Shadowing Practice: The Art of Slowing Down - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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They say it's not enough to be busy.
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Question is, what are we busy about?
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That is something I've been considering quite a lot recently.
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The past few months have taught me a lot about slowing down.
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Not like I really had a choice, but still.
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On some days, I feel overwhelmed, thinking I'm not doing enough, and at the same time, feeling like everyone else is doing so much more.
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But is it worth doing other things if it means doing more, even if it's not really what you want to be doing?
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I wrote that question down and now I don't know if it makes sense.
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Well, hopefully you get what I mean.
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Anyway, the other day I thought it was finally time to do some things I've been putting off for a while.
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I have so many photos piling up and something needed to be done about it.
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My mom always made albums, so I figured I should start making them too.
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I came across some pictures from four years ago.
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It was the first time I ever traveled alone halfway across the world.
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And it's funny because I felt like I needed to get away from everything to figure everything out.
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I remember going there for as long as I possibly could.
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It was the first time I was just with myself and no one else.
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It was lonely, some days.
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That's weird because I think I'd be a totally different person if I didn't do that.
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I think I spent a lot of my young adult life looking for answers and a life outside myself.
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Always chasing, always wanting more.
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Only a couple of years later to find out that the real peace is being content in the everyday stuff.
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And that the small things that happen every day matter more than the big things that happen every once in a while.
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So much has changed since then.
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But in a way I feel like I'm there again.
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Taking it day by day, observing what things actually matter to me and where I would like to go from here.
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When you're an artist, a photographer, a filmmaker,
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everything we make feels like it has to be amazing to the point where we almost get afraid to make mistakes.
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And we lose that sense that sense of play that we had in the beginning.
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But I think I found some freedom in slowing down.
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I want to be able to remember the everyday trivial things, you know?
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Not pursuing anything grand, but just living through the small moments that I know I'll eventually miss over time.
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There's a quote from C.S.
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Lewis, It's funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.
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I guess it's a good reminder that we don't always have to stick with what we know, and We have the choice to change things if we're not happy with it.
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If we did it before, then we'll survive if we do it again.
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I guess what I'm trying to say is, all we can do is give ourselves the time we need.
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The break we need.
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From people, from work, to figure things out.
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Maybe to remind ourselves what really matters. Who matters.
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Maybe just to slow down, because we're going a thousand miles an hour and don't really know where anymore.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 41 sentences and 566 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:24. The speaker talks at a steady 129 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| lewis noun | /ˈluːɪs/ | A cramp iron inserted into a cavity in order to lift heavy stones; used as a symbol of strength in Freemasonry. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| photographer noun | /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/ | One who takes photographs, typically as an occupation. |
| pursue verb | /pɚˈsu/ | To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase. |
| lonely adjective | /ˈloʊnli/ | Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people. |
| pile noun | /paɪl/ | A mass of things heaped together; a heap. |
| reminder noun | /ɹɪˈmaɪndə(ɹ)/ | Someone or something that reminds. |
| halfway adverb | /ˌhæfˈweɪ/ | Half of the way between two points. |
| observe verb | /əbˈzɜːv/ | To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail. |
| trivial adjective | /ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/ | Ignorable; of little significance or value. |
| filmmaker noun | A producer or director of films/movies. | |
| overwhelm verb | /ˌoʊ.vɚˈwɛlm/ | To engulf, surge over and submerge. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| slow down verb | To decelerate. |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| live through verb | To survive a difficult period or event |
| look back verb | To think of (past events) in retrospect (in hindsight). |
| pile up verb | To form a pile, stack, or heap. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been considering · I've been putting |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have taught · has changed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 everyday, lewis, chase.
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.