Shadowing Practice: The Best Way to Introduce Yourself in English (Interactive Practice) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Today, you're going to learn how to introduce yourself naturally in English.
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Hi, my name is Volka.
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Nice to meet you, Volka.
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But I don't want you to just sit there and listen to me teach you.
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You're actually going to practice having real conversations with me.
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I'll ask you questions, you'll answer out loud, and then we'll switch roles.
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So you also practice asking questions.
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By the end of this video, you should be able to meet someone for the first time, introduce yourself, ask them questions, and keep the conversation going naturally.
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But before I start, I will ask you three questions.
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What's your name and where are you from?
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What do you do?
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Tell me something interesting about yourself.
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Remember your answers
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because I'm going to ask you the exact same questions at the end of this video
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and we'll see how much your answers improved.
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Without further ado, let's get started.
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Part one, meeting someone for the first time.
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Imagine we just met at a party.
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You read the yellow text on screen.
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Hey, I don't think we've met before.
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I'm Volka.
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nice to meet you too now let's do it again
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but this time use your real name hey i don't think we've met before i'm volka
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now switch roles so you go first
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hey i'm volka nice to meet you too part two where are you from
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so where are you from oh nice do you still live there now use your real information where are you from
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and where do you live now now you ask me i'm from canada
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no i spend a lot of time traveling and living in different countries
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notice that response real conversations aren't just questions
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and answers we react to what other people say by saying things like oh nice
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or that's cool or oh really just expressions like
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that to show you're interested there are many different expressions
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and words you can use to show that you're actively listening to what
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that other person is saying and this just shows you're engaged in the conversation and you're not daydreaming about something else.
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Part three, what do you do?
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This usually means what do you study or what's your job?
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So let's practice it.
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So, what do you do?
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Oh cool, what kind of company do you work for? Do you enjoy it?
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Now answer with your own information.
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What do you do? Do you enjoy it?
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Now you ask the questions.
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I make videos and teach English online.
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for over one year now yes i love it part four interests
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and hobbies a very useful question is what do you like
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doing in your free time you can also ask what do you like doing for fun or what are you into?
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Now let's practice.
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What do you like doing in your free time?
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Oh nice, what kind of photography?
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That's very cool.
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Now use your real answer.
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What do you like doing in your free time? time.
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Now it's your turn to ask me questions.
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I love traveling, trying new foods,
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and learning languages I've been learning
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Spanish for over a year now now
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if you want to keep the conversation flowing naturally you need to ask something back
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if someone asks you where are you from and you just answer Japan,
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then the conversation becomes awkward and kind of ends.
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But if you said I'm from Japan, where are you from?
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Then it gives them a question in return and keeps the conversation flowing naturally.
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Let's practice.
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Where are you from?
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I'm from Canada.
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What do you do?
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I teach English.
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What do you like doing in your free time?
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So that one habit can immediately make your conversations more natural.
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Just ask something in return it's very simple
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if someone asks oh where are you from you can answer
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and then say at the end what about you or
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if someone asks what is your job you can answer by telling them your job
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and then say what about you
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or what do you do it's very easy to keep the conversation going
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when you ask them the same thing in return now let's
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practice having a real conversation with my app hi it's nice to meet you could you introduce yourself
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and tell me a little about what you do hi my name is volka
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and i teach english online hi volka that's great where are you from
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and what made you decide to start teaching english online i'm from canada and i teach english online because I enjoy teaching.
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That sounds fun.
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And how do you usually help your students improve their English?
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I usually help them by making natural native English content on YouTube.
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And now I help them through my app.
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And that's just one of the things you can do with my app.
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You can also learn the most common English words with definitions,
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pictures, and audio to help you practice your pronunciation restore the technician restored the internet connection
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and after you're done learning the words you can take a short quiz to really solidify your learning
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and finally the most important speaking practice use the words you
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learned in a conversation here is where you really advance in english with live conversations
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so if you want unlimited speaking practice your own personal AI coach and a library of over 200 videos and workbooks,
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then get my app in the description.
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And now until October 16th, you can get 20 % off.
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So get started with the link in the description.
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Now let's fix some common mistakes.
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Mistake number one, I am come from, and then you say your country for example i am come from canada
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that is wrong the correct way to say that is i'm from canada
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or i come from canada let me know how old you
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guys are in the comments i'm curious to see how old everyone is
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that watches my videos mistake number three my hobby is play football
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that is wrong the correct way to say
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that is my hobby is playing football my hobby is playing football
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but in everyday conversation i would probably say i like playing hockey I like playing soccer.
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Mistake number four,
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I'm working as.. teacher i'm working as teacher that is wrong the correct way to say that is i'm a teacher
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or i work as a teacher mistake number five i live here since three years
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that is wrong the correct way to say
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that is i've lived here for three years now let's have
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our final real conversation here I will be asking you questions
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I want you to pretend we have just met at an event I will ask you a question
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and you will try your best to answer it
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if you need more time you can pause
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and after a few seconds an answer will appear on screen for you
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but try to answer yourself first hey I don't think we've met before I'm Volka Nice to meet you, too.
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Where are you from?
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Oh, nice.
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How long have you lived there?
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Cool.
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So what do you do? Do you enjoy it?
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And what do you like doing outside of work?
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Oh nice.
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I love traveling, making videos, and learning languages.
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Spanish at the moment.
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Well, it was really nice meeting you.
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Now, I'm going to ask you the same three questions I asked you in the beginning.
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Make sure to record your answers so that you can compare them.
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Question 1.
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What's your name and where are you from?
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Question 2.
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What do you do?
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Question 3.
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Tell me something interesting about yourself.
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You can also answer these questions in the comments and then compare your answers before and after.
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Let me know if you guys like this type of video where it's mainly role playing and shadowing.
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And let me know in the comments if you want to see more videos like this.
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Learn the most common English words with my app to understand up to 99 % of spoken English
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and get your own AI coach and unlimited speaking practice built around your level, your goals, and your interests.
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Build your personalized English plan here.
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And remember, you will become fluent in English.
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Bye, guys.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Best Way to Introduce Yourself in English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: answer, conversation, english, practice, volka. This video has 139 sentences and 1382 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:42. The speaker talks slowly, about 101 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 25 of its 139 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| introduce verb | /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ | To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else). |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| restore verb | /ɹɪˈstoɹ/ | To reestablish, or bring back into existence. |
| unlimited adjective | /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/ | Limitless or without bounds; unrestricted. |
| soccer noun | /ˈsɑk.ɚ/ | Association football. |
| audio adjective | /ˈɔ.di.oʊ/ | Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| curious adjective | /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/ | Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying. |
| photography noun | /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/ | The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its digital counterpart. |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| hockey noun | /ˈhɑ.ki/ | Any of a family of sports in which hockey sticks are used to move a ball or puck into a goal. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| pretend verb | /pɹəˈtɛnd/ | To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What's your name and where are you from?
- Part three, what do you do?
- This usually means what do you study or what's your job?
- What do you like doing in your free time?
- How long have you lived there?
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 | we've met · i've lived · have just met |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | practice having · practice asking · love traveling |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most common · the most important · your best |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll ask · will ask · we'll see |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 36 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, technician /tɛkˈnɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/, photography /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, personalize /ˈpɜː.sə.nə.laɪz/
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 naturally, hobby, introduce.
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.