Shadowing Practice: Unit 1: Try something new for 30 days | TEDtalk Subtitles| Haleymama - Learn English Speaking with Video
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38 sentences
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A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher
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Morgan Spurlock and try something new for 30 days.
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The idea is actually pretty simple.
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Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days.
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It turns out 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit
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or subtract a habit like watching the news from your life.
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There's a few things that I learned while doing these 30 -day challenges.
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The first was instead of the months flying by forgotten, the time was much more memorable.
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This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture every day for a month,
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and I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day.
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I also noticed that
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And as I started to do more and harder 30 -day challenges, my self -confidence grew.
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I went from desk -dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work for fun.
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Even last year, I ended up hiking up
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Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
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I would never have been that adventurous before I started my 30 -day challenges.
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I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough, you can do anything for 30 days.
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Have you ever wanted to write a novel?
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Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50 ,000 word novel from scratch in 30 days.
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It turns out all you have to do is write 1 ,667 words a day for a month. So I did.
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By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day.
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You might be sleep -deprived, but you'll finish your novel.
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Now, is my book the next great American novel?
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No!
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I wrote it in a month!
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It's awful!
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But, for the rest of my life, if I meet John Hodgman at a TED party, I don't have to say, I'm a computer scientist.
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No, no. If I want to, I can say, I'm a novelist.
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So here's one last thing I'd like to mention.
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I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick.
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There's nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges.
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In fact, they're a ton of fun, but they're less likely to stick.
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When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.
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So here's my question to you.
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What are you waiting for?
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I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not.
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So why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days.
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Thanks.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Unit 1: Try something new for 30 days”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: challenge, novel, month, write, word. This video has 38 sentences and 466 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:01. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| habit noun | /ˈhæb.ɪt/ | An action performed on a regular basis. |
| mount verb | /maʊnt/ | To get upon; to ascend; to climb. |
| awful adjective | /ˈɔːfʊl/ | Very bad. |
| badly adverb | /ˈbæd.li/ | In a bad manner. |
| guarantee noun | /ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/ | Anything that assures a certain outcome. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| morgan noun | /ˈmɔɹɡən/ | A unit for expressing the relative distance between genes on a chromosome. |
| scientist noun | /ˈsaɪəntəst/ | One whose activities make use of the scientific method to answer questions regarding the measurable universe. A scientist may be involved in original research… |
| sustainable adjective | /səˈsteɪnəbəl/ | Able to be sustained. |
| scratch verb | /skɹæt͡ʃ/ | To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc. |
| memorable adjective | /ˈmɛm.(ə)ɹə.bl̩/ | Worthy to be remembered; very important or remarkable. |
| hike noun | /haɪk/ | A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise. |
| philosopher noun | /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/ | A lover of wisdom. |
| novelist noun | /ˈnɑvəlɪst/ | An author of novels. |
| dwell verb | /dwɛl/ | To live; to reside. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, they're, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: sustainable /səˈsteɪnəbəl/, philosopher /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/, adventurous /ædˈvɛn.t͡ʃɚ.əs/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like habit, mount, awful.
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.