Shadowing Practice: “Trust yourself” - Selena Gomez speaks at WE Day California 2013 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hi guys, how are you?
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So good to see you guys.
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Are you guys having a good night?
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I have to say that it's such an honor to be here.
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I'm so happy to be here.
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I'm like a nerd and brought my own speech, but I hope it's okay
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that I take this opportunity to really just spend with you guys and tell you a little bit about my story.
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I'm not an activist.
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I haven't changed the world or led a campaign.
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I'm here to just tell you my path so that you hopefully can take something away from it.
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Because I don't like being honest with, this is the truth.
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I don't like being honest with press and interviews.
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I like being honest with you directly, which is each and every one of you.
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Cuz I feel like I can and I'm just gonna start with the basics.
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So I'm 21 and my mom had me when she was 16.
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And I'm from Grand Prairie, Texas, and she worked four jobs and completely dedicated her life into making mine better.
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So to me, she is the definition of a strong woman.
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And I love her so much because she's taught me those values so much.
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Thank you.
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I have been acting my entire life, and I have known since I was first on Barney, you know, that purple dinosaur that I hung out with?
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He's great.
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You guys are so motivating.
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I feel like I can say anything.
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When I was 11, the point being is when I was 7, I wanted to be an actress.
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And I wanted to live my dream.
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And when I was 11, I had a casting director tell me that I wasn't strong enough to carry my own show.
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And I'm sure all of you have been told that you don't have what it takes, and that you may not be good enough, and you don't have enough people supporting you,
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and you're being told all of these things, when deep down it's all you want to do.
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You wanna be a part of something great.
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You wanna make something great.
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And it does more than knock the wind out of you, it crushes you.
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When people try to tell you that you're not good enough.
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And it almost did for me, but there was my mom next to me stronger than ever.
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And she said the most important thing is to always trust in myself.
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If I have, if I'm doing something because I love it, I should do it because I love it and I believe I can do it.
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So she told me to keep going.
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Thank you.
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She told me and she taught me to turn the other cheek
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and let the critics be critics and let us just trust ourselves.
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So for me...
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Thank you.
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Two years later, I got my own show.
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And the first thought wasn't, Oh man, that girl when I was 11 said I wouldn't carry my own show.
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And I did.
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I mean, I thought about that for a little bit.
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But I thought about what my mom said.
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My mom was like, you have to trust yourself.
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And I realized if I didn't believe that I could do it, I wouldn't be able to be here.
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And I have, I'm going to say, I live a very blessed life.
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I have so much to be thankful for.
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and a lot of you are a big part of inspiring me because I don't think you get it, and maybe you're not told enough, but you inspire me to be better,
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and we should inspire each other to be better.
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I'm surrounded by people who are supposed to guide me, and some of them have, and others haven't.
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They pressure me.
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There's so much pressure.
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You gotta be sexy, you gotta be cute, you gotta be nice, you gotta be all these things.
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And I'm sure you can all relate.
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You all have pressure that you have to deal with every day.
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I'm sure with school, with work, with friends, with parents, with family, with parents, I know, sometimes with mine.
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They tell me what to wear, how to look, what I should say, how I should be.
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Until recently, I had given in to that pressure.
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I lost sight of who I was.
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I listened to opinions of people, and I tried to change who I am, because I thought that others would accept me for it.
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And I realized I don't know how to be anything but myself.
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And all I really want you to know is that you are changing the world.
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I'm not changing the world.
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You're changing the world.
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And that's amazing.
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Please, please just be kind to each other and love and inspire people.
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Because let's do it.
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Let's do it.
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Let's change the game.
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Let's change the game.
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The most important thing is that we learn and we continue to learn from each other.
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Please stay true to yourself.
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Please just remain who you are and know that we have each other's back.
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All of us have each other's back.
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I'd be lying if I said that I've never tried to make myself better by giving in because I have.
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But I've learned from my actions and for all the things I've done.
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I'm proudest of that.
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I've learned from my mistakes.
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I want you to know what it's like that.
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I know what it's like Figuring out what types of friends you have you are who you surround yourself with
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So I just want to say I hope I can inspire each
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and every one of you to just trust yourselves and to love and to be loved
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And thank you for allowing me to come up and ramble and talk to you guys, because this is such a beautiful thing you're doing.
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Be proud of yourselves.
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This is great.
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Thank you so much for the opportunity for me to come out here and share my story with you guys.
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Thank you.

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Speaking Goals for This Clip

This video is perfect for practicing conversational fluency and emotional expression. Selena Gomez speaks naturally, using pauses, emphasis, and relatable storytelling—skills that help you sound more human in English. It’s ideal for shadowing practice, as it balances casual tone with structured speech, making it easy to mimic rhythm and intonation. Whether you’re working on connecting with an audience or just speaking with confidence, this clip trains you to communicate authentically.

Phrase Bank

  • "It's such an honor to be here" – A polite, heartfelt way to open a speech or meeting.
  • "knock the wind out of you" – An idiom for feeling shocked or discouraged (e.g., "Rejection can really knock the wind out of you").
  • "turn the other cheek" – To ignore criticism or mistreatment (e.g., "Instead of arguing, I chose to turn the other cheek").
  • "I live a very blessed life" – A humble way to express gratitude for good fortune.
  • "take something away from it" – To gain value or a lesson from an experience (e.g., "I hope you take something away from this talk").

Fix Your Weak Spots

This video is a goldmine for improving pronunciation and rhythm. Selena uses clear, mid-paced speech with subtle stress on key words (e.g., "trust yourself," "stronger than ever"). Practice shadowing her to master these stress patterns—they make your speech more engaging. Pay attention to how she shortens words in casual moments (e.g., "I'm like a nerd" instead of "I am like a nerd") to sound less formal. For those struggling with intonation, mimic her rise and fall when sharing emotions (e.g., sadness when talking about criticism, warmth when mentioning her mom). Use a shadowing site to replay sections, matching her pace and tone until it feels natural. Over time, this will help you speak with the confidence Selena embodies—proving that trust in yourself, and consistent shadow speak practice, can transform your English.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhaven't changed · have known · have been told
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does ithave been told · being told · be loved
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good ideashould do · should inspire · should say
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a groupthe most important

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →