Shadowing Practice: كيف تحكي بثقة وبدون خوف حتى لو كنتِ خجولة| speak with confidence - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “كيف تحكي بثقة وبدون خوف حتى لو كنتِ خجولة”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: feeling, kid, language, sudden. This video has 614 sentences and 4798 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:11. 81% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| principle noun | /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ | A fundamental assumption, fundamental law or guiding belief. |
| lipstick noun | /ˈlɪpˌstɪk/ | Makeup for the lips. |
| scenario noun | /sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/ | An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events. |
| aunt noun | /ɑːnt/ | The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent. |
| characteristic noun | /ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/ | A distinguishing feature of a person or thing, a part of mental or physical behavior. |
| café noun | /ˌkæˈfeɪ/ | A coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the… |
| eyeliner noun | /ˈaɪˌlaɪnɚ/ | Makeup used to outline the eye, generally applied along or close to the lashline. |
| personality noun | /ˌpɜɹ.səˈnæ.lə.ti/ | Of people, a set of non-physical psychological and social qualities that make one person distinct from another. |
| speaker noun | /ˈspikɚ/ | One who speaks. |
| yellow adjective | /ˈjɛloʊ/ | Of a yellow hue. |
| soft adjective | /sɔft/ | Easily giving way under pressure. |
| teach verb | /ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ | To pass on knowledge to. |
| angry adjective | /ˈæŋ.ɡɹi/ | Displaying or feeling anger. |
| confidence noun | /ˈkɑn.fɪ.dəns/ | Self-assurance. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. |
| move forward verb | To cause to make progress. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I don't know what happened to anyone else.
- There's always a problem with you.
- I don't think I'm feeling it.
- What is the language that you can't speak about?
- Before you ask yourself, is it really good?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who are · person who doesn · person who is |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should be · should not know · should look |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most important · the best |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're doing · is missing · we're talking |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 255 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: characteristic /ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/, personality /ˌpɜɹ.səˈnæ.lə.ti/, basically /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/
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 sudden, principle, lipstick.
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.











