Shadowing Practice: The Mindset That Saved Tom Holland... - Learn English Speaking with Video
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One of the things that you mentioned recently was that you gave up drinking about a year and a half ago.
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Yes.
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And you said it was the hardest thing you ever did.
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Yes.
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And I wanted to know what was so hard about it for you, why was it so hard?
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It's interesting, I didn't one day wake up and say I'm giving up drinking.
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I just, like many Brits, had had a very, very boozy December.
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Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot.
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And I've always been able to drink a lot.
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I think I get my genes from my mum's side in that thing, like I can drink.
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And I decided to just give up for January, I just wanted to do dry January, and all I could think about was having a drink.
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It's all I could think about.
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I was waking up thinking about it, I was checking the clock, when's it 12?
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And it just really scared me.
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I just was like, wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing.
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So I sort of decided to punish myself and say I'll do February as well, I'll do two months off.
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If I can do two months off then I can prove to myself I don't have a problem.
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Two months go by and I was still really struggling.
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I felt like I couldn't be social, I felt like I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda, I couldn't go out for dinner,
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I was really really struggling and I started to really worry that maybe I had an alcohol problem.
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So I decided that I would wait until my birthday which is June 1st, I said to myself if I can do six months without alcohol, then I can prove to myself that I don't have a problem.
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And by the time I had got to June 1st, I was the happiest I've ever been in my life.
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I could sleep better, I could handle problems better, things that would go wrong on set that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride.
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I had so much, such better mental clarity, I felt healthier, I felt fitter.
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And I just sort of said to myself, like, why am I enslaved to this drink?
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Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?
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And I would look back and recognize
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that I would go to events for work and I can't enjoy myself until I've had a few beers.
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And I just felt so much pressure
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and this is one of the things why I've sort of distanced myself from the rugby community
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because so much of it is about how much can you drink, let's get you as drunk as possible.
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And it's honestly been the best thing I've ever done.
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I'm a year and a half into it now.
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It doesn't even cross my mind.
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I've found amazing replacements that I think are fantastic.
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Ones that are also really healthy.
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I found this one beer that's full of electrolytes and it's, you know, the carbohydrates in it are long lasting energy, so like, having a beer is now actually like a really healthy thing.
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I'm really lucky that all my friends are super supportive about it.
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I've never run into that scenario where my friends are like, oh go on, just have a beer, like you're fine.
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They've always sort of really supported me.
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And I don't want to be that person that's saying to people, you should get sober, you should get sober.
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If I could encourage someone to drink less, then that's great.
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But I don't want to start getting into the world of, you need to stop drinking.
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Because it's not for me to say.
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I went on my own little journey.
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I'm really enjoying it.
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I'm delighted that my mum has also given up.
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She's loving it.
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And it's been amazing.
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I can't believe the difference that I feel from not drinking.
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I feel amazing.
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That's amazing, man.
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I love hearing that.
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Thank you.
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I'm hearing that it's been great for you, right?
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I think that's the point.
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Not everything has to be like, look what I did, you can do it too.
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It's kind of like, no, this is just what's been great for me.
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Do you think it was partly that attitude, for you at least, in the beginning where it's like, well, I can drink, I drink a lot, it comes from my mum genes and it doesn't affect me.
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And then all of a sudden you realize, well, wait a minute, it's more than that.
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Because I think there is that.
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Like, I was like that as a young man as well.
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Like, for me, it was easy to drink.
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I didn't drink daily.
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For me, I drank a lot more socially.
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And I loved playing drinking games with my mates and that was really what I enjoyed the most probably.
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And for me, when I quit, I could just quickly see how it just got me into doing things I would never do if I wasn't drunk.
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So for me it was more that.
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But yeah, I wonder for you, did you find that there's a really fine line between like, I know I can drink a lot and then all of a sudden you're kind of addicted, not addicted beyond that.
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No, addicted mate.
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I'm happy to say it, I was definitely addicted to alcohol.
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Not shying away from that at all.
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I think anyone that wakes up and has a, not wakes up, anyone that has a beer every day has probably got a little bit of a problem.
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But yeah, you're right.
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I would drink and drink and drink and drink and then you would just reach that moment where you're like, wow, I shouldn't have had that last beer.
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And you wake up the next day and you have a terrible headache and you're suffering.
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I bought one of those rings that will tell you about your sleep.
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Yeah, Aura Ring.
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Yeah, and it was amazing because I couldn't sleep.
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I was like, why can't I sleep?
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I'm working 14 hours a day, I'm doing two hours in the gym, I'm eating really healthily and I can't sleep.
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What's wrong with me?
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I bought this ring and it was booze.
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It was completely affecting my sleep and since I've given it up, I can sleep anywhere.
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You know?
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It's also interesting as well going on nights out
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and having a great time as the sober person
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and then getting to that point in the night where people start spitting in your ear and everyone's like, I love you man, I love you so much.
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You're like, yeah, brilliant, I love you too.
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I'll see you tomorrow, I'm going to bed.
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But I love being that person now.
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I love seeing my friends on the golf course at 8am in the morning.
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Feeling fresh and ready to go and they're sort of crawling out their car So yeah, so I'm Over the moon.
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Yeah sober.
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I love it.
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Yeah for anyone who is listening right now is going Tom I love that for you.
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I want to do it too like they're listening going I'm
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having too much every day I can notice some of those things
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But I'm just stuck and it's hard because we know
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that addictions that way we know that this is heavy It's not easy, but if someone is watching going Tom tell me that what what did you do to even get started?
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How did you have that courage to say, I'm gonna do January, I'm gonna stick at it.
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Were there any moments where you actually fell back and then had to get back on the horse again?
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Like, just walk us through that a little bit more for anyone who is watching going, Tom, mate, I want to be in your position in like six months.
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I didn't fall back on it.
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I have done in the past.
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Like, I've had periods of my life where I've given up drinking and then gone back to drinking.
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But this time, I don't know, it was just different.
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I really worked to sort of change my mindset.
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I really asked myself like why do you drink?
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Why are you drinking?
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And a lot of the time my answer would be to feel more comfortable in the social environment Yeah
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And I just put myself in those environments
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and just would force myself to be there I'd force myself to hang out
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and go to a club or go to a bar go to a dinner Yeah, so you weren't avoiding those places I was at the beginning
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because I didn't feel like I could go and not have a drink because of the stress of it
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But then after a while I sort of was like, mate, you've got to pull your socks up here and you can't just live in your house all the time.
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You've got to go out and enjoy yourself.
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And if you're only enjoying yourself because you're drinking, then you really do have a problem.
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But I just changed my mindset.
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I just, I found really good replacements, things that I could sort of attribute to having a beer.
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I often found with me, most of it is just the ritual of cracking something open and sharing it with friends and drinking it.
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Whether it's sparkling water or a beer, I now can't I don't associate like I don't see a difference yeah,
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but I think it's different for everyone I had a great support system Jack is one of my best mates
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and we travel all over the world He doesn't drink and doing it with him was it was a really
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Helpful experience for me my brother is always on the road with me He was very supportive and yeah, I just really set my mind to it I really want to do this.
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I want to prove to myself.
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I can do it Yeah, and then once I'd felt the health benefits and started really feeling like my full self.
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Yeah I was like, oh my god, this is the best.
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But do you not drink?
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I haven't drank for 17 years.
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No way.
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Yeah, congratulations.
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That's amazing.
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That's amazing.
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Amazing, yeah.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 135 sentences and 1748 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:37. The speaker talks fast, about 230 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sober adjective | /ˈsoʊ.bɚ/ | Not drunk; not intoxicated. |
| addict noun | /ˈæd.ɪkt/ | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug. |
| replacement noun | /ɹɪˈpleɪsmənt/ | A person or thing that takes the place of another; a substitute. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| gene noun | /d͡ʒiːn/ | A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form… |
| supportive adjective | /səˈpɔɹtɪv/ | Providing support. |
| mindset noun | /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ | A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| suffer verb | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | To undergo hardship. |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| crack noun | /kɹæk/ | A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material. |
| congratulations | /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/ | Expressing praise and approval, expressing approbation. |
| rugby noun | /ˈɹʌɡbi/ | A form of football in which players can hold or kick an ovoid ball; rugby football. The ball cannot be handled forwards and points are scored by touching the… |
| vacation noun | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| fall back verb | To retreat. | |
| fall back on verb | To turn to as a substitute; to rely on as a backup. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. | |
| look back verb | To think of (past events) in retrospect (in hindsight). |
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 | I've always been · I've ever been · I've had |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | birthday which is · anyone who is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | wasn't drunk · was definitely addicted |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 74 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, shy /ʃaɪ/, addiction /əˈdɪkˌʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, carbohydrate /kɑɹboʊˈhaɪdɹeɪt/, electrolyte /ɪˈlɛk.tɹəˌlaɪt/
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 sober, addict, replacement.
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.