Shadowing Practice: What is being a Masters Student ACTUALLY like? | Masters degrees - Learn English Speaking with Video
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hey guys welcome back to my channel today we're going to be going over what a masters is actually like
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and my experience of it so far
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if you haven't already please like the video
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and subscribe to my channel i'm going to be posting
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so much more uni content especially revolving masters
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so make sure you follow to get more up-to-date videos and yeah and also comment if you have any video suggestions
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because I love to hear your feedback.
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So I'm going to start off with the course
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and what the master's course actually sort of entails and what the step up is kind of like from undergrad.
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Little disclaimer that obviously this is based off my own personal experience
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and obviously this might be different for different universities and different undergrads going to different postgrad degrees.
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So in general I found the step up quite considerable.
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I think it's probably I'd compare it to the step up
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from first to second year I think that's a pretty big step to be honest I thought
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that was a big step in my undergrad
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and I'd describe this as very similar
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because it's just sort of like a different way of working it's a different level of expectation
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that I don't necessarily think we're always prepped for
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but it is definitely a big step up I found
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that the course is more academic they use more complex theories
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which obviously is expected and however like some of these things
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that we're doing is like very very complicated
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and um I do find like I have to spend quite
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a bit more time than I did in my undergrad to understand things it's obviously more academically based
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and I think they're almost like trying to prep us to maybe do a PhD
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so we do have like quite a lot of intense things about like how to do dissertation
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and um how to like conduct market research
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which I think is helpful however I really am not doing the whole dissertation route side things
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so I'm actually managing to cop out of it by doing a study abroad for three months instead
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which I'm really really excited to do
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because I get to go to the screen here but yeah
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if you're doing a dissertation this is actually quite helpful just I don't feel like I massively need it
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and I do find it a little bit boring but it's okay.
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In terms of the workload now let me tell you it feels like there is
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so much more work
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and I don't think as I say it's like kind of
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more complex um the material like sort of harder to understand
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and as I said I do spend a bit more time
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like trying to get to grips with like what is actually sort of happening
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but there's also like so much more work set
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and I'm trying to work out whether that's because it's a masters
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or whether it's because my uni is doing hybrid learning
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so I'm just going to run through a structure of sort
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of like for one module what I would be expected to do
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so we have this thing called on demand
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which is sort of like prep material for the theme of the week
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and normally we'd have two to three videos on this each
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half an hour we'd have to go through those write our notes from them
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and then we've got two activities
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that we need to do after this often involves like academic reading
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or reading certain articles or case studies or things like that and then answering some questions on them.
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After this I would then go to a lecture.
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This lecture is normally in person which is really really great.
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It often is between one to two hours.
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Again different sort of material so it's not the same slides but it's along the same sort of theme for the week.
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Again this is really helpful but
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if I miss a lecture then it's kind of a pain to catch up
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because they don't always puts the lecture slides up
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which is slightly annoying then we'll end up having a seminar
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online this is normally on zoom i do find like the zoom seminars just a bit weird
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because i feel like people just don't engage as much
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and it's not as great to be perfectly honest i definitely prefer in-person things
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and i think this is very much shown through the fact
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that when i go to my tutorials there is
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so much more engagement people are so much more with it
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and everyone's actually trying to contribute
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so yeah as i say i don't love the online stuff i don't think it's the most helpful
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because I don't feel as engaged
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but the tutorials as they say are very very helpful you get one-to-ones with your lecturer
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and they can like really help you understand like certain things very very helpful for answering certain questions
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so I do find that very very helpful.
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In terms of the assignments I would say they're very similar
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to my undergrad I think a lot of like the reports
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and things that i have to do i did business as my undergrad
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and i'm doing digital marketing as my postgrad
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so i feel like the assignments are very similar they're kind
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of report based there's group works there's individual work um
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and i would say that it's structured in almost a very similar very similar way
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but there is just a lot more of them i think I've got seven assignments due in January
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or something it's just gonna be ridiculous I'm literally just gonna be working all throughout Christmas
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which is a bit of a bummer
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because I have no exams I think I'm gonna end up
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having two weeks off after um including my reading week
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and then semester two will start
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so what is being a master's student actually like um I've actually found it really nice
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because I've made a lot of new friends I did actually
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even though I did my undergrad here at Surrey I went on to my master's course
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and I didn't know anyone because for some reason nobody went
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and did a master's for some reason nobody's decided to go on to the course
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that I'm doing and so I had to make new friends
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and that was really nice because I've got a lot of new friends from different universities
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which was really really nice they've all come from very different places
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and we've all just come to one in Surrey
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and I really really love that everyone's so friendly I find
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that there's a lot of potentially older people on the course
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there's a lot of people who are maybe sponsored by their company to come
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which is very interesting I think
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that the level of engagement is definitely a lot higher I
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think the level of intelligence is a lot higher there's a lot of people willing to contribute
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and engage with the lecture which I actually found so helpful
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and so refreshing because my undergrad I feel like people just sort of sat there
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and slept so it's really nice to actually feel like people are really interested in the subject
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and it makes you more interested in the subject
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and want to get involved I'd say my course is very international as well which is really amazing.
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You get people from like all over the globe.
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It's so cool.
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I was in group works with people from like China.
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There's a lot of, there's a high percentage of people from India.
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I've got a really lovely friend from Cyprus.
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So there's just a whole range of different people that you meet
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and I love meeting people from different countries and different cultures
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so I think that that's again a really exciting experience on the side of the Masters.
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I'd say the only downside to doing the Masters is the fact that I am just going out so much less, I have so much less time to be social and go out,
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I try to limit myself so that I only go out on Wednesday night
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which is the sports night because obviously I'm a sporty person so I prefer to do that.
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Wednesdays are also the main night at Surrey so it's really nice to go out and see like everyone that I know, have a bit of a break from work and then just immediately get back to it.
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My problem that I think I've found with being a master student is I am growing older
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and my tolerance is just not what it was used to be
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so I find on a Thursday I'm just completely wiped out, I am hungover, I am dead for the entire day.
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Luckily all my lectures are online that day but it does mean
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that I feel like I'm just really unproductive on a Thursday.
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So I really, really try to cut down on my drinking and not drink too much, not get so hammered every single time.
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And then, yeah, as I say, try and limit myself to once or twice a week
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because otherwise if I went out as much as I did in the first year, I would never, ever get any work done.
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I'd be so behind.
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Anyway, guys, that's just sort of a quick little overview of how I'm finding my masters at at the moment.
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It is busy, it is quite stressful, you do need to be organised.
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I really do enjoy it, I think it's great but it is a lot more work than I was expecting.
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I think it's going to be a really good thing to have done though, I think it's a very employable thing at the moment especially with there being very limited grad jobs
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and a lot of undergrads so I'm very excited to have a postgrad degree as well
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which will be a really great thing on my CV.
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If you have any more questions about doing the Masters then do leave them down below, I will try and get back to you on those and If you have also any video recommendations or suggestions,
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then also let me know those.
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Those are great.
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Like and subscribe and I'll see you next time.
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Bye!
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What to Expect from a Master's Degree: Insights from a Current Student
The video offers a personal look at the realities of pursuing a master's degree, comparing it to undergraduate studies and detailing the academic and workload differences. The speaker shares candid experiences, from complex theories to hybrid learning structures, making it a relatable resource for anyone considering postgraduate education.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "cop out of": To avoid a responsibility (e.g., "I'm cop out of the dissertation by studying abroad").
- "get to grips with": To understand something fully (e.g., "I spend time getting to grips with the material").
- "step up": An increase in difficulty (e.g., "The step up from undergrad is considerable").
- "prep material": Content to prepare for a task (e.g., "On-demand prep material for the week's theme").
- "intense things about": Detailed, focused content (e.g., "Intense things about conducting research").
Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide for This Video
The video's conversational tone and academic vocabulary make it ideal for practicing the shadowing technique. Here's how to use it:
- Listen and repeat short segments: Pause after 5-10 second clips (e.g., "I found the step up quite considerable") and mimic the speaker's rhythm and intonation. This builds fluency in natural speech patterns.
- Focus on connected speech: Notice how phrases like "sort of like" or "I think that's" flow together. Shadowing speech in this way helps you sound more native.
- Break down complex terms: When the speaker uses words like "dissertation" or "hybrid learning," repeat them slowly to master pronunciation. Use the video as a shadowing site to practice academic vocabulary in context.
- Emulate the speaker's tone: The video balances candor and explanation—copying this tone helps with conversational clarity. Shadowspeaks exercises like this improve your ability to convey nuance.
- Practice daily for 10 minutes: Consistency is key. Use this video to learn English with videos, as its real-life content makes shadowing effective for both speaking and listening skills.
By following these steps, you'll not only improve your English but also gain insights into master's life—making the practice both educational and practical.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is based · is expected · would be expected |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've actually found · I've made · I've found |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person which is · people who are · well which is |
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.