Shadowing Practice: Viola Davis Acting Advice - Learn English Speaking with Video
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63 sentences
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My journey as an actor came from me just wanting to do something, wanting to get out, wanting to be great at something,
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wanted to do the great works of Arthur Miller and Shakespeare and Chekhov and all of that.
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So I went to acting school and I just wanted everyone else to think that I was great.
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So whatever they told me to do, I did and I perfected.
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How do I perfect
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it? how do I get standard American speech how do I
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use my voice how do I do this ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
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and then when I got out of school I just needed to work
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because you haven't done anything
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if you haven't done anything let me tell you something most people will say just go out there
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and do it and ba ba ba ba that's true absolutely true 100 %
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but more than likely is gonna be hard I I create a backstory, but I have to say,
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I used to be way more strict about it.
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I would have 100, 150 pages.
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I mean, I would write a book.
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Now, I don't do that because I find that there is something to be said with leaving yourself alone and being surprised.
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That some things that you may have absolutely thought was true about your character, you get on that stage.
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And all of a sudden, the other actor will throw you something you're like oh no that's not actually what it is
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so i i try to do
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that less you're looking at a profession where literally with acting
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less than one percent of the people make 50 grand a year
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or more less than one percent the rest most of them
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don't even can't even make enough to make health insurance
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which is eleven thousand dollars a year but what happens
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when you love it and you keep doing it and doing it
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and god intervenes and comes down and all of a sudden you take off
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that's when your has got to kick in okay that's
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when you have to be the artist that you and the person
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that that you that you've always wanted to be that's
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when you have to find a voice that separates you from the rest.
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You know that's a big thing in acting is you cannot do that when you create a character.
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You can't judge the character.
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That's the number one thing you cannot do when you create.
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So you can't judge a character and you can't create a character to be likable.
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It's about being private and public.
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So I mean think about all the things you do in your life privately.
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All the things that you have done that nobody knows about.
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If someone were to play you in your life with all those private moments imagine
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if they filtered all of it out oh
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because they wanted it to be pretty and likeable it's very very very important
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that we tell the truth as much as possible in our art
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because I think it makes people feel less alone listen
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I'm Arthur Miller the great playwright said he became a writer
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because he wanted people to feel less alone acting is about exposing
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it's about taking the mask off i feel like i understand human behavior before
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i never really um critiqued it in the past i just thought
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you got to show up the show must go on you
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got to do everything the director says blah blah blah blah you know um
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so if anyone went against that i was like oh wow they're difficult
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but now i because i'm i have more experience um it's like someone said today
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when you um uh when you critique the behavior
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but not the motivating factor behind the behavior and now
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that i'm older i understand human behavior more
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so i'm like i wonder where that's coming from right there's a reason for
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that i don't judge as much at all i just don't
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if you would have said that right then
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and there we could have had a real connection
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but what happened was she keeps kept the mask on that's what we do is people Facebook is big with
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that everyone's a great mother everyone's a great wife I see posts with people I'm like I know
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that your child is in social services right now I know you're a drug addict
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or I know you're agoraphobic or I know you have all kinds of things going on
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but according to your posts you're Martha Stewart you know our refusal to expose to vomit
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that mess that's what we do for you
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Viola Davis Acting Advice”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: character, blah, behavior, acting, create. This video has 63 sentences and 782 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:34. The speaker talks at a natural 171 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| mask noun | /mæsk/ | A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. |
| expose verb | /ɪkˈspoʊz/ | To reveal; to uncover; to make visible; to bring to light. |
| filter noun | /ˈfɪltɚ/ | A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from… |
| strict adjective | /stɹɪkt/ | Strained; drawn close; tight. |
| profession noun | /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/ | A promise or vow made on entering a religious order. |
| eleven noun | /əˈlɛv.ən/ | A cricket team of eleven players. Hence first eleven - the team of best cricket players (at a school), second eleven - the "B" team, etc. |
| privately adverb | /ˈpɹaɪvɪtli/ | In a private manner. |
| critic noun | /ˈkɹɪt.ɪk/ | A person who appraises the works of others. |
| critique noun | /kɹɪˈtiːk/ | The art of criticism. |
| refusal noun | /ɹɪˈfjuːzl̩/ | The act of refusing. |
| addict noun | /ˈæd.ɪkt/ | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug. |
| intervene verb | /ˌɪntəˈviːn/ | To become involved in a situation, so as to alter or prevent an action. |
| motivate verb | /ˈmoʊ.tɪ.veɪt/ | To provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate. |
| vomit verb | /ˈvɑmɪt/ | To regurgitate or eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; puke. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. |
| take off verb | To remove. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 sudden, mask, expose.
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.