Shadowing Practice: The Secret to Speaking Fluent English - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
227 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hi, my name is Nat Thi and I'm from Thailand.
2
Many years ago, my spoken English was pretty bad.
3
I had a lot of trouble expressing myself in English.
4
But then, I found a way to improve my spoken English and I managed to become fluent while living in Thailand.
5
The methods I use can be done at home from anywhere in the world and in this video, I'm going to tell you how you can do the same.
6
First, let me tell you the most important secret.
7
To speak English well, you need to build unconscious knowledge in English.
8
Let me repeat that.
9
If you want to speak English fluently, you need a high level of unconscious knowledge in English.
10
So what is it?
11
Well, unconscious knowledge is the ability to do something without conscious thought.
12
the ability to perform a task automatically.
13
For example, riding a bicycle, playing a musical instrument, and speaking your native language.
14
Unconscious knowledge is automatic.
15
To use the knowledge, you don't have to think about it.
16
You don't have to focus your attention on it.
17
That's why you can ride a bicycle and talk to someone at the same time.
18
You don't have to focus on the movement of your legs.
19
They move automatically on their own.
20
It's also why musicians can sing and play the instrument at the same time.
21
With enough practice, the skill becomes automatic and so the hands and fingers can now move automatically.
22
Now, think about how you speak your first language.
23
When you talk in your native language, do you think about grammar rules?
24
Do you think about syntax or sentence structure?
25
No, you don't think about any of that, right?
26
But for some reason, every sentence that comes out of your mouth is grammatically correct.
27
Even though you're not thinking about grammar, everything you say makes sense grammatically.
28
Why is that?
29
Well, it's because you have a high level of unconscious knowledge in your native language.
30
So, if you want to speak English well, you need to increase your unconscious knowledge in English.
31
If you do that, speaking English will feel natural and automatic, much like speaking your first language.
32
So, how do you acquire unconscious knowledge?
33
Unfortunately, this is very difficult to do.
34
The problem is that this type of knowledge cannot be taught.
35
It cannot be acquired through study.
36
You can improve it by reading grammar books or watching grammar lessons on YouTube.
37
If you do that, you will acquire a different type of knowledge called conscious knowledge.
38
This type of knowledge is not automatic.
39
To use the knowledge, you have to think about it.
40
You have to focus your attention on it.
41
This means that when you speak English, you have to think about grammar.
42
You have to decide what tense to use and all that stuff.
43
And that doesn't work because when you're talking to someone, you don't have time to think about grammar.
44
If the other person says something to you or asks you a question, you have to respond immediately.
45
Sadly, many people love studying grammar.
46
They love watching lessons about tenses, prepositions, additives, and so on.
47
They believe that it will make them speak better.
48
What they don't realize is that the knowledge they gain through study is conscious,
49
non-automatic knowledge, which is not very useful in spoken English.
50
The thing is, speaking a language involves two parts of the brain, the conscious part and the unconscious, automatic part.
51
When you speak your first language, the conscious part focuses on the information that you want to communicate,
52
while the unconscious part focuses on the grammar.
53
This coordination allows you to speak fluently.
54
If you want to say something, you can just say it, and the unconscious part will make sure that your speech follows the grammar rules.
55
The process is automatic.
56
It's amazing actually.
57
But what happens when a grammar nerd, you know, someone who studies a lot of grammar, what happens when they try to speak English?
58
Well, here's what happens.
59
The conscious part now has to focus on the information and the grammar at the same time.
60
It has to focus on two things simultaneously, which is impossible to do.
61
This is why many students speak poorly despite knowing all the grammar rules.
62
So don't learn English through study.
63
Instead, you have to learn English the same way you learned your first language.
64
We call this way of learning, unconscious learning.
65
What is unconscious learning?
66
Does it mean learning while you sleep?
67
Actually, no. In this context, the word unconscious means unaware.
68
So unconscious learning means you are unaware that you're learning something.
69
The learning takes place outside of your awareness.
70
One example of this way of learning is listening to a conversation in English.
71
When you listen to a conversation, your goal is not to learn English but to understand the conversation, right?
72
But as you listen, as you focus on the information, the unconscious part of your brain is learning English behind the scenes.
73
You may not be aware of it, but your brain is learning things like grammar, vocabulary, and many other things.
74
This is how you learn your first language.
75
You didn't learn through study.
76
You learn by listening to people talking over and over.
77
And you didn't try to memorize or understand any rules.
78
You just focus on the information and let your brain learn the language in the background.
79
So remember, when you learn English unconsciously, you get unconscious, automatic knowledge.
80
When you learn English consciously by studying grammar, you get conscious, non-automatic knowledge.
81
Now, there are two methods you can use to build unconscious knowledge.
82
These are the only two methods I use to become fluent in English.
83
The first one is listening, of course.
84
The second one is input-driven speaking practice.
85
Let's talk about listening.
86
Listening is a very popular method for learning English.
87
tells you to listen to English.
88
But is it really necessary?
89
I mean, what if you're not looking to improve your listening?
90
If your goal is to improve your speaking, why do you need to spend time listening?
91
Why not just focus on speaking practice?
92
Well, here's the deal.
93
Even if improving your listening is not your goal, you still need to listen to English on a regular basis.
94
In fact, it's impossible to become fluent without a lot of listening.
95
The reason is simple.
96
Regular listening makes it easy to improve your speaking.
97
You see, the English language is very complex.
98
If you don't listen to English very much, you'll never become familiar with the complexity of the language.
99
So when you try to practice speaking, you will get confused very easily.
100
Forming a sentence will be confusing.
101
Practicing new words will be confusing.
102
Everything will be confusing because your brain cannot handle the complexity of the language.
103
On the flip side, if you listen to English regularly, you will become comfortable with the language.
104
So the complexity will not confuse you as much.
105
As a result, improving your speaking will be a lot easier.
106
That's why you need to listen to English regularly.
107
You need to feed your brain with as much input as possible. But what about reading?
108
Should you also read in English?
109
Well, if you can do both listening and reading, that's great, that's even better.
110
But if you don't have a lot of time, I suggest you focus on listening because it helps you become familiar with the sounds of English,
111
you know, pronunciation, intonation, pitch, things like that.
112
Besides, when you watch a movie or a YouTube video with English subtitles, you are essentially reading in English, right?
113
So even if you focus on listening, you will sometimes get to practice your reading skills as well.
114
So make sure to consume a lot of content like YouTube videos, podcasts, audio books, movies, and TV shows.
115
If you don't understand the content and need to read subtitles, make sure they are in English, not in your native language.
116
At this point, you might have questions like, what podcast should I listen to?
117
What movie should I watch?
118
What content is best for learning English?
119
The answer to these questions is simple.
120
The best content for learning English is content you enjoy.
121
For example, if you like travel, you might watch YouTube videos about travel.
122
If you're interested in business, you might listen to business podcasts.
123
If you like action movies, then watch action movies.
124
Watch or listen to things you like.
125
It's that simple.
126
Don't consume content you don't like just for the sake of learning English.
127
If you do that, listening will feel like a chore for you.
128
It will be something that you have to force yourself to do.
129
When you listen to something you don't care about, you will get distracted and get bored.
130
At some point, you're going to lose motivation and stop doing it.
131
I don't have this problem because I only listen to stuff that interests me.
132
For example, I like Japan, so I'm subscribed to YouTube channels about Japanese culture, Japanese food, and other things related to Japan.
133
I love scary stories, so I listen to a number of scary podcasts.
134
I'm also a big fan of fantasy series like Harry Potter, and I've listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks multiple times now.
135
So basically, I listen to things I enjoy.
136
This way, I get to have fun and learn English at the same time.
137
By the way, there's one type of content I avoid, and that is grammar lessons.
138
When I'm on YouTube, I never watch videos about tenses, prepositions, adjectives, you know, all the boring stuff.
139
Because I know that if I consume this type of content, I will develop the habit of thinking about grammar when speaking, which is not what I want.
140
I want to speak English naturally like I speak my native language.
141
So make sure you listen to things that you find enjoyable and avoid content related to grammar.
142
How much time should you spend listening each day?
143
The answer is, as much as possible.
144
Like I said earlier, English is very complex, and so your brain needs a lot of input before it can master the language.
145
So the more time you spend listening, the better.
146
If you have 30 minutes a day, listen for 30 minutes a day.
147
If you have 10 hours a day, listen for 10 hours.
148
The more input you get, the faster your English will improve.
149
But if you're busy and don't have time, that's okay.
150
Let me share a tip that has worked well for me.
151
So if your listening is good enough and you don't need to look at the screen to read subtitles,
152
you can practice listening while doing other activities.
153
Personally, I like to listen while working out, doing chores or commuting.
154
With this simple strategy, I've been able to listen to English for at least 30 minutes every day without much effort.
155
I don't need self-discipline to do this.
156
It's very easy to do.
157
So feel free to listen while doing your daily activities.
158
But don't do it while working or studying, alright?
159
The activities have to be something simple.
160
Something you can do easily without much concentration.
161
With this approach, you really don't have to spend your free time listening to English,
162
which means you can dedicate some of that time to your speaking practice.
163
Practice is essential to improving any skill.
164
If you want to speak English well, then you're going to have to practice.
165
You have to open your mouth and speak some English.
166
But what if you have no one to speak with?
167
What do you do then?
168
Some people solve this problem in a simple way.
169
They simply talk to themselves in English, and I used to do that.
170
When I was starting out, I would talk to myself about random topics.
171
So one day I might talk about my job, the next day I might talk about my hobbies, and so on.
172
But after a while, I stopped doing it because there are two problems with this approach.
173
The first problem is that when you're talking to yourself, you're not learning any new words or phrases, right?
174
You're just practicing words and phrases you already know.
175
You're not learning anything new.
176
The second problem is that if you make a lot of grammar and pronunciation mistakes when speaking, this practice will not correct those mistakes.
177
If you practice by talking to yourself alone, you will keep making the same mistakes.
178
So after practicing this way for a while, you might be able to speak more quickly,
179
but your English will be difficult to understand because you don't speak or sound like a native.
180
You have your own way of talking in English.
181
So, if talking to yourself doesn't work, how about talking with someone online?
182
Unfortunately, the same problems still apply.
183
If your speaking partner is an English learner just like you, they probably make a lot of mistakes when speaking.
184
So when you're talking to them, you are exposing yourself to broken English, you know, bad grammar and incomplete sentences.
185
Also, your partner probably has a small vocabulary just like you, so talking to them isn't going to help expand your vocabulary.
186
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you should never chat with other English learners, it's okay to do that from time to time.
187
But if your speaking needs a lot of improvement, then you should focus on something called input-driven practice.
188
What is it?
189
Well, input-driven practice is when you practice with some type of English material.
190
It could be a YouTube video, a podcast, a movie, or anything that contains native speech.
191
The idea is that by practicing with input, you're exposed to new vocabulary and proper grammar,
192
which will help you to speak and sound more native.
193
Input-driven practice usually involves imitating or copying a native speaker.
194
If you've ever heard of language learning methods like shadowing or imitation, those are all input-driven exercises.
195
Personally, I like the imitation technique the most, so let me explain how you can practice this technique.
196
To get started, find an audio or video of a native speaker talking.
197
Try to find material where the speaker doesn't speak too fast.
198
Once you have the material, you're going to listen to it to familiarize yourself with the speech.
199
You don't have to speak yet, just listen and make sure you understand everything.
200
Be sure to look up words and phrases you don't know.
201
Now if the speech is long, you don't have to listen to the whole thing, just listen to the first 3 to 5 minutes.
202
After you finish listening, you are ready to begin your practice.
203
Play the speech from the beginning.
204
This time, you're going to repeat after the speaker word for word.
205
So after a few words, pause the audio and repeat what you hear out loud.
206
You don't have to wait until the end of each sentence because that might be too difficult.
207
You can pause missed sentence and repeat 4, 5 or 6 words at a time.
208
When you imitate, try to copy not only the words but also the rhythm, pronunciation, and the emotion in the voice.
209
Copy everything so that you sound exactly like that person.
210
So that was one way to practice imitation.
211
But this technique is flexible.
212
As your speaking improves, you can make the practice more challenging to match your proficiency level.
213
For example, instead of repeating a few words at a time, you can try to memorize and repeat one sentence at a time.
214
If you come across a very long sentence and you can't remember the exact words, that's okay.
215
The human brain is not very good at remembering individual words or small details,
216
but it's good at remembering meaning or key information.
217
So if you forget the original sentence, try to express the meaning in your own words.
218
For example, if the original sentence was, walking alone in a dense forest at night is absolutely terrifying,
219
you might say something like, walking alone in a forest at night is very scary.
220
Or if that's still too difficult, you can just say, walking in a forest is scary.
221
The process of expressing something in your own words is really helpful.
222
It improves your ability to improvise and find the right words to express yourself.
223
As you can see, there's more than one way to practice imitation, so feel free to do it however you like.
224
The important thing is to always practice with input to ensure constant exposure to proper English.
225
So there you have it.
226
That's how you can increase your unconscious knowledge and become more fluent in English.
227
A lot of listening and a lot of speaking practice.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B21
Improve Your English Pronunciation Fast with This Practice
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B220
I found the reason you can't speak English well
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B12
How to Improve Your Vocabulary and Speak 10x Better
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B15
Describing People’s Appearance | ESL Vocabulary Exercises
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B12
How to Pronounce English Words Correctly
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B112
How to Understand English Movies Without Subtitles
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B16
How to Remember Vocabulary (Easily)
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B12
How to Improve English Writing Skills (Without Studying Grammar)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B214
The Easiest Way to Improve Your English Listening Skills
Daily Conversation
B230
How to Improve Your English Speaking Skills (by Yourself)
Daily Conversation
B12
The Best Way to Improve Your English Vocabulary
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B113
No Subtitles: The Fastest Way to Improve Your English Listening Skills
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B211
108 sentences
This LAZY Method Gets You Fluent English TOO Fast
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B22
389 sentences
How to Sound Instantly Confident in English
Business EnglishInterview EnglishDaily Conversation
B2213
63 sentences
How to Think in English, Stop Translating in Your Head
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B27
164 sentences
English Fluency: The 3 Types of Speaking Practice You Actually Need
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B23
161 sentences
You Won't Become Fluent in English Just Living in Another Country
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B2244 sentences
Train Your Mouth to Speak English FLUENTLY in 30 Days | Speak English Naturally & Confidently
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B25
143 sentences
Advanced English Speaking - 3 Things Native Speakers Do (That You Weren't Taught in School)
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
44 sentences
Speak English FLUENTLY in 30 Days: The Truth
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
298 sentences
How to say brilliant things when you speak
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B23
96 sentences
Think faster and speak 🗣️
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
171 sentences
How I became fluent in English WITHOUT living in another country
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “The Secret to Speaking Fluent English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: English, Thi, listen, practice, grammar. This video has 227 sentences and 2815 words to shadow. The speech runs for 20:25. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| unconscious adjective | /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəs/ | Not awake; having no awareness (usually as the result of a head injury). |
| conscious adjective | /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/ | Alert, awake; with one's mental faculties active. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| imitation noun | /ɪmɪˈteɪ̯ʃən/ | The act of imitating. |
| fluent adjective | /ˈfluənt/ | That flows; flowing, liquid. |
| confuse verb | /kənˈfjuːz/ | to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| subtitle noun | /ˈsʌbtaɪtəl/ | A heading below or after a title. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| consume verb | /kənˈsum/ | To use up. |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| complexity noun | /kəmˈplɛk.sɪ.ti/ | The state of being complex; intricacy; entanglement. |
| acquire verb | /əˈkwaɪɚ/ | To get. |
| chore noun | /t͡ʃoɹ/ | A task, especially a regularly needed task for the upkeep of a home or similar, such as cleaning or preparing meals. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. | |
| hear out verb | To listen to someone until that person has finished speaking; to thoroughly consider all aspects of someone's argument. | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
| start out verb | To emerge suddenly; to jump out. | |
| talk over verb | To discuss; to converse about a matter or issue. | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Do you think about syntax or sentence structure?
- Does it mean learning while you sleep?
- I mean, what if you're not looking to improve your listening?
- What movie should I watch?
- How much time should you spend listening each day?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you do that, speaking English will feel · If you do that, you will acquire · if you focus on listening, you will sometimes |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've listened · has worked · I've been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be done · cannot be taught · cannot be acquired |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | knowledge, which is · someone who studies · speaking, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 58 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: unconscious /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəs/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/, imitation /ɪmɪˈteɪ̯ʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: imitation /ɪmɪˈteɪ̯ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, complexity /kəmˈplɛk.sɪ.ti/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
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 grammar, unconscious, conscious.
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.