Shadowing Practice: Why the First Cities Might Just Be Fan Clubs - Prof. Jiang Xueqin - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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All right, so I'm going to draw up a...
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All right, so I'm going to draw up a...
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We'll first see a picture of Kobayetepe.
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And guys, these places were only discovered in the past few decades, okay?
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So these are new places.
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We're only starting to understand these places and
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so this place is in Turkey in central Turkey
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and this dates back about 9500 BC
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so this is this about over 11,000 years old
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and we don't even think this is the oldest place okay
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so if you did your research you will know
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that this is basically a place of religious worship you can see
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that they constructed this place so that there are these t-shaped pillars okay and these things These are huge, right?
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This is a human being and this is a T-shaped pillar.
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We think, again, this is all theory.
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This is all what we know.
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We don't know that much because this is all recent.
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But we think that these T-shapes represent human beings.
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And within these T-shapes are animals.
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can see that they align or they built this this T-shape in a way
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that they can practice a ritual or a worship okay
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so the people who are leading this will probably who we call shamans
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or religious leaders that help us bridge our world with the animal world and a spirit world okay so these are shamans
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And so Gobletepe is a place of religious worship.
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Now what's interesting about Gobletepe is that the religious site is the oldest,
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but we also find houses that are built later on.
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So what we think might have happened here is that hunter-gatherers will come to a place now and then
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to practice religion, because ultimately,
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as human beings, and we discussed this last class,
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we have a yearning or we have a need to understand why.
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And religion solves this problem for us.
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Also, as hunter-gatherer, you need to associate with other hunter-gatherers in order to find mates, okay?
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To find husbands and wives to reproduce.
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And so this sort of religious center,
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great time to come and practice religion
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but it's also a great time to feast
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and to meet someone you can marry and have children with okay
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so that was the original function of the temple now these places are often led by shamans
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and what makes them special is that they are charismatic leaders okay
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charismatic leaders charismatic leaders are people like Mao Zedong Barack Obama
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Bill Clinton okay they're people who for the reason people just love them
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and want to follow them okay and so maybe what happened was
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that these charismatic leaders they built this place and they became like celebrities
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and people came from all over to meet them to hear them to hear the religion
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and to meet other people and over time some people even chose to stay with them
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and build houses to celebrate them okay and then
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when they died what happened was they still worship them in their death
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and so this place became a temple okay does that Does that make sense?
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So that's one theory about Kobay-Tepay.
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There are other theories, okay?
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There are some people who will tell you that space aliens came down and built this place because it's so sophisticated, okay?
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So there are different theories,
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but the one that scholars most agree with today is that it was a religious center.
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Any questions before I move on?
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So this leader, but religions, or honors.
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Okay, so that's a great question okay where is where does religion come from
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and this is something that we will look at very closely next class
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and the answer is is this okay even though we all
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have the need for religion we don't all have the ability to produce religion okay
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so who these charismatic leaders are are people who have visions
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or dreams of God or the spirit world okay
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and then they present their visions to other people
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and we have people like this throughout human history right
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so think of Jesus think of Mohammed think of Buddha freak
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of Confucius right these are people who have these visions of God
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or of spirituality or of a new world and present to people
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and because they're charismatic they're able to attract followers
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and spread the religion and that's that's what probably happened here as well
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because as you can see from this picture it was very hard work to build this temple okay this is
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11,000 years ago they didn't have bulldozers they didn't have shovels okay this all by hand
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so for them to want to dedicate their lives to building this temple
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because it took a long long time right it took years
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and years and hundreds of people well you needed something called religious devotion right faith does
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that make sense okay and again throughout human history we've seen this So think of Christians,
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think of Buddhists, think of Muslims, religious faith.
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So that's what built this.
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Okay, so does that answer your question?
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Okay, any more questions before I continue?
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Yeah?
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Okay, so that's a good question.
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Why is a temple structured like this?
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Okay, and the answer is that there's cosmological significance to the structure.
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Meaning that on a certain time of the year,
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what will happen is that the sun will hit this place in a certain way.
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So it's almost like a clock.
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Does that make sense to you guys?
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They designed this in a way so they can tell time.
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But their intention was not to tell time,
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their intention was to connect with the outer world.
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Right?
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Does that make sense to you guys?
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So they were extremely sophisticated.
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They knew a lot about the way the stars worked.
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Okay?
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So basically for them, this is science, okay?
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Today we say this is a religion,
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but their science back then is no different from our science today.
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Okay?
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Does that answer your question?
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Okay, and you had a question?
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Did the leaders, like the religious leaders,
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they made up the vision or they really had the vision?
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Okay, so if you talk to any religious people, they saw it, okay?
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They were there, they talked to God, right?
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So we're like, well, you know,
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that doesn't make any sense,
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but they really believe it,
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and that's why they're able to convince their followers.
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Okay, so in the future,
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we will look at someone like Mohammed,
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who had religious visions in a cave,
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like you're like did he really see an angel well he thought he really did okay
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and in fact if we in our research what we discovered is
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that people use who use something called psychedelics okay you know what psychedelics are
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psychedelics are drugs what drugs what these drugs do is they shift your
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neural system so that you see the world in a different way.
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When you do that, you're able to have different visions, okay?
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But we also know that if you go hungry for a long time,
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or you meditate for a long time,
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you're able to see different things.
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So from their perspective, they actually saw this thing, okay?
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Even though, like, we don't think it actually happened.
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Does that make sense?
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For them, it's true.
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But maybe for us, it's not so true.
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Okay.
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All right.
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Any more questions?

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will dive into the fascinating topic of ancient civilizations and their sociocultural dynamics, as highlighted by the recent discoveries at Gobeklitepe in Turkey. Through engaging with the material, you will practice your English speaking skills by discussing concepts related to religion, community, and leadership in early human societies. This lesson aims to enhance your understanding of these themes while simultaneously improving your vocabulary and speaking fluency, making it an excellent resource for those preparing for IELTS speaking practice or seeking to enhance their overall English speaking practice.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Ancient civilizations - societies that existed a long time ago
  • Religious worship - rituals and practices associated with faith
  • Charismatic leaders - influential figures who inspire others with their charm
  • Hunter-gatherers - people who collect wild food and hunt animals for survival
  • Shamans - spiritual leaders who are considered mediators between the human world and the spirit world
  • Community - a group of people living in the same place with shared interests
  • Feasting - enjoying a large meal with others, often during celebrations
  • Rituals - formalized actions performed for a specific purpose, especially in religious contexts

Practice Tips

To make the most of this lesson, consider using a shadowing app to practice speaking skills. Shadowing involves mimicking spoken language closely, which can boost your fluency and pronunciation. When you watch the video, try to repeat phrases just after you hear them, matching the speaker's speed and intonation. Since Prof. Jiang Xueqin's tone is engaging but can be quick at times, start with pausing the video after each sentence and repeat before moving forward. This technique will not only improve your shadow speech but will also help you retain the context better, making your English speaking practice much more effective.

Additionally, focus on key vocabulary while shadowing. For instance, practice using terms like "charismatic leaders" and "religious worship" in your sentences about community interactions. Discuss what you think about shamans and their roles in early societies with a study partner or through a recording, which can be beneficial for your IELTS speaking practice.

Engaging with the material both audibly and visually will develop your conversational skills more effectively, preparing you for discussions about historical topics comfortably in English.

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.

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