Shadowing Practice: Take 3 Minutes For Yourself (Life-Changing Advice) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
38 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
If I only had three minutes to change your life, this is exactly what I would say.
2
Your whole life changes the minute you decide that there is nothing in your way.
3
Your skin color, your identity, your family ties, none of it matters, because that's not what's holding you back.
4
To be the person that you want to be and to make the impact that you want to make, you have to stop listening to your own excuses.
5
You have to stop holding yourself back in order to get to where you're trying to go.
6
And the fastest way to get to where you want to go in life is to change your environment.
7
is your number one distraction.
8
This is what's likely holding you back, keeping you feeling stuck and comfortable and not pursuing your goals.
9
Your friends, your relationships, the physical location where you live, all of it, probably needs to change if you want to build your dream life.
10
In order to truly level up, the hard truth is that you're going to have to change your entire environment.
11
Once you change your environment, you have to understand that you already have everything inside you that you need in order to be successful.
12
But you want to know what is not going to help you be successful?
13
Prescription medication is not going to solve your problems.
14
ADHD, learning disabilities, these are excuses that you're using to not be winning at life.
15
And medicating these things will not solve your problems.
16
You are the only person who is able to solve your problems.
17
No one is coming to save you.
18
No pill is coming to save you.
19
Remember that if you want to make an impact
20
have everything that it takes
21
but this great life won't actually start until you figure out what is stopping you
22
and the number one thing
23
that held me back was control you see as a young
24
girl I used to have this quote on my desk from Gandhi
25
and it said be the change you want to see in the world
26
and I really wanted to help people and I really desired to make a difference in the world.
27
But how could I have done that if I couldn't even control my choices and how I spent my time?
28
How am I controlling the amount of studying that I'm doing?
29
How am I controlling what I put into my body?
30
If I can't control what time I go to bed at night and what time I wake up in the morning, what are the chances that I'm actually going to be able to control my life enough in order to make an impact?
31
on somebody else's.
32
So figure this out.
33
What is stopping you?
34
And take the steps required to change it.
35
Starting today, you already have every single thing that you need in order to be successful.
36
And if you change and you improve just a little bit, every single day.
37
Success is right around the corner.
38
If you do not quit, subscribe to my channel for more videos like this and check out my next video.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B22
Why Being FAST Makes You More Successful (Copy Me)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B25
7 Ways To Become Unrecognizable in 90 Days
American AccentWorking Adults
B24
6 Steps To Reclaim Your Life, Start Today
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C115
Top 1% Secrets To Make ANYONE Respect You Instantly
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25
Give Me 14 Min and I'll Delete Your Fear of Judgement
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
How To Reset Your Nervous System For Success
American AccentBusiness EnglishWorking Adults
B24
How To Create Exceptional Success in Life
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
Why 99% of People Don’t Dare To Dress Well
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B2How To Build REAL Wealth by Thinking Like The Top 1%
American AccentBusiness EnglishWorking Adults
B25
OUTWORK Everyone By Being Bored.
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B23
$100M Worth of Sales Knowledge in 19 Minutes
American AccentBusiness EnglishInterview EnglishWorking Adults
B26
If you're ambitious but lazy, please watch this...
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
Business is Hard Until You Design it Like This
American AccentBusiness EnglishWorking Adults
C15
Change Your Life With This ONE Habit
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
How To Level Up in Your Career as a "Jack of All Trades"
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C16
How To Be The CEO of Your Own Life (6 Unexpected Tips)
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
Everything I Learned From Being Around The Top 0.01%
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C112
How To Speak Like The 1% Elite
American AccentBusiness EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B25 Money Rules To Create A Rich Mindset
American AccentBusiness EnglishWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B25
9 sentences
How to change your life in 1 day
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B23
225 sentences
If You Only Watch One Video Today, Make It This One
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
157 sentences
23 Life Lessons I Learned the Hard Way (so you don’t have to)
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
90 sentences
The best decluttering decisions I've made (to live my best life!)
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
229 sentences
3 Secrets To Creating A Breakthrough in ANY Difficult Situation
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B15
88 sentences
Positive Affirmations to Change Your Life 🦋✨ 33 Powerful Daily Affirmations
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
19 sentences
Life Changing Tip From A Psychologist
British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B219
72 sentences
How to Change Your Life in 5 Minutes a Day ⏱
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
314 sentences
9 Things I STOPPED Doing to Live a Soft Life
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
310 sentences
How To Reset Your Life In 7 Days
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Take 3 Minutes For Yourself”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: solve, environment, holding, impact, successful. This video has 38 sentences and 527 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:29. The speaker talks fast, about 213 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 91% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 6 of its 38 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| pursue verb | /pɚˈsu/ | To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase. |
| disability noun | /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/ | A condition characterised by a significant limitation in a person's physical or intellectual powers or ability. |
| medication noun | /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/ | A medicine, or all the medicines regularly taken by a patient. |
| pill noun | /pɪl/ | A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| prescription noun | /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/ | A written order from an authorized medical practitioner for provision of a medicine or other treatment, such as (ophthalmology) the specific lenses needed for… |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| medicate verb | /ˈmɛdɪkeɪt/ | To prescribe or administer medication to. |
| excuse verb | /ɪksˈkjuz/ | To forgive; to pardon; to overlook. |
| comfortable adjective | /ˈkʌm(p)f.tə.bəl/ | Providing physical comfort and ease; agreeable. |
| identity noun | /aɪˈdɛn(t)ɪti/ | Sameness, identicalness; the quality or fact of (several specified things) being the same. |
| desire noun | /dɪˈzaɪɹ/ | The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something. |
| quit verb | /kwɪt/ | To leave (a place). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How am I controlling the amount of studying that I'm doing?
- How am I controlling what I put into my body?
- What is stopping you?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: medication /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, prescription /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: disability /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/, medication /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, identity /aɪˈdɛn(t)ɪti/
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 solve, desk, pursue.
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.