Shadowing Practice: Should you learn low-frequency words? My approach as a polyglot - Learn English Speaking with Video
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How hard should we try to learn low frequency vocabulary?
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I think many of us are familiar with the idea that maybe 500, a thousand words will account for,
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you know, 50 % or 70 % of any given context.
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So very often the advice given is just learn those high frequency words and you'll be able to do very well.
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That has not been my strategy and I'm going to explain to you why, but let me first of all say
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that the most important thing is what do you want to
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do what are your goals what gives you a sense of satisfaction
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when you are engaged in learning the language do you feel
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this is what I want to be doing I want to
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be learning the language I want to be focusing in on high frequency words
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or I want to be pushing myself to learn more low frequency words ultimately it's up to you the learner
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because if you enjoy what you're doing you'll continue doing it and the whole thing is in language learning, it takes a long time.
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You have to be in some kind of a learning process that's likely to continue.
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But if I look at my statistics that link with Arabic, which is my most recent language, along with Persian, but a language that I have found,
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you know, a lot of work.
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If you look at my statistics, you'll see that I have read over a million words and I have saved, I'm going from memory here, but over 90 ,000 links.
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That means I have looked up 90 ,000 words.
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and got some kind of a meaning uh of those the system tells me
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that i know 36 000 of these words
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simply because i don't look them up
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when i see them i've converted them to known do i
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really know these words i don't know i'm certainly not able to use them
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and so when we contemplate you know to what extent do we pursue low frequency words part of
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that uh you know discussion is do I want to focus in on words
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that I can use
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and there is a table from the common European framework of reference for languages which shows
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that beginners people who have a small vocabulary who are early
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on in the language actually are able to retrieve use a
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higher percentage of their passive vocabulary than is the case later on
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and it's not surprising but as we acquire more
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and more words more and more passive words uh
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which in my case in arabic is 35 000 words
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which i don't believe i think i've forgotten most of those
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but as we have more and more passive vocabulary apparently there's a certain plateau effect
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which kicks in where the brain is is reluctant to try to retrieve these words uh new words
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or to activate more of the new words that the brain has learned
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because it's more comfortable to just use the words that it has already used before.
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So that the percentage of words that we can activate from our passive vocabulary becomes less and less.
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So then the question is, why do I pursue low frequency vocabulary?
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First of all, I've mentioned this before, but frequency declines very, very quickly.
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So once we've learned 500 ,000 most frequent words in a language, we are chasing words that generally don't show up that often.
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And so at that point,
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we have to adopt strategies that would create a greater likelihood that these low frequency words will show up.
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So in my case, I do a lot of listening to politics and history and things of that nature so that, you know, economics and politics and,
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you know, political parties and those kinds of terms, which are in fact low frequency, will show up more often.
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And there's even some theory of the island effect where, you know, if we can create sort of an island of familiar content,
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then obviously we're going to do better at learning those words.
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So those are things that we can do.
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To what extent it helps, I don't know.
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But the question then becomes, so why do I chase this high word count?
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Why do I want to have a high number of known words, even if the value of that statistic is questionable?
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Well, first of all, pursuing the high word count drives me to engage with more demanding content.
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It's part of what I find satisfying, even though it's difficult.
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It seems that there is an unending quantity of words that I have to learn, particularly in Arabic but it drives me into the things
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that I've been listening to from MTV Lebanon and things of that nature.
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And I find that when I speak with my tutor, even though I have trouble talking about daily things,
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I always surprise my tutor in terms of what I can use vocabulary and the extent to which we can talk, albeit with difficulty and albeit with mistakes,
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we can talk about difficult subjects and i find that more interesting
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so it gets back to my first point you have to do things
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that you find genuinely satisfying because you know if you do things
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that are satisfying you will continue doing it and the difficulty with pursuing
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a limited range of vocabulary you will only cover a limited range of subject matter
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you will limit yourself in what you're learning
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and since whatever we learn in the language the chances are
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we're going to forget it anyway we have to keep on seeing these words in different contexts
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and again research shows
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that the greater the variety of content where we encounter these
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words the more likely we are going to remember them so
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if you are pursuing a limited range of vocabulary you are limiting yourself whereas
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when i pursue these content items
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which have you know lower frequency vocabulary in them i'm also
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coming across some high frequency vocabulary in a great variety of different contexts all of
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that is helping me connect to the language
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because we don't learn the words as i've mentioned before and put them way in a filing cabinet, we learn words, we encounter words,
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we engage with them that activates things in our brain, a web of connectivity, which is related to that language.
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So the key thing is to keep doing it and ultimately,
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and having as wide a variety of engagement with the language as possible in order that you can learn the language.
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So the high word count in my case, for example, for Arabic, and I'm going to be, by the way, doing an interview with my Arabic tutor Hassan on Thursday.
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And you'll see that I struggle.
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I struggle.
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However, I feel the word count, which necessarily means, you know, low frequency words, is an indication of my potential in the language.
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So if I were put in a situation where I had to speak a lot, I would very quickly improve.
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If I only have a limited range of vocabulary, that's kind of my limit.
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That's as much as I'm going to achieve.
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So the word count is an indication of the potential in the language.
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Now I need lots of opportunity to use the language to start to activate.
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And even then, I'm sure that the amount of vocabulary
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that I can activate out of my 35 ,000 theoretically known words is going to be, you know, 15, 20%, maybe.
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The other thing about the word count, and in fact, with all of our statistics at LingQ, is that it is an indication of your level of activity.
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And I've always felt that in language learning, it's kind of difficult to evaluate people based on how well they speak, how well they use grammar,
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their pronunciation, all of these things sometimes improve, sometimes don't, sometimes they're better than at other times.
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The key thing is maintaining a level of activity and the statistics that link, and in particular, the number of words that I know is an indication of how active I have been.
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I have read that much.
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I have listened that much.
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I've listened so often
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that at some point I came across one of these 35 ,000 words in a given text at link
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and I moved it to known.
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I figured I knew it well enough in that context
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that I moved it to known or based on one of our algorithms it was moved to known.
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So the known word total as is the case with the number of links I have created is an indication
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that I have been very active and if you are active you will improve.
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However as I've said before a specific skill like speaking you have to have a lot of opportunity to speak
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but here again I believe
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that a broader vocabulary including a lot of low frequency vocabulary
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items gives you the potential to really progress in the language
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when the opportunity arises
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so my feeling is do what you want to do uh
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you different people have different motives maybe you're going to Spain or Mexico for two weeks.
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You have more limited objectives.
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However, in my case, and I think for a lot of people who want to engage with the language in order to understand the history,
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eventually to have more authentic conversations, to follow podcasts, which I'm able to do in Persian,
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Arabic, and a lot of other languages, read up on history.
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I think it's worthwhile putting that extra effort.
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You can still work on your high frequency words at times if you're getting ready for a conversation.
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However, I think it's worth it, despite the fact that it's a long road to keep on pushing that low -frequency vocabulary.
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Thank you for listening.
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Bye for now.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 117 sentences and 1639 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:18. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| frequency noun | /ˈfɹiːkwənsi/ | The rate of occurrence of anything; the relationship between incidence and time period. |
| pursue verb | /pɚˈsu/ | To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase. |
| arabic adjective | /ˈæɹəbɪk/ | Only used in arabic acid |
| indication noun | /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/ | An act of pointing out or indicating. |
| activate verb | /ˈæktɪˌveɪt/ | To encourage development or induce increased activity; to stimulate. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| passive adjective | /ˈpæs.ɪv/ | Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction. |
| extent noun | /ɪkˈstɛnt/ | A range of values or locations. |
| satisfy verb | /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/ | To be enough (for) |
| tutor noun | /ˈtjuːtəː/ | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
| percentage noun | /pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/ | The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| difficulty noun | /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/ | The state of being difficult, or hard to do. |
| encounter verb | /ɪnˈkaʊntɚ/ | To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. | |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. | |
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
| read over verb | To read (a document, book, etc.) through, though not necessarily thoroughly. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you enjoy what you're doing you'll continue · If you look at my statistics, you'll see · if you are active you will improve |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has not been · have found · have read |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Arabic, which is · people who have · terms, which are |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are engaged · is related · were put |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 35 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, algorithm /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/, worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: indication /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, indication /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, economics /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like vocabulary, frequency, pursue.
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.