Shadowing Practice: Why softness beats stress | Giulia Enders - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This whole aspect of the lungs and how they're built
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and how they have a whole architecture of receiving and really dealing with what comes their way,
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this is a part I think of achievement we sometimes do not notice or do not have in our mind.
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What I think of now sometimes, what I didn't understand back then was an advice my grandma often gave me.
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She said when I was being very eager, going like to get something, you know, but tense maybe she would say a dolce dolce mousie, which was like soft, soft.
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And back then I always thought it's like this relax, you know, and when you're kind of like tensed up, that's not a great advice to get, because you usually don't relax then.
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But when I read about the lungs, I realized I think she meant something entirely different.
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It was that, you know, life can be hard, challenges can be tough.
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And if we just tense up and reaction towards that, energy doesn't suffice.
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We really need sometimes to use softness to go all the way all the way
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and now when I have a very stressful day earlier I would have clenched up
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and put my muscles into like attack mode
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and my jaw would maybe get a bit tense too
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but nowadays in between like meetings or something I would go really soft
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and just really relax and then I realize oh this is a way
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that really makes my energy work for me
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and this is how I can go through a long hectic day way better than just tensing up
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so softness is actually a really important counterpart in, you know, going the extra mile, getting the things you want, softening up in between.

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "Why softness beats stress | Giulia Enders" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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 →