Shadowing Practice: Why You Always Forget English Words (Science Explains) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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So, you learn a new word, and then a week later you forget it.
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Sound familiar?
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Unfortunately, this is one of the most frustrating things about learning a second language.
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You read a word in the dictionary somewhere, you read it in an article, you hear it on YouTube, you write it down, and then a week later you forget it.
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You can't remember it.
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You know it's there somewhere in the back of your head, it's on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't remember it.
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This is so annoying, it's so frustrating, because it feels like you're never going to expand your vocabulary.
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It feels like whatever you do, you just can't remember new words.
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And whatever you learn is useless because you just forget it.
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In today's video, I'm going to talk to you about why this happens.
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And I'm going to give you some scientifically backed strategies to help you remember new vocabulary.
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So here's the thing.
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The most common advice you'll get on learning new vocabulary is simply to repeat something 10 times, 20 times, 30 times, and then you'll remember it.
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It's called rote repetition.
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Now, to be honest with you, this is a horrible strategy.
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You're not going to memorize something you write 10 times on a sheet of paper.
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It's simply impossible.
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And if you try to memorize vocabulary this way, you're actually fighting against your own brain.
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See, your brain isn't designed to retain information in this way.
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And this isn't just me espousing some made-up theory.
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This is actually scientifically proven.
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See, in the 1880s, a German psychologist by the name of Hermann Ebbinghaus decided to test this theory.
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And what he did was he created a bunch of nonsensical combinations of letters.
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And he attempted to memorize those combinations of letters
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and what he found was as each day went on he remembered less
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and less so the more time that passed the less he actually remembered
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and the key here is that what he did in his experiment was completely nonsensical
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and by nonsensical I mean there was no emotional connection which we'll talk about in a moment.
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Now this is called the forgetting curve.
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Herman Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve and it shows you
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that you're not going to remember most of what you learn if you just write it out, if you just try to remember it and there's no connection to you.
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Your brain isn't a hard drive, it's a web of connections.
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Anytime you learn something new you need to connect it with something else that matters to you.
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This is called emotional anchoring.
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An anchor is what keeps the ship or the boat from moving.
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The anchor is attached to the seafloor.
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It anchors the boat and prevents it from sailing away.
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And what you need to do is anchor vocabulary into your brain.
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And the best way to do this is through emotional connection.
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Emotions are super strong.
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You remember emotions.
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I think back to 10 years ago, maybe something that happened to you 10 years ago.
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You might not remember exactly what happened or you might not remember the exact details, but you'll remember how you felt.
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You'll You'll probably remember whether you were happy, you were sad, you were angry, you were disappointed, you were jealous.
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You won't remember the details, but you'll remember the emotion.
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So if you can do this with vocabulary, you're going to be so much more likely to remember what you learned.
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And in doing so, you are going to war with Mr. Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve.
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Your brain is actively fighting against that tendency to forget words.
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Words stick with you when they matter to you personally.
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Now recently we had a student in one of our programs who mentioned that she learned the word kibble.
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Kibble, it's a weird word, kibble.
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Kibble is essentially pet food.
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It's dog food.
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It's the hard little pellets that your dog or your cat or your rabbit consumes.
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It's called kibble.
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Now this isn't a word that most people use on an everyday basis.
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So naturally, if you just see it once, you might search the definition online and you might try to remember it, but you're probably not going to be able to.
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You're probably going to forget this word.
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And this was the case with the student who came to us with this.
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She saw the word once, then she forgot it.
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Well, two months later, she got a pet cat.
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And now suddenly this pet cat came into her life and she had to feed the cat.
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So what did she buy?
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She bought kibble.
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She bought kibble to feed the cat and the word popped up again in her life, the word kibble.
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But now she had a much easier time to remember this word because it actually meant something to her.
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She was excited to have the cat.
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She was nervous to have the cat.
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She felt emotion when she saw her cat, when she thought of her cat, when she fed her cat, when she did anything with her cat.
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The cat meant something to her and And all this vocabulary related to pets was suddenly easier to remember and more relevant.
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And it was easier to remember because it was more emotional.
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She had more of an emotional connection to the vocabulary.
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You see, words don't exist in isolation.
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Words are there in the universe, in language, to express something.
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And that's often something emotional because we are human.
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We are emotional.
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We all have emotions.
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So if you can connect any new words you learn, maybe on TV, on the news, in class, if you're taking lessons,
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by the way, click the link in the description below if you want to apply to study with us.
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If you can do this, if you can connect any word you learn with a specific emotion, you're going to be so much more likely to remember this word.
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So stop trying to memorize the dictionary.
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Stop trying to write words out 20 times, 30 times, hoping to remember them.
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You're not going to be able to.
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And you're not going to be able to because you don't have an emotional connection to these words.
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Emotions anchor vocabulary into your brain.
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And that's the key.
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If you really want to remember a new word or a new concept, it needs to be anchored to your brain.
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It needs to be stuck there.
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It needs to be completely immovable.
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I encourage you to look around you, look at an object.
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Maybe you know the English translation, maybe you don't know the English translation.
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If you don't, you can find that.
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Make sure you know the names of everything in your room, in your life, and if you don't,
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if you have to learn new vocabulary and connect it to either a positive or a negative emotion that you've experienced.
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I hope you found this video useful.
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Make sure to leave a like, let me know in the comments if you've ever tried this strategy, if you find it difficult to memorize vocabulary,
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and if you're planning on implementing this strategy.
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If you want to learn more about how you can improve your English with me and my team, click the link in the description below to apply now.
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I'll see you in the next video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Why You Always Forget English Words”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: word, cat, vocabulary, kibble, emotion. This video has 99 sentences and 1233 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:31. The speaker talks fast, about 189 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| kibble noun | /ˈkɪbəl/ | Something that has been kibbled, especially grain for use as animal feed. |
| emotion noun | /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/ | A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data. |
| anchor noun | /ˈæŋ.kəː/ | A tool used to moor a vessel to the bottom of a sea or river to resist movement. |
| memorize verb | /ˈmɛm.əˌɹaɪ̯z/ | To fully learn so as to have entirely available to the memory; to learn by heart, commit to memory. |
| nonsensical adjective | Without sense; absurd. | |
| curve noun | /kɚv/ | A bend, such as in a road. |
| frustrate verb | /ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt/ | To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired. |
| scientifically adverb | /ˌsaɪ.ənˈtɪfɪkli/ | Using science or methods of science. |
| combinations noun | /kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/ | A one-piece form of underwear, being a combination of a vest or chemise and underpants. |
| dictionary noun | /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/ | A reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each word's meanings or senses, oftentimes also… |
| espouse verb | /ɪˈspaʊz/ | To marry. |
| immovable adjective | /ɪˈmuːvəb(ə)l/ | Incapable of being physically moved: fixed. |
| pellet noun | /ˈpɛl.ɪt/ | A small, compressed, hard chunk of matter. |
| repetition noun | /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/ | The act or an instance of repeating or being repeated. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| look around verb | To inspect a building or area. | |
| make up verb | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | To constitute, to compose. |
| pop up verb | To come up with a "pop" sound. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You're probably going to forget this word.
- You see, words don't exist in isolation.
- You're not going to be able to.
- If you don't, you can find that.
- I'll see you in the next video.
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 | isn't designed · is called · is attached |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've experienced · you've ever tried |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 37 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, you'll, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, combinations /kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, isolation /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, scientifically /ˌsaɪ.ənˈtɪfɪkli/, combinations /kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/, immovable /ɪˈmuːvəb(ə)l/
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 vocabulary, kibble, emotion.
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.