Shadowing Practice: Steal Obama’s Speaking Technique - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 15 sentences and 159 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:59. The speaker talks at a natural 162 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| overcome verb | /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/ | To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of. |
| frustration noun | /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The feeling of annoyance at impossibility from resistance or inability to achieve something. |
| earn verb | /ɝn/ | To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. |
| alongside | /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/ | Side by side with. |
| suffer verb | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | To undergo hardship. |
| discrimination noun | /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/ | Discernment, the act of discriminating, discerning, distinguishing, noting or perceiving differences between things, with the intent to understand rightly and… |
| presentation noun | /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/ | The act of presenting, or something presented. |
| moreover adverb | /mɔːˈɹəʊ.və/ | In addition to what has been said. |
| pale adjective | /peɪl/ | Light in color. |
| momentum noun | /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/ | Of a body in motion: the tendency of a body to maintain its inertial motion; the product of its mass and velocity, or the vector sum of the products of its… |
| rhythm noun | /ˈɹɪð.əm/ | The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter. |
| workforce noun | /ˈwɝk.foɹs/ | All the workers employed by a specific organization or state, or on a specific project. |
| endure verb | /ɪnˈd͡ʒʊə(ɹ)/ | To continue or carry on, despite obstacles or hardships; to persist. |
| hardship noun | /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/ | Difficulty or trouble; hard times. |
| anaphora noun | /ˌænəˈfɔɹə/ | The repetition of a phrase at the beginning of phrases, sentences, or verses, used for emphasis. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, gonna, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: frustration /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, discrimination /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, hardship /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/
- Long words — get the stress right: discrimination /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/, momentum /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/, anaphora /ˌænəˈfɔɹə/
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 overcome, frustration, earn.
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 | have not earned · you've gone |
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.