Shadowing Practice: The strange science of your ever-changing identity - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Knowing that our perception is an illusion, our sense of self is illusion, All of it is an illusion in the sense that it's a construct of our brain.
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Our brain is creating this for us.
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And given that, That's an opportunity because we can have some control over how our brain perceives the world.
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And that's where the power lies.
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Thank you.
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you Our perceptions are basically formed from a combination of what we expect,
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so that's coming internally from our past experiences, and then what's coming into our brain externally.
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And when those two things meet, it creates this perception which is what we actually experience.
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Your inner voice is your ability to silently use language to reflect on your life provides us with a survival advantage.
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It's an incredible problem -solving device.
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I realize that we have this ability to change our trajectory and change our thoughts.
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and we can explore band the box that we're in.
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We can expand our perception of who we are in the world.
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Our minds are shaped by our prior experience.
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So as these neurons start forming connections, and as you go through life and have experiences, it's a pruning process.
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So it's actually strengthening the important connections
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and allowing the other unimportant connections to kind of wither away and then you start to develop a more defined structure.
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There's this constant interplay between things that our brain processes unconsciously that informs our behavior.
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So what you're conscious of at any moment can affect what you perceive.
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and what you remember as well so
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if you're in a negative headspace you're gonna start receiving more negative things in your environment If you're in a positive headspace, you're going to perceive more positive things,
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even though the environment may be exactly the same.
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So being mindful is your brain controlling what you're attending to.
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and also controlling what you're taking in.
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and how you're reacting to the world.
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the more you can understand, and also knowing that you live within a certain kind of perceptual box
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can create potentially the impetus for you to develop
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or try to work on developing more empathy for others who are living inside their own perception boxes.
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We're all a work in progress until our very last breath and there's always room for change Nothing is set in stone.
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- Oh.
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Many of us turn our attention inward to come up with some narrative
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that explains our experiences in ways that give shape to our understanding of who we are.
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our identity.
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Our inner voice is part of what we call our verbal working memory system.
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Our inner voice also lets us simulate and plan control ourselves.
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And then finally, the inner voice helps us storify our lives.
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Chatter refers to the dark side of the inner voice.
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When we turn our attention inward to make sense of our problems, We don't end up finding solutions.
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We end up ruminating, worrying, catastrophizing.
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we get stuck in a negative cycle that takes this remarkable tool that we possess, this inner voice, and it turns it into a curse rather than a blessing.
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The good news is there is a science -based toolkit that you can use to regain control of your inner voice.
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Rituals are one way to do that by engaging in the same sequence of behaviors every time the same way.
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That's giving you a sense of order and control that can feel really good when you're mired in chatter.
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The real challenge is to figure out What are the unique combinations of tools that work best for you
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given the unique kinds of chatter that you're experiencing.
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So the stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves have been shaped by our environment, our upbringing, We have something called observational knowledge,
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and that means that we learn about how the world is by observing those around us in our formative years.
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But observational knowledge has A flip side.
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Sometimes we observe our peers or parents being highly critical of themselves, and so we learn to do that as well.
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or perhaps your parents will exacerbate a particular narrative.
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And then that boxes us into this kind of fixed mindset in our adult life, where we don't want to step outside the realms of what's been defined for us.
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So as humans, we do have a negativity bias
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So we perceive negative information more greatly than positive
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and the negativity bias can really highlight those things that we say to ourselves, those negative stories.
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If left unchecked, It will basically form a template to how you see the world.
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So you will carry that into every aspect of your life.
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and your brain will perceive that as normal.
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Whilst our thoughts are extremely powerful, we can use that to our advantage to really pull out the positive narratives that we want for ourselves.
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by pulling out the small winds It will start to shine a light on a different outcome, not the one that you have usually perpetuated,
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and it's not until you bring conscious attention to it
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that you can start to make a change because the brain is just doing what it knows best.
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It's going to optimize energy for other things, and just repeat what has been ingrained.
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So when we break those automatic patterns, we take control of that steering wheel and we start to say, "Hey, This is how things have usually been,
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this is the box that I put myself in, that parents put me in, but I want to change that.
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And we start to essentially rewire and reshape our perception box and how we see ourselves and how we think.
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other people interpret us as well.
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you .
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Who Will Benefit from This Video?
This video is ideal for intermediate to advanced English learners looking to deepen their understanding of self-talk and identity while practicing complex vocabulary and nuanced expression. It fits goals like improving conversational fluency, expanding emotional vocabulary, and mastering abstract concepts—perfect for those using a shadowing app to refine pronunciation and natural speech patterns.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
- Work in progress: Something still being developed (e.g., "We’re all a work in progress").
- Set in stone: Unchangeable (e.g., "Nothing is set in stone").
- Mired in: Stuck in a difficult situation (e.g., "Mired in chatter").
- Catastrophising: Imagining the worst outcome (e.g., "Catastrophising about small issues").
- Negativity bias: The tendency to focus on negative information (e.g., "Our brains have a negativity bias").
How to Get the Accent Right
The speaker uses a clear, conversational tone with natural pauses—key for shadow speak practice. Focus on stressing words like "construct," "perception," and "ruminating" to emphasize their importance. Notice how "inner voice" is spoken with a slight rise on "inner" to highlight its significance. For phrases like "work in progress" or "set in stone," keep the rhythm steady to maintain fluency. Use a shadowing app to mimic the speaker’s pace, especially during longer sentences about "verbal working memory" or "observational knowledge." Pay attention to reducing "chatter"—practice saying it with a soft "t" to sound natural. Remember, shadowing helps train your brain to process and replicate these patterns, making complex ideas flow smoothly in your own speech.
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 | have been shaped · what's been defined · have usually perpetuated |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are shaped · is set · have been shaped |
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.