Shadowing Practice: Why You Should Compete With Yourself More Often | Aaron Wang | TEDxYouth@GranvilleIsland - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Tanya Cushman Reviewer Tanya Cushman Reviewer Beep, beep, beep!
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Seven in the morning.
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I opened my eyes and knew it was time for the battle to begin.
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I bounced out of bed and started sprinting to the...
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bathroom?
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I pick up my.. toothbrush.
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Left, right, front, back.
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I go through all of my teeth, polishing intensively.
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But when I open my mouth to admire my work,
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expecting sparkling, brilliant white teeth,
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Instead, my teeth are yellow.
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You see, it's a lot more fun to focus on what we're good at.
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It makes sense.
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If you're good at something, it's easier to do.
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The problem is only focusing on your strengths,
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be it with school, sports,
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cooking, or even something as simple as brushing your teeth can end up extending your weaknesses.
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About two and a half months ago,
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I started to notice that my teeth weren't looking so good.
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They weren't brilliant white, no,
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they were a bit yellow.
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I was busy with a lot of games,
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homework, chores, games, and whatever else distracts your average 11-year-old.
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I was just spending the time taking care of my teeth,
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and it was showing.
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After seeing this yellowfication of my teeth,
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I had decided I was going to do something about it.
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How do you solve yellowfication of teeth?
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You brush them, right?
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And so I I did every morning,
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every evening, right after my alarm clock went off and right before I'd go to bed.
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The left side, right side,
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the front, then the back.
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Then I'd admire my work to see if I was making progress.
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And you know what?
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It was working.
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My teeth were brightening up.
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Yes, I finally solved my problem.
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Except after a week or two,
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something weird started to happen.
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I got up one morning,
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went to the bathroom as per usual, left, right, front, back.
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But when I opened my mouth to admire my work this time,
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my teeth were yellow again.
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No, this can't be happening.
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I've been brushing so intensively.
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Left, right, front, back, left,
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right, front, back every day.
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But now my teeth are yellow.
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Disappointed, I left the sink.
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Afraid I was doomed to live a life full of unevenly yellow teeth.
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That evening when I brushed again,
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I couldn't help but watch my routine.
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I couldn't help but notice myself brushing.
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Left, right, front, back, and wondered if it was worth it.
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That's when I noticed something.
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My canines, the teeth over here,
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the vampire teeth, they weren't on the left, right, front, or back.
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They were in a weird spot,
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in between the front and the sides, at a weird angle.
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They weren't as easy to hit,
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and that meant I often didn't pay attention to them.
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In fact, sometimes I would completely forget about them.
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They weren't all that yellow,
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no, they were just yellow-er than my other teeth.
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By only focusing on the easy-to-reach teeth,
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my not-so-easy-to-reach teeth ended up looking much worse.
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In other words, by only focusing on my strengths,
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my weaknesses, ended up looking much worse.
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That night, I was laying in my bed, imagining a marathon.
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My left-right front back teeth were nearly at the finish line,
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but my poor canines weren't even halfway through.
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They were losing the marathon,
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the battle for brilliance, and it was time for me to step in.
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7 a.m., I woke up,
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this time ready for a race.
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On top of my left-right front back teeth,
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I made sure to give my canines a chance,
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and so it became left, right, front, back, canine.
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Then I went to admire my work to see if I was making progress.
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And you know what?
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After three days, it was working.
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My canines, they were catching up.
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After about two weeks, they had caught up.
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They'd won the marathon, the battle for brilliance, because of competition.
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Competition gave me a clear goal to strive towards.
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If I hadn't competed in myself,
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my teeth would look as yellow as if I'd never brushed at all.
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So people, if you find that as you grow your strength,
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you start to see your weaknesses falling behind.
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Doesn't matter if you're a hockey player whose puck-selling skills are at the end of the marathon,
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or you're the same thing with cooking.
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If you're a chef whose stir-fried meals are at the final lap,
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but your baking skills are so rusty that you can't bake bread to save your life,
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make sure that you have a few freshly baked slices of bread to go along with your stir-fried meal.
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As you keep growing your strengths,
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you start to see your weaknesses falling behind, remember to compete.
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Because it doesn't just have to be your teeth and your smile that can be brilliant.
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It's any and every aspect of life.
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So here's a challenge for you, all of you.
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Instead of leaving your weaknesses in the dust, introduce a little self-competition.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by focusing on the engaging TEDx talk by Aaron Wang. The theme revolves around the importance of competing with yourself, reflected through relatable anecdotes. Through this practice, you'll enhance your comprehension of conversational English and learn how to express personal experiences. By shadowing the speaker, you aim to improve your English pronunciation, fluency, and overall speaking confidence. This lesson is designed for learners looking to learn English with YouTube as an effective tool in developing their language capabilities.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Yellowfication: A playful term referring to the discoloration of teeth, used metaphorically to illustrate neglect in personal care.
  • Polishing: The act of cleaning or enhancing the appearance of something; in this context, it relates to taking care of your teeth.
  • Admire: To look at something with pleasure; here it refers to evaluating one’s efforts after brushing teeth.
  • Intensively: Done in a thorough, concentrated way; for example, brushing teeth thoroughly.
  • Compete with yourself: The practice of setting personal goals and striving to achieve them rather than comparing yourself to others.
  • Distractions: Elements that divert attention; in this context, it emphasizes factors like games and chores that can detract from self-care.

Practice Tips

To effectively use the shadowing technique while watching this TEDx talk, follow these tailored tips:

  • Start Slow: Begin by watching the video without attempting to repeat any phrases. Focus on understanding the main ideas and vocabulary.
  • Shadow Speech: Play a short segment of the video and pause it after each sentence. Repeat what Aaron says immediately after. Mimicking his tone will greatly help in improving your English pronunciation.
  • Use Playback Controls: Don’t hesitate to rewind and listen multiple times. Adjust the playback speed in the video settings if you find it too fast. This will allow you to clearly catch every word.
  • Emulate Emotions: Pay attention to the expressiveness in Aaron’s voice. Practicing with emotion can help your own speech to be more engaging.
  • Reflect: After shadowing, take a moment to summarize what you learned. This will reinforce vocabulary and phrases while embedding them into your memory.

By implementing these strategies in your practice, you can significantly improve your English speaking skills, while making the learning process enjoyable and relatable.

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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