Shadowing Practice: Taylor Swift Accepts The Artist Of The Year Award At The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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I just want to say first of all to receive...
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I just want to say first of all to receive...
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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Taylor!
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I just want to say first of all to receive this award from Alyssa who...
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who you brought me so much happiness and everyone else so much happiness with your performances and i was so inspired by how much diligence and and work and effort and and love you have for what you do and and to be receiving artists of the year which is i love being an artist i love writing songs more than anything in the world and um it i didn't think i was an artist when i first started doing it.
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It was a hobby.
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It was a hobby and then it was my favorite hobby.
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And then it was what I would like rush home from school to do.
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It was like, I can't wait to get back to my guitar in my room and write a song.
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And I just want to say like, when I was 12 years old, I had the luxury of spending thousands of hours working at my craft, practicing, making mistakes, through trial and error, and that was all completely unobserved, right?
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So that was just me and my craft.
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And I just, I'm looking out into this crowd and I'm seeing so many ambitious, cool, smart, awesome people who have dreams.
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And like we live in this world where there's so much immediate feedback constantly.
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Like you get feedback for everything you share with the world now.
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Like everything you post, you get feedback, whether it's good or bad or whatever.
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I just wanna say, if I had one hope for you, I would say that I hope that you get to nurture your hobby and your passion just between you and that craft.
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And you give yourself time, give yourself time to make mistakes, give yourself time to hone your craft.
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I'm a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize.
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Anything you feed the internet, it will attempt to kill.
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And I don't want that for your dreams.
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So, just thank you for allowing me to turn my hobby into a love, into a passion, into a dream, into a career.
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Thank you for allowing me to have it this long.
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And I wish you the best with everything you do.
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Thank you so much for this amazing, amazing night.
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you

Context & Background

In this inspiring acceptance speech, Taylor Swift discusses her journey as an artist during the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards. She reflects on the importance of nurturing one's passion and the evolution of her music career from a simple hobby to a full-blown profession. Swift's dialogue serves as both a motivational message and insightful advice for anyone pursuing their dreams, particularly in creative fields. By sharing her experiences, she connects with her audience and encourages them to invest time in their craft without immediate external judgment.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "I just want to say..." — A good way to begin any statement, indicating that you have something important to share.
  • "Give yourself time to make mistakes..." — A reminder that mistakes are a part of the learning process.
  • "I love being an artist..." — Expressing passion can create a connection with others.
  • "Nurture your hobby and your passion..." — Encouraging oneself and others to invest in personal interests.
  • "Thank you for allowing me..." — A phrase of gratitude that can be used in many situations.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

Improving your English speaking skills can be greatly enhanced through the shadowspeak practice, commonly known as shadowing. To effectively shadow Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, follow this step-by-step guide:

  1. Listen Actively: First, listen to the entire speech without attempting to repeat it. Focus on understanding the message and the tone of delivery.
  2. Select Phrases: Choose a few key phrases from the "Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication" section. These phrases will be your focal points.
  3. Repeat After Her: Using the shadow speech technique, play short segments of the speech and repeat them as closely as possible to Swift’s intonation and rhythm.
  4. Record Yourself: As you practice, record your rendition. Comparing your speech to the original can help identify areas for improvement.
  5. Practice Regularly: Incorporate this shadowspeaks method into your daily routine. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with expressing similar sentiments in English.

By employing the shadowing technique, you're not just improving your pronunciation; you're also gaining confidence in expressing ideas and emotions in a second language. Nurture your skills like Swift advises, and over time, you'll see remarkable progress in your English speaking abilities.

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.

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