Shadowing Practice: Understand English but can't speak it? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Learning English isn't just learning words.
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You learn words to express yourself, to share your personality, your humour and your opinions.
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And that's why many English learners feel frustrated when they learnt English for so many years at school,
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Yet, when it comes to a real conversation, You can't speak.
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So, If you can understand English, but you struggle to speak it, we are going to fix that today.
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Before I give you the full answer, let me show you a very simple example.
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I love tennis.
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I'm a big fan of tennis.
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And at the moment, I've been watching a tennis tournament called Queens, which is in London.
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- The President and the President, I could watch tennis every day.
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But here's a question for you.
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Does watching tennis every day automatically make me a good tennis player.
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I wish!
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Exactly.
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Learning English actually requires two different skills.
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We have understanding English and producing English.
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Input. and outputs.
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Right now you are practicing input.
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You are listening to me speaking.
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you are understanding What I'm saying, and you are immersing yourself in the language.
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But speaking English is different.
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when you speak.
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You have to create the language yourself. So...
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understanding English doesn't automatically mean you can speak English well.
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just like me watching tennis, doesn't automatically mean I can play tennis well.
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We learn by doing.
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Before we talk about speaking, we need to understand the importance of input. for immersion.
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What is immersion?
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Immersion means surrounding yourself in English through videos, through podcasts, books and articles.
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Immersion is how I learned language as a baby.
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It's how you learned language as a baby.
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We listened and we absorbed before We spoke. So?
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Let's use our environment right now to immerse ourselves in English.
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up here.
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These are lanterns.
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and they are casting Shadows.
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on the floor.
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This is a shadow.
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The lantern is blocking the sun's lights, which creates a shadow on the floor.
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just like the shadow that follows you. when you walk.
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Thank you. to my right. is hedge.
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And behind the hedge, is a white wall.
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Above that is a blue window frame.
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and above me is a security camera or a CCTV camera.
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I wonder what it's watching.
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These are sunbeds.
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or sun loungers.
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on the Sun lounges We have two other words.
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that have sun in them.
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This is Sun cream.
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Or in America, they say, Sunscreen. And these at sunglasses.
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The verb we use for sunglasses is to - On set.
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Ah, ah, ah, there we go.
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to put on.
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I just put on my sunglasses.
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Not very well.
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And we use the same verb for sun cream.
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You put on sun cream.
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This sun cream is in a spray bottle.
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Thanks.
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Thanks.
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I'm spraying the sun cream.
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I can put it on.
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or apply it.
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Now, Let's chill out.
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on the Sun Lounge.
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Ah.
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I am chilling out.
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A very common verb in English is to Chill.
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Right now, I'm chilling.
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by the pool.
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And This environment that I'm in is called a villa.
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which is like a large holiday home.
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It's a beautiful, very private.
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area.
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So, I was just showing you the world around me and teaching you English.
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This is input.
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And if you don't have enough input when you try to speak, you'll have nothing to say.
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So after learning these new words, you need to create output for them.
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This is actively producing English yourself.
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It can be speaking out loud, expressing your opinions, Answering questions.
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or describing things.
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You probably know the word pool.
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If I point to the pool and say swimming pool, You can understand it immediately.
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But if I suddenly ask you, Describe what you can see in this video THE LAST WEEK,
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THE LAST WEEK If you can't-- which is absolutely fine, then that's why you're here.
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because knowing a word and using it are two very different things. So...
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Here's a simple exercise I would do every day.
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After watching an English video, take a few new words that you learned and use them actively in sentences.
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For example, let's take the words "swimming pool".
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A very simple sentence could be: "The swimming pool looks inviting." The water is gently moving.
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And next to the pool, There are small pebbles.
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Oh.
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I took a dip in the swimming pool this morning. And...
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It was lovely.
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And here's an important tip: if you connect the words to your own life, you will remember them better.
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On Sprout, we recently released a feature which helps you do this.
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I've finished the video, now I'm going to click "Learn Vocabulary".
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And this is the vocabulary from the video I've just watched.
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I can click Define.
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to get the definition of the word.
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I can tap.
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On the flashcard.
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to translate it into my native language or your native language, whichever language you speak.
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You can click an example, to see an example of that word.
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And finally, this is where it gets extremely useful to use the word actively.
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in a sentence to help it stick in your memory. So...
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I'm going to use the word spontaneously in a sentence.
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When I speak spontaneously, I never know what I'm going to say, But that's the fun and the joy of learning English.
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Correct.
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Next one.
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Let's go for the word.
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blade.
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I define a blade.
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I can click an example.
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And finally, I'm going to use the word.
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The chef sharpens his blade before service to ensure that the vegetables are perfectly sliced.
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Nice.
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So what should you do if you can understand English but you can't speak it confidently?
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The first thing you should do is to schedule a time to speak every day.
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There are many speaking exercises you can do.
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As long as they are active and you're producing the language yourself, then they are effective.
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Now, the type of practice depends on your goal.
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If you want to improve your pronunciation,
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your accent, your rhythm, your connected speech, Then shadowing is perfect for you.
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I recently released a shadowing series that you can watch on YouTube.
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where I show you a close -up shot of my mouth
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to help you copy the mouth movements and the sounds exactly If you want to take that one step further, you can record your mouth shape,
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and compare mine with yours.
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This gives you direct and clear feedback.
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If your goal is to stop freezing.
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when somebody asks you a question, then you need spontaneous speaking practice.
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And you can do this in many ways.
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You can-- speak about what you're going to do today or what you did, earlier today.
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You can talk about random topics, or you can practice sentence -building exercises, like we practiced earlier on Sprouts.
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I've already made a lot of videos on speaking exercises that you can do and I will link them in the description.
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But eventually, practicing alone isn't enough.
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you need to bring those skills into a real conversation.
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And that's one reason why many English learners enjoy speaking with J .I.
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You can practice speaking without pressure and prepare yourself for real life conversations.
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It's the closest thing to having a real conversation whenever you want.
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Link in the description.
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So, if I were learning English from zero today, My framework would be very simple.
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Watch.
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Learn.
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Speak.
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Continue immersing yourself in English.
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Continue watching continue reading, Continue listening.
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Learn words through context.
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and then use those words in simple sentences.
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And finally, speak freely.
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The more opportunities you create for speaking English, The more natural speaking English feels for you.
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So when you learn English, don't just focus on learning as many words as possible, focus on learning English to express yourself.
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because that's what most English learners are looking for.
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We're not looking for perfect English.
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We're looking to speak freely and fearlessly.
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every day.
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Thank you for watching.
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And I'll see you.
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in the next video.
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Peace.
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About This Lesson
This lesson focuses on bridging the gap between understanding English and speaking it fluently. You will learn how immersion plays a crucial role in language acquisition, mimicking the natural learning process we all experienced as children. By engaging with the material presented, you'll discover new strategies to enhance your conversational skills and express yourself confidently in English. We’ll also emphasize the importance of input versus output in language learning, equipping you with actionable techniques to practice speaking more effectively.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Immersion: Surrounding yourself with the language through various mediums like videos and podcasts.
- Input: The understanding and absorbing of language, typically done through listening.
- Output: The ability to create and express language, which comes from speaking.
- Shadow: A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
- Tournament: A series of contests between a number of competitors.
- Lantern: A portable light source, often used to illuminate surroundings.
- Sun loungers: Chairs for relaxing in the sun.
Practice Tips
To improve your English pronunciation and speaking skills, employing shadowing techniques can be immensely beneficial. Use a shadowing app to practice mimicking the speech you hear in this video. Here are some tips to effectively shadow at the pace and tone used:
- Start Slow: Begin by listening to a short segment of the video, then pause and repeat what you heard. Focus on matching the pronunciation and intonation.
- Short Segments: Break the transcript into manageable chunks. This helps in processing and reproducing the sounds without becoming overwhelmed.
- Record Yourself: Use your device to record your shadowing sessions. Listening back will help you identify areas for improvement in your pronunciation.
- Engage with Visuals: Pay attention to the surroundings and context given in the video (like lanterns and shadows) to enhance your comprehension and keep your conversation relatable.
- Daily Practice: Dedicate time each day to shadowing different parts of the video. Consistent practice will lead to gradual improvement.
Whether you are learning English through YouTube or using a dedicated shadowing site, remember that regular exposure and practice are key to overcoming your speaking barriers. With perseverance and these techniques, you'll be expressing your personality and opinions in English with confidence in no time!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've finished · I've just watched · I've already made |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | stop freezing · enjoy speaking · practice speaking |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was just showing · were learning |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should you do · should do |
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.