Shadowing Practice: WHEN IT HURTS - Powerful Motivational Speech - Learn English Speaking with Video
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45 sentences
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1
I want to encourage somebody out there who's thinking about quitting and giving up.
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Somebody who has been praying for years for things to turn around.
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You're thinking about quitting, you're thinking about giving up.
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You are folding, you are caving in.
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This is for you.
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You're in this storm and you're down on your knees
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and you're cold and you're weak and you feel like this is the end.
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You have a choice to either give up or keep going.
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Give up or get up.
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Don't give up.
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Don't give up.
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Stay in it.
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Stay focused.
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When you fail, try again and again and again.
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You just take one step at a time.
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It's hard, but it's worth fighting.
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It's worth believing.
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It's worth mustering yourself up, standing up inside yourself.
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It's worth fighting relentlessly, never giving up.
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I love the sun, but things don't grow because of the sun.
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You have to have some rain and you've got to stop looking at rain in your life as something bad
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My greatest moments didn't come from my greatest moments
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My greatest moments came from my greatest defeats
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Because it was doing my defeat that I had to find a way to get back up
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You thought for one minute that you broke me you got me twisted I am not phenomenally skilled but phenomenally willed.
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I will not give up.
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I will not surrender.
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I will not quit.
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Don't stop.
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Don't stop.
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Don't stop running towards your dream.
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Stay encouraged.
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Stay encouraged.
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Keep your head up.
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Stick your chest out.
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Continue to walk with pride.
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And know if it was easy, everybody would do it.
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It's not going to be easy, but we have what it takes.
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Their rough times are going to come, but they have not come to stay.
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They have come to pass.
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Don't say I'm having a bad day.
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Say I'm having a character -building day.
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Don't look at night at darkness.
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Look at night as a new beginning.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “WHEN IT HURTS - Powerful Motivational Speech”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: greatest, worth, moments, giving, thinking. This video has 45 sentences and 336 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:51. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| pray verb | /pɹeɪ/ | To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc. |
| knee noun | /ni/ | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| darkness noun | /ˈdɑɹk.nɪs/ | The state of being dark; lack of light; the absolute or comparative absence of light. |
| twist verb | /twɪst/ | To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. |
| cave noun | /keɪv/ | A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside. |
| surrender verb | /səˈɹɛndə(ɹ)/ | To give up into the power, control, or possession of another. |
| fold verb | /ˈfəʊld/ | To bend (any thin material, such as paper) over so that it comes in contact with itself. |
| phenomenally adverb | In a manner that is extraordinary or amazing. | |
| muster noun | /ˈmʌstɚ/ | An assemblage or display; a gathering, collection of people or things. |
| relentlessly adverb | /ɹɪˈlɛntləsli/ | In a manner unrelenting or unyielding in severity; unrelentingly. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. |
| head up verb | To lead or take the lead in; to direct; to take charge of. |
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. |
| turn around verb | To physically rotate (usually around a vertical axis) for a half turn (180 degrees), a whole turn (360 degrees), or an indefinite amount. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You're thinking about quitting, you're thinking about giving up.
- Don't stop running towards your dream.
- Don't say I'm having a bad day.
- Say I'm having a character -building day.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'm. 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.
- 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 encourage, skill, pray.
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.