Shadowing Practice: Side hustles enter the AI era | Vietnam Today - Learn English Speaking with Video
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30 sentences
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1
For many people, a full -time job is not their only source of income.
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From freelance projects to paid services built around existing skills, having a side hustle offers another way to earn money and build skills.
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But balancing extra work with a main job takes time, effort and careful consideration.
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As secondary employment enters the AI era, how is the landscape changing?
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Let's find out in the following story.
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Zul finishes her day job at the office.
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Then it's time to clock in again.
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She's helping an ethic startup build its brand, a project in a different field from her day job.
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From brand strategy to website revamps, she spends evenings from 7 to 10pm on side jobs, each earning her around half her main monthly salary.
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Side jobs give me a chance to learn independently and gain experience with different brands and industries.
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They also help me build skills for the long term.
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I spend around 15 to 20 hours a week on these projects, which usually last three to six months.
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The pay is lower than my main job and the work is less stable.
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Dương is among the 68 .1 percent of Gen Z respondents taking on side hustles, according to Amphabay.
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But side hustles are not just for young people.
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Side hustles are growing among young graduates and specialists with in -demand skills.
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Businesses can tap into their expertise through short consultations, lasting just one or two hours.
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Meanwhile, 73 % of employers report difficulties recruiting workers with AI skills for full -time roles.
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This is creating opportunities for freelancers who can offer the specific skills businesses need without requiring a full -time hire.
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Finding a side hustle can just be a few clicks away.
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Online platforms offer gigs from video creation to freelance writing and design.
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And after some time, I think I found the one that fits me.
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And this is much of a bigger trend.
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The World Bank estimates that gig work accounts for up to 12 % of the global labor force.
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In Vietnam, Anfabek found that 55 .1 % of workers with multiple income sources earned the second income through gig work.
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In 2026, demand on Upwork for AI video generation skills rose by 329%.
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AI makes side hustles more accessible, but competition is fierce.
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To stand out, people must keep creating distinctive value and find their own competitive edge.
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As AI reshapes work, side hustles are opening up new ways to apply skills, gain experience, and earn extra income.
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But for those balancing a second job with their main career, making the most of these opportunities takes more than just the right tools.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Side hustles enter the AI era”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: skills, hustle, income, main, gig. This video has 30 sentences and 431 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:04. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| hustle verb | /ˈhʌsəl/ | To push someone roughly; to crowd; to jostle. |
| earn verb | /ɝn/ | To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. |
| worker noun | /ˈwɝ.kɚ/ | One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor. |
| freelance adjective | /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ | Of or relating to a freelance; without a long-term employment contract. |
| meanwhile adverb | /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ | During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place. |
| stable noun | /ˈsteɪ.bəl/ | A building, wing or dependency set apart and adapted for lodging and feeding (and training) ungulates, especially horses. |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| hire verb | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. |
| landscape noun | /ˈlan(d)skeɪp/ | A portion of land or territory as defined by its landform, its geographical (and architectural) features. |
| salary noun | /ˈsæləɹi/ | A fixed amount of money paid to a worker, usually calculated on a monthly or annual basis, not hourly, as wages. Implies a degree of professionalism and/or… |
| difficulty noun | /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/ | The state of being difficult, or hard to do. |
| estimate noun | /ˈɛs.tɪ.mət/ | A rough calculation or assessment of the value, size, or cost of something. |
| consideration noun | /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The thought process of considering, of taking multiple or specified factors into account (with of being the main corresponding adposition). |
| specialist noun | /ˈspɛʃəlɪst/ | Someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| open up verb | To open. |
| stand out verb | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.). |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, specialist /ˈspɛʃəlɪst/, consultation /ˌkɑnsəlˈteɪʃən/, reshape /ɹiːˈʃeɪ̯p/
- Long words — get the stress right: difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, independently /ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəntli/, consultation /ˌkɑnsəlˈteɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like skill, hustle, earn.
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.