Shadowing Practice: The courage to be a Dark Horse | Yolina Lindquist | TEDxTranPhuGiftedHighSchoolYouth - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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You are on a racetrack.
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You are on a racetrack.
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The crowd is so loud, the lights are blinding.
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And you are running.
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To everyone watching, you are in the lead.
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Your stride looks great.
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And time is going to be a personal best.
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But inside, something feels off.
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Because this is not just a race for position.
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This is a conflict between two versions of yourself.
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One that the world praises and applauds.
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And the other that is quietly asking, is this really me?
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When I was younger, I thought success meant becoming the perfect version of me as the world saw me.
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So, I learned how to perform,
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how to say the right things,
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how to say things to please people,
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how to move to be admired.
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Looking back, I wasn't just running.
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I was becoming a show horse.
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Now you might ask, what is a show horse?
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A show horse is trained to perform.
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It's trained to respond on cue.
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It's trained to move beautifully as long as someone else is watching and judging.
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But then, as I got older,
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I stepped onto a bigger track.
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One that looking perfect wasn't good enough.
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I needed to be faster.
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That's when I became a racehorse.
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Running harder, faster, constantly trying to stay ahead.
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But here's what I didn't realize at the time.
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Sure, a racehorse runs fast,
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but it doesn't choose its direction.
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and somewhere between performing and chasing,
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I realized I started to lose something.
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Not my ability, not my ambition,
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but my sense of direction.
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Have you ever stopped and asked yourself,
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if no one was watching,
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would I still be running this race?
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Now, there is another way to run.
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Not as a racehorse, not as a showhorse,
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but it's something far less predictable as a dark horse.
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A dark horse doesn't run for applause.
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It doesn't run on a fast, fixed lane.
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A dark horse runs for its own rhythm.
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A rhythm that only appears when you stop asking for permission to move.
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I remember the moment that was my turning point, if you will.
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the moment that everything changed.
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When I was in college,
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I got a test grade back.
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I felt instant dread, my stomach dropped.
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I failed that test.
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I got a 40 out of 100.
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Looking at it, it looked like a failure, a big mistake.
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something I needed to fix,
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how I needed to do better.
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But the truth was, it wasn't just a result on a test.
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I was looking in a mirror.
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Because for the first time in my life,
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I wasn't the student that people looked up to.
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I wasn't the student people expected me to be.
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And to be honest, I wasn't impressive.
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And I didn't know what to do without that,
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because I built my identity by being seen in a certain way,
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being capable, being excellent, being right.
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And then I realized something.
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I wasn't trying to just succeed.
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I was trying to be approved by everyone else but me.
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When your goal is approval,
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you don't choose what matters to you.
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You choose what you know will be accepted.
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I'm going to say that again so you really hear me.
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When your goal is approval,
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you don't choose what matters to you.
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You choose what you know will be accepted.
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But it's my life.
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Why would I not choose what matters to me?
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Why would I choose what everyone else wants?
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Looking at that grade, I thought I had lost my standard.
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But what I had actually lost was my performance.
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That number didn't expose a weakness.
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It exposed a dependence.
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Because for years, I had spent time becoming a perfect show horse.
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And for the first time,
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I had to answer a question that I've been avoiding my entire life.
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If I'm not impressive, then who am I?
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After that moment, I thought I would stop.
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Stop performing.
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Stop pretending.
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Stop trying to be perfect.
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But I didn't.
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I couldn't.
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It was ingrained in me.
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I spent years doing it.
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So, I just changed the way I ran.
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Instead of trying to look impressive,
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I started trying to prove that I was still good enough.
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I am still worthy.
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I stepped onto a different kind of track.
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A track that rewards speed, results, achievements.
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And without realizing it, I became a racehorse.
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I ran harder.
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I chased better grades, more titles, more achievements.
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Because I needed the validation and to confirm that I was still worthy.
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I am still good enough despite my failures.
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And that's the track.
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The excellent track.
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because the system rewards you for it.
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When you run fast, people cheer.
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When you achieve more, people notice.
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And when you stay ahead, people admire you.
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So you keep going, running faster, further.
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You do not stop.
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But here's what I didn't question and no one questions.
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Sure, a racehorse runs fast,
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but it doesn't choose where it's going.
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The owner has the direction.
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The track is already determined.
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The pace is already set.
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Someone else is always holding the reins.
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So even when you're winning,
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you might be lost without the owner.
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Because you're not asking, is this where I want to go?
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The only question you're asking, am I ahead?
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That's what the Excellent Trap really is.
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It's not about excellence.
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It's about becoming so focused on approval that you stop choosing your own direction.
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And the most dangerous part of that is you don't feel lost.
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You feel successful.
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At some point I had to stop and ask a different question
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Not how do I win But why am I running at all?
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Because for the first time I realized I've never actually chosen my own direction
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And this is when I began to understand what a dark horse really is
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It is not someone less capable It is not someone who runs slower It is someone who decides first and proves later.
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It doesn't need to be certain and it doesn't need to be sure.
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It doesn't need to be validated.
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It just needs to be honest about what matters.
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Because let me tell you something, something I've learned.
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Honesty is so much harder than a performance.
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Because when you stop asking for permission, you lose the script.
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No one holds your hand.
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No one tells you what's right no one guarantees the outcome.
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You have to.
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You have to choose.
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For me, that choice became a project.
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My advocacy.
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Courage over cancer.
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And I want to be very clear.
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I didn't choose this because it looked good on my resume.
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It looked good on paper.
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I didn't choose it because I get graded on it because I knew it looked good.
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I chose it because it was mine.
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I knew what I was doing.
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I knew why I wanted it and that was new because for the first time I wasn't a show horse.
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I stepped off the racetrack.
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I was no longer a racehorse not because I was confident.
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I can guarantee you I wasn't very scared but because I was finally willing to be uncertain.
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That's what becoming a dark horse really is.
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It means choosing a direction before you know if you'll be rewarded or if you'll succeed.
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That journey
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that long journey i was on led me somewhere very unexpected
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on a stage a little bit bigger than the one i'm
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on right now just a little bit it led me to the stage of miss cosmo 2025
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to the crown also of my cosmo 2025
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but it wasn't easy getting there to everyone looking into outsiders i crossed the finish line i did it all
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that hard work all that dedication the effort the years of running
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but for me it meant something very different
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because the real question is not how i got the crown the real question was who did i become
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while getting there because i've seen it before people cross the finish line
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but they lose themselves in the process they succeed they win But they don't know who they are anymore after winning.
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And I knew one thing for certain when I was competing.
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If I had to put on a mask or a persona,
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I would not be the same person I was behind that microphone.
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I would not be the same person I am right now behind this microphone.
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So I made a decision,
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not about how to win,
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but how to stay real.
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I didn't treat my crown as a reward,
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but as a responsibility, a platform to carry a message that I had learned the hard way.
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Your power does not come from a title you hold.
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Your power comes from the truth that you failed,
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that you keep on, refuse to abandon to get there.
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Your power does not come from a tile you hold.
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It comes from the truth.
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You refuse to abandon to get there.
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And that is what Beyond the Crown really means.
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It means the crown is not the destination, but a test.
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A test to ensure that you can be in the spotlight without performing,
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without chasing approval, without losing your rhythm.
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Because it's easy to be authentic when you're alone, when no one's watching.
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The real challenge is, can you stay authentic when everyone is watching?
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So, as I leave you here today,
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I don't want you to remember my story.
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I want you to recognize, acknowledge your own.
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Because at any point in your life,
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you've been one of three horses.
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Are you a show horse?
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Constantly seeking approval, applause from everyone around you.
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Or you might be a racehorse,
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running faster, harder, always trying to stay ahead,
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but failing to see that you're not falling behind.
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And from the outside, yeah,
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they both look like success.
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You're doing great to everyone watching.
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But here's the question people never ask.
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Are you choosing your direction or are you choosing the speed?
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Because we are trained to choose speed,
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to graduate early, to succeed early, to stay ahead.
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So we keep moving fast,
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not really because we want to,
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not because it's right, but because it's expected of us.
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Fast is external.
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It's driven by comparison, by pressure,
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by the need to be validated.
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But right is internal.
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And sometimes choosing what's right doesn't look impressive at all.
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To some eyes, it looks like you've slowed down.
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You're falling behind, but you're not.
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You're choosing your direction before your speed.
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And that's what you become when you begin to become a dark horse.
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Not because you are finally different,
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but because you are finally making decisions that don't need to be approved first.
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So, before you run fast,
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before you chase the next goal,
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pause for a moment and ask yourself,
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If no one sees this,
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would I still do it?
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Am I chasing speed or am I chasing direction?
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And is this decision truly mine or is it just something that I have learned to perform?
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Because that finish line, crossing over, belongs to everyone.
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But your direction is the only thing that is ever truly yours.
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So, in the year of the horse,
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choose your horse, choose your direction.
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I am Yolena Lindquist, Miss Cosmo 2025,
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and I am proud to be a dark horse.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will delve into the inspiring TEDx talk by Yolina Lindquist titled "The Courage to Be a Dark Horse." You will practice your English speaking skills by focusing on key themes such as self-discovery, the pressure to conform, and the journey towards authenticity. By reflecting on the metaphor of the "dark horse," you will engage in speaking exercises that encourage personal expression, helping you to develop a more genuine voice in your English conversations. This lesson aims to improve not only your vocabulary but also your overall pronunciation through active speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Dark Horse: A term for someone whose abilities or potential are unknown or underestimated.
- Show Horse: Represents someone who performs to meet others' expectations.
- Racehorse: Symbolizes someone striving for success, often at the cost of personal direction.
- Applause: Positive recognition from others, often in the context of performance.
- Permission: Approval to act, often sought from external sources.
- Rhythm: A consistent pattern; in this context, it refers to finding your own path in life.
- Conflict: A struggle between opposing forces, particularly within oneself.
Practice Tips
To effectively enhance your English speaking practice using the themes from this talk, consider the following tips:
- Shadowing Technique: Use the shadowing app to listen to Yolina’s speech and repeat her words in real time. Pay attention to her tone, rhythm, and intonation—this will help improve your English pronunciation significantly.
- Slow Down: If the speed of the video feels overwhelming, play it at a slower pace. This will give you more time to articulate each phrase clearly, which is crucial for improving your speech.
- Focus on Emphasis: Notice which words Yolina emphasizes when conveying her message. Practice placing stress on similar words in your own speech to mirror her delivery.
- Reflective Speaking: After shadowing, take a few moments to summarize what you learned in your own words. This exercise helps reinforce your understanding while also enhancing your vocabulary.
- Record Yourself: Use a recording device or your phone to capture your voice while practicing the phrases. Listening back will allow you to hear areas for improvement in your pronunciation and rhythm.
By integrating these practices into your routine, you will not only enhance your vocabulary but also develop a more confident English speaking practice that embraces authenticity and personal expression.
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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