Shadowing Practice: SLOW MOTION MULTI TASKING. - Learn English Speaking with Video
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You know, for the longest time, I've been told that following too many projects at the same time is not great.
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And there's much theory about the fact that nobody can really multitask.
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It's not really something that is real in our heads.
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And so when we are dispersed in our focus, in our energy, we often don't get anything done and we do everything in lukewarm processes.
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But everything changed when I listened to a TED Talk recently.
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And what he explained in the TED Talk was that, of course, multitasking on many occasions is not successful.
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Also, it can be rude at times.
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For example, checking your phone at the dinner table
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or being on your phone while you're driving
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or any of these sort of things that make multitasking dangerous
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and also not really making you focus on a specific task at hand.
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And for the longest time, some friends of mine have told me that if I have too many projects on the go,
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I am not able to apply myself correctly to each one of them.
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And my type of personality is I always have many projects on the go.
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And I've always scolded myself, always thought to myself, John, you need to refocus.
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You need to come into one project at a time.
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But this TED Talk explained and introduced me to a new topic or a new approach.
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And he calls it the slow motion multitasking approach.
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And I thought to myself, that's really interesting.
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Because if we think about multitasking, we always think about it as doing many things at the same time.
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But what slow motion multitasking says is that you're able to fully focus in on one topic.
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and then when you've exhausted yourself at that topic, you can then move to the next topic.
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An example he gave was amazing.
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He said that Einstein launched four of his world-changing theories in 1905.
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One of them actually won a Nobel Prize,
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showing us that he was working on four different projects for multiple years before he came to certain conclusions
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and was able to launch those studies and those results out at pretty much the same time,
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meaning that he was slow-motion multitasking.
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And often what we need is to apply a principle from one scenario into another scenario to apply
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that fresh thinking into the new scenario that gives that scenario a boost.
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Now, the world we come from, the world of linear innovation, the industrial revolution, where we had to study one subject and do one job for most of our lives,
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single focus was a superpower.
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But in a world of uncertainty, of change all the time, of so much newness coming,
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our ability to move from subject to subject, keeping focus per subject at a time,
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giving us the opportunity to switch tasks in slow motion becomes a superpower.
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And this new skill set is what we actually need to do to be combining unexpected invisible dots,
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unexpected subjects that collide, that give us surprising outcomes.
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And this is what the world needs today, is more disruptive thinking, out-the-box thinking, and more surprising results that enthuse and excite our customers,
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our employees, our colleagues, and everybody that we actually work with.
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So if you're a multitasker and have many projects on the go, the idea is not to multitask at the same time,
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but to slow motion multitask.
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And in that process, applying principles of one sector into another with incredibly surprising outcomes.
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Good luck for being a slow motion multitasker.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “SLOW MOTION MULTI TASKING”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: multitasking, motion, slow, project, subject. This video has 43 sentences and 598 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:54. The speaker talks at a natural 153 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| multitasking noun | The simultaneous execution of multiple tasks (programs) under the control of an interrupt-driven operating system. | |
| scenario noun | /sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/ | An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events. |
| multitask verb | To schedule and execute multiple tasks (program) simultaneously; control being passed from one to the other using interrupts. | |
| multitasker noun | Someone who multitasks, who performs multiple tasks at the same time. | |
| superpower noun | A sovereign state with dominant status on the globe and a very advanced military, especially the United States or formerly the Soviet Union. | |
| collide verb | /kəˈlaɪd/ | To impact directly, especially if violent. |
| disperse verb | /dɪˈspɝs/ | To scatter in different directions. |
| disruptive adjective | /dɪsˈɹʌptɪv/ | Causing disruption or unrest. |
| enthuse verb | /ɛnˈθjuːz/ | To show enthusiasm. |
| excite verb | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement. |
| lukewarm adjective | /ˌl(j)uk.ˈwɔɹm/ | Between warm and cool. |
| newness noun | /ˈn(j)uːnəs/ | The property of being new; novelty; recency. |
| refocus verb | to focus on something else | |
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| colleague noun | /ˈkɒliːɡ/ | A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| think out verb | To devise or solve by a process of thought. |
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 been told · have told · I've always scolded |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | I've been told · are dispersed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: uncertainty /ʌnˈsɜːtənti/, invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/
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 multitasking, scenario, multitask.
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.