Shadowing Practice: Stop Studying Grammar — Just Listen | Easy English for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with Video
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385 sentences
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1
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Enjoy English Talks, where every conversation helps you learn.
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I'm Judy.
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Hello, Judy.
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Hello, everyone.
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I'm Jake.
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How are you today, Judy?
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I'm wonderful today.
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Thank you.
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I had green tea this morning.
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Very quiet, very peaceful.
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And you, Jake, how are you?
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I'm tired, Judy.
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Very tired.
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Tired?
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Why?
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I studied grammar all weekend.
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Friday night, past tense.
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Saturday morning, present perfect.
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Saturday afternoon, future tense.
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Sunday, all of them together.
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All weekend.
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That's a lot of grammar, Jake.
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I know.
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My brain feels like a full suitcase.
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No more space.
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And how do you feel now?
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Do you feel ready?
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That's the problem.
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This morning, I watched a short English video.
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A real one.
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Just two people talking.
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Very simple.
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And I understood almost nothing.
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Almost nothing?
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After two days of grammar?
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Almost nothing.
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I know the rules.
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I know the past tense of go is went.
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I know have been is present perfect.
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But when real people talk, the words are too fast.
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They mix together.
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And my brain just says, I don't understand.
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That must feel very frustrating.
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It does.
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Sometimes I think, maybe I'm just not good at English.
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No, Jake, you are good at English.
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but you need a different way to learn.
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A different way?
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Yes.
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Can I tell you something important?
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Please.
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Stop studying grammar.
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Just listen.
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What?
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Stop grammar?
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But you're a teacher, Judy.
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You teach grammar.
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I do, and grammar is useful.
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But I see this problem all the time.
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People study grammar for years.
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They know every rule, but they can't understand a simple conversation in English.
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That's exactly me.
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And that's our topic today.
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Oh, what are we talking about?
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Today, I want to show you why listening is more powerful than grammar, and how your ears can learn what your textbook can't teach.
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My ears are smarter than my textbook?
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Much smarter.
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I hope so, because my textbook is very heavy.
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Well, your ears are always with you, and they never get heavy.
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But first, we have a small request.
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Yes, if you like our podcast, please click the like button.
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Please subscribe to enjoy English talks.
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And share this episode with your friends and family.
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Thank you, it helps us so much.
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We love our listeners.
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Okay, now let's start.
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Let me ask you something, Jake.
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Why do you study grammar?
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Because I want to understand English.
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I want to speak correctly.
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That makes sense.
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But here's the problem.
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Grammar teaches you the rules, but rules alone don't help you understand real English.
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They don't?
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Real people talk fast.
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They use short forms.
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They skip words.
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They say things you'll never find in a textbook.
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Grammar gives you a map, but listening gives you the road.
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A map and a road?
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What do you mean?
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A map shows you where to go, but it doesn't move your legs.
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You still need to walk.
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Grammar teaches you how English works, but listening teaches you how English sounds and feels.
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How English feels?
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I never thought about that.
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Let me show you with two examples.
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First, swimming.
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Swimming?
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Yes.
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Imagine you want to learn to swim, so you buy a book.
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A big, thick book about swimming.
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Chapter 1, How to Kick Your Legs.
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Chapter 2, How to Move Your Arms.
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Chapter 3, How to Breathe in the Water.
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Okay, I read the whole book three times.
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Three times! you know every rule every step now can you
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swim no i've never been in the water exactly you know all the rules
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but you can't swim
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because you never felt the water you never moved your body
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in the water the book told you what to do
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but your body needs to feel it my body needs to feel it not just read about it yes
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and english is the same you can read about english all day
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but you won't understand it until you jump in until you
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hear it until your ears feel it jump in the water i like that picture here's my second example cooking Cooking?
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You love cooking, Judy.
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I do.
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Now imagine you want to learn to cook.
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You read a hundred recipes.
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Soup, pasta, cake, everything.
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You know all the steps, all the things you need.
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Now, can you cook?
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Um, probably not.
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I need to actually cook.
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I need to touch the food, feel the heat, taste it.
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Exactly.
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Reading recipes doesn't make you a cook cooking makes you a cook, and reading grammar rules doesn't help you understand English.
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Listening helps you understand English.
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So grammar is the recipe, and listening is the cooking.
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Perfect.
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You need to get in the kitchen, you need to turn on the stove, and you need to start listening.
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No grammar books, just my ears.
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Just your ears.
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But Judy, I've studied grammar for years.
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Was all that time for nothing?
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No. Grammar is helpful.
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A recipe is helpful.
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But if you only read recipes and never cook, that's the problem.
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Most learners spend 90% of their time on grammar and 10% on listening.
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I want you to change that balance.
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More listening, less studying.
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Exactly.
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Now let me share three secrets with you.
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Three reasons why listening is so powerful.
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Three secrets?
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Tell me.
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Secret number one.
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Children are the proof.
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Children?
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Like small kids?
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Yes.
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Think about a baby.
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A small baby.
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Does a baby study grammar?
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No. A baby can't even hold a book.
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Right.
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A baby doesn't open a textbook.
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A baby doesn't study past tense or future tense.
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A baby just listens.
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Just listens to everything around them. To everything.
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Mom talking, dad singing, the TV, music, people on the street.
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For about three years, a baby just listens and listens and listens.
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Three years of nothing but listening.
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And after three years, that child can speak.
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That child says, I want this, and give me that, and I don't like it.
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That child understands almost everything people say around them.
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Three years.
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No grammar, no textbook, no rules.
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Just ears.
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Just ears.
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And it works perfectly.
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But I'm not a baby, Judy.
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You're not, but your brain works the same way.
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Your brain loves patterns.
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Patterns are things that repeat.
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When you listen to English again and again, your brain finds these patterns by itself.
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It hears, I went, 100 times, and it learns, went means the past.
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No rule needed.
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No textbook needed.
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My brain finds patterns by itself?
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Yes, it's a pattern machine.
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Give it enough English and it'll figure out the grammar on its own.
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So children are living proof that listening works.
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The best proof in the world.
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I never thought about it that way.
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Children are amazing.
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Our second secret, you already know more than you think.
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I do?
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I don't feel like I know a lot.
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Let me test you right now.
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Ready?
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Okay, I'm ready.
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But I'm a little scared.
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Don't be scared.
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Here's my first question.
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Which is correct?
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I go'd to the store or I went to the store?
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I went to the store.
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That's easy.
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How did you know?
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Because I just know.
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It sounds right.
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You see?
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It sounds right.
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You didn't think about grammar rules.
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You didn't say go is a regular, the past form is went.
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You just knew.
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Because you've heard I went many, many times.
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Your ears taught you that.
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I've heard it so many times that it sounds normal now.
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Next question.
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She don't like coffee or she doesn't like coffee.
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She doesn't like coffee.
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And how do you know?
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The other one sounds wrong.
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It sounds strange in my ears.
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Your ears told you.
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Not a rule, not a textbook.
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Wow, my ears knew.
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One more.
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I have been lived here for five years, or I have lived here for five years.
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I have lived here for five years.
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The first one has too many words.
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It sounds strange.
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Three questions, three correct answers.
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And you didn't think about grammar once.
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I can't believe it.
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I knew all the answers without any rules.
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You did.
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And think about this.
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Every podcast you listen to, every song, every video, your brain was learning the whole time.
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Even the ones I thought I didn't understand?
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Even those ones.
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Your brain was still collecting patterns, still learning.
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All that time I thought I was failing, I was actually learning?
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You were never failing, Jake.
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Your ears were getting stronger every day.
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That's listening doing its job.
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Every time you heard English in a podcast, a video, a song, our conversations, your brain was learning, quietly, in the background.
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You didn't even notice it happening.
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My ears were learning grammar without me knowing it.
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Exactly.
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So when you think, I don't know grammar, that's not true.
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You know a lot.
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Your ears taught you.
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Just listen.
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Trust your ears.
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Trust my ears.
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They're smarter than I thought.
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And the final secret?
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The listening challenge.
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A challenge?
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What's a challenge?
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A challenge is something you try to do.
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Something a little difficult, but good for you.
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Okay.
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A challenge for me?
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For you, and for everyone listening right now.
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Are you ready?
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Tell me.
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This week, I want you to do something different.
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Every day, listen to English for 30 minutes.
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Not study, not read, not write grammar rules.
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Just listen.
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30 minutes a day?
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What should I listen to?
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Anything you enjoy.
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A podcast, a song, a video, a movie.
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The important thing is just listen.
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Don't stop to check grammar.
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Don't translate every word in your head.
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Just let the English go into your ears.
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Just let it go in.
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Don't think too much.
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Don't think.
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Just listen.
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Your brain will do the rest.
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What if I don't understand everything?
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You won't, and that's perfectly okay.
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You don't need to understand every word.
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Just let the sounds in, and every day you'll understand a little bit more than the day before.
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A little bit more every day.
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Yes, that's the power of listening.
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It's slow, it's quiet, but it's very, very powerful.
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Like water on a rock.
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You can't see it changing, but one day the rock is smooth.
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Water on a rock.
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That's beautiful, Judy.
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So here's my challenge for you.
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This week, 30 minutes of listening every day.
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No textbook, no grammar rules.
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Just English in your ears.
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What if I get bored?
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Then change.
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Listen to something different.
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A new podcast, a new song, a different show.
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The most important thing is enjoy it.
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When you're bored, your brain stops listening.
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But when you love it, your brain opens up.
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When I love it, my brain opens up.
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That makes sense.
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Find English that you love and listen to it every day.
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Even 10 minutes is good, but 30 minutes is better.
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I can do that, but when should I listen?
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I'm busy every day.
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You can listen anytime.
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Listen while you walk to work.
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Listen while you cook dinner.
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Listen while you clean your apartment.
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I can listen while I walk Max.
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Perfect!
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Walk Max and listen to a podcast.
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Two good things at the same time.
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Max will love that.
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He loves long walks.
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And I promise you, by the end of this week, you'll feel something different.
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English will sound a little clearer, a little slower, a little easier, because your ears are getting stronger.
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My ears are getting stronger.
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I like that idea.
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And now I want to say something to everyone listening right now.
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Yes, this is for all of you.
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If you've been studying grammar for months or years and you still feel lost when you hear real English, it's not your fault.
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It's not your fault.
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You're not bad at English.
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You just need to listen more.
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Your ears are ready.
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Your brain is ready.
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You just need to give them more English.
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More sounds, more words, more conversations, more songs, more stories.
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More podcasts like this one.
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Exactly.
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And every minute you spend listening is a minute your brain is learning, even if you don't feel it.
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Even when you think, I don't understand, your brain is still working, your ears are still collecting.
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Even when I don't feel it, my brain is learning.
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Think about music.
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You don't study music, you don't read a book about how music works, you just listen, and one day you know every word of the song.
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That's true.
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I know songs in English that I never studied.
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I just heard them so many times.
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English is the same.
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Listen enough, and it becomes part of you.
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It becomes part of me.
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I want that.
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So, put down the grammar book, put on your headphones, and just listen.
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Stop studying, start listening.
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Your ears are your best teacher.
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I wish someone told me this a long time ago.
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We're telling you now, and it's never too late to start.
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It's never too late.
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I really like that.
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Okay, let's review.
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Yes, let's see what we learned.
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Today, we talked about why listening is more powerful than studying grammar.
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Grammar is like a swimming book.
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You still need to get in the water.
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And like a recipe, you need to actually cook.
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Then we learned three secrets.
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Secret 1.
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Children learn language without grammar, just by listening for years.
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Secret 2, you already know grammar from listening.
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Your ears teach you quietly.
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And Secret 3, the listening challenge.
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30 minutes of listening every day this week.
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And the big message today, stop studying grammar.
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Just listen.
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Your ears are your best teacher.
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My ears are my best teacher.
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I'll remember that.
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Perfect.
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You remembered everything.
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I learned a lot today.
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And I loved sharing this with you.
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Well, that's all the time we have for today.
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Thank you so much for listening to Enjoy English Talks.
375
Yes, thank you, everyone.
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It was fun.
377
Please subscribe to Enjoy English Talks.
378
Give this episode a like.
379
And share it with a friend.
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Now, we have a question for you today.
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Yes, please leave a comment below.
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Tell us, what will you listen to in English this week?
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We would love to read your answers.
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See you next time.
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Bye everyone, keep practicing your English.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Stop Studying Grammar — Just Listen”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: grammar, english, listen, ears, listening. This video has 385 sentences and 2376 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:06. The speaker talks at a steady 148 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| ear noun | /ˈɪə̯/ | The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea. |
| textbook noun | /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/ | A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| recipe noun | /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/ | Any set of instructions for preparing a mixture of ingredients. |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| collect verb | /ˈkɑlɪkt/ | To gather together; amass. |
| quietly adverb | /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/ | Producing little or no noise. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| thick adjective | /θɪk/ | Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| open up verb | To open. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| put down verb | To insult, belittle, or demean. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Can I tell you something important?
- My ears are smarter than my textbook?
- Why do you study grammar?
- Even the ones I thought I didn't understand?
- What if I don't understand everything?
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 been · i've never been · I've studied |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | Stop studying · love cooking · start listening |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was learning · was still collecting · was failing |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | The best · The most important · your best |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 65 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, smooth /smuːð/
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 grammar, ear, textbook.
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.