Shadowing Practice: The Internet Changed Me - Learn English Speaking with Video

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128 sentences

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May I have your attention, please?

Your attention.

Please.

May I have some?

Please.

What if I put up gameplay of Subway Surfer and used a robot voice?

Would that keep you stimulated?

Wikipedia says that people born between the year 1981 and 1996 are part of a group called Millennials.

And I am a 96 baby.

Hello, Year of the Rat.

What's up?

I'm cusping on that Millennial Gen Z line.

So I can relate to all you

Gen Z -ers, okay?

I know what cap means, I know what drip means, and I also don't remember where I was when 9 -11 happened.

However, Gen Z, there is a difference between us.

We're both a generation that grew up on the internet, but you grew up with the internet.

We grew up with the internet.

The internet didn't used to always look like this.

It has metamorphosized a multitude of times.

Now, if you talk to an older millennial, they'll tell you the horror stories of the late 90s internet,

how the internet used to be paired with your home's landline, and if you don't know what a landline is, good.

If you wanted to surf the net at blazing speeds of 7 kilobytes a second, then you couldn't use your telephone at the same time.

This was before texting even existed, so if you needed to talk to someone, you had to call them and look up their phone number in

that 20 pound weapon known as a phone book and then if someone else was using the internet, they'd get the pleasure of listening to...

Although, if I had to make a sound that represented the entire internet, it would sound exactly like this.

I didn't grow up with dial -up, but I did grow up in a time where the internet looked completely different.

By the time I was exploring the interwebs, we got speeds up to 1 megabyte per second.

So the highest quality video you could stream on YouTube was in 240p, or this big.

And it would still buffer.

A lot.

Gen Z, you weren't there when YouTube had a 5 -star scoring system

and the subscribe button was yellow and people would put these things all over their videos.

You weren't there when the videos were in a 4x3 aspect ratio because that's what TVs look like.

You weren't there when a background for a website would be a never -ending grid of a JPEG

and music would play against your will and your cursor would turn into a sparkly wand and...

Okay, that's actually pretty cool.

Whatever happened to that?

And then the person who built the website would go, Hmm, it's looking pretty good.

But you know what this webpage really needs?

A counter that'll tell you the total number of people who visited.

Let me just copy this HTML code I found online and

if you're around my age and you also had unsupervised computer time,

then great, you were also there to experience the pre -puberty years of the internet.

Try to imagine the internet without social media.

No Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or MySpace.

Were people back then just not talking about themselves or sharing their opinions online?

Were we as a society more connected with the people we knew in the real world?

No, of course not.

People have been sharing their opinions online since day one.

They were just doing it on random message boards.

I know it sounds trivial nowadays, but there was once a novelty in being able to type anything you wanted into the computer,

and then someone else you didn't know would instantaneously respond.

Even Neopets, a game targeted to children, had chat rooms and let anyone send unfiltered messages to children.

I'm surprised I didn't meet any weirdos.

That's one thing that'll never change with the internet.

There will always be weirdos online.

In fact most of a weirdo's life is spent behind a computer.

I would know.

I think people love sending messages so much that sometimes your friend would send you a message that said

You've just been hit by the duck truck!

Send this message to eight of your friends and you'll be as sexy as a truck!

Ignore and you'll be hit by a 16 -wheeler.

You have seven days.

And instead of blocking that person, some people would keep the chain going.

Hey, I have a quick question.

When was the last time you ever had to type a specific website into your address bar?

Hmm, probably somewhere about 10 years, give or take.

You just type in a Y, and then YouTube pops up.

You put in a T, you get Twitter, and P gets you picturesofalligators .com.

And if you had a specific question you wanted to ask the internet, you just yahoo it, right?

Yahoo?

Oh, no, that's not the one you kids are using, you kids are using that new search engine, right?

Ask Jeeves?

I know there's like four main websites that everyone goes on, but back then, instead of having a social media account, people made their own websites.

So there were a bunch of different websites for you to explore, and to help you find those websites,

you had a few search engines to pick from.

Everyone loves to dunk on Bing for even attempting to be a search engine, but back in the day, Google had some competition.

Obviously, I can see why Google ultimately won the search engine battle.

Google is a great company and I would recommend Google to all my peers and coworkers.

I love Google!

As much as I love the internet, some of the best memories we had on the computer weren't even on the internet, were they?

Sometimes the internet would just go down.

But did that stop us?

Did we go outside?

No. We were still able to supply ourselves with hours of entertainment even without an internet.

All you had to do was click

Start, All Programs, Accessories, Games, and then...

Space Cadet Pinball.

I guarantee every millennial watching this right now just got hit with a big wave of nostalgia.

This game might seem simple because there's only two buttons that you can press, but when you really got into it,

this game had a whole lot more going on.

Trust me, Space Cadet Pinball was all we had sometimes, and I cherished every second of it.

But if you were anything like me growing up, you were also practicing your art skills.

And luckily, every computer came pre -installed with a top -of -the -line painting software that every artist needs.

Yeah, this program's got everything.

There's a line tool, and a bucket tool, and a circle tool.

And sometimes when I was really bored, I would make a black rectangle, scribble the free -form selection tool on it, and then blammo!

Yeah, I still got it.

100

I just made a masterpiece.

101

And, fun James bonus tip, for some extra self -induced epilepsy, hold down Ctrl -I, which will invert the colors,

102

so your masterpiece will go...

103

Oh my god!

104

Oh, it hurts to look at!

105

Hey, looks like you're trying to create a conclusion to this YouTube video.

106

Would you like my help?

107

No, Clippy.

108

Even when you were around, I never used you.

109

I just liked having you there to keep me company.

110

The internet is still a relatively new invention that is ever -changing the way we live.

111

And we have yet to see the full effects of what being connected since birth does to a person.

112

The fact that the accumulation of all human knowledge can now fit in your pocket?

113

That's going to affect your day -to -day life!

114

Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you to get off the internet, touch grass, and live your life to the fullest.

115

Otherwise, I'd be a hypocrite. And unemployed.

116

There's no denying all the positive things that the internet has to offer.

117

But I'm also not going to deny all the negative things that come with instant gratification, too.

118

As technology advances, so too do we advance the amount of time we spend online.

119

The internet can connect us to a million different people and perspectives that we never would have been exposed to before.

120

But it can also expose us to some really nasty people and perspectives.

121

And the only thing we can do about those people is shrug and say, Sorry, that's the internet.

122

So, are we, as a society, better off with the internet?

123

I think so.

124

But just, I don't know, just remember to drink water and stretch.

125

Alright, that's the lesson of this video.

126

Go stretch.

127

I'm serious.

128

Right now, go touch your toes.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Internet Changed Me”. This video has 128 sentences and 1457 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:41. The speaker talks at a natural 168 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 21 of its 128 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
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
stretch verb	/stɹɛt͡ʃ/	To lengthen by pulling.
deny verb	/dəˈnaɪ/	To disallow or reject.
explore verb	/ɪkˈsploɹ/	To examine or investigate something systematically.
expose verb	/ɪkˈspoʊz/	To reveal; to uncover; to make visible; to bring to light.
masterpiece noun	/ˈmæstɚˌpis/	A piece of work that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career.
ignore verb	/ɪɡˈnɔː/	To deliberately not listen or pay attention to.
pocket noun	/ˈpɑ.kɪt/	A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items.
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
bonus noun	/ˈbəʊ.nəs/	Something extra that is good; an added benefit.
guarantee noun	/ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/	Anything that assures a certain outcome.
horror noun	/ˈhɒɹ.ə/	An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
sexy adjective	/ˈsɛksi/	Having sex appeal; attractive.
skill noun	/skɪl/	A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
aspect noun	/ˈæspɛkt/	Any specific feature, part, or element of something.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
get off verb		To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it.
go down verb		To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
grow up verb		To mature and become an adult.
hold down verb		To restrain; to check.
look up verb	/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/	To have better prospects.
pop up verb		To come up with a "pop" sound.
put up verb		To place in a high location.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

May I have your attention, please?
May I have some?
Would that keep you stimulated?
I'm surprised I didn't meet any weirdos.
Would you like my help?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
“Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true	used to always look · used to be
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be paired · is spent · been hit
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has metamorphosized · You've just been hit
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	person who built · people who visited

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, didn't, weren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/, ratio /ˈɹeɪ.ʃoʊ/, invention /ɪnˈvɛnʃən/, accumulation /əˌkjuːm.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/, cherish /ˈt͡ʃɛɹɪʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: accumulation /əˌkjuːm.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/, millennial /mɪˈlɛn.ɪ.əl/, epilepsy /ˈɛpɪˌlɛpsi/, gratification /ˌɡɹætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like connect, stretch, deny.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: The Internet Changed Me - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?