Shadowing Practice: The Two Most Important Things for Learning English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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So this English lesson is going to be a little different than my normal English lessons.
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Instead of teaching you some words and phrases, I'm going to talk about the two most important things that you need in order to learn English.
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And those two things are exactly the same things you need to be really good at anything.
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You need motivation and you need time.
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So I'd like to talk about both of those in this English lesson.
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So motivation is when you are excited to do something.
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When you want to do something, you have a desire to do something.
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And when you're learning English, it's important to stay motivated.
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It's important that you are excited to learn English.
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So I want to give you two tips, two little things you can do to help you stay motivated.
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The first thing you can do, I think I would call this the picture on the wall or paper on the wall method.
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What I would do is this.
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If you are learning English because you're going to go on a trip to an English-speaking country, put a picture on the wall somewhere in your house
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of a city in that country so that whenever you walk by it, you're reminded that in the future, you're going to be speaking English.
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If you are going to take an English test in three months, print out the little confirmation of that English test and paste
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that on the wall somewhere so that every time you walk by it, you remember that you have that test coming up.
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So tip number one for staying motivated, put something in a highly visible place on a wall in your house or apartment.
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So when you walk by it, you look at it and think, oh, I'm going to be going to England, I better practice my English.
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Or, oh, I have that test in a few months, I better practice my English.
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So tip number one for staying motivated, put something on the wall that you see all the time.
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The second thing you can do to keep yourself motivated is something that I call making your future self happy.
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If you think about yourself in one year or in two years, you hopefully think that you will know a lot more English.
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And in order to make your future self happy, you have to do the work today or this week or this month.
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You have to make sure you keep studying so that someday your future self is really, really happy.
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I look at this like giving a gift to yourself, a gift from the past to you in the future.
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When I look at my YouTube channel, there are days when I don't feel like making a video.
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It's rare, but it happens.
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And that's what I often think of to stay motivated.
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I think I want to make sure my future self is happy in the future.
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I want the Bob a year from now to look back and be thankful that the Bob on this day, I think it's March 3rd, actually went outside and made a video.
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So that's the second thing you can do to stay motivated.
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Do it because you want to give the gift to your future self of knowing more English.
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Study today so that your future self is happy.
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So the second important thing for learning English is
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and I have a couple of things
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that I want to talk to you about when it comes to spending time learning English.
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The first thing I would suggest is this.
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You should probably be spending time twice a day learning English.
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You should probably spend some time in the early morning when your mind is fresh.
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When you first get up, your mind works really, really well.
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Well, maybe you have to have a cup of coffee first.
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But generally, we are at our best in the morning.
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If you've had a good night's sleep, if you study English in the morning, you will probably be able to learn more efficiently.
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But I would also recommend you study a little bit at the end of the day.
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The bonus
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or the good thing about the end of the day is you have had a number of experiences through the day,
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which you can write about in English or have a conversation about in English with a speaking partner.
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So that's the first thing I would recommend with time.
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You should study every day, at least six days a week,
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maybe take one day off and then try to split your studying into two different time slots.
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Study in the morning when you're fresh, maybe about 15 minutes to half an hour.
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Study at night when you have lots of experiences to write about
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or talk about and study for about another 15 to 45 minutes.
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So recommendation number one with time, study every day at least six days a week and split that study time in two.
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The second recommendation I have when talking about spending time learning English is to do two things at once.
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We are all really busy people and it's hard to find time to do things.
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It's hard to find time to study English.
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But there are times in your day where you're doing one thing and you could also be studying English.
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Here are a few examples.
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When you're cooking supper, you could be listening to an English podcast.
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When you're riding the train, you could be reading an English book.
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When you're going somewhere with a friend and you don't feel like talking, you could write in a journal.
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You could do some journaling.
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So think about the times in your day when you're doing one important thing,
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but you could also be listening to some English or maybe doing some English reading.
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I know some of my viewers re-listen to my English lessons from Friday.
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They re-listen to it while they're making supper, while they're cleaning the house, while they're riding on the bus, while they're driving in their car.
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So think about your week.
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Think about all the times where you're doing something where you could also be learning English
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and then learn some English in that time slot.
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Well, I'm not sure if you realized it, but I didn't feel like making an English lesson today,
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but I made one anyways because I want to make my future self happy.
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But more importantly, many of you love watching my videos
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and you'll just be sad if I don't put one out on a Tuesday.
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So a little bit of a shorter lesson today, actually more of just Bob giving you some advice and hopefully you can take it.
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So in order to stay motivated.
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Put something on the wall that when you see it, it reminds you to study English.
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Make your future self happy.
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Study today so that yourself down the road is super, super happy.
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And then split your day in two.
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Study a little bit in the morning and a little bit at night.
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And if you can, try to learn English while doing something else.
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Anyways, thanks for watching this short English lesson.
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I hope it helped you a little bit.
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If you're not a subscriber, you should click this red subscribe button over here, give me a thumbs up, and leave a comment.
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And I hope you have a great week learning English.
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Bye.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will focus on two essential components for mastering the English language: motivation and time management. Understanding how to maintain motivation is crucial, as it fosters a genuine desire to learn. Additionally, learning how to effectively allocate time can help you integrate English learning into your daily routine. This lesson offers practical tips that can be applicable to anyone looking to improve English pronunciation and enhance their overall language skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Motivation: The desire to do something; an inner drive.
- Time management: Organizing time effectively to accomplish tasks.
- Future self: The concept of envisioning your future and taking actions today to benefit yourself later.
- Visible reminders: Objects or images that inspire you to remember your goals.
- Daily practice: The routine of practicing something every day to improve skills.
- Experiences: Events or activities that can be discussed or written about in English.
Practice Tips
To maximize the effectiveness of your English speaking practice, consider utilizing a shadowing app. Shadowing—listening to a native speaker and trying to imitate their speech—can greatly enhance your fluency and pronunciation. Here are some specific techniques to apply from this lesson:
- Shadow regularly: Choose a video or audio resource and try to repeat after the speaker to improve English pronunciation. This technique works effectively when you listen to content that resonates with your motivation, such as topics related to your goals.
- Schedule sessions: Allocate time each day for shadowing. As suggested in the video, split your practice into two shorter sessions—morning and evening—when your focus is sharp and your mind is alert.
- Incorporate experiences: After your daily activities, reflect on your experiences and use them to create sentences or discussions in English. You might write in a journal or engage in conversations with a speaking partner to practice storytelling, which boosts your language proficiency.
- Visual motivation: Place motivational images or reminders in your study area. This continuous visual stimulation keeps your goals at the forefront of your mind and encourages you to consistently practice speaking.
Applying these techniques while practicing English not only helps you in the short term but also ensures that your future self will be grateful for the effort you invested in mastering the language.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should probably be · should probably spend · should study |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | keep studying · love watching |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're learning · are learning · you're doing |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | is going to be · I'm going to talk · you're going to go |
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.