleaning feel less
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terrible you actually want to finish the task to get the reward
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that makes sense the brain connects the difficult task with the positive feeling yes the brain learns
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that hard work leads to a good outcome let's think of another example how about learning English perfect Step 1.
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The task.
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Practicing vocabulary for 20 minutes.
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Step 2.
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The reward.
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Listening to your favorite song right after you finish.
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Step 3.
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The good feeling.
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The music makes you feel relaxed.
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Your brain loves it.
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And Step 4.
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Repeating it tomorrow.
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Practicing vocabulary will feel a little easier because I look forward to the music, Exactly.
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And the reward doesn't have to be expensive or unhealthy.
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A hot shower after a run,
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playing with your pet after homework.
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These are all perfect rewards.
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But what if we don't use the reward loop?
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What if we just force ourselves to study with no music,
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no coffee, and no fun?
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If there's no reward, the brain only feels the pain and the stress.
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It tries to protect you from things that don't feel good.
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And the brain will help you make excuses.
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You'll say, I'm too tired today, or I'll study tomorrow.
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Exactly.
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So by using the reward loop,
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we're actually working with our brain, not against it.
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Let's review these useful expressions together.
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First, make sense.
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It means to be logical or easy to understand.
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Example.
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Your explanation is very clear.
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It makes perfect sense to me.
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Second, look forward to.
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It means to feel excited about something that is going to happen.
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Example.
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I always look forward to the weekend so I can rest.
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Third, work with.
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It means to cooperate with someone or something instead of fighting it.
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Example.
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We should work with our team to finish the project faster.
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Fourth, make excuses.
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It means to give false reasons why you cannot do something.
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Example, he didn't want to clean his room,
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so he started to make excuses.
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Fifth, over time.
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It means gradually, as time passes.
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Example, if you practice every day,
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your English will improve over time.
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What do you usually do to feel good after a long and difficult task?
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Share your answer and your favorite reward with us in the comments.
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We've talked a lot about dopamine and the reward loop today.
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Yes, and it really changes how I think about my daily routines.
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I used to be so hard on myself.
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If I couldn't finish a simple task using pure discipline,
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I felt like a failure.
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Many people feel that way.
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We often hear the phrase, no pain, no gain.
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Society tells us that if something is easy or enjoyable, it's not working.
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Exactly.
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I thought I had to suffer to see results.
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When I studied in college,
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I forced myself to sit in a quiet room.
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No music, no snacks, no breaks.
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And how long did that studying habit last?
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Usually about three days.
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Then I'd get extremely tired,
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close the book, and watch television for five hours instead.
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That's the perfect example of zero rewards.
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When the brain gets no positive feelings,
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it searches for a huge distraction.
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I sometimes still fall off the wagon.
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I start a new habit with so much energy,
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and then after one week, I just stop completely.
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Oh, I know that feeling very well.
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I fell off the wagon with my morning running habit so many times.
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So what do you do when that happens?
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I remind myself.
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Baby steps.
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You don't have to be perfect.
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Just do one small thing.
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Even just five minutes.
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Baby steps.
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I love that.
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Don't try to run a marathon on day one.
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Just put on your shoes and walk to the door.
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Exactly.
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And the most important thing, keep at it.
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Don't quit just because you missed one day.
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One bad day doesn't erase all your progress.
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Just keep at it and start again tomorrow.
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And using a small reward makes it much easier to start again after you've stopped.
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I see.
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The small reward is just like training wheels on a bicycle.
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It helps you keep your balance until you know how to ride all by yourself.
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That's a wonderful way to describe it.
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Once the habit is strong,
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you can take the training wheels off.
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The positive behavior itself feels rewarding.
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This gives me a lot of hope.
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I'm going to try this tomorrow morning.
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I want to build a habit of reading 10 pages of a book every day.
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That's a great goal.
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What will your small reward be?
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After I finish reading my 10 pages,
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I'll allow myself to drink a special cup of hot chocolate while looking out the window.
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That sounds very peaceful.
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I'm sure your brain will release plenty of dopamine for that.
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So Ben, today we answered the big question.
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We know why small rewards work,
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and we understand the science behind it.
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Yes, we discovered the dopamine secret.
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But I still have a question.
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How do we actually build a good reward system?
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What if my reward is too big or what if I take the reward before I finish the task?
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Those are very common problems and that's exactly what we'll talk about in our next episode.
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We'll show you step by step how to set up the perfect reward system so you never fail.
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let's look at five expressions from our conversation first be hard
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on yourself it means to criticize yourself too much example you're doing your best
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so please don't be hard on yourself second no pain no gain a common saying
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that means you must work hard to succeed example my legs hurt after the gym
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but no pain no gain third fall off the wagon it
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means to stop a good habit after trying for a while
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example I fell off the wagon with my diet last month
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but I started again this week fourth baby steps it means
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doing small easy actions at first example don't try to study for three hours on day one.
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Just take baby steps.
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Fifth, keep at it.
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It means to continue trying and not give up.
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Example.
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Learning English is hard sometimes,
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but keep at it and you'll improve.
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Now we want you to practice with us.
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Please complete this sentence.
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After I finish, I like to reward myself with.
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Share your sentence with us in the comments.
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Thank you for listening to Everyday English Talk today.
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We hope you enjoyed learning about habits and dopamine.
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Remember, learning English is also a habit.
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Don't forget to reward yourself for listening to this entire episode.
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You can download the free PDF transcript and vocabulary exercises in the description below to practice your reading and writing.
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Keep practicing.
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Be kind to yourself.
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and we'll see you in the next episode.
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Goodbye, everyone.
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Bye.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with the content of this video titled "Reward Yourself to Build Good Habits" offers a unique opportunity to learn English with YouTube. The conversational format features everyday dialogue between two speakers, Anna and Ben, which provides practical examples of how native speakers interact. This is an excellent context for English speaking practice as it allows learners to immerse themselves in realistic scenarios where they can pick up essential expressions, vocabulary, and pronunciation. By practicing along with the video, you can enhance your speaking skills and feel more confident in your conversations.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The dialogue incorporates various structures and expressions that are beneficial to understand. Here are three key takeaways:
- Conditional Sentences: The phrase "If I eat a piece of chocolate after my run, I feel like I cancel the healthy effect" demonstrates the conditional structure, which is crucial for expressing hypothetical situations.
- Conversational Phrasing: Expressions like "What do you think?" and "Please do" evoke an informal tone that is commonly used in everyday conversation, making your English sound more natural and relatable.
- Present Continuous Tense: The speakers often use the present continuous to describe ongoing actions, such as in "We’re really happy you’re here." This is a pivotal tense for discussing current events or states, enhancing your fluency.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While practicing with the video, be mindful of certain pronunciation challenges:
- Words ending in 'ed': Pay attention to how verbs like "canceled" are pronounced. Non-native speakers often pronounce these endings in ways that are not common in everyday speech.
- The word 'chocolate': This word is notoriously tricky due to its syllable breaks. Practice saying "choc-o-late" to ensure clarity in your speech.
- Sentence Intonation: Notice how Anna and Ben use intonation to emphasize their points, particularly in questions. Mimicking their rhythm can greatly improve your delivery.
Incorporating a shadowing app can also enhance your practice. By repeating the phrases and sentences you hear, you can master the rhythm and flow of the English language, leading to more effective shadow speech. So, don't hesitate to dive into English speaking practice by using this video as a template for real-life conversations!
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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