Shadowing Practice: Simple Stories in English: What am I like? - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hello and welcome to Simple Stories in English.
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This second episode of Season 2 presents multiple descriptive adjectives
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that both do and don't describe my physical characteristics and personal qualities to answer the question,
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What am I like?
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So you can better talk about what you are like.
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What am I like?
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Well, physically, I am pretty normal.
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I am of average height.
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I am not tall or short.
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I am skinny.
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I am not super thin and I am not fat.
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I have green eyes.
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I always wear glasses because my eyes are not perfect.
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My hair is brown and wavy or curly.
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My face is round like a circle.
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I think I am pretty.
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But I am much more than my physical appearance.
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I have a big personality.
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A lot of people say I am energetic.
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I always have a lot of energy.
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My energy is obvious when I talk or teach.
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I can't be in one position for a long time.
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I need to move.
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That's why when I talk, I move my hands a lot.
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Since I have a lot of energy, it is no surprise that I am also very active.
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I like being outside in nature and I can walk in the mountains for hours and hours.
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Sometimes I ride my bike with my son.
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I am energetic and active, but I am not athletic.
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I don't like participating in sports like soccer or volleyball.
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I don't have much coordination.
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I am clumsy and I have a lot of accidents in sports.
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In addition to being energetic and active, I also have moments when I am lazy.
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In these moments, I can spend hours with a book or watching television.
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When I watch TV, I am lazy.
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I am social and outgoing.
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I am not shy.
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I like to talk.
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I talk with everyone.
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Sometimes my sons get mad because I talk and talk and talk and they want to go home,
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but I keep talking.
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I have wonderful friends and I talk with them a lot.
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I also talk to people I don't know.
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I am friendly and I smile a lot.
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I like to talk with new people.
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I am patient with other people, but I am impatient with myself.
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When my sons or students need help, I am patient.
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I repeat myself a lot without problems.
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When I am with other people, I am patient.
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I can listen to their stories or help without frustration.
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But when I am alone, I am impatient.
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When I am in the supermarket and I want to go home, I am impatient.
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When I am in traffic, I am really impatient.
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When I need to prepare materials for class or use the copier, I am impatient.
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I think I am patient when it is important,
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but I need to work on patience in the rest of my life.
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I am fun.
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I like going out with friends and doing fun activities like singing karaoke or floating the river.
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I am a fun teacher.
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In class, we do fun activities like finger painting and acting out stories.
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I am a fun mom.
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At home, I play with Lego with my sons and I read books in a funny way.
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I am also fun because I am funny.
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I tell jokes at home and in class.
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My jokes are typically terrible, but they are also funny.
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I am smart.
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I study a lot and I have a lot of information in my head.
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I also like reading.
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When I read, I learn more.
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So with every book, I am more intelligent.
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In addition to the information that I have,
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I am smart because I recognize that it isn't possible to be an expert on everything.
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I don't have all the answers to the problems of the world,
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and I need to study and listen to experts and learn from them.
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I am hard working.
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I have a lot of personal and professional projects.
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I work practically all the time.
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Personally, I work on my house.
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I work in the yard.
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I work on projects and activities for my sons.
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I work on myself through exercising.
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It is a lot of work to maintain the house.
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It is also a lot of work being a single mom.
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Professionally, I work on my books.
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I work on my podcast.
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I work to help other teachers in school,
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and I work to teach Spanish to my students at the high school and at the college.
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I am creative.
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I think that I plan creative and different activities and classes.
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I can create stories in the moment with only a few ideas from my students.
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I can look at an activity and think of multiple ways to present the activity to have maximum participation from my students.
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In my house, I am creative with Lego.
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I can look at a picture and create a house or car without instructions.
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I make art with my sons.
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I am not artistic, but I am creative with my combination of colors and forms.
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I am strong.
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I don't have big muscles, but I am physically and mentally strong.
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I can do construction projects in the house and yard.
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I can hike for days in the mountains with all my needs in a pack on my back.
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I can plan multiple classes for all abilities.
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I can ignore my problems when it is more important to focus on others' problems.
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I can find solutions to my problems and offer solutions to other people's problems.
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I can do complicated or difficult things with little frustration or anxiety.
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I have a lot of qualities that I think are good.
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But I also have some characteristics that I don't like.
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I work a lot to change my bad characteristics.
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For example, I am very direct.
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Sometimes it is good to be direct, but sometimes when I am direct,
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people think I am mean or rude.
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They think my comment is an insult.
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So I need to work on being kinder with my direct words,
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and I also need to work on thinking first and speaking later.
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Another characteristic that I don't like is that I am controlling.
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I like being the leader in everything.
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I like having control on decisions.
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It is very difficult for me to give control to another person.
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I need to work on listening more to others' ideas,
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and I need to pass control to other leaders in the group sometimes.
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We all have physical and personal attributes that we like and that we don't like.
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What are you like?
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What are your physical characteristics?
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What is your personality like?
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The end.
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Thank you for listening to my story.
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You can find today's transcript by clicking on the link to my blog in the show notes.
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This podcast is produced entirely from donations from my listeners.
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You can donate to Small Town Spanish Teacher through Buy Me a Coffee, Venmo, or PayPal.
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There is a link in the show notes.
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Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.
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And remember, you can find me on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and my blog at Small Town Spanish Teacher.
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See you soon!
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You can find a transcript of today's story as well as other stories and learning and teaching aids on my website, smalltownspanishteacher.com.
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This story was an original work by Camilla Given.
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Any resemblance to stories by other authors is purely coincidental unless otherwise noted.
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If you have an idea for a story or a story you would like read, feel free to email me at smalltownspanishteacher at gmail.com.
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Don't forget to subscribe so you can be notified of future episodes of Simple Stories in English.

About This Lesson

Welcome to this engaging lesson focused on descriptive adjectives and personal qualities. In this session, you will learn how to effectively describe yourself and others by answering the question, "What am I like?" The content is derived from a simple story in English that provides a variety of physical and personality traits. By practicing with examples from the video, you will enhance your vocabulary and gain confidence in expressing yourself in English. This will not only help you in speaking but also in making meaningful connections with others.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Energetic: Full of energy; lively.
  • Clumsy: Awkward in movement or handling things.
  • Patient: Able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
  • Social: Enjoying the company of others; outgoing.
  • Average height: Typical height; neither tall nor short.
  • Physical appearance: The outward or visible aspect of a person.
  • Personality: The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Practice Tips

To effectively improve your English pronunciation and speaking skills, consider using a shadowing app. This allows you to listen to the audio of the video and simultaneously mimic the speaker's speech patterns. Start by playing small sections of the video slowly, and repeat what you hear. Focus on the tone, intonation, and pauses, which are crucial for sounding natural in English. With the energetic and lively delivery of the speaker, you'll find that aligning your rhythm with theirs makes it easier to shadow speak.

As you practice, pay close attention to the descriptive adjectives used. These will help you expand your vocabulary and enhance your ability to speak about yourself. Incorporate these phrases into your conversations to express who you are. Learning how to talk about your qualities can be fun and beneficial, especially when you connect it with your time spent with friends or family. Remember, the more you learn English with YouTube, the more familiar you’ll become with different accents and speaking styles.

Don’t hesitate to practice in front of a mirror or record yourself to analyze your progress. This will build your confidence and help you recognize areas that need improvement. Engaging with shadow speech allows for a more dynamic learning experience, nurturing both your speaking and listening skills effectively!

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.