Shadowing Practice: you really can reinvent yourself at any time - Learn English Speaking with Video

I'm going to go to the next episode of the Cheers.

Oh, these are the only shots I get to use my shot glasses for.

Oh yeah, you wanted that?

Not really.

It wasn't a thing where people were like, with these and these.

When I'm on Broadway Market, you know the deal.

There's one place I have to go, and that is Clemson's for a coffee.

Also, yeah, my voice is completely gone.

I have all pointiest voice.

I have no idea how visible I am.

I should put my sunglasses on.

It's so funny.

I went for a cold brew.

And I always add like a splash of milk.

It's good.

What a nice start to a Tuesday.

I actually can't put this on there.

There's no room where you are.

Anyway, I need to go home and actually work.

I've got a little bit of work to do in terms of emails talking about work, like paid work.

In terms of like partnerships, you have to pitch to the brand you're working with

and then they pitch back and like that kind of pre-production stuff has to get done.

And then I'm also going to do some of the teaser edits for the song that comes out on Monday.

Monday.

It's the first song in a while, like in probably six months.

It's a new era.

I'm so excited.

I feel like I have a really fun vision for the next few songs.

But yeah, I've got to like do some like teaser posts, I think.

So I'll edit those up.

It's not officially work.

Typically, I do all the music stuff on my weekends and evenings, but I'm allowing myself a bit more time at the moment, like I booked a shoot and stuff like that.

So yeah, that's my update.

By By the end of the week there will be a song out. So crazy!

I'm on route to have dinner with my friends.

One of my home friends is back from Texas.

She's been there for like a year.

My first time seeing us, it's Christmas.

oh Yeah,

thank you Look who I met.

We haven't seen each other in what, like, maybe years?

We had a really nice chat about ourselves today.

And I feel like every now and again we send each other in a good voice.

Hey, who's a good girl?

I feel like I probably met you 12 years ago.

Oh my gosh, yes, I remember.

I think I came up to you, I think I'm starstruck.

Yeah, I think we were on our own and we were like, let's hang out together because we're both on our own.

Oh my god, I do remember this in that old office.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The old YouTube office.

I remember.

It's so nice to see you.

Oh my God, how can you see you?

Ah, it's so nice.

These events are so good.

I have sweated off any makeup I once had on my face.

I ran from that event to the station.

And now I'm on my way to see my mom and dad.

I'm taking my dad to the pub.

I'm trying to take him out more

because I feel like it can be hard just where he's located and all of that.

Just makes it a little more complicated.

But now we have some of our ducks in a row.

Yeah, trying to improve his quality of life.

I thought I'd try and write something while I'm on the train.

Sometimes I manage to work, sometimes I just get sick.

So yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

I have had a genuinely really lovely work day.

I have had two meetings.

I had one in person and one over Zoom.

What's Google's one?

Google me.

First meeting was in Battersea Power Station.

You'd be shocked at how many brands are based in Battersea Power Station.

And the second one was with my manager, Lucy.

I've just moved manager.

I'm still in the same company, but I work with someone else now.

She's such a gem.

I'm a big fan.

And yeah, then I just finished a piece I was working on for Substack about Dolly, which I managed to start on the train down to see my dad and mum.

Also, terrible news.

It has started raining in London.

Our heat waves are over.

Summer is done.

Actually so devastated.

I don't know how I'm going to survive the winter.

Every year that goes by that I live in England, which is my whole life, I become less and less tolerant of the weather.

I would have thought it would get easier.

It's almost like it's compounding.

And then I did some emailing for fashion week, which feels scary as I feel like such an imposter.

But I would really like to get some stuff booked in this year and I need to take it seriously.

So that's what I've been doing, utilising every contact I have.

So this evening I'm going to an event solo.

I'm going to a gig.

Kenny Beats and Denzel Curry are doing a show.

I have no idea what to expect.

It's at The Cause.

They had some tickets spare.

100

I managed to wrangle one.

101

I haven't been to The Cause since Kenny played there with Fred again in 2022.

102

No, that's not true.

103

That's actually not true.

104

Do you know what?

105

I think I went as a plus one to a Jack Daniels event.

106

Maybe last summer.

107

I'm actually just so used to being around booze.

108

It really doesn't bother me at all and I'm very much of the opinion

109

that like if you don't have a problem with booze like why would you stop drinking

110

if you can have fun safely like absolutely go for it but sometimes

111

when there's an event that's particularly boozy I do feel a

112

bit like an interloper like there were obviously no sober options I think I was just drinking Diet Coke anyway

113

that was the last time I was at the cause actually

114

and I actually had such a good night

115

that night I remember like being in the smoking area talking to all my friends friends

116

that I hadn't met

117

so yeah this will be lovely I just need to hurry up the arrival time

118

or like the entry is at 7pm which is

119

if you know the cause it's like a nightclub

120

so that's a really strange like opening time for them

121

so I really don't know when they'll be on

122

if they'll have support I assume it functions like a regular gig

123

so I took all my makeup off and started again

124

because I don't know what's going on with my skin this year

125

but it rockets between being completely clear and completely spotty and we're talking like

126

zits it's like dirt spots or like sebum spots all through my t-zone

127

and I really just don't know what's going on and the fact

128

that it's not all the time as well sometimes I really

129

get a handle on it there was a period at the

130

beginning of summer where I had the best skin of my life

131

when I'm using the current body mask every day it really

132

really helps it definitely helps with oil control I clean my

133

makeup brushes once a week now I'm really like careful with this stuff

134

and I know what's set off the main spots this time around

135

when we were away I put my cap on

136

while I was in the sea and then it fell off in the sea

137

and then I kept wearing it and I know that's why I had just

138

so many spots across my forehead

139

and I started the week with literally perfect skin I just should have been more thoughtful it was

140

so frustrating but hey we can't do it all today I think

141

because it's been rainy but it's still a bit warm it's just

142

so humid I've been sweating one out powder is a must I think I said this

143

but I'm going solo which does make me kind of nervous

144

but like I'm quite an independent person

145

and honestly I can just have a drink have a little scroll on my phone like people watch.

146

I really don't mind too much but it does make me a little nervous beforehand.

147

I'm also like a big chatter so

148

if you ever see me alone in a queue do come and say hi because I will chat back.

149

I think it's such a beautiful thing to meet new people.

150

You really never know who you're going to meet.

151

I remember once I was at a work event

152

and I knew pretty much everyone at dinner

153

but there was one lady who I was sitting next to who I didn't know.

154

I didn't recognize.

155

We had a lovely lovely conversation but during that conversation she didn't tell me anything about what she does.

156

We kind of just talked about life and I just found her so so lovely.

157

Then at the end of the chat I said oh is it all right if I follow you on Instagram?

158

She said yeah of course, and handed over her phone and it was Gemma Stiles.

159

And yeah, Gemma is just an absolute gem.

160

Like, I'm so grateful that I got to sit next to her at

161

that one dinner because she's genuinely just a really nice down-to-earth person.

162

I meet people all the time who are just genuinely really lovely people.

163

I got talking to my neighbours and now we're good friends and we have dinner at each other's houses.

164

Another one is me and my friends used to go all the time to a restaurant called Sodo, which is a really, really good pizza in Bethnal Green.

165

We just talked to the manager, Nathan.

166

We went so often and we went to see him so much, we actually became mates.

167

Those little relationships in life are so amazing.

168

He doesn't work at Soda anymore, sadly.

169

Oh, I need to quickly curl the fronts of my hair again, I think.

170

Maybe I don't, maybe I just need to brush it.

171

Maybe this will just have to do.

172

We move, we move.

173

Anyway, I'd better get going.

174

Last night

175

was so much fun.

176

I arrived at the perfect time.

177

There was enough time for me to get a drink, use the bathroom, and then the set started.

178

I was definitely unk in that crowd.

179

Most of the people there were young boys like some were definitely teens

180

but yeah I was an outlier there were a few girls

181

but yeah it was

182

so good I had such a good time I love Zoo by Denzel that's my favorite of his albums

183

so I reserve today for making a bit of music I

184

have done six out of seven songs in my projects

185

that I'm making they've been sent to be mixed four are

186

mixed already one is coming out as you know in what three days two days

187

and I have a few options for track seven

188

but none of them seem to be either working like one of them I reworked

189

and it still doesn't sound quite right I changed the drums

190

on it it's just not there another one again is all right

191

but I think

192

if I brought it to someone else for another artist the capacity for it to be amazing is there

193

so I don't want to put that on the project

194

and then there's a third song that I wrote

195

and is done it just needs the vocals recording

196

but basically I send all of my songs to one of my best friends

197

and she doesn't like it and if she doesn't like it I am not sure

198

that it should make the tape because her judgment so far has been really in line with what other people think.

199

She seems to be a really good benchmark so if she's not loving it maybe I should leave it.

200

It kind of sounds like a scissor song

201

and I sometimes feel like I don't want to sound too too close to anyone in particular.

202

Not that I'm saying I could ever in a million years sound

203

or sing like scissor but the beat itself is very sos

204

and I just don't know if that's wholly me

205

so what I'm gonna do now is I've set my music stuff up here I'm gonna rattle through

206

and try and come up with three

207

or four really quick ideas I'm gonna set like 20 minutes of just beats

208

and then whichever one I like the most I'm gonna build out

209

and just see if I can come up with something

210

if I can't then I'll just figure out one of the other tracks and put it on the project,

211

but it would be nice to have something that feels like it completes the project in the vein that it's currently sounding.

212

So I've not even bothered bringing my microphone into this room because I am sore in the voice still.

213

I'm hoping that on Sunday I'll be able to sing.

214

And you might be wondering why I'm in my living room doing this.

215

I was in the spare room, which is where my little studio setup is last week

216

and I saw the largest spider I've seen in a

217

while it's a harvest spider they come out at this time

218

of year it's the first time I've seen a spider

219

that big in this flat really we only have tiny ones

220

which I can deal with I lost my marbles it ran

221

and I freaked out and I know it's still in there somewhere

222

so I'm just swerving that room right now there'll be a point in

223

which my memory fades and I'll be able to go back in but while I know 99% that he's still in there, I don't think me and him should be sharing a room.

224

I'm going to crack on with this and see if I can make any headway.

225

Okay, full transparency.

226

I did not end up making any good music.

227

Nothing worked logic wasn't working it was all just rubbish

228

but today's a fresh day

229

and we are going to a festival we're going to our friends 30th

230

but um it's at a little like local festival which is very sweet in cambridgeshire but we're going for lunch first

231

wet galleys Oh, crispies!

232

Yay!

233

Oh, some more crisps!

234

It's actually quite impressive about the electrics in this space and it's just raining on fire So far, though?

235

Something very exciting to report.

236

Plus One is out.

237

I was feeling so, so nervous.

238

Luckily, and thank goodness for past me, I scheduled my teaser posts for the song.

239

I probably wouldn't have posted anything had I not done that.

240

But yeah, once the song was out, I just felt all the nervousness leave my body.

241

I'm actually feeling all right now.

242

I'm going to make a second attempt at making a tune while it's bank holiday Monday.

243

I can't remember if I mentioned, but Friday was just a massive fail.

244

Nothing came out of it.

245

I don't feel very moved to make music when I'm not in the first half of my cycle.

246

But in a way that can sometimes work to my advantage

247

because I tend to do things a bit more by the book, a bit less experimentally and I tend to kind of follow

248

and like paint within the lines a bit more and I take the pressure off myself.

249

I'm like just give it a go, see how you do.

250

I try not to put too much weight on the streams at this point

251

because it's just such early days for me in my artist project.

252

The thing that is in my control is the promotion and luckily that's kind of my job so I can do that.

253

Also the bed is unmade

254

because I am brave enough now to be back in this room

255

but I'm not brave enough to touch that bed which is where I saw the spider.

256

He like scurried across the covers and just nope.

257

But I am brave enough to be here so I am going to try and make some in.

258

Let's see.

259

Let's see what I can do.

260

It's six o'clock and I have a loop.

261

Needs a different bass line.

262

But it's something nice.

263

I think it's really pretty.

264

I'm going to Elle's house.

265

She is feeding us because Dylan is in town.

266

Dylan is a creator who's Elle's friend who's in London for a while.

267

And so she invited us around to hang out.

268

Give him a warm welcome.

269

So I'm always more than happy to do that, especially when I'm being fed.

270

Apparently it's butter chicken tonight.

271

Okay, I need to leave the house.

272

Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “you really can reinvent yourself at any time”. This video has 272 sentences and 2840 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:41. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
spider noun	/ˈspaɪ̯dɚ/	Any of various eight-legged, predatory arthropods, of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs to catch prey.
teaser noun	/ˈtiːzɚ/	One who teases or pokes fun.
genuinely adverb	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/	In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly.
scissor verb	/ˈsɪzɚ/	To cut using, or as if using, scissors.
booze noun	/buz/	Any alcoholic beverage.
luckily adverb	/ˈlʌk.ɪ.li/	In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately.
sweat verb	/swɛt/	To emit sweat.
brush noun	/bɹʌʃ/	An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including…
spare adjective	/spɛɚ/	Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
edit verb	/ˈɛdɪt/	To change a text, or a document.
chatter verb	/ˈt͡ʃætɚ/	To talk idly.
crispy adjective	/ˈkɹɪs.pi/	Having a crisp texture; brittle yet tender.
excite verb	/ɪkˈsaɪt/	To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement.
experimentally adverb		In the manner of an experiment.
frustrate verb	/ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt/	To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come up with verb		To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
build out verb		To develop or expand (a system, structure, project, etc.).
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
come up to verb		To approach.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
hand over verb		To relinquish control or possession of something to someone.
set off verb		To leave; to set out; to begin a journey or trip.

Sentences worth repeating

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

I actually can't put this on there.
There's no room where you are.
I'm on route to have dinner with my friends.
We haven't seen each other in what, like, maybe years?
Hey, who's a good girl?

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 been doing · I've been sweating
“Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true	used to being · used to go
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	haven't seen · have sweated · I've just moved
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be shocked · is done · they've been sent

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 104 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: brush /bɹʌʃ/, benchmark /ˈbɛn(t)ʃmɑːk/, splash /splæʃ/, rubbish /ˈɹʌbɪʃ/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, interloper /ˌɪntəˈləʊ̯pə/, devastated /ˈdɛv.əˌsteɪ.təd/, transparency /tɹænsˈpæɹənsi/

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 spider, teaser, genuinely.

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 →

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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?