Shadowing Practice: What it’s really like to be a full-time travel blogger - Learn English Speaking with Video
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61 sentences
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Always in the world's most beautiful places, starting out on new adventures and getting paid for it.
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Hannah and Nick from the Netherlands have made their dream come true: They're travel bloggers. But is it really as great as everyone thinks?
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Hey, we're Hannah and Nick! And this is our job.
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And we could say that in every part of the world.
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We’ll spend a day with Hannah and Nick, see what they get up to on their travels, learn about the worst part of the job, and of course, find out how they make a living from it.
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We catch up with them on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
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Today, they plan to explore a certain lane in the small town of São Vicente.
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We just like the framing there, and we know that this is gonna work well for some social media posts. So, we want to have a shot there just to have it integrated in one of the reels that we might create.
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The two set out with a camera, a smartphone and a tripod.
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They usually research the location beforehand and have a good idea of where the sun will be.
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Their previous jobs have given them a trained eye: Hannah was a graphic designer, and Nick was a web developer.
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You might want a little bit more mountain.
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They also know the ins and outs of posing for the camera.
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They know how important photos are in keeping their fans engaged on their blog and social media accounts.
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Then Hannah and Nick move on to the next spot, one of Madeira's famous hiking trails.
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They’ll get into how exactly they make their money later.
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For now, we want to know how they got this job.
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It all started in 2016 with a GoPro camera they bought at auction for 11 euros.
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We had one photo in the Philippines that had this super-blue heart-shaped lagoon and GoPro commented on that photo.
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So we went from zero to 7,000 followers in one night.
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And that was the starting point where we were like, okay, maybe we should do something with this.
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Because a lot of people started asking questions underneath that post, like "how did you get here? Where did you stay?" They started a blog and began investing more and more time in it.
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In 2017, they quit their day jobs and became full-time travel bloggers.
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Now they have a blog featuring travel tips for around 60 countries and more than 400,000 followers on Instagram. What do you need to succeed at it?
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Dedication and love for travel.
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Right? I guess those two.
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Yeah, because there is not necessarily a skill, because nowadays you can also do everything with your phone.
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So you don't need the biggest camera or all the knowledge about how a camera works in that sense.
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Hannah and Nick usually have a drone with them, though.
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Today, they will use it to capture the island's beauty.
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Of course, they want to inspire others to travel, but how honest and unbiased can they really be?
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In our Instagram stories, that's where we really show the behind the scenes, our opinions.
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Writing in the guides. We're also honest about things there.
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Also, if something is really popular, but we don't think it's worth it, we would mention that as well.
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Hannah and Nick also did some advance research for their lunch and marked potential restaurants on Google Maps.
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They always prepare well. They have a method for choosing destinations, too.
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That's mostly a mix of what's becoming popular, because that's obviously good for the blog and for the Instagram, to have a bit of that "wow" effect that people don't know everything about it already.
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The afternoon is spent indoors.
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The two Dutch travelers edit the photos they took that morning, write Instagram posts, and do research for future trips. They also have a meeting scheduled with a staff member. Hannah and Nick now employ six people.
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This raises the question: how do they generate income?
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We make money mainly through the blog. When someone is scrolling through an article, there are affiliate links inside. And that means that if someone books an accommodation or a tour, we would earn a small percentage of that without them paying more.
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And then another big part is collaboration with companies or tourism boards on social media.
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What we mostly do is work together with a tourism board of a certain country or city.
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They work around 50 hours per week, in the evenings and on the weekends, too.
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They want to end their day at a lookout point. They have learned the hard way how important it is to switch off and take a break. After years of constant travel, Nick suffered from burnout in 2019 because he had taken on too much at once.
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What are the other down sides to their job?
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Sometimes it is difficult with having friends and family obviously.
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Everyone is a little bit everywhere and we try to be home every once in a while.
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But if something happens, just moments, you want or you need to be there.
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In the first few years, it was also a difficult thing between the two of us as a couple.
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That it was always talking about the business, and it was never really any private life left.
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But in the last few years, we managed also because we have a team now behind us.
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Time for a reality check: desk work and an unstable income but also traveling, exploring new places, and meeting people all over the world.
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Is this the perfect job?
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Well, I think a 10 out of 10.
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Let's say nine.
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Sometimes we would love to have a really fixed base where we can enjoy also a big part of the year.
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But we couldn't wish for a better job to have, because every job has its pros and cons, and I feel like our job has a lot more pros than it has cons.
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So, what do you think?
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Would being a travel blogger be your dream job?
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Let us know in the comments!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 61 sentences and 1021 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:09. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- blogger /ˈblɔ.ɡəɹ/ (noun) — A contributor to a blog (from weblog) or online journal.
- explore /ɪkˈsploɹ/ (verb) — To examine or investigate something systematically.
- con /kɑn/ (verb) — To trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain.
- tourism /ˈtʊɹɪzəm/ (noun) — The act of travelling or sightseeing, particularly away from one's home.
- follower /ˈfɒləʊə(ɹ)/ (noun) — One who follows, comes after another.
- earn /ɝn/ (verb) — To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work.
- necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ (adverb) — Inevitably; of necessity.
- percentage /pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/ (noun) — The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
- adventure /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ (noun) — A feeling of desire for new and exciting things.
- suffer /ˈsʌfɚ/ (verb) — To undergo hardship.
- trail /tɹeɪl/ (noun) — The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the…
- desk /dɛsk/ (noun) — 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…
- capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/ (verb) — To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem.
- designer /dɪˈzaɪnɚ/ (noun) — A person who designs something, or who designs things as a profession.
- skill /skɪl/ (noun) — A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- find out (verb) — To discover, as by asking or investigating.
- get into (verb) — To move into (an object), such that one ends up inside it.
- get up to (verb) — To do something, especially something that is forbidden or improper.
- switch off (verb) — To stop or disable a device by turning a switch or a lever.
- take on (verb) — To acquire, bring in, or introduce.
- talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
- work around (verb) — To bypass or circumvent (a problem or obstacle).
- work in (verb) — To find time or space for, amid other things.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 10 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, we're, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/, collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/, auction /ˈɔkʃən/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, developer /dɪˈvɛləpɚ/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like blogger, explore, con.
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.