Shadowing Practice: Tự học từ vựng IELTS Speaking qua bài phát biểu của Emma Watson | ELSA Speak - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Women are choosing not to identify as feminist.
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Women are choosing not to identify as feminist.
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Apparently, I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong,
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too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men, unattractive even.
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Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?
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I am from Britain, and I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts.
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I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body.
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I think...
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I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies
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and the decisions that will affect my life.
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I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men.
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But sadly, I can say
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that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.
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No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality.
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These rights I consider to be human rights,
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but I am one of the lucky ones.
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My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn't love me less because I was born a daughter.
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My school did not limit me because I was a girl.
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My mentors didn't assume that I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day.
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These influences were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today.
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They may not know it,
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but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world today.
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We need more of those.
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And if you still hate the word,
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it is not the word that is important.
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It's the idea and the ambition behind it.
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because not all women have received the same rights that I have.
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In fact, statistically, very few have been.
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In 1997, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women's rights.
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Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today.
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But what stood out for me the most was that less than 30% of the audience were male.
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How can we affect change in the world
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when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?
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Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation.
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Gender equality is your issue too.
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Because to date, I've seen my father's role as a parent being valued less by society,
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despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mother's.
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I've seen young men suffering from mental illness,
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unable to ask for help,
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for fear it would make them less of a man.
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Or less of a man.
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In fact, in the UK,
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suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20 to 49,
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eclipsing road accidents, cancer, and coronary heart disease.
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I've seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success.
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Men don't have the benefits of equality either.
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We don't often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes,
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but I can see that they are and that when they are free things will change for women as a natural consequence.
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If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted,
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women won't feel compelled to be submissive.
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If men don't have to control,
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women won't have to be controlled.
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Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive,
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both men and women should feel free to be strong.
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It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.
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If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by who we are,
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are, we can all be freer.
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And this is what he or she is about.
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It's about freedom.
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I want men to take up this mantle so that their daughters,
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sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice,
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but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too.
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We claim those parts themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.
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You might be thinking, who is this Harry Potter girl and what is she doing speaking at the UN?
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And it's a really good question.
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I've been asking myself the same thing.
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All I know is that I care about this problem and I want to make it better.
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And having seen what I've seen and given the chance,
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I feel it is my responsibility to say something.
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Statesman Edmund Burke said, all
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that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.
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In my nervousness for this speech,
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and in my moments of doubt,
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I've told myself firmly, if not me, who?
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If not now, when?
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If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you,
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I hope that those words will be helpful.
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Because the reality is that if we do nothing,
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it will take 75 years,
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or for me to be nearly 100,
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before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work.
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15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children.
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And at current rates, it won't be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education.
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If you believe in equality,
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you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier.
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And for this, I applaud you.
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We are struggling for a uniting word,
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but the good news is that we have a uniting movement.
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It is called He for She.
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I am inviting you to step forward,
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to be seen and to ask yourself if not me, who?
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If not now, when?
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Thank you very, very much.
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About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will engage with a powerful speech delivered by Emma Watson, focusing on the topic of gender equality. This exercise will not only enhance your understanding of contemporary issues but also provide you with ample opportunities to practice your IELTS speaking skills. You will incorporate the shadowing technique, allowing you to mimic Watson's delivery, intonation, and pronunciation. This immersive approach aims to improve your English pronunciation and boost your confidence in speaking.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Gender equality: The state of equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for all genders.
  • Feminism: The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.
  • Human rights: Basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person.
  • Influences: Factors that have an effect on the development or behavior of someone or something.
  • Gender stereotypes: Oversimplified and widely held beliefs about the characteristics and roles appropriate to men and women.
  • Empowerment: The process of becoming stronger and more confident in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.
  • Ambassadors: People who promote and advocate for a particular cause or idea.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning from this session, incorporate the shadow speech technique into your practice. Listen closely to the cadence and emotion in Emma Watson's voice. As you practice, try to reproduce her articulation and pacing. This exercise will guide you in producing sounds more fluently, which is essential for IELTS speaking practice. Pay attention to the nuances in her pronunciation, especially in emotionally charged passages, to grasp how tone influences meaning.

Start slowly, shadowing specific segments of the speech. As you grow more comfortable, increase your speed to match Watson's natural pace. This will not only help refine your English pronunciation but also elevate your ability to speak confidently in various contexts. Record yourself performing the shadow speak exercise and listen to your playback to identify areas for improvement.

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.

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