Shadowing Practice: Why Some People Become Fluent — and Others Stay Stuck - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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You know those people who seem to pick up languages overnight, like magic?
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They absorb words like a sponge.
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They understand everything and you look at them thinking, wow, they're so talented.
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I wish I had that gift.
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Meanwhile, others, even after studying for years, get stuck.
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They reach a certain level, but fluency still feels far away.
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They struggle to understand fast speech.
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and they feel very uncomfortable every time they're not using their native language.
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So what's the deal?
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Is that really about having the talent?
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Or is there something else going on?
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Personally, I do believe that some people have a natural inclination for languages.
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Perhaps they just genuinely enjoy learning languages.
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But at the same time, I believe that Anyone can reach fluency at their own pace.
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So the real question is why do some learners get fluent?
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and others don't.
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Some time ago I stumbled upon a short Instagram post and I absolutely loved it.
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Let me read it for you.
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some learners never learn to accept ambiguity the feeling of not understanding
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but you need to embrace the fact that you will not understand everything
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and that it's normal instead of seeing yourself as a failure and i thought Yes, this is it.
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This is exactly what I had in mind.
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I just didn't know how to put it into words.
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This is the missing mindset for so many learners.
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Let's break it down.
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So first of all, what is ambiguity?
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Simply put, ambiguity means not understanding everything completely and being okay with that.
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It's that stage when you are listening to a conversation and you understand some parts of it, but not all of it.
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Maybe you catch the main idea, but some words go right over your head.
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And guess what?
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That's completely normal.
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There's a stage in language learning when you start to follow conversations more
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and more and you're so excited because you're finally getting it.
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But then a native speaker comes along.
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speak super fast or they use slang
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or they discuss a topic you've never heard before
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and suddenly you understand half of the sentence
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but not the other half this is not failure this is not proof
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that you are bad at languages this is just a natural unavoidable stage of becoming fluent the real
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when things aren't 100 clear they think oh my goodness i don't understand this
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that means i'm a failure i'm not good enough i'm never
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going to be fluent in this language they switch into this
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so -called school mindset mode remember at school we were taught
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that not understanding is a bad thing you would lose points for
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that you would get bad marks for that but language learning in real
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tension
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or negativity your brain will try to protect you it will
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come up with tons of excuses to avoid the language altogether
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and this is one major reason why people get stuck instead
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of moving towards fluency over the years i've taught many students
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and i would say i could divide them into two categories
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or two groups regardless of their level so the first group it's the students who
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of a listening exercise but they focused on the general idea the gist
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and they did not feel overwhelmed
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because of not understanding everything they stayed calm they enjoyed the process
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and the progress that we're making
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and the second group the students who would get really frustrated
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or even angry when they didn't understand one sentence sometimes even one phrase I had this one student
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turn read the moment I said okay now we're going to
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have a listening exercise we are going to watch a short
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video she would literally get mad at herself at the video at the task
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or even at me for giving her
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that task she kept repeating oh I'm awful at this I cannot understand anything this is just not my thing
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so she was basically programming herself for failure and honestly
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fluency becomes almost impossible we always want to remember
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that not understanding is part of the process language learning takes
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time you are not slow you're not stupid you're just learning a new skill
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and at the beginning you are supposed to not understand think of children for a moment before
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stress about not understanding, they don't analyze every word, they just relax, absorb, and explore.
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Of course, we adults are different and we learn differently but we can still apply this idea, especially when it comes to listening and speaking.
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Let me share with you something from my own experience.
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A few years ago, I was living in Turkey and I started learning Turkish and Arabic at the same time, because these two languages were widely spoken in my area.
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And I'm sorry, Turkey not turkey.
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So as soon as I learned basic greetings in these languages and also some verbs and their conjugation I
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Started to consume a huge amount of content like a lot every day.
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I would watch
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TV series a movie or a YouTube video and I remember that first episode of a a TV show in Arabic
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I understood almost nothing except for just basic greetings like hi, how are you?
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That was it.
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And it didn't bother me that much, you know, because I think because The TV show was really interesting.
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I loved the actors and their voices were nice.
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I enjoyed the melody of the language.
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So I kept watching.
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I didn't care that I didn't understand.
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much of it so after a while i don't know
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when exactly that happened that transition or the change but i started understanding
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10 %
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50 percent 20 30 40 50 and more i think it was
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because i embraced that ambiguity
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and just enjoyed the process also i was very lucky to have people around me who i could talk to
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and they were willing to help me practice my speaking skills because generally speaking arabic and turkish Of course,
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I got lost in conversations.
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many times and there were a lot of funny misunderstandings
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and they laughed at me and i looked stupid
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but i didn't care i kept going as the saying goes fake it till you make it
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and that's exactly what i did i faked it till i made it
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and it worked for me so my point is next time you are in a conversation
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and you don't understand something try to take a deep breath relax over you.
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Try to guess from the context and if you can't,
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move on don't freeze don't overthink don't punish yourself learning a
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language literally requires you to face the unknown every day
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and the learners who become fluent are not the ones who
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understand everything from the very beginning they are the ones who stay calm and keep going even when things
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this video if you enjoyed it please give it a thumbs up
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and subscribe my name is alba by the way and thank you
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so much for watching i'll see you next time bye
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What You'll Learn: Key Speaking Skills for Fluency

This video unlocks a critical mindset shift that’s essential for IELTS speaking practice and everyday fluency: embracing ambiguity. You’ll learn to navigate conversations where you don’t understand every word— a skill that helps you stay calm and engaged, whether you’re practicing with a shadowing app or chatting with a native. Additionally, it teaches you to reframe "not knowing" as a natural step, which is key for building confidence in english speaking practice. These skills aren’t just about words—they’re about breaking the mental block that keeps many learners stuck.

Listen For These Sounds: Connected Speech Clues

As you watch, notice how the speaker uses casual, conversational flow. Phrases like "what's the deal" and "stumbled upon" show linking—where words blend together (e.g., "what's the" becomes "wuts thuh"). Listen for reductions too, like "they're so talented" sounding more like "they're so talnted" in fast speech. These are the same patterns you’ll hear in real-life interactions, making this video a great tool to learn english with youtube. Paying attention to these details will help you follow fast talk, a common challenge in IELTS speaking tasks.

Say It Like a Native: Rhythm and Stress Tips

To mirror the speaker’s natural tone, focus on stress and rhythm. The speaker emphasizes key ideas like "embrace the fact" and "natural unavoidable stage"—stressing the first syllable of "embrace" and "natural" to highlight importance. Practice shadowing (repeating aloud as you watch) to copy this rhythm. A shadowing site can help, but even repeating the video’s phrases will train your mouth to move like a native. Notice how short pauses after questions ("So what's the deal?") create a conversational feel—this is the rhythm that makes your speech sound fluent, not forced. Mastering this will make your English sound more authentic, whether you’re practicing for IELTS or daily chats.

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 →