Shadowing Practice: winter is here | gothic literature, design week & self discipline - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hi, I'm just now realizing that I didn't really introduce this vlog, so hi.

We're starting off at the 100 Chairs exhibition on the last day of Melbourne Design Week.

One of my friends, as I mentioned in my last video, has a chair in this exhibition.

So I'm initially going for that.

But the exhibition was absolutely amazing.

There's so many beautiful pieces in there, both experimental and functional.

And it was just really cool to see the different ideas and craftsmanship across the same concept of creating a chair.

So that was really amazing.

And then I stopped in at a few other little solo exhibitions of painters and my favorite shop, Ma House, to find a beautiful vase.

And I ended up picking this bowl right here.

I love the little feet and the frosted glass.

So that's just sitting on my dining table at the moment.

I think that's all I really need to preface for the start of the video.

So I really hope you enjoy and yeah

hi cuties the lighting is a little bit intense right now

but we're just gonna go with it I've recently discovered the Glutenberg Bible on YouTube

and I have fallen in love with her videos

and she talks about this idea of creating a personal curriculum of reading or any sort of research

and I really like the idea of doing that and she's currently doing gothic literature

which I'm also quite interested in as well but I want to sort of build my own list.

I already have two that fall under the gothic literature category.

The first being The Monk by Matthew Lewis and then the second being The Picture of Dorian Gray.

So I kind of wanted to build out a list of

classical gothic literature as well as a few other maybe like horror slash thriller classics.

I don't really plan to include any sort of contemporary fiction

but I'll see what I find along the way as I'm sort of building my list

but a lot of the older um classics you can also just find pdfs online

and download if you don't mind reading off of a screen like an ipad

or even your laptop there is one that was on her list

and I found a pdf of it

and it's called castle of otranto by horace walpole it was published in 1764

so it's old and i already started it and the way

that it reads like it does have that old world sort of language

but it kind of holds up

and it's actually quite humorous well i find it humorous anyway

so i've already started that but i've just been doing a little bit of research and compiling my list

so i will share that with you i don't want to make it huge

because i don't want to overwhelm myself

and i'm someone who in my later young adult sort of

life i really struggle with discipline i did gymnastics for the

better part of 15 years from a very young age

and i was so disciplined you know training six days a week

and i was coaching as well and judging at competitions

and i was just heavily involved in the industry i guess

and i was still involved in the industry for a few years after um finishing my training

so yeah i feel like i've spent a lot of my childhood being extremely disciplined

so in my adult life i find it very hard to push myself

and sort of follow through on things because i was made to do

so many things that i didn't want to do

but i had to so now when i don't really want to do something

or i lose interest i try not to guilt myself into doing something however it is good to push yourself

and do hard things

so i want to find like a happy medium of this is a challenge

but not too much where i'm gonna like completely derail

and just not follow through and I feel like doing it for you guys

and for my channel or at least holding myself accountable through this channel

and providing you guys updates will really help with that.

Now I did recently read Rebecca which is technically a 20th century gothic

and I loved that so I'm gonna try and find some other ones

that fit in the 20th century

but I think to start I'll be finishing the castle of Ocanto

and then starting the monk and we'll see how we go

but I'll share my list when it's complete

and then tomorrow I'm doing something really exciting I'm going to visit my friend Ellie she lives down the coast

and she is studying to be a kinesiologist

and we're going to do a session

and then I'm just going to like spend the night at her place

and we're just going to spend some time together maybe go down to the beach

or go out for a little dinner and really just hang out um I'm

so excited I love kinesiology one of my friends moms growing up was a kinesiologist

and I did some sessions with her and I just find it to be so such an amazing

like modality of healing and physical and mental therapy and emotional therapy

so there's a few little things happening this week but it's mostly just work which is always fun yay

I'm ready to go.

happy saturday i'm in search of a book club pick today matt and i are gonna do our own little

book club

so we're going to look together for something to read we're gonna try to keep it under 300 pages just

so we don't get into any sort of slump

but we're gonna go do that

and then we're gonna poke around the shops for a little bit

and just kind of enjoy our Saturday the Sun is out today

so that's why I've got my cute little oak meadow dress on it's been

so dreary so So I'll take any opportunity to wear this dress.

I don't really have much planned for the weekend.

I'm going to the markets tomorrow with a friend, which you'll see.

We're going to the South Melbourne markets. But yeah, that's what we have in

store for the

day it's turned really cold

and windy today so I was gonna maybe go to the cinema tonight

because they're doing a showing of call me by your name I think it's on for a few weeks though

so I don't definitely have to go tonight I was thinking about it

but now I'm thinking I just want to stay in

because it's freezing and we'll have dumplings for dinner

and I just really want to read my book I really

want to finish this I barely got any time to read during the week

because I was just so busy with work

and I'm determined I have this much to go so I'm thinking

that if I just lock in for the evening I should be able to almost get it finished

if not finish it but I'm drinking this really yummy tea it's a gin mitra and it's so yummy

100

it's like a roasted rice tea and it is so

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so delicious i don't have any honey in it

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or anything just as is

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and i can see myself having a few more cups of this tonight

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and maybe even a lemon ginger and then some dumplings later

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when i get hungry yeah it's just going to be a chill night in

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I'm so

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excited.

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I could honestly drink that.

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I feel like this in a Bloody Mary would go absolutely crazy.

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Cheers.

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I need to like dislodge it.

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Yum.

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That is so good.

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I'm on the hunt for some fresh flowers

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and Chloe just told me about this florist

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so I'm going to check it out and see if I can find anything nice.

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Also, I haven't given my thoughts yet.

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We went and saw the Michael Jackson movie on Friday night.

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And I know there's like mixed opinions on the fact they didn't touch on any of the allegations against him.

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However, I loved it.

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I think that regardless of what you think of the pacing and the storyline as a whole, it just brought like a tear to my eye

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that his nephew Jafar just embodied him

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so well like he just did such a beautiful job

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and I think as a family his son Prince was an executive producer

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or main producer I'm not entirely sure

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but I think I saw an interview of him saying that

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when he first saw Jafar when they were doing the first sort of screen tests

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that he was like I needed a minute

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because I just wanted to hug him

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because I hadn't seen my dad in a really long time

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and that just made me want to absolutely ball

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so I think he did such a good job like it

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was just uncanny I do think it was like potentially a little surface level

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and I didn't really go into much of Michael's intricacies as a person, but yeah,

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it was more of a celebration of Michael rather than kind of like digging deep into his real sort of internal life.

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But regardless, I think that it was so, so, so good.

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I'm on such a Michael Jackson kick now, just like I was after Coachella, just listening to Justin Bieber nonstop.

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Now I'm just obsessed with Michael Jackson again.

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I forgot that I actually had one of his records

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and I put it on yesterday I was just like absolutely loving it cooking breakfast Saturday morning vibes

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so yeah I'm just heading home from the markets now I

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picked up some flowers I want to do I've got an Ikebana frog

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and I want to do like a little flower arrangement with the poppies

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that I just bought I hope I can find it I know

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that I've got it somewhere I just need to dig it out

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but I don't really have much on for the rest of the day Okay. so so

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i did some damage it's not really 100 my fault i know i said i wouldn't buy

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any more books that was specifically for Europe although I'm just I just shouldn't say it

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because I can't really be trusted but the first ones

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that I'll show you there was a three for two deal at readings

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and on the class on the modern classics and Matt

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and I have been wanting to do a little book club between the two of us

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and we ended up deciding on the sundial by Shirley Jackson

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which I'm super stoked about because the list that I've been putting together for

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gothic lit and horror this was going to be on it for me

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and I'm so glad that he was interested in the plot of this

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so I'm super super excited to read this and then within

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that deal we also picked up The Chrysalis by John Winham I've never heard of this before um

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but Matt picked this out

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and it's a kind of a sci-fi I guess you would say I'm very intrigued about this

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and then I also picked up chess by Stefan Zweig this will be my first book

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that I've read by him it's very short

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so I should be able to get through this in one sitting to be fair

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and it'll be my first introduction to his work

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which I'm very excited about sorry Pickle's just on my pen

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and then on my way home from the grocery store yesterday I just stopped in at the op shop

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which is nearby my house and I always just have a look in their classics section

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that they've got

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and I got three books two of them look basically brand new the first one is Northanger Abbey

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and this was on my list for the gothic lit reading

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that I want to be doing so

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when I saw it for two dollars I just thought it's a perfect opportunity felt quite serendipitous

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so I picked that up and then also Pride

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and Prejudice by Jane Austen as well I don't know it's

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just a classic I feel like I should read it again

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two dollars it it literally hasn't been read I don't think like it's basically brand new

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and then another serendipitous moment is I found Henry James the turn of the screw and other stories

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again this was on the list that I was compiling

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so it felt like I was meant to go in there

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and find these books

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so I couldn't say no I think all up at the option I spent six dollars

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and I absolutely love this cover it is a vintage a vintage printing of a penguin modern classic

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this one even has quite a few inscriptions

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and like writing around the edges although I can't quite make it out

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because the pencil that they've used is very light let me try to find a page

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see here the pencil they've used is really really light

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so I can't quite decipher all of what they're trying to take notes of

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but I just thought that was really cool

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and it might I don't know it might inform my reading experience a little bit

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but it does unfortunately have this texter through some of the title there on the spine but

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hey I just thought I couldn't pass up these two specifically

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because it just felt right and they were on the list that I was compiling anyway so the universe knew.

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As for my gothic lit list I broken it up into three categories which is foundations, 19th century and 20th century.

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Everything on the foundations is basically to explore the origin of the gothic lit genre itself

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and also any other authors that heavily influenced the era.

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That list includes The Castle of Otronto by Horace Walpole, which was published in 1764.

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Secondly is The Monk by Matthew Lewis, which was published in 1796.

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And then also on that list is Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, which is why when I saw it at the op shop, I just said that I had to get it.

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And then also The Mysteries of Brutal Foe, which I don't know if I'm saying that correctly, but by Anne Radcliffe that was published in 1794.

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I think I'll have to find a PDF copy of this online as well.

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And then moving into the 19th century, I've got Frankenstein by Mary Shelley published in 1818,

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte published in 1847, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I also have a physical copy of

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that I thrifted a long time ago as well published in 1880

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and then the turn of the screw by henry james published in 1898 again serendipitous

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that i found this and then also dracula

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and then moving into the 20th century rebecca by daphne de

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moria is found in a lot of recommendations for this sort of reading list

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which i've already read also beloved by tony morrison which i haven't read And then I guess it's more horror,

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but that's why I wanted to include Shirley Jackson, The Sundial, and then maybe even Haunting of Hill House by her as well.

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There's a lot of other books that I could include on the list, but these are the ones that I'm going to be reading.

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That's everything that I have included in my list.

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Obviously, if you do your own research online, you'll see a lot of other recommendations.

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these are kind of more of the cornerstone books

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that a lot of people recommending for diving into gothic lit

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i will share my google doc in the description below

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if you want to follow along i'm not really gonna set

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myself um like a timeline to finish these i'm just gonna plug away at it as I can

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but I think it'll be really sort of fun and interesting to be able to

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really stick to one genre specifically and be able to find common themes

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and tropes throughout the genre so I'm quite excited for that.

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Let me know if you've got a specific genre of fiction that you really love.

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This vlog has been like a little all over the place so I apologize for that

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but yeah thank you for spending the week with me I really appreciate it

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and let me know what you've been up to this week I'll see you in the next one

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “winter is here”. This video has 224 sentences and 2791 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:01. The speaker talks at a steady 133 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
genre noun	/ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/	A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.
compile verb	/kəmˈpaɪl/	To make by gathering pieces from various sources.
serendipitous adjective	/ˌsɛ.ɹɛnˈdɪp.ɪ.təs/	by serendipity; by unexpected good fortune
monk noun	/mʌŋk/	A male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service.
dumpling noun	/ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/	Specifically, a ball of dough used in stews and other sauced dishes; a thick noodle.
kinesiologist noun		One who practises kinesiology.
sundial noun	/ˈsʌnˌdaɪ.əl/	A device measuring the time of day by the position of a shadow cast by a pole or plate (gnomon) upon an engraved series of marks.
vlog noun	/ˈvlɑɡ/	A weblog using video as its primary presentation format.
yummy adjective	/ˈjʌm.i/	Delicious.
humorous adjective	/ˈhjuːməɹəs/	Full of humor or arousing laughter; funny.
pencil noun	/ˈpɛnsəl/	A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper.
recommendation noun	/ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/	An act of recommending.
vintage noun	/ˈvɪn.tɪd͡ʒ/	The yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard or district during one season.
cornerstone noun	/ˈkɔɹ.nɚ.stoʊn/	A stone forming the base at the corner of a building.
craftsmanship noun	/ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/	The quality of being a craftsman.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
build out verb		To develop or expand (a system, structure, project, etc.).
fall under verb		To belong to for purposes of categorization.
follow along verb		To continue behind or beside an animal, person, vehicle or other object, especially as a companion.
follow through verb		To execute or complete a commitment.
get through verb	/ɡɛt ˈθɹu/	To overcome; to endure.
grow up verb		To mature and become an adult.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I don't really have much planned for the weekend.
Also, I haven't given my thoughts yet.
That's everything that I have included in my list.

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 just been doing · have been wanting · I've been putting
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have fallen · i've already started · i've spent
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was published · was still involved · was made
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	someone who in · Rebecca which is · work which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 116 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thrift /ˈθɹɪft/, wuther /ˈwʌðɚ/, thriller /ˈθɹɪ.lə/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, craftsmanship /ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/, allegation /ˌæl.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/, inscription /ɪnˈskɹɪpʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: serendipitous /ˌsɛ.ɹɛnˈdɪp.ɪ.təs/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, intricacy /ˈɪn.tɹɪ.kə.si/, kinesiology /kəˌni.ziˈɔ.lə.d͡ʒɪ/, allegation /ˌæl.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like genre, compile, serendipitous.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: winter is here | gothic literature, design week & self discipline - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?