Shadowing Practice: Why Studying More Isn't Making You Fluent - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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I want you to tell me if this sounds a little like you.
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Every time that something negative happens while you are speaking in English, maybe you freeze or you forget a word,
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the conversation doesn't really go the way that you wanted it to.
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In that difficult moment, your default reaction is, I don't know enough English yet.
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I need to learn more.
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If I learn more, I'll be better.
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And so you start looking for YouTube lessons to watch
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or spending more time using language apps and you start to feel better
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because it feels like you're doing something to fix the problem, right?
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And even though you have notepads full of sentences that you've never actually said to anyone,
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even though you have a login to 10 different courses online that you've never actually finished,
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you still tell yourself, I'll be able to speak fluently soon.
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I just need to learn more.
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hey ladies welcome back to our regular listeners and a big welcome
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if you are joining us for the first time this is
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the confident english podcast my name is emma i'm the founder of hey lady an online community
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that brings together women from all around the world to meet new friends and practice speaking English.
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To find out more about what we do and how we can help,
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head over to our website where you can sign up for our free seven -day guest pass.
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The link to get it is down in the description or in the show notes.
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But in the meantime, let's dive straight into this episode.
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Around eight years ago, I spent six months learning Spanish and about three months living in Spain to immerse myself in it.
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And by the end of that time, I could have conversations in Spanish.
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My Spanish was not beautiful in any way, but it was enough to meet and connect with people.
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And that was great.
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But then I took a break.
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I didn't have anyone to talk to in Spanish, so I didn't talk much at all.
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In truth, I didn't speak to anyone until recently when I decided
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that I needed to pick it back up again because I'm going to need it when I travel to Mexico.
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And I found myself trying to cram, trying to learn as much or remember as much Spanish as I could every single day.
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And instead of using my Spanish to talk to people, I've been avoiding that.
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because it feels harder.
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It feels more complicated.
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It feels more embarrassing.
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And I really just felt like I needed to learn more first before I spoke so that I never got stuck.
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I'm laughing because this is the opposite advice that I give to you every week.
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And it's because I caught myself doing it.
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And the fact that I'm a language teacher,
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that I wanted to make this episode for you because I realized just how easy it is to fall into this trap,
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this loop of endless study, even when I know that it's not the best use of my time.
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i want you to imagine a bucket the size of your
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bucket is how much english you actually need for the life
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that you actually live some people need an enormous bucket like
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if you are writing research papers in the academic department of an english -speaking university you need a big bucket,
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a huge bucket.
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Most native speakers don't have a bucket anywhere near that big.
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Most English learners spend years and years trying to fill a bucket the size of a swimming pool,
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learning English that they don't actually need for the life they live.
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Now, if you are a B2 learner,
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your problem is not that you need a bigger bucket to fit more English in it.
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The problem that you have is that your bucket has holes in it.
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The English that you don't use consistently and regularly is leaking out those holes.
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That's why it feels like you keep forgetting your words.
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That's why you feel like you need to know more, to learn more.
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But what you actually need to do is stop the leaks.
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And the only way to do that is to practice using the English that you already have.
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When you can use the English you already have, then you'll be ready to pour more in.
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And when there's no more room to pour more in, that's when you know you're ready for a bigger bucket.
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You don't need to know all of English before you start using the English that you already know.
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And this is the part I really want you to hear from me today,
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because practice takes less time than studying does, much less, certainly less time than you're spending right now.
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And the reason is, you only have to practice the English that you're actually going to use.
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Think about the last few things you sat down to study a video about slang,
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30 phrasal verbs, or 50 words that you need to know?
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Was any of that for a conversation that you actually had?
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A moment where you used those 30 phrasal verbs?
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Or was it just in case one day I'll need these?
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Maybe you were just curious or you were interested in learning all these phrasal verbs, but they weren't really practical.
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They weren't something that were going to help you in a moment where you really needed it.
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Because just in case is where the years go.
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Into things that you might need one day for conversations that you're not having right now.
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Tell me this.
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Is this something that you've been doing?
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Do you notice these patterns in your study behaviour?
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Do you have pages of notes and sentences that you've never actually said to anyone?
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Let me know down in the comments because this is something that I see with my students all the time.
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Now, I do not want you to hear the wrong thing here.
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Learning more can be valuable.
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And it's necessary too, right?
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More vocabulary and more grammar will make you more accurate and it will give you more range.
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It will help you to express yourself better.
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It will help you to understand more.
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But there is an order to it.
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The right time to learn phrasal verbs is when you keep hearing them in conversations and they're confusing you.
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They're stopping you from understanding what's happening.
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Or maybe there's a topic that you want to be able to talk about
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and knowing these phrasal verbs or some expressions related to this would help you to express your ideas.
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Let your conversations tell you what you should learn.
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They will guide you so much more effectively than YouTube ever will.
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And with your own conversations guiding you, you're pouring just a little more English into your bucket, just the right amount.
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And then as you practice using these phrasal verbs, you make sure that they don't leak straight out of the bucket again
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because you keep focusing on bringing those phrasal verbs back into your conversations.
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So how much speaking practice are we actually talking about here?
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Not so much, actually.
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15 minutes, three or four times a week.
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That is all it takes.
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And consistent practice is so much more important than the length of any one conversation that you have.
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15 minutes of speaking practice every Monday,
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Wednesday and Saturday will do more for you than a big extended three -hour batch of practicing once a month.
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And those 15 minutes They will guide you as to what inputs you need to improve your speaking skills,
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and you'll be able to improve it the next time that you speak.
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Now, anyone can find 15 minutes.
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That's not the hard part.
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The hard part here is in order to have just one 15 -minute conversation,
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well, four different things need to happen.
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You need someone to speak with.
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You need a place to practice.
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You need to agree on the time that you're going to practice.
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And you need something to talk about, right?
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So these four things are really important.
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Every single conversation that you plan to have three to four times a week, you need to do these four things.
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And because that takes so much work and effort just to make that practice happen,
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no wonder you're not actually getting around to it.
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It's no wonder that you're just jumping onto YouTube because it feels so much easier right now, right?
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You can do it whenever you want.
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You don't rely on anyone else.
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But that is exactly why I built Hey Lady.
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It's a place to practice where those four things are already organized for you.
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So all you need to do is to show up.
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We've already found you the people to practice with.
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Women from all over the world who are just as motivated as you are.
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We've already organized the times with sessions happening every single day in your time zone.
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We give you the topics to talk about and expressions
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that you can learn and practice so that you never actually have to sit down and wonder, what am I going to say?
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What am I going to talk about?
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And all of this happens inside the HeyLady platform.
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And you can have your very first conversation today, like right now, right after this episode,
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because we also have a seven -day guest pass so
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that people like you can come in and try Hey Lady for yourself.
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You don't need a credit card.
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You just need to show up
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and see what it's actually like inside Hey Lady before you decide if you want to become a member.
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Ladies, the link is down in the show notes.
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And if you're watching this on your computer or on your TV screen, then you can scan And this link right here with your phone,
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it's going to take you straight to the website.
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If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you hit that like button and subscribe to the channel
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if you haven't already so that you don't miss our next episode.
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It also helps us to reach more women who need to hear this so that we can help them too.
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Thank you so much for spending time with me today.
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And I do want you to remember as you get on with your day, the reason that you don't feel fluent,
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it's not because you don't know enough English.
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It's because you're not using the English that you already know.
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So take that with you today and I will see you in the very next episode.
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What You'll Learn
This video helps you break free from the "study more" trap and focus on practical speaking skills that actually build fluency. You’ll learn to identify when you’re overloading on vocabulary instead of using what you know, and how to shift to real conversations—a key skill for IELTS speaking practice. Plus, you’ll discover how to assess the "bucket" of English you truly need, so you can prioritize useful phrases over endless memorization.
Listen For These Sounds
Notice the natural connected speech in phrases like "I don't know enough" (where "don't know" links to "don know") and "it feels harder" (with a reduced "it" that sounds like "it" instead of a full "it"). The speaker also uses casual reductions, such as "I'll be able to" shortened to "I'll be able t'" in fast speech. These patterns are crucial for understanding native speakers and improving your own pronunciation—perfect for shadowing practice with a shadowing app or site.
Say It Like a Native
Mirror the speaker's rhythm by stressing key words like "problem," "fix," and "fluently" to emphasize meaning. Notice how she pauses before important points (e.g., "And I found myself...") to create natural flow. For shadowing, repeat her phrases slowly at first, focusing on matching her stress and intonation. This technique isn’t just for learn english with videos—it’s a proven way to make your speech sound more natural, whether you’re practicing for IELTS or everyday conversations. Remember: fluency comes from using English, not just studying it.
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 | I've been avoiding · you've been doing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've never actually said · you've never actually finished · We've already found |
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.