Shadowing Practice: The Magic of Reading | Kaylie Peckham | TEDxKids@ElCajon - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Reviewer.com Oh, reading.
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Reviewer.com Oh, reading.
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This is so boring.
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Is this you?
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Well, that used to be me.
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Until one day, I heard my mom and brother talking about this series called Harry Potter.
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Apparently, my brother had been reading it for a while,
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but I had never noticed.
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This is where it all started.
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I opened up the book,
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and the magic fell out of the pages and into my life.
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Suddenly, I love to read.
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Let's get this straight, though.
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It's not like I don't like to watch YouTube or Netflix.
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I've just learned to appreciate how reading paints a picture in my mind.
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Reading can also help you escape your body and problems you might have had in your day.
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I used to be bad at reading until I opened up a Harry Potter book,
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and it's like someone cast a spell on me to be great at it.
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If you find a book you love,
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it would be like you're transported to a whole other world.
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So I jumped into action.
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I sent my principal a letter telling her about my idea.
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She loved it, and we decided to meet on Friday.
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When we did, she had said to me,
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you are leading this whole thing.
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I felt so proud, and I was ready to start.
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I decided we would be celebrating.
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I decided we would pair my idea with World Book Day and celebrate as a school.
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I was asked to present my idea at a staff meeting.
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I was so nervous, but guess what?
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I did it, and my school celebrated World Book Day on April 26, 2017.
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I decided we would be celebrating World Book Day by having
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students dressing up in the colors of the Hogwarts house House Stare Inn.
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Teachers determined this by taking a test on a website.
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The houses include Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor.
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Or you could wear school robes too.
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And the best part is we got to bring wands.
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I also created a contest of what class can get the most kids to read at home would help too.
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We will be using reading logs and a board at the office to keep track.
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The stay was very successful and I saw many kids dressing up in the colors of the Hogwarts House Stare Inn.
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I had also heard some kids talking about how much they loved Harry Potter at recess.
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I was surprised on how many kids had school robes,
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and I felt close in my class because we were all in Gryffindor.
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My hope is that a day like this had helped other kids find the magic hidden in books too.
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So go home now, pick up a book,
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and see what it can do for you.
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I'm starting on Percy Jackson next.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills through an engaging TEDx talk by Kaylie Peckham titled "The Magic of Reading." This video captures the transformation that reading can bring to your life and showcases how one person's passion for books influenced a whole school community. By shadowing Kaylie's speech, you will enhance your pronunciation, intonation, and fluency while absorbing inspirational content. This practice is an effective way to learn English with YouTube, as you will connect emotionally with the material, making it easier to remember the language used.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Magic - a powerful force or phenomenon often associated with fantastical stories.
  • Celebrate - to mark a special event with enjoyable activities.
  • Principal - the head of a school, responsible for administration.
  • Escape - to break free from something confining or distressing.
  • Dressing up - to wear costumes, typically for themed events.
  • Transported - to be moved to another place, often used figuratively for experiences in books.
  • Reading logs - records kept to track the books one has read.
  • Robes - long, loose garments typically worn in ceremonial settings, often seen in schools for special occasions.

Practice Tips

To maximize your English speaking practice, follow these tips while you shadow Kaylie's video:

  • Listen Carefully: Pay attention to the tone and emotion in Kaylie's voice. Her excitement about reading is contagious!
  • Practice at Various Speeds: Start by listening at regular speed and then slow it down if necessary to catch all nuances. This is essential for mastering shadowspeak.
  • Repeat and Imitate: After listening to each segment, pause and repeat what she says, mimicking her intonation and rhythm. This will improve your fluency in shadowspeaks.
  • Focus on Key Vocabulary: Make a note of new words and phrases. Use them in sentences of your own after practicing the shadowing.
  • Engage Emotionally: Try to connect the content of the talk with your own experiences with reading or learning. This connection will enhance your retention and make your practice more enjoyable.

By following these steps and incorporating the video's engaging themes into your shadow speak sessions, you’ll not only improve your language skills but also discover the hidden magic that reading can offer in your journey to learn English with YouTube.

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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