Shadowing Practice: Why Studying LESS Makes You Learn Faster (Science-Based) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The best way to study and learn is to access components of your memory systems that offset forgetting.
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That is the way to remember things.
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That is the way to gain mastery over them.
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And I'm going to teach you how to best do that using the data gleaned from the peer -reviewed literature.
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Now, before I do that, I want to talk about what learning is.
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Neuroplasticity is this incredible feature of your nervous system, which of course includes your brain and your spinal cord,
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which is the ability for your nervous system to change in response to experience.
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So any form of learning involves neuroplasticity.
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Neuroplasticity, we sometimes hear as neuroplasticity, two words, or neuroplasticity.
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Those are the same thing, essentially.
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The change that underlies neuroplasticity at the level of cells, which we call neurons or nerve cells, generally involves three different mechanisms.
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One is the strengthening of certain connections, what we call synaptic connections.
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Synapses are the location between neurons where they communicate with one another.
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It's actually a gap between the neurons.
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It is technically called the synaptic cleft.
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It's a gap.
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And within that gap, chemicals are passed across that gap that allow one neuron to activate other neurons, or many neurons to activate many other neurons,
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or to inhibit the activity of other neurons.
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So one form of neuroplasticity is the strengthening of connections between neurons.
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Another form of neuroplasticity is the weakening of connections between neurons.
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And yet a third form of plasticity, which is often discussed in the media, but is very rare actually in the nervous system,
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especially the adult nervous system of humans, is neurogenesis or the addition of new neurons.
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Let's just get this out of the way up front because the addition of new neurons, again, grabs so much attention in media articles,
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but it's responsible for a near trivial amount
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of the sort of neuroplasticity that is important for today's discussion or frankly for most all discussions.
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It is true you have a specialized set of neurons in your olfactory bulb that are responsible for smell, as well as a specialized set of neurons in the so -called dentate gyrus of your hippocampus,
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an area of the brain that's important for memory, in which new neurons appear to be added throughout the lifespan,
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but this is not the major mechanism by which learning and memory occurs in humans.
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Rather, the major mechanism by which learning
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and memory occurs in humans is the strengthening of existing connections and the weakening of existing connections,
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or the formation of new connections between already existing neurons, not new neurons.
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Okay?
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Now, the removal
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or weakening of connections between neurons being an important component of neuroplasticity is very important for sake of today's discussion.
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I want to emphasize that when we hear about weakening of connections, we often think, well, that means forgetting, or that means the brain is getting less good.
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However, so much of the neuroplasticity that underlies,
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for instance, the acquisition of a new motor skill is actually the reflection of removal of connections.
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So we don't want to project any kind of value onto a discussion about adding new connections, removing new connections.
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Let's just leave it at this level mechanistically.
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When you hear about neuroplasticity, just know that it could be the consequence of strengthening of connections as well as weakening of connections
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and that neither strengthening of connections in the nervous system nor weakening of connections can map directly to the formation
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or removal of say memories or information.
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Just know that these are the important mechanisms.
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In fact, if you look at a baby that is, let's say, I don't know, nine months old, their motor skills are not terrific typically compared to the motor skills
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that that child will have when they are six or seven years old.
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And believe it or not, the improvement in motor coordination that one observes in humans
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and other species for that matter from birth until the adolescence
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and teen years and adult years is largely the reflection of the removal.
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That's right.
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The removal of neural connections as opposed to the formation of neural connections.
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However, the neural connections that remain become much more robust.
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They become much more reliable.
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Okay.
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So that's the mechanistic backdrop for everything that we're going to talk about today, which is how to study and learn.
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And as I mentioned earlier in my introduction,
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most of learning and remembering new material is about offsetting the forgetting process that naturally occurs anytime we hear new information.
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So, in keeping with what will ultimately reveal itself to be the dominant theme of today's discussion, right now and for reasons that will become clear later,
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I want you to take a brief quiz.
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Now, the moment people hear quiz or test, typically it spikes their adrenaline, they start feeling stressed, but don't worry,
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you're gonna keep your answers to yourself and you're doing this for a very specific purpose.
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Here's...
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My question, this is a two question quiz.
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How many different ways, mechanistically speaking, does neuroplasticity occur?
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Is it one mechanism, two mechanisms, or three mechanisms?
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Or is it four or five?
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Okay.
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Can you name in your head two of the three major changes
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that the nervous system can undergo which are reflective of neuroplasticity?
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Okay, so the answer to question was, is that there are three different modes of neuroplasticity as you recall, or as you may not have been able to recall.
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And by the way, if you were not able to recall the three different modes of neuroplasticity or mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity, that is fine.
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As you'll soon realize, recognizing the errors in your information retention is another critical and very useful way to retain more information,
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even if you got the answer wrong or you didn't know.
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In fact, especially if you got the answer wrong or you didn't know.
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So the three ways are the strengthening of neural connections, second, the weakening of neural connections, and third, through neurogenesis, the addition of new neurons.
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Why did I provide this quiz?
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Why did I test you?
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Well, as you'll soon learn, if you look across the total body of research on how best to study and learn, it involves doing exactly what we just did,
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which is to periodically stop and test yourself on the material that you learned.
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Testing is not just a way of evaluating what knowledge you've acquired and which knowledge you have not managed to acquire.
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It also turns out to be the best tool for offsetting forgetting of any kind.
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This study looked at whether or not studying material four times, so study, study, study, study,
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was better in terms of locking that information into people's minds, allowing them to use that information flexibly, which is an element of creativity,
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essentially giving the mastery of the material.
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Then a different group which studied once, studied the material twice, studied the material three times, then was tested on the material.
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Or a third group that studied material once, then took one, two, yes, three tests on the material.
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Now, so what I just described was three groups, all of whom read a passage.
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This was a passage about animals, about biology, some other topics too in different experiments.
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Again, three groups.
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One group studies four times, then later they take a test.
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The second group studies one, two, three times, takes a test on that material, and then later takes a test.
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The third group studies the material once, then takes three tests on the material and then later takes a test.
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So what's analyzed and compared between these different groups is their performance on that final test.
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That should be pretty much obvious given the way we've been
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going today in this description of tests as a way to offset forgetting.
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Okay.
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So the more tests that you take as a way to expose yourself to the material, the better you're going to perform on that material at some later point.
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Now, of course, at some point you have to be exposed to the material for the first time, right?
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That's why it's studying and learning.
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But after one exposure to new material, taking more tests on that material, even if you don't perform that well on those tests,
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as long as you're able to see the accurate answers to those tests
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and compare your answers to those answers will lead to better performance on the ultimate test
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and retention of that material at some later time.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 102 sentences and 1433 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:44. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% 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:
- mechanism /ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəm/ (noun) — Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
- strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/ (verb) — To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.
- removal /ɹɪˈmuː.vəl/ (noun) — The process of removing or the fact of being removed.
- neural /ˈnʊɹəl/ (adjective) — Of, or relating to the nerves, neurons or the nervous system.
- occur /əˈkɜː/ (verb) — To happen or take place.
- offset /ˈɔf.sɛt/ (noun) — Anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
- quiz /kwɪz/ (noun) — A competition in the answering of questions.
- compare /kəmˈpɛɚ/ (verb) — To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it…
- 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.
- recall /ɹɪˈkɔl/ (verb) — To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order).
- involve /ɪnˈvɑlv/ (verb) — To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include.
- essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ (adverb) — In essence: by nature.
- component /kəmˈpoʊ.nənt/ (noun) — A smaller, self-contained part of a larger entity. Often refers to a manufactured object that is part of a larger device.
- passage /ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/ (noun) — A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning.
- reflection /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/ (noun) — The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
- talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, reflection /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/, retention /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/, exposure /ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/, acquisition /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/
- Long words — get the stress right: mechanism /ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəm/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, acquisition /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like mechanism, strengthen, removal.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is technically called · are passed · is often discussed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | plasticity, which is · today, which is · undergo which are |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've acquired · we've been |
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.