Shadowing Practice: The Power Of Choice | Hilary Duff - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Oh my gosh, hello!
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128 sentences
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Oh my gosh, hello!
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Class of 2026!
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Thank you so much, Amelia.
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Where are you?
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Your kind words.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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And that applause, I really am just giving that back to you.
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This is your day to be celebrated,
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but thank you for my warm welcome.
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to all of the graduates congratulations on this massive accomplishment i am genuinely in awe of your dedication
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and i'm envious of your experience because my formal education ended around third grade
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so i never got to pass a note i didn't have a locker i never wore one of these bad boys
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in real life.
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But I have to just say that I respect all that you've achieved so much,
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and this day is truly just for you.
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To all of the parents and families both here and watching from afar, congratulations.
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I admire your courage in releasing your children into the world,
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which I can imagine is absolutely no small feat.
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I'm sure you had to rely on your instincts,
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your community, and your faith in your kids.
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It's truly a beautiful thing.
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Thank you to President Anand for the faculty and the staff who have welcomed me so genuinely.
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I just can't imagine how rewarding it must be year after year to send such amazing,
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hardworking students and people into the world knowing that you prepared them with such care.
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I am honored to be a part of this moment in time with all of you.
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I'll be honest, it's a little surreal to be standing here
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and giving advice since I am genuinely still figuring it out myself every single day.
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But in a way, it kind of makes sense because at Northeastern University,
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you believe experience isn't a substitute for education.
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It is the education.
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And graduating, no matter what stage of life you're in,
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isn't about having everything figured out.
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It's about standing at the edge of something new and choosing what comes next.
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I know many of you started your careers earlier than most because that's the Northeastern way.
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And when I say I started working young,
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I'm talking seven years old.
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I was acting by 10 and in a TV show by 13.
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When the doors start opening,
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it's very easy to think the right answer is always yes.
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Yes to the next project.
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Yes to the next expectation.
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Yes to saying yes.
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For years, I said yes to almost everything
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because I thought that's what you were supposed to do when you were lucky enough to have opportunities.
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You take them.
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All of them.
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When someone would ask me, what's next?
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What's next?
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What are you doing next?
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I felt like a failure if I didn't have the answer,
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so I made sure that I always had the answer.
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But somewhere along the way,
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probably when I was on set for a commercial or an appearance that I probably cringe at now,
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I realized just because something is a good opportunity or a good paycheck,
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it doesn't mean it's right.
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By simply accepting what the world was offering to me,
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I was losing my own voice.
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I was reacting instead of asking myself what I really wanted.
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That realization was a paradigm shift for me.
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And the moment things changed was very clear.
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I knew I had to change my pattern of saying yes,
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so I took a break from making music.
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Not because I didn't know exactly what kind of album I wanted to make
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or the stories that I wanted to tell through my music,
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because I knew precisely what I wanted.
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But I somehow knew that I couldn't authentically make it yet.
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So I made a choice,
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and I took a step back.
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I pivoted.
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I rebuilt myself.
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I refilled my tank.
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I put effort into my relationships,
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into building my family, and building a business.
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I waited until I was ready to meet the moment.
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I realized that saying no wasn't rejection.
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It was redirection.
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Putting myself towards where I truly wanted to go when I was actually ready.
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I took back control of what I was building and I reclaimed my story and I realized my own agency.
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I'm grateful I had the ability to take that pause.
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Redirecting your energy in one area can mean sprinting in another.
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The key is that I was choosing where my energy went instead of letting others choose for me.
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A wonderful part of giving yourself that space is you can look back and see the distance you've traveled.
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don't forget to pause and appreciate how far you've come what you've overcome
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and then you can look forward and see all that's yet to come
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when I started being proactive in my life
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and my career instead of reactive I made the space in my brain to think about what felt authentic?
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What would add value to my world and to our world?
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Because of Northeastern, I know many of you have long been considering what you wanted to contribute to the world.
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You have already been out there honing your skills on Nassau training floors and fishing docks in Maine,
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at Fortune 500 companies and scrappy startups of your own,
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even climbing Mount Everest, you crazy kids.
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Evan?
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You showed up first, figured it out,
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and come back better for it.
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So as you step into the next chapter of your stories,
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I hope you remember all you've already accomplished.
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Yes, perhaps the jobs that you'll have five years from now may not even exist yet,
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and the industries you're entering are being rewritten in real time.
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But don't let the headlines scare you.
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What you do might change,
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but who you are never has to.
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Remember, you're not just building a career or a resume.
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You're building a life.
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You are the architect of your own happiness.
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And you get to decide what belongs in your life
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because we only get one as you chart your path never forget
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that you're in the driver's seat you have the power to
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make your own choices you have agency you choose you chose Northeastern
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because you wanted to build something real to make an impact keep making choices like
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that choose what excites you choose what challenges you choose what gives you room to grow
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and just as importantly choose to let go of what no
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longer serves you this will give you the freedom to evolve
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and become exactly who you are meant to be the world only becomes more interesting
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and accommodating and marvelous
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when people show up as they truly are something I tell my kids you have to be who you are
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because everyone else has already taken my greatest endeavor in life has been parenthood
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and as a mother of four yeah four I cannot imagine the pride
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that would be pouring out of me on a day like today
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if you can hug your parents your parental your pillars, your mentors.
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Text them back every now and then.
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They protected you and celebrated you and watched you become you.
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You are their success.
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And remember, success isn't just about what you achieve,
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it's about what you choose.
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So congratulations, class of 2026!
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I can't wait to Let's see what you choose!
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Go Huskies!
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together

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Speaking practice is vital for English learners, and this inspiring speech by Hilary Duff offers a great opportunity to engage with real-life language in a motivating context. The speaker addresses graduates and their families, creating a friendly and relatable atmosphere. By practicing with this video, learners can immerse themselves in a natural speaking context that emphasizes personal stories and emotional connections. This makes it an excellent choice for those looking to improve English pronunciation while also gaining confidence in their speaking abilities. The speech illustrates how to gracefully handle moments of uncertainty, a theme that resonates with many English learners as they navigate their language journeys.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

  • “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” - This repetition serves to emphasize gratitude, which can be a powerful expression in conversations.
  • “I am genuinely in awe of your dedication.” - The structure “I am + adjective + preposition” (e.g., “in awe of”) is useful for expressing feelings and opinions.
  • “It’s about standing at the edge of something new and choosing what comes next.” - The phrase “choosing what comes next” highlights the use of gerunds (“choosing”), a grammatical structure that expresses ongoing action or choices.
  • “I’ve said yes to almost everything.” - This past simple tense is important for discussing past experiences, relevant for learners when sharing their stories.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you practice speaking with Hilary Duff's speech, pay attention to certain pronunciations that can be tricky for English learners. For instance, words like “genuinely” may be pronounced quickly, so it’s helpful to break it down: gen-u-ine-ly. Additionally, her use of pauses creates a rhythm that can influence the flow of your speech. The shadowing technique can help with this; try to mimic her pauses and intonation, which will aid in making your speech sound more natural. Be conscious of the subtle accent she has when speaking, especially on phrases like “thank you” where the inflection rises, encouraging you to reflect the same in your practice. Engaging with these elements can significantly boost your shadow speak skills.

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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