Shadowing Practice: Why You Understand English But Can't Speak It | And How To Fix It #easyenglisheveryday #english - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Why can so many people understand English, but they can't speak?
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Why can so many people understand English, but they can't speak?
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This is a problem that honestly most of people face,
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and to explain why this happens,
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and how you can fix this,
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I want to give you an analogy.
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Imagine you go to the gym 4 times a week,
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and at the gym, you only train your arms.
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You never train your legs.
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You just train your arms.
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What's going to happen after a few months?
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You're going to have very strong arms,
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but your legs probably won't be that strong.
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And it's the same with speaking.
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If you don't speak, if you just listen to English speakers,
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but you never speak, obviously your speaking is going to be weak.
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So that's the source of this problem.
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That's where it comes from.
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And the solution is quite obvious.
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The solution is to speak more.
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It's just like training a muscle at the gym.
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It's just like training your legs or your arms.
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The more you do it,
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the stronger it will become.
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So if you're facing this problem,
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if you're having problems speaking,
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even though you can understand native speakers,
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then I want you to make an effort to speak.
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Even if you feel nervous to speak,
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even if you feel like people are judging you,
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you still need to speak.
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Language, or English rather, is a language.
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And languages need to be spoken.
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If you don't speak a language,
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you're never going to become fluent.
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So if there's just one thing that you change,
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one thing that you do to overcome this problem,
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it needs to be speaking.
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Communicating, Having conversations with people.
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I'm going to give you the analogy of the gym.
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I mentioned this earlier, right?
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Going to the gym, training your muscles, becoming stronger.
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Honestly, it's the same when you learn a language.
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When you first go to the gym,
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you're probably going to feel weak.
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You might even feel self-conscious.
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You might feel like you don't know what you're doing.
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But after time, as time goes by,
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the more you do it,
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the stronger you will become the more confident you will feel and the more you will improve
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it's the same with learning english
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when you first have a conversation with somebody maybe you're at
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a1 you're at a2 you're not very advanced you're going to feel nervous
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you're going to struggle to find the right words to say it's completely normal
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but if you stick with it if you keep speaking even
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if you don't feel like it eventually you're going to feel more confident.
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Eventually you're going to feel more comfortable speaking and eventually you're going to become more fluent.
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It's very very simple.
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So this is something that I recommend to my students all the time.
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You need to speak.
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Just speak.
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Don't overcomplicate things.
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You don't need to make it more difficult than it should be.
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English is a language.
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Languages need to be spoken.
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Now a lot of students feel like native speakers are judging them when they speak.
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They're worried that people are going to think less of them.
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Maybe because they make a mistake,
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they forget a word, they use something incorrectly.
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And I understand your fear.
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Because honestly, I thought the same when I was learning German,
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when I was studying Italian.
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I was scared to speak,
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especially with native speakers, because I was worried they were judging me.
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I expected that I had to be perfect.
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That was something that I struggled with.
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I'm a perfectionist.
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I always want to be perfect.
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But you have to keep in mind that most native speakers aren't judging you when you speak English.
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Seriously, most native speakers are not judging you.
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And if you don't believe me,
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I want you to ask yourself this question.
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Would you judge somebody learning your language?
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If you're like most people, you wouldn't.
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You'd actually be impressed.
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You'd be proud of them.
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You'd want to encourage them.
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And English speakers are no different.
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Native English speakers appreciate it when you make an effort to learn English.
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Now, obviously there are some people who will judge you.
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It's the case anywhere in life.
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And you have to do your best to ignore these people.
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You should not let them discourage you.
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They're just negative people.
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I'm sure you've experienced people like this.
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Maybe English speakers, but maybe speakers of your own language.
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So again, those are a very small minority of people.
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If you can ignore them,
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if you can forget about them,
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then that's really going to help you.
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But 99.9% of English speakers are not judging you for making mistakes.
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And honestly, English speakers make mistakes speaking English.
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This is something I see all the time.
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Maybe you've seen native speakers use double negatives.
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For example, I don't know nothing.
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This is wrong in English.
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We have to say, I don't know anything.
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Okay, native speakers get this wrong all the time.
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So just because somebody is a native English speaker doesn't mean they speak perfectly.
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If you're a perfectionist, if you always want to speak perfectly,
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I completely understand you because I'm the exact same way.
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Just open your mouth and speak.
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You can worry about grammar later,
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but in the moment, in the conversation,
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your priority should be speaking.
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Just opening your mouth and speaking.
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That's the key.
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Remember, the purpose of language is communication.
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It's not perfection.
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It's communication.
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So if you can express your ideas,
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if you can communicate what you want to say, you're doing fine.
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And if you keep doing this,
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if you keep getting into conversation with people in English,
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eventually you will improve.
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Eventually you will become fluent.
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It's a slow process.
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You have to be patient.
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Eventually you will become fluent.
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Now, I hope you found this video helpful.
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I hope I was able to motivate you a little bit and help you get out of your comfort zone,
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help encourage you to speak,
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which is super important, as we've seen.
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If you want to support the channel,
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make sure to subscribe here on YouTube.
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Leave a like if you found this video helpful.
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I hope you have a great day,
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and I'll see you in the next video.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, we tackle a common struggle faced by many English learners: understanding English without being able to speak it fluently. You will explore why this issue occurs and discover effective strategies to overcome it. Drawing an analogy between physical training at the gym and language learning, you will understand the importance of speaking practice. By applying these insights, you will not only build confidence in your spoken English but also enhance your overall communication skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Fluent: Able to speak a language easily and accurately.
- Communicating: The act of sharing or exchanging information.
- Self-conscious: Feeling nervous or uncomfortable about how you appear or what others think.
- Training: The act of practicing or working to improve skills.
- Nervous: Feeling anxious or uneasy, especially in new situations.
- Judging: Forming an opinion or conclusion about something or someone.
- Muscle: Tissue in the body that has the ability to contract and produce movement, used here as a metaphor for speaking skills.
Practice Tips
To effectively use the shadowing technique for enhancing your English speaking skills, consider the following tips:
- Use a Shadowing App: Find an app that allows you to listen to native speakers and repeat what they say. This can ease the pressure of speaking and help improve english pronunciation.
- Start Slow: Begin by shadowing at a slower speed that matches your comfort level. Gradually increase the pace as you gain confidence.
- Focus on Tone and Emotion: Pay attention to the tone and emotion in the speaker's voice. Shadow this not just for pronunciation, but also for emotional expression.
- Practice Regularly: Like training at the gym, consistency is key. Set aside time each day to practice speaking through shadow speak.
- Record Yourself: Hearing yourself can provide insights into areas for improvement. Compare your pronunciation and pacing to that of the original speaker.
Remember, the more you practice speaking, the stronger your skills will become—just like building muscles in the gym. Engage in conversations and don’t be afraid to make mistakes; it’s all part of the learning process!
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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