Shadowing Practice: Travel Isn't About Travel Anymore - Learn English Speaking with Video
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So have you noticed that now it feels like everyone you follow on social media, everybody seems to go to Europe in summer.
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Now I personally don't think it's only because of the travel experience.
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I do think
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that the Euro summer has actually become quietly a better status symbol than let's say the Chanel flatback used to be.
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Now let me explain what I mean.
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So it's not a new phenomenon that Europe is like this it destination in summertime.
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Like that has been historically a thing for decades and decades.
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Like every elite person spends their summer in Europe.
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Now, however, it seems like the mainstream have also caught on that.
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Nothing wrong with that, by the way.
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But I personally find it very interesting because if you think about it, the reason why that has happened is primarily because of social media,
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because social media makes information now accessible to absolutely everybody, right?
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But if people were really only interested in the travel experience per se, wouldn't people be more diversified in their travel choices?
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Now it feels more like a lot of people kind of group around the same destinations and therefore destinations go viral.
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We see everybody kind of going to Saint-Tropez, Ibiza, the whole list.
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And so I'm asking myself, why?
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Because if we have now the internet being able to provide us with access to all these fabulous,
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obscure locations, why is everybody still going to the same places?
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All right, let me answer that one.
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We have hype, we have herd behavior, and we have status.
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With hype, I mean, because the more we get exposed to something, the more we start believing that we also need to partake in that.
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With herd behavior, I mean, when we see that a bunch of people are into something,
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we on autopilot start thinking that that is validation that something must be good.
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Therefore, we should seek that out too.
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Humans are kind of lazy to fact check.
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So that's why we just follow what everybody else is doing.
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But then we have status and I want to kind of dive a little bit deeper on that one.
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Because once something also carries status, now that something is not just going to give you an experience,
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it is actually going to say something about you.
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So what actually happens with a lot of these elite destinations is that they communicate something about you.
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You're not just an average Now, if you partake in that, you must have a certain lifestyle, right?
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Because places like Saint-Tropez, Capri, Mykonos, etc. They all carry their own branding.
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They all carry their own socially understood meaning.
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And now that meaning can be transferred onto you.
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Back in the days, only the very wealthy would afford travel.
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But as times have evolved now, everybody can travel.
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So now the status is no longer can you travel or not.
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Now it's more about where you travel, maybe even how you travel, but specifically which destinations you travel to.
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Because that is going to communicate a lot about you, a lot about your taste, a lot about your insights, your connections, your access.
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And all of those things communicates your status, your position in the pecking order.
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And I'm talking about these things because I think it's so important for us to just say it out loud.
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All of these things, they happen subconsciously and we typically are not supposed to say them out loud.
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But for me, I'm personally very passionate about understanding what on earth is driving us humans forward.
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Why are we doing certain decisions?
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And we do a lot of things on autopilot.
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And I am found guilty myself a lot in the past to that as well.
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Until I one day started thinking about, but why am I doing all of this?
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So if you think about it, traditionally speaking, we mostly validate ourselves through our possessions like the designer handbag,
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the fabulous car, maybe a piece of jewelry.
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But haven't you noticed how all of that is becoming more and more accessible?
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Like now you can actually see a lot of people wearing a designer handbag that maybe 20 years ago was fairly rare,
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but now you see every other person have it. And so
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because there is some form of human need to collect a
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little bit of data to put in our status DNA signaling through possessions might not feel like it's enough.
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Now something extra is needed.
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And what that extra oftentimes is, is signaling through your lifestyle.
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Because if you think about it, anyone can technically go and buy a designer handbag today, regardless if it's fake or not.
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But you can save up money, you can buy a handbag, and you can really justify that price by saying that, you know what, even if this is outside of my budget,
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I've saved up for it, I can always resell it later if I would need the money.
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So you can own that handbag.
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But it tells a bit of a different story
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when you are able to actually go on a trip to a place like Capri or south of France,
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where you're not just going to be able to spend a couple of thousands.
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Like this trip is going to cost you more and the logistics might be complicated and cost a fortune as well.
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Plus this is not something you can just resell.
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This is definitely not an investment piece.
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So what you are doing is that you're just blowing money that you will never see again.
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And so people who afford that or choose to take
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that financial decision are usually in a bit bit of a
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different place than those who save up the entire year to buy that one handbag.
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Travel therefore communicates something about your financial lifestyle, even if I know a lot of people still can take out credit card loans
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and save up for an entire year just to go on that one trip once a year.
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I am aware of that.
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But what I'm saying is that it typically tends to translate somehow a little bit differently.
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And so for that reason, travel is really becoming one of the biggest status symbols in our modern time.
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But it doesn't really stop there.
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Because what has also happened in the past, the only people we would really share our travel experiences to are the closest people around us.
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But social media has now created a fantastic platform for us to brag to an unlimited amount of people worldwide.
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Now we can get an intoxicating amount of validation from strangers when we start bragging about our fabulous trips wherever we go.
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And this is the problem and why I want to talk about it
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because we might not realize that we are doing it.
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We might think, okay, well, I'm just here uploading a little cute vacation photo.
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But actually, subconsciously, what your mind is seeking out is, okay, well, now people are seeing that I am in this destination.
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And what that tells about me, what I can afford, what kind of lifestyle I have, what kind of access I have,
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what information I seem to have insider knowledge of, what kind of connections I have, what kind of people I know,
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what groups of people I associate with.
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All of that is being communicated when you just upload that innocent little vacation photo from your trip to, let's say, Saint-Tropez.
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This is why where you travel,
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where you go, what you show has now become so much more important than if you travel.
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Now, I do think there is a deeper problem than what I've just explained because I have kept it kind of status-centric.
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It is a natural human instinct to want to improve your status, meaning that you don't want to be on the lowest tier of the pecking order.
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You do want to amp yourself up a little bit so that you can have better access.
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So let's say resources or respect or popularity or whatever it is that you are seeking.
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Some of it can of course be taken to an unhealthy extent, But you know, I do believe that if we keep it somehow contained and balanced,
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then it's a perfectly normal instinct to want to have.
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But there is another problem.
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And I think the problem is when your travel starts representing whether you are an accomplished person or not.
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And I started thinking about that when I stopped traveling.
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Because I used to travel a lot.
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I used I used to do a lot, all kinds of travel, everything from jet set type travel to backpacking to you name it.
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I really tried it all because in my twenties and early thirties, I have been obsessed with travel, but then I got fed up maybe because I overdid it.
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So I just abruptly stopped traveling and haven't been traveling for some time.
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And I really noticed how it actually started looking weird in my personal brand,
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in my personal brand, in my personal life, socially.
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Like people started asking me whether I was depressed, what was wrong with me, et cetera.
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It's almost like in Western countries, if you're not traveling, then something must be really wrong with you.
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Most likely you are broke or you are depressed.
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If you're also part of a certain level of society, then you also have to go to the right places.
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So then there is a combination of both.
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So I just really realized how travel has really become like this ultimate proof that you are doing well in life.
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And if you happen not to travel for whatever reason, then it's almost signaling as if you have failed or you're not living your life or you're falling behind.
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And I find it to be so ridiculous.
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Truly, truly ridiculous.
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Sometimes I wonder, I mean, we've left high school, But have we really?
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Thanks to social media, thanks to the status hierarchy culture that we have,
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that we don't talk about because it's so taboo to talk about this in our society.
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But we have to kind of wake up from it, you know?
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And I think it's really important to start asking ourselves a question.
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If nobody would ever know where I travel, would I still go to this destination that I'm picking.
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Because I'm suspecting that a lot of people, they're not just choosing the destination because they want to go there.
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I believe it's oftentimes a combination of they're probably curious of the destination,
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but they also want the social validation they will get from the announcement of
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that they're either at this destination or have been there.
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And I think this is incredibly important to be aware of.
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Because if you can honestly within you admit to yourself like, oh yeah, maybe I want to go to Capri because well,
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I feel FOMO if I don't go or I feel less of myself
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if I don't go because a lot of people I know have been there and I haven't.
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Or maybe you're like, well, I really want to post about it.
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I really want to show XYZ back home that I went.
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If that is the case, then I think it's good to just be aware of your true intentions for this trip.
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Don't you want to travel for the actual personal experience that travel gives you?
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And truly go to the places that excite you, excite you because of whatever your interests are,
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not because what other people think or the external validation you might get from the trip,
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What You'll Learn from This Video
This clip is a goldmine for english speaking practice, especially if you want to sound natural in casual discussions. You’ll build skills like explaining complex ideas clearly (great for IELTS speaking practice) and using conversational phrases to connect thoughts. Plus, you’ll learn to express personal reflections—perfect for sounding authentic in everyday chats or exams.
Listen For These Sounds
The speaker uses lots of connected speech that native listeners take for granted. Notice how "kind of" becomes "kinda" and "because" shortens to "’cause." She also links words smoothly, like "now it feels like" blending into "nowitfeelslike." These reductions and links are key to understanding fast, natural speech—so listen closely and mimic them!
Say It Like a Native: Rhythm and Stress
To master the speaker’s flow, focus on stress and pacing. She emphasizes key ideas like "status symbol," "herd behavior," and "subconsciously"—these words get extra weight. Pause slightly before big points (e.g., "But haven’t you noticed…") to build tension. Try the shadowing technique (repeat her words aloud immediately after she speaks) to train your mouth and brain to match her rhythm. This "shadow speech" practice works wonders for fluency, whether you’re prepping for IELTS or just want to sound more confident.
Why This Works for Your English
Everyday conversations aren’t just about words—they’re about how you say them. The video’s casual yet thoughtful tone mirrors real-life discussions, making it ideal for shadow speak practice. By mimicking the speaker, you’ll learn to:
- Use filler words naturally ("like," "right?") without overdoing it
- Shift tone to highlight curiosity or emphasis ("Why are we doing certain decisions?")
- Connect ideas smoothly with phrases like "Now let me explain" or "So if you think about it"
Whether you’re practicing alone or with a partner, this clip is a fun way to level up your speaking. Remember: the goal isn’t to copy—it’s to adapt these patterns into your own voice. Keep at it, and you’ll notice a difference in your confidence and clarity!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be · used to travel · used to do |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have you noticed · has actually become · has been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be transferred · is needed · being communicated |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who afford · those who save |
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.