Shadowing Practice: The Best Mindset for Accountability - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This is one of the great lessons I've learned about saying sorry, which is saying you're sorry doesn't mean you're wrong.
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All it means is you take accountability for the thing that you said or did.
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That's all it means.
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And my analogy that I love to use, if you're at the airport and you're walking through the airport with your wheelie bag, your wheelie bag accidentally rolls over someone's foot,
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you turn to look at them, we always say sorry.
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Do you know why we say sorry?
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Because it's our wheelie bag.
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Yes, we did not intend to run over someone's foot, but it is our wheelie bag.
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And so when you run over someone's foot, you immediately turn around and say, I'm so sorry.
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And they're like, don't worry about it.
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That's a really good analogy.
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That's how accountability works, which is even if you didn't intend it, it's still your words.
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It's still your actions.
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It's still your wheelie bag.
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Just take accountability for those things, and we're good.
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Nobody's looking for right or wrong.
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We're looking for accountability for words or actions.

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "The Best Mindset for Accountability" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →