Shadowing Practice: Why English is SO Hard to Learn! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Though, thought, through, tough.

Why do these words all sound so different when they look really similar?

Well, if you ask yourself this question while learning English, you're going to drive yourself crazy.

Because English spelling and pronunciation do not always match.

In fact, if you come across a new word in English, you cannot rely on the spelling to know how to pronounce this word.

Because English is not a phonetic language.

And that means just that.

We cannot know the phonetics just by how a word is spelled.

And this is just one of the reasons why English is such a hard language to learn.

Now, you might think compared to other languages, English is pretty easy.

We see English all over the world.

It has become the international language.

It's used globally, also for non-native speakers to communicate with one another.

So you may see English everywhere.

You understand that English is an important language to learn.

Otherwise, you wouldn't have clicked on this video.

But why is it so difficult?

It's not just that you are bad at learning languages.

English is in fact a really hard language to learn.

And although I'm a native speaker, so English was obviously not difficult for me to learn, but I do live in a different country.

I live in Germany.

I speak a different language in my day to day life.

So I understand the particular struggles that come with learning a second language.

So you're not bad at it.

English is hard.

Let's go over.

why in this video, and maybe this can help you understand some of the problems you're encountering

or overcome some of those hurdles in your English learning journey.

English made easy with Claire.

Okay, so I already covered that pronunciation and spelling do not always match in English.

Like, Why does tough rhyme with enough but not cough?

So something can be spelled with the exact same ending, the exact same letters, and it just is not pronounced the same at all.

And there's no reason why.

If you ask me why is this word cough and why is this word tough, there's no answer.

There's no reason that's just the way it is.

English is also really difficult because there are so many exceptions.

So you might learn a grammar rule like a verb in the past tense ends with ed,

but there are multiple verbs whose simple past tense form don't end in ed at all.

In fact, it made the word may change completely.

Like the past tense of go is went or the past tense of see is saw.

So they obviously don't follow the ed rule ending.

So there are lots of exceptions.

Same with plural words.

Normally you add an s to the end of a word or es.

If there are more than one of that noun.

That's the general rule.

But of course, there are always exceptions like one child,

two children, one person, two people, one sheep, two sheep.

Now, another reason why English is so difficult is that just one word can have so many different meanings.

Let's take the verb run.

Okay, so if you learn run in a textbook, run means to move really fast.

So not walk, but run, right?

If you had to define the verb run or use it in a sentence, you would take this meaning.

I run a mile every day.

But then what about the sentence, my nose is running?

My nose is running?

This use of the verb run means that your nose is, well, flowing, right?

Maybe you have a cold or you ate something spicy and you have mucus coming out of your nose.

Then we could say my nose is running.

Similarly, you could say the water is running.

Hey, you left the faucet on the water's running.

It means the water is coming out of the faucet.

But then you also have the use of this verb to be to run a meeting, run a business, run a program.

And that just means to operate those things.

So that's a completely different meaning.

You can say I'm running late.

That means I will be late or I am late.

Or if you run out of something, it means you no longer have it.

You could say, I ran out of milk this morning, so I don't have any more milk.

So you couldn't just translate those sentences by taking each individual word and translating the verb run to mean run.

You have to look at the wider context of the sentence,

of the situation, to understand which meaning of the verb run is being used.

And this goes for multiple words in the English language.

Which also brings me to my next reason why English is so hard to learn, and that is phrasal verbs.

If you've been studying English for a while, you have definitely come across phrasal verbs.

And if you aren't familiar, phrasal verbs are a verb paired with a preposition or a particle.

And it gives this phrase when they're used together, it gives it a specific meaning.

So I mentioned run out of something, that's a phrasal verb to run out of.

So the verb run doesn't mean what it means on its own, but when it is paired with out

and of it takes on a different meaning

and there are countless phrasal verbs in the english language i

couldn't possibly go over all of them in one video

but just to give you an example the verb get on its own another one like run

that has so many different meanings based on context.

It also has a ton of phrasal verbs.

To get up is to wake up.

To get over is to recover.

Get along is to have a good relationship.

We have get back, get away, get through.

You get the idea.

So if you're learning English, you may see a verb that you know, but it's paired with one little preposition and it's changed the meaning completely.

So that makes it so difficult to learn.

Now you've learned English from a textbook or an app.

You have the vocabulary.

You think you know the grammar.

And then you listen to native speakers.

Maybe you watch a movie or a TV show.

Or maybe you're talking to them in real life.

And you don't feel like you can understand anything.

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And that's because native speakers don't pronounce words individually as you may have been taught.

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So you may see this sentence and read it as, what are you going to do?

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This is not wrong, but it's not how native speakers speak.

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A native speaker would say, what are you going to do?

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What are you going to do?

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What are you going to do with it, Dani?

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What are you going to do with it?

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15 minutes.

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And that's a lot of different sounds than what you were taught or what you see here.

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Where did the T go at the end of what?

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Where did the ING go at the end of going?

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why is it not pronounced to?

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And that's because you don't learn connected speech and you don't learn the unstressed pronunciation of little words like you and to.

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And there's also something within the linguistic world when talking about speech called assimilations.

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And that's when two sounds that appear next to each other form a completely different sound.

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So you may pronounce this sentence, did you eat yet?

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Did you eat yet?

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Which again, is not wrong, but as a native speaker, I would never say this sentence like that.

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I might say, do you eat yet?

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Do you eat yet?

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Or did you eat yet?

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Did you eat yet?

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Did you eat yet?

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Did you eat yet, honey?

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And you can hear that did and you together have created a completely new sound. Did you? Did you?

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So we hear a jj sound in there.

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But you don't see the letter J, right, that often has that sound in English.

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Well, when you have the d sound next to a y sound, we have a case of this assimilation and it creates a new sound, jj.

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Did you eat yet?

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And you'll notice that I drop the T's at the ends of the words like eat and yet.

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I don't aspirate those T's.

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T, T, not like that, but the sound is stopped.

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That's another concept we have within connected speech in English, this glottal stop.

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So you can study the language, you can read it, you can learn the grammar as much as you want and learn the proper pronunciation of words.

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and then native speakers will speak with connected speech,

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creating all kinds of new sounds when the words are put together next to certain words.

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And suddenly you cannot understand English.

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And that can be really discouraging.

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So I hope that so far in this video,

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you are starting to feel validated for struggling to understand native speakers or struggle to take your English to the next level.

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because it is so hard.

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Now, I wouldn't want to explain to you why English is so hard and not offer you some kind of solution here.

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And if this is your first time kind of hearing about connected speech and glottal stops and assimilation,

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then check out my shadowing practice playlist right here on my YouTube.

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You can get those videos for free.

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And I explain in more detail how this can improve your pronunciation and improve your understanding of the language.

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But I also run an online English community on the school app called Next Level English.

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And I do live shadowing practices over in my community every single week.

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So I know a lot of you have been asking if I can make shadowing practice videos every week consistently.

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And I am definitely trying to create more consistent videos for you here on YouTube.

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But if you do join my community, you will get a shadowing practice every single week.

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And you can join live as a premium member.

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You can also join our live group calls where you can practice speaking out loud with other learners and with me,

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a native speaker, or with one of our other native speaker teachers.

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And so you can start to make a habit of practicing speaking with a little bit of practice every single day,

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you will see an improvement.

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Okay, moving on to my next reason why English is so hard to learn.

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And that is that English has so many different ways to say the same thing

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or something that's very similar or with just a little bit of nuance.

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Let's take the example, I'm tired.

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You could say I'm tired in English, but maybe if you're really tired, you could say I'm exhausted or I'm worn out.

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I'm beat.

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I'm drained.

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I'm wiped out.

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I'm white.

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Okay.

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There are so many different ways to express in English that you're tired or exactly how tired you are.

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As I mentioned, my second language is German, and I've had a couple times where I've wanted to say something,

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but I wanted it to have a slightly different meaning or just a little bit of nuance.

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And I came to find there's really only one German word for the situation that I wanted to describe.

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There was only one option for me.

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But in English, there seemed to be so many.

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And this can be so tricky for non-native speakers, because if somebody says to you, God, I am starving.

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You may have only ever used or learned the word hungry to describe that you're hungry,

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but we have different words to choose from that have slightly different meanings

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that enhance or make the word a little bit stronger in English.

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Similarly, English can also be a little bit tricky because sometimes we use different language for different situations.

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So maybe we might use more casual language when talking with a friend

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or our family and we may use slightly more polite

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or formal language when talking to our boss or an acquaintance

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so for example if you are at work

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and you are speaking with a client or a customer

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or just someone that you work with

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that you aren't super friendly with you might want to be a little bit more formal in

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that situation and let's say you need to apologize for something you might say I apologize for the inconvenience.

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But if you were with your friends you wouldn't speak like this you wouldn't say I apologize

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but you might just say I'm sorry or I'm really sorry about

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that even more casual something like my bad to express that you're sorry.

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All right guys so English is difficult not

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because you're bad at learning languages it's It's difficult

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because learning the vocabulary and the grammar is really only one small part of mastering this language.

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You also have to learn that correct pronunciation,

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connected speech, phrasal verbs, different meanings of the same word

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when they're in different contexts or they belong to a certain expression and how people use the language,

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how people communicate in real life.

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But don't be discouraged.

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You don't have to learn everything at once.

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You don't need to be perfect before you can start using English.

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You just need to be consistent in your learning and keep practicing, stay focused.

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Like I said, over in my community, I offer daily practice opportunities.

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So even if you take 10 to 15 minutes a day to practice your English, whether that is through my community or watching a YouTube video,

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doing a shadowing practice, speaking with a friend over a coffee,

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just make sure that you're being consistent and that it becomes a habit in your life.

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And then these things like connected speech and pronunciation and the nuance and which words to use in which context,

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those things will start to come more naturally to you.

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It will get easier.

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You will start to understand the TV shows without subtitles.

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You'll be able to have a conversation with friends without translating in your head or second guessing yourself.

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So I hope this video is helpful.

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I want to wish you guys the best of luck with your English learning journey.

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I'm very happy to be a part of that.

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And thank you so much for watching and supporting my channel.

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Be sure to give this video a like and subscribe if you want to see more.

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And if you do want to support the work I do just a little bit more, check out memberships on my channel.

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You can learn more by clicking that join button below.

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All right.

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I'll see you next time.

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Bye for now.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 217 sentences and 2485 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:45. The speaker talks at a steady 148 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

verb /vɝb/ (noun) — A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.
pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
connect /kəˈnɛkt/ (verb) — To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ (noun) — A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
pronounce /pɹəˈnaʊns/ (verb) — To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously.
grammar /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ (noun) — A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
tense /tɛns/ (noun) — The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
consistent /kənˈsɪs.tənt/ (adjective) — Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
exception /əkˈsɛpʃən/ (noun) — The act of excepting or excluding; exclusion; restriction by taking out something which would otherwise be included, as in a class, statement, rule.
apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ (verb) — To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends
spelling /ˈspɛl.ɪŋ/ (noun) — The act, practice, ability, or subject of forming words with letters, or of reading the letters of words; orthography.
translate /tɹænzˈleɪt/ (verb) — To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.
formal /ˈfɔɹməl/ (adjective) — In accordance with established forms.
hungry /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ (adjective) — Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
spell /spɛl/ (noun) — Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

check out (verb) — To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come across (verb) — To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
do with (verb) — Only used in to do with
go at (verb) — To try to solve a problem a specific way; to undertake a task.
go over (verb) — To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze.
live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
come with (verb) — To join and come along.
end in (verb) — To have at the ending; to have as its termination.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 54 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, exception /əkˈsɛpʃən/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, sheep /ˈʃiːp/
Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, similarly /ˈsɪm.ə.lə.li/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/

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 verb, pronunciation, connect.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	you've been studying · have been asking
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is spelled · can be spelled · is paired
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has become · have definitely come · you've learned

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Why English is SO Hard to Learn! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?