Prática de Shadowing: You Only Need 5 Tenses to Speak English Confidently (Not 12!) - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo

Making English Easy for Everyone.

Speak English with Jay and May.

Hey English learners!

Welcome back to Speak English with Jay and May,

your cozy little place to build your English confidence.

I'm May.

Hello, May, and hello everyone!

I'm Jay.

How are you today, May?

I'm doing great, Jay.

Actually, I'm a little excited today because our topic is something I wish someone had told me years ago.

Oh yeah?

What is it?

OK, so English has like, what, 12 tenses?

Maybe more.

Twelve?

I think I counted like 16 once in a grammar book.

I almost cried.

Right?

And you know what's funny?

Native speakers, people who grew up speaking English their whole lives,

most of them only use five tenses in daily conversation.

Wait, only five?

Only five.

And today, we're going to tell you exactly which five they are and how to use them naturally.

OK, I need this.

I seriously need this, because every time I open a grammar book,

I see things like, future perfect continuous,

and I just close the book.

Future perfect continuous.

You know, I had a student once who studied that tense for two weeks.

Two whole weeks.

And then she went to a coffee shop in New York,

and the barista said, what do you want?

And she completely froze.

No way!

Yes!

Because she was so busy studying complicated tenses,

she forgot the simple ones.

She didn't know how to say,

I want a coffee, please.

That is painful.

That is so relatable.

So today, no pain.

Only the five tenses that will actually get you through real conversations,

job interviews, travel, friendships, everything.

I love it.

Let's go.

What's the first one?

Okay.

Number one, and this is the most important one.

Simple present.

Things you do regularly.

Facts.

Habits.

Routines.

Like, I drink coffee every morning.

Exactly.

Or, she works at a hospital.

Or, water boils at 100 degrees.

Simple, clean, powerful.

You mean like, this is the tense I use when I talk about my life?

Yes.

Think about it.

When someone asks, what do you do?

Or, where do you live?

You answer in simple present.

It's the tense of your identity.

Oh wow, I never thought of it that way.

The tense of your identity.

That's cool.

And here's a little mistake I hear all the time.

People say, I am study English.

But the correct form is, I study English.

No am needed there.

Oh yeah, I think I've made that mistake before.

More than once.

It's super common.

Don't worry.

The rule is simple.

For habits and facts, just use the base verb.

I eat, she eats, they eat.

Got it.

So simple present is tense number one.

What's number two?

Number two, present continuous.

This is what's happening right now or around this time in your life.

Okay, like, I am learning English right now.

Perfect example.

Or, she is sleeping.

Or, they are building a new school in my neighborhood.

It's action that is in progress.

Wait, so what's the difference?

Like, when do I use simple present and when do I use present continuous?

Great question.

Okay, imagine your friend calls you and says, What do you do? versus What are you doing?

Oh, what do you do means my job,

and what are you doing right now, this second?

Exactly.

100

I teach English, that's my job, simple present.

101

I am teaching a class right now,

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that's happening at this moment, present continuous.

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That is such a clear way to explain it.

104

I feel like I finally get that.

105

And here's the interesting part.

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Present continuous also works for future plans,

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like, I am meeting my friend tomorrow.

108

Wait, that's future, but you use am meeting?

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Yes.

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When the plan is already arranged,

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already decided, native speakers use present continuous.

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I'm flying to Tokyo next week.

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We're having dinner tonight.

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Wow, so one-tenth does two jobs.

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Two jobs.

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Very efficient.

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Okay, okay.

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So we have simple present and present continuous.

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What's tense number three?

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Number three, simple past.

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And this one, Jay, this one is the storyteller's best friend.

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The storyteller's best friend.

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I like that.

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Any time you're telling something that already happened yesterday,

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last week, when you were a child,

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simple past is your tense.

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Like, I went to the market yesterday.

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Yes.

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She called me last night.

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We had a great time at the party.

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Done.

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Finished.

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In the past.

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But this is where irregular verbs make me crazy.

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Like go becomes went.

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Come becomes came.

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Why can't it just be goad?

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Oh, I feel you.

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You know, I used to tell my students irregular verbs are like old family members.

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They have their own rules and you just have to learn their names.

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That's actually a really funny way to think about it.

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But honestly, the most common irregular verbs,

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go, come, eat, see, buy,

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make, and take, if you learn just those,

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you can tell like 90% of your stories.

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That's so reassuring.

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So I don't need to memorize all irregular verbs.

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Not all at once.

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Start with the most common ones and add more slowly.

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Language learning is a journey, not a race.

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Okay, I love that.

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Tense number three, simple past.

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What's four?

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Okay, number four, and this one changes everything for sounding more natural, present perfect.

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Ooh, okay, I know this one is tricky.

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Have plus something.

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Yes.

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Have or has plus the past participle.

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Like, I have visited Paris.

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She has eaten sushi before.

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We have watched that movie.

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You mean like, it happened before,

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but I don't say exactly when?

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That's the key.

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When the exact time doesn't matter,

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or when the experience is connected to now, you use present perfect.

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It's like a bridge between the past and the present.

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A bridge.

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Okay, that's a great way to see it.

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So, think about this.

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If someone asks, have you ever tried Korean food?

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They don't care if it was last Tuesday or five years ago.

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They just want to know your experience.

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Ah, so I say, yes,

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I have tried it, not,

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yes, I tried it last year.

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Exactly.

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Unless you want to say when,

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then you switch to simple past.

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I tried it last year when I visited Seoul.

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Wait, here's the interesting part.

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So I use present perfect to talk about the experience and then simple past when I add the time detail?

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You just explained it perfectly.

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I'm so proud right now.

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I'm proud of myself too.

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And Present Perfect is also great for recent news.

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The president has announced a new policy.

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Scientists have discovered something amazing.

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It happened recently and it's still relevant.

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Oh, that's why news articles always sound like that.

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The company has released a new product.

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I always wondered why they write it that way.

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Now you know.

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Present Perfect makes it feel fresh and connected to today.

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This is so good.

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Okay, number five, last one.

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Number five, simple future with will.

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This is your go-to for predictions,

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decisions made in the moment, and promises.

200

Like, I will call you later?

201

Exactly.

202

Or, it will rain tomorrow.

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Don't worry, I will help you.

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Clean, simple, direct.

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So, this is different from present continuous future, right?

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Like, I'm meeting my friend tomorrow.

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That was already planned.

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But, I will is more spontaneous?

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Oh, wow, yeah, you're getting it.

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I'm meeting my friend tomorrow.

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That was planned in advance.

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I will meet you there,

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decided right now, in this moment.

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Can you give me a quick example of both so I can really feel the difference?

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Sure.

216

Imagine your phone rings and your friend says,

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Can you help me move boxes this weekend?

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You think for one second and say,

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Sure, I will help you.

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That's a spontaneous decision, so you use will.

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And if I already knew about it before the call?

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Then you'd say, yes, I'm helping you this weekend,

223

because it was already arranged.

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This is where things change for me.

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I used will for everything before.

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I didn't know there were two ways to talk about the future.

227

Most learners do that.

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And honestly, using will for everything is not a disaster.

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People will still understand you.

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But once you know both,

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you sound so much more natural.

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Okay, so let's do a quick review.

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Can you run through all five super fast?

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Absolutely.

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Number one, simple present.

236

I drink coffee every day.

237

Number two, present continuous.

238

I am drinking coffee right now.

239

Number three, simple past.

240

I drank coffee this morning.

241

Number four, present perfect, I have never drunk black coffee before.

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Number five, simple future, I will drink coffee after this podcast.

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I love that you used coffee for all five.

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I was thirsty, what can I say?

245

Okay, listeners, I want you to imagine something.

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Imagine you're at a party and someone asks,

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oh, so you speak English?

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What do you say?

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And now, with these five tenses,

250

you can say, Yes, I study English every day.

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Right now, I am working on my grammar.

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I started two years ago.

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I have made a lot of progress.

254

And one day, I will speak English like a native.

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Amazing!

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Five tenses.

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One powerful answer.

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That's the goal.

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Not to impress people with complicated grammar,

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just to communicate clearly and confidently.

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You know, what I think is the biggest takeaway here,

262

it's that you don't need all the tenses to speak well.

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You just need to master the right ones.

264

Exactly.

265

And these five cover probably 95% of real conversations.

266

Work, travel, friendships, stories, plans, all of it.

267

To be honest, I feel a little embarrassed that I spent so much time worrying about tenses I never even use.

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Don't be embarrassed.

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That's the trap of traditional grammar books.

270

They want to be complete.

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But speaking?

272

Speaking wants to be useful.

273

Complete versus useful.

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I'm writing that down.

275

Good.

276

OK, let's do our vocabulary moment.

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Yes, I love this part.

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Alright, five phrases we used today that are super useful in real life.

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Ready?

280

Ready.

281

Phrase number one, go-to.

282

I said simple future with will is your go-to.

283

Go-to means your first choice,

284

the thing you always use or rely on.

285

Like, pizza is my go-to food when I'm tired.

286

Easy, comfortable choice.

287

Perfect.

288

Phrase two, in progress.

289

I said present continuous means action in progress.

290

It means something is happening and not finished yet.

291

Like, the construction is in progress.

292

The building isn't done yet.

293

Great example.

294

Phrase three, a bridge between.

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I said present perfect is a bridge between the past and the present.

296

A bridge connects two things.

297

You mean like it links two ideas together,

298

like that experience was a bridge between my old life and my new one.

299

Beautiful sentence.

300

I love that.

301

Phrase 4.

302

Spontaneous.

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A spontaneous decision is one you make quickly, without planning.

304

Like, we made a spontaneous trip to the beach,

305

no planning, just grabbed our bags and went.

306

That sounds like a great day.

307

And phrase five, go through.

308

Actually, I used go through earlier.

309

What tense do I go through?

310

To go through something means to experience it or to move through a process.

311

Like, I went through a lot of mistakes before my English improved.

312

That's so real.

313

Very real and very normal.

314

Every learner goes through that.

315

Okay.

316

I feel like this episode was a game changer, like genuinely.

317

I hope so.

318

And you know what I want to say to everyone listening right now?

319

Don't be afraid of making mistakes with tenses.

320

The goal isn't perfect grammar.

321

The goal is connection.

322

Connection.

323

That's beautiful.

324

Because language is really about connecting with people, right?

325

Exactly.

326

When you speak, people are listening to you,

327

your story, your ideas, your personality, not your tenses.

328

Okay, I have one final question for our listeners before we close,

329

and this is a fun one.

330

Ooh, let's hear it!

331

Using any of the five tenses we talked about today,

332

can you write one sentence about yourself?

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Like I study English because… or I have always wanted to… or I will never stop.

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Oh, I love this!

335

Drop your sentence in the comments.

336

We want to read every single one.

337

Honestly, even if it has a mistake, share it.

338

That's how you learn.

339

We are all here to grow together.

340

And hey, if this episode helped you today,

341

do us a little favor.

342

Hit that subscribe button.

343

We make a new episode every single day,

344

and we don't want you to miss any of them.

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Every day.

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That's right.

347

We're here for you every single day on your English journey.

348

Because building confidence takes practice,

349

and we want to be part of that practice.

350

Alright everyone, thank you so much for spending this time with us today.

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You're amazing for showing up.

352

You really are.

353

Keep going, keep speaking, and remember,

354

every sentence you say in English is a win.

355

See you tomorrow!

356

See you tomorrow, English learners.

357

Take care.

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.

Prática de Shadowing: You Only Need 5 Tenses to Speak English Confidently (Not 12!) - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo

Sobre Esta Lição

Vocabulário e Frases Chave

Dicas de Prática

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?