Shadowing Practice: The Neuroscience of Creativity - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This little guy is a nematode worm - it’s transparent, about 1mm in length and one of the simplest animals with a nervous system.

And his name is Steve.

Steve does something quite curious... he doesn’t just follow food scents.

He also explores his environment – thoroughly.

As if he wants to know what else is out there.

This worm shows a basic form of curiosity.

And Steve does this even though he only has 383 brain cells or neurons… compared to the 86 billion neurons in your human brain.

Your brain is also curious, it’s constantly looking for the next new thing.

But unlike a worm, our desire for novelty has led us to innovate and create.

Our high levels of creativity are thanks to the unique makeup of our restless brains.

So what exactly makes your brain so creative?

Well, this mass of 86 billion neurons is organised in a pretty special way.

Roughly speaking, one group of neurons sense the environment, and another group react to it.

In most animal brains, there’s a hard-wired path from the sensing neurons to acting neurons.

In your human brain though, there are lots of paths connecting the two.

Way more than what we need to perform vital tasks.

So these surplus neurons form tangled networks that generate random, spontaneous thoughts.

And researchers are starting to pinpoint how these random thoughts become creative ideas.

In a 2016 study, researchers found that creativity seems to depend on the cooperation of two competing brain networks: one that generates spontaneous thoughts and the executive control center of the brain that governs everything else.

To produce new ideas, we start with a pool of random, free-flowing thoughts – those worthy of further exploration are then approved by executive control.

And then, when researchers asked people to plan an artwork, cooperation between these two networks went up.

And the effect was stronger in professional artists.

Virtually all other research points to a similar conclusion: That no one area of your brain is responsible for creative thought.

Rather, many interacting processes by large-scale brain networks work together to give birth to a great idea.

And a new theory suggests these brain networks seem to be doing three things: They bend what we see, break what we expect and finally, they blend things with...other things.

Your restless brain is full of great ideas – just waiting to be realised.

This is the first of a three part series on creativity.

Next up, can you become more creative?

If we all have this amazing machinery in our brains, why are some people more creative than others?

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13 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 29 sentences and 433 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:59. The speaker talks at a steady 145 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
creativity noun	/kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/	The ability to use imagination to produce a novel idea or product.
researcher noun	/ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/	One who researches.
worm noun	/wɝm/	A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm.
curious adjective	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
cooperation noun	/koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/	The act of cooperating.
generate verb	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/	To bring into being; give rise to.
spontaneous adjective	/spɑnˈteɪ.ni.əs/	Self-directed; happening or acting without external cause or instigation; proceeding from natural feeling, temperament, or momentary impulse.
restless adjective	/ˈɹɛstlɪs/	Not allowing or affording rest.
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…
wire noun	/ˈwaɪɚ/	Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die.
conclusion noun	/kənˈkluːʒən/	The end, finish, close or last part of something.
compete verb	/kəmˈpiːt/	To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
vital adjective	/ˈvaɪtəl/	Relating to or characteristic of life.
roughly adverb	/ˈɹʌf.li/	In a rough manner; without kindness, softness, or gentleness.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go up verb	To move upwards.

Pronunciation to watch

The “th” sounds: worthy /ˈwɝ.ði/, thoroughly /ˈθʌɹ.ə.li/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: cooperation /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/, exploration /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/, machinery /məˈʃiːnəɹi/
Long words — get the stress right: creativity /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/, cooperation /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, spontaneous /spɑnˈteɪ.ni.əs/, virtually /ˈvɚ.t͡ʃə.wə.li/, exploration /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/

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 creativity, researcher, worm.

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 Neuroscience of Creativity - Learn English Speaking with Video

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