Shadowing Practice: This is THE BEST way to Learn English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Most English learners never become fluent in English not because they're lazy
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and not because they're bad at English and even not because English is difficult.
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In fact, The reason is much more surprising than that.
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A few years ago, I discovered something that completely changed.
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the way I think about language learning.
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At first I thought it couldn't possibly be true.
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Because if it was true,
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it would mean that millions of people are learning English in one of the least effective ways imaginable.
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So I started digging deeper and what I found shocked me.
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But before I show you what I discovered, let me ask you a question.
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Why is it that some people spend years studying English, yet freeze the moment a real conversation begins.
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while others seem to become fluent much faster even though they study less.
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The answer has almost nothing to do with talent and everything to do with one mistake.
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A mistake? that nearly every English learner makes including me.
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And once you see it, you won't be able to unsee it.
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So What's the mistake?
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To answer that, let me show you something interesting.
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Imagine two English learners.
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The first learner spends one hour every day memorizing vocabulary.
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studying grammar doing exercises and taking notes.
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The second learner spends that same hour watching English videos,
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listening to stories, and consuming content that they mostly understand six months later Who do you think speaks better English?
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Most people would say the first learner.
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After all, they're studying harder.
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They're working harder and they're taking English seriously.
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But in many cases, the exact opposite happens.
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And that's where things get interesting.
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because The human brain.
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doesn't learn language the way most people think it does.
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Let me give you an example.
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If I show you this and I say Apple you will understand instantly.
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No translation needed.
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Now imagine: I take a bite, say I'm eating an apple.
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Again, You understand and then I take the apple from the bench so There is nothing here.
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And I say, there isn't an apple.
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Still.
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You understand.
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What's fascinating is that nobody explained grammar to you.
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Nobody gave you a vocabulary list, nobody translated anything and yet your brain understood the message.
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And that's the key word.
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message.
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because your brain is not designed to learn language.
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It's designed to understand messages.
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And that might be a small difference.
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But it's actually the difference between people who become Fluent?
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And people who stay stuck for years In fact, there is one statistic that completely changed my perspective on language learning.
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When I first heard it, I thought it couldn't be true.
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Ready?
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To speak and understand 95 % of every day spoken English.
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you need to know roughly 2000 of the most common words and structures in English.
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Think about that for a second not 50 ,000 not 20 ,000 Only 2000 of the most common words and structures.
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and that means idioms, phrasal verbs and also collocations in English.
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So if fluency is not about learning.
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endless vocabulary lists.
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THEN.
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What is it about?
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And this is where most learners make their biggest mistake.
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They focus on collecting words instead of understanding messages.
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And honestly, when I realized it, everything started making sense.
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The learners who improved the fastest weren't the ones who were the smartest or the ones who were talented.
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And definitely not the ones who spent all day studying.
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They were doing something else.
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something that most learners don't do nearly enough.
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They were getting massive amounts of understandable English every single day.
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And that brings us to the method that completely changed the game for me.
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And that is called comprehensible input.
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When you understand messages repeatedly, your brain starts noticing patterns.
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You start recognizing grammar naturally,
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You start recognizing vocabulary naturally and you start recognizing pronunciation naturally.
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Without trying to memorize every rule, without trying to translate, and without constantly stopping to study.
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In other words, You start Acquiring English instead of learning English.
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And that changes everything.
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And at this point, some people might be thinking: "Okay, that sounds nice, but Where's the proof? fair question.
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Because if comprehensible input is so effective, then why aren't language schools teaching English in this way?
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Well, here is something interesting.
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One of the most influential researchers in language acquisition Professor Stefan Krushen spent decades on studying how people learn a language.
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And his conclusion was surprisingly simple.
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We acquire a language.
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when we understand messages.
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not when we try to study grammar rules, not when we fill out grammar worksheets,
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and not when we try to memorize words in English, just when we understand messages.
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Think about that.
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Every fluent speaker you've ever met spent thousands of hours reading and listening to English content before they start speaking.
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not spending thousands of hours on learning grammar.
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Thousands of hours? understanding messages.
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So what should you do if you forget everything from this video.
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try to remember these three steps.
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Step one: spend around 20 to 30 minutes on consuming English that is understandable.
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Not English that is too easy and not English that makes you look up every word.
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Just English that you mostly understand.
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You could use stories, podcasts, videos, movies, or simply you can watch my videos on YouTube.
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In other words, anything that keeps you engaged because consistency is more important than intensity.
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Step two, Focus on understanding messages, not on every single word.
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A lot of members when watching videos, listening to podcasts and so on,
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they pause after each word to translate and try to memorize that word.
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Don't do that.
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Allow your brain to follow the story.
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The words that matter will repeat again and again.
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and you will understand them.
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And gradually, they'll become a part of your vocabulary.
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And step three: use English.
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Not perfectly, but regularly.
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try to shadow sentences, talk to yourself, watch English comprehensible videos on YouTube,
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or you can simply watch English TV shows.
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Remember, You don't become fluent in English by waiting until you're ready.
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you become fluent in English, by starting to use whatever you've acquired.
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And if you do these three steps, consistently.
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Month after month your English will improve not tomorrow night, Not next week, but It will improve.
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Now, if you are serious about learning English and becoming fluent, I have a very special offer for you.
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you can use this discount code on every course on my website.
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you can get 20 % off.
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and I will give you a free trial lesson too.
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This discount code is valid until June 20th.
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And honestly, I don't know when we will have an offer like this again, because I don't think There is going to be one.
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So, If you are serious, click on the link above.
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Use the discount code two by a course you will find all the details about the free trial lesson and the courses.
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in the description too.
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end.
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If this video changed the way you think about learning English and becoming fluent, make sure you subscribe to my channel
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because I have plenty of comprehensible input vlogs which help you learn English and acquire English.
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like how native speakers learn.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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Keep learning.
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Keep listening.
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Keep understanding.
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See you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “This is THE BEST way to Learn English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: English, word, learner, learning, message. This video has 126 sentences and 1214 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:31. The speaker talks at a steady 115 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| learner noun | /ˈlɜɹnəɹ/ | One who is learning; one receiving instruction. |
| fluent adjective | /ˈfluənt/ | That flows; flowing, liquid. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| 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. |
| comprehensible adjective | /kɒmpɹəˈhɛnsɪbəl/ | Able to be comprehended. |
| memorize verb | /ˈmɛm.əˌɹaɪ̯z/ | To fully learn so as to have entirely available to the memory; to learn by heart, commit to memory. |
| translate verb | /tɹænzˈleɪt/ | To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another. |
| acquire verb | /əˈkwaɪɚ/ | To get. |
| understandable adjective | Capable of being understood; comprehensible. | |
| consume verb | /kənˈsum/ | To use up. |
| 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… |
| collocation noun | /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | The grouping or juxtaposition of things, especially words or sounds. |
| fascinate verb | /ˈfæsɪneɪt/ | To evoke an intense interest or attraction in someone. |
| fluency noun | /ˈfluːənsi/ | The quality of smoothness of flow. |
| imaginable adjective | /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəbəl/ | Able to be imagined; conceivable. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| fill out verb | /fɪl ˈaʊt/ | To complete a form or questionnaire with requested information. |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who become · people who stay · ones who were |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've ever met · you've acquired |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is not designed · is called |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started digging · started making · starts noticing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 22 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, they're, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/, acquisition /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, comprehensible /kɒmpɹəˈhɛnsɪbəl/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, imaginable /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəbəl/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
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 learner, fluent, grammar.
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.