Shadowing Practice: Jack Ma's Life Story || Learn English Through Story Level 2🔥 || Graded Reader || Listening Practice✅ - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome to our channel, English Avenue.
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In today's video, we'll be practicing English through the inspiring story of Jack Ma.
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Tune in to improve your listening skills while learning about his incredible journey from rejection to success.
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Listen to me.
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Just give me your attention for a few minutes.
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This story is not just about a billionaire.
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It's not just about a man who built a company worth billions.
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This story is about you.
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Because Jack Ma's story is not about success.
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It's about pain, rejections, humiliation, failure, again and again and again.
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It's about a boy who was laughed at.
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A boy who was rejected by Harvard not once, not twice, but ten times.
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Everyone said he was not good enough.
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But you know what he said? he said, I will try again tomorrow.
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He was not rich.
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He was not a genius.
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He was not strong.
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He didn't even know how to code.
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But still, he became one of the richest and most respected men in the world.
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How?
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Because he had something that money can't buy.
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Believe in self.
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He had unbreakable hope.
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And he had a dream that was bigger than his fear.
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So today, I am not telling you a story about Jack Ma.
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I am showing you that you can rise too.
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No matter where you are in life, no matter how many times you've failed, there is a Jack Ma inside you too.
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Now sit back, Open your heart and feel every line of this story.
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Because from here, we go deep.
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His name was Ma Yun.
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Yes, Jack Ma is not his real name.
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His real name is Ma Yun, born on the 10th of September 1964 in Hangzhou, China.
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He was a small boy, thin and weak, with no special talents.
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His family was not rich.
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They didn't have a car or TV.
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They lived in a small house in a narrow street.
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But you know what made him different?
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He was curious.
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He asked questions.
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He wanted to know more about the world.
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He grew up at a time when China was still closed off from the rest of the world.
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No internet.
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No foreign education.
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No big dreams.
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But Jack wanted to see the world.
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He wanted to understand English.
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He wanted to connect with people from other countries.
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So what did he do?
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At the age of 12, he started riding his bicycle every morning to a hotel.
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The Hangzhou Hotel.
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Why?
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Because that's where foreign tourists came.
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Every day, he woke up at 5 a .m., took his old bicycle, and went to that hotel.
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He spoke to foreigners.
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He helped them around the city.
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He didn't want money.
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He just wanted to learn English.
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For nine years, he did this.
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Every single morning. For free.
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Do you see the power in that?
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Most people want quick success.
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But Jack was planting seeds for the future.
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Jack was never a great student.
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In fact, he failed his exams many times.
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In middle school, failed twice.
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In high school, failed three times.
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Even in college entrance exams, he failed two times.
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Can you imagine the pressure?
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In China, these exams decide your future.
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If you fail, people think you are useless.
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But Jack didn't care.
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He He just said, I'll try again.
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Finally, on his third attempt, he passed and got into Hangzhou Teachers Institute.
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He studied English and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.
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After graduation, Jack applied to 30 jobs.
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Every single one said no. He applied to become a police officer.
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They said, you are not fit.
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He applied to KFC.
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There were 24 people who applied.
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23 were hired.
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Only Jack was rejected.
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Even a simple hotel job rejected him.
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He was told, You are not good -looking enough.
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You talk too much.
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You don't have the right skills.
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Now think.
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How many people would just give up?
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How many people would say, Maybe I'm just not made for success?
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But Jack said something different.
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He said, I will find my own way.
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One day, while helping a tourist in Hangzhou, Jack became friends with an American family.
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They liked him so much, they gave him the nickname Jack because Ma Yun was hard to pronounce.
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From that day, Ma Yun became Jack Ma.
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This family also gave him hope.
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They told him about the world outside, about how life could be different.
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They even invited him to visit the USA.
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Jack started dreaming bigger.
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He applied to Harvard University ten times.
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Ten times he got rejected.
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Most people would feel broken.
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But Jack laughed and said, even if Harvard doesn't want me, the world still needs me.
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He started learning about the Internet.
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He was 31 years old when he saw the Internet for the first time.
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He typed the word beer in a search engine.
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He saw American beer, German beer, but no Chinese beer.
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He thought, how is it possible that my country with so many people has nothing on the Internet?
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Then he typed another word, China.
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Again, almost no results.
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That night, Jack Ma could not sleep.
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He sat near the window, staring at the stars.
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He kept asking himself, Why is China not on the Internet?
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Why don't we have anything online?
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Then slowly, a thought came to his mind.
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Maybe it's because no one has done it yet.
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Maybe that person could be me.
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He didn't know much about technology.
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He didn't know how websites worked.
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But he knew one thing.
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There was a problem.
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And every problem is an opportunity.
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When Jack returned to China, he had only one goal.
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To build a company that could help Chinese businesses go online.
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He borrowed $2 ,000 from his friends and started his first company called China Pages.
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It was a simple idea.
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Help small Chinese companies create websites and connect with the world.
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But there was a big problem.
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Back then, almost no one in China understood the Internet.
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People didn't trust it.
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They thought it was a joke.
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Jack and his team went door to door.
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They spoke to shopkeepers, manufacturers, small business owners.
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Most of them had never touched a computer.
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When Jack explained how the Internet could help their business grow, many people laughed.
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Some even said, are you crazy?
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Who will buy things on a screen?
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But Jack didn't stop.
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He believed in the future.
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He believed that one day people would shop online, talk online, live online.
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Still, China Pages didn't do well.
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It struggled because of too many rules, lack of support, and low trust from people.
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It was not a success.
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In fact, it was his first big failure in business.
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But here's what makes Jack different from others.
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He didn't cry.
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He didn't blame the world.
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He simply said, good.
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One thing failed.
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I learned from it.
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Now let's try again.
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It was 1999.
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Jack was now 35 years old.
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He had just returned from a government project where he worked for a few years, trying to help businesses go digital.
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But deep inside, his own dream was still alive.
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One day, he invited 17 of his friends to his small apartment in Hangzhou.
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They sat on the floor.
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There were no chairs, no table, no office.
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Just passion.
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Just belief.
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Just the burning dream.
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Jack stood up and said, I'm going to start a company.
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It will connect Chinese businesses to the world.
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I will call it Alibaba.
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His friends looked at him.
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Some smiled, some were confused.
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One friend asked, why Alibaba?
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Jack said, because everyone knows the story of Alibaba and the 40 thieves.
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The password was OpenSesame.
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My company will open the door to fortune for small businesses.
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It was a name people could remember.
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It sounded global, and it had magic inside it.
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That day, 18 people became the first team of Alibaba.
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Jack had no business model, no money from investors, no technology.
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But he had something more powerful.
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A team that believed in him and a belief that one day his small startup would change the world.
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In the beginning, Jack and his team worked from his apartment.
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They worked day and night, sleeping for only a few hours.
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There was no salary, no office, no comfort.
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But there was love.
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They believed they were building something historic.
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They created a platform where small businesses could list their products, and buyers from around the world could find them.
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At that time, Amazon and eBay were already growing in the West.
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But no one had done something big like this for Chinese businesses.
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Jack knew it was risky, but he also knew, if we don't do this now, someone else will.
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Still, money was a problem.
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He went to banks to ask for loans.
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But guess what?
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He was rejected by more than 10 banks.
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No clear plan.
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Too risky.
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No one will use it.
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That's what they said.
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But then came a big moment.
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A company from the USA called SoftBank and its founder Masayoshi's son met Jack.
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After talking with Jack for five minutes, he said, I will invest $20 million in your company.
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Jack was shocked.
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He asked, You don't want to see my business plan?
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Masayoshi -san said, I'm not investing in the plan.
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I'm investing in the person.
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That moment changed everything.
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Most bosses want to be the smartest person in the room, but Jack Ma was different.
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He once said, I hire people who are smarter than me.
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My job is not to be the best.
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My job is to bring out the best in others.
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He treated his team like a family.
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They celebrated small victories.
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They cried when things went wrong.
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They stayed together when they had no money.
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One time, when the company was close to shutting down, Jack called a meeting and said, Even if we have only one bowl of rice left,
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we will share it.
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That's who he was.
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A leader who made his team feel important.
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Not a boss, but a believer.
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In Jack's own words, getting money is not success.
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Now we have to prove that we deserve it.
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So what did Jack do?
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He didn't buy a big office.
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He didn't spend the money on luxury or advertising.
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Instead, he invested in people, technology, and building the right culture.
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Jack Ma believed one thing deeply.
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Culture is more important than strategy.
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He wanted his company to feel like a tribe, a family, a place where people worked with passion, not just for salary.
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Here's what Jack did differently.
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He gave everyone weird nicknames.
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Jack's nickname was Crazy Jack.
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Others were called Big Mouth, Tiger Face, Money Man, names that made people feel like they were part of something fun,
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unique, and united.
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Every employee, from coder to cleaner, was treated with respect.
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Jack once said, If you want people to work like owners, treat them like owners.
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They had morning dances in the office.
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Yes, dancing.
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Every morning the team would stretch, jump, and dance before starting work.
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Why?
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Because Jack believed that energy brings success.
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A happy team builds a happy company.
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On weekends, they would have karaoke nights in the office.
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Jack loved singing, even though he was not a good singer.
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But he said, When we sing together, we stay together.
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This was not a normal company.
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This was Alibaba, a family with a mission.
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By 2002, Alibaba was growing fast in China.
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Small businesses were signing up.
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Trade was increasing.
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People were beginning to understand the power of the Internet.
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But then came a storm.
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A big storm.
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eBay entered China.
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At that time, eBay was a giant, a powerful company from the West.
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They had money.
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They had technology.
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They had experience.
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And soon, eBay bought a Chinese company called EachNet and began to take over the Chinese market.
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Everyone thought Alibaba was finished.
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Even Jack's own team started to worry.
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They said, Jack, eBay is too big.
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We can't win.
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But Jack stood in front of his team and said something unforgettable.
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eBay is a shark in the ocean.
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But we are a crocodile in the Yangtze River.
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If we fight in the ocean, we lose.
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But if we fight in the river, we win.
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He knew China better than eBay.
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He knew how small businesses in China worked.
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He knew their language, their dreams, their fears.
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So Jack made a bold decision.
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He launched a new platform called Taobao in 2003.
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It was an online shopping website, just like eBay, but free.
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Yes, free.
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While eBay charged sellers to list products, Taobao allowed them to sell for free.
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Jack said, Let's win their hearts first.
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Money will come later.
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Jack brought together his team and said, We are not building a website.
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We are building the future of China.
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They worked nonstop.
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They stayed in the office.
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Some employees even slept under their desks.
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They ordered noodles and kept coding, testing, calling sellers, and fixing bugs.
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Jack would walk around the office late at night, talking to team members, giving them energy.
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He told them stories, made jokes, kept their spirits high.
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One night, when everyone was exhausted, he said, Remember, we are fighting for something bigger than us.
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One day you will tell your children that you were there when China's Internet was born. That gave them strength.
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That gave them fire.
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eBay noticed that Taobao was growing.
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So they started spending millions on advertising.
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They even tried to cut prices, match services, and buy other small competitors.
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But Jack had a secret weapon – understanding people.
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He knew Chinese sellers were not just looking for a platform.
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They were looking for support, community, and trust.
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So he added features like direct chat between buyer and seller, so they could talk freely.
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Colorful, fun designs, not the boring gray style of eBay.
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Tips and education for new sellers.
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Slowly, people started loving Taobao.
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They felt it was made for them.
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eBay felt like a foreign machine.
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Taobao felt like a local friend.
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The turning point.
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In 2005, something huge happened.
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Yahoo, another American internet giant, offered Jack Ma $1 billion to buy a 40 % share in Alibaba.
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Jack agreed.
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But he made sure of one thing.
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We control the company.
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No matter how much money they give, Alibaba will be run by us.
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With that money, Jack strengthened Taobao.
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He gave better services, hired more people, built bigger offices, and trained more sellers.
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eBay could not handle the pressure.
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They started losing ground.
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By 2006, eBay shut down their China operations.
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Jack had won.
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A small team in a small apartment had defeated a global giant.
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Did Jack celebrate wildly?
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No. He simply told his team, we didn't win because we are better.
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We won because we stayed close to the people.
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Let's never forget that.
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We are here to serve.
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That's what made him special.
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He never let success make him arrogant.
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He always stayed grounded, always stayed humble.
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After this big victory, Alibaba expanded quickly.
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AliExpress was launched to help small businesses sell to international customers.
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Alibaba Cloud was created to compete with Amazon Web Services.
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Alipay, their payment system, became China's largest online wallet.
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Jack didn't just build websites, he built an ecosystem, a whole online world.
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And he still did it with love, joy, and the same passion as day one.
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People all over the world wanted to hear him speak.
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universities like Harvard and Stanford invited him.
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World leaders wanted to meet him.
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Students saw him as their hero. And CEOs?
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They feared him or admired him.
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Sometimes both.
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But behind all this success, Jack was starting to feel something new.
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He was tired, not physically, not mentally.
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But he felt like his mission was bigger than business now.
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He started thinking about education, about young people, about the future of humanity.
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And that's when everything began to change.
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Between 2010 to 2014, Alibaba grew faster than ever.
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Aliexpress became one of the world's biggest platforms for global exports.
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Alipay, now Ant Financial, grew to become bigger than PayPal.
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Alibaba Cloud challenged Amazon Web Services in Asia.
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Taobao and Tmall ruled Chinese e -commerce.
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Jack always believed in serving the small guy.
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His vision was, let small businesses have the power of big companies.
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And he made it happen.
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By 2014, Alibaba was ready for a historic moment.
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The biggest IPO, initial public offering, in the history of the world.
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September 19, 2014.
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The world watched.
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Wall Street buzzed with excitement.
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Alibaba was about to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.
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People were calling it China's Amazon.
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Jack Ma walked into the NYSE wearing a simple suit, smiling calmly.
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But inside, he was nervous.
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He had never seen this kind of attention before.
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Cameras, reporters, billionaires, bankers, fans.
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When the IPO opened, Alibaba's value shot up to $231 billion.
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Jack Ma became the richest man in China overnight night.
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But when a reporter asked him, how do you feel about being the richest man?
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He simply said, this is not my money.
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I'm just holding it for the people.
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I want to use it wisely.
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That's Jack.
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Always humble.
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Always focused on impact, not luxury.
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After the IPO, Jack had everything.
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Fame, power, wealth, global respect.
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But his heart was moving in a different direction now.
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He wanted to change education.
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He wanted to help young people become dreamers, leaders, and kind humans.
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So he started the Jack Ma Foundation.
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He began visiting schools in poor areas.
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He donated money to education in rural China, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.
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He Jack Ma said, If I have to choose between being a billionaire or being a teacher, I choose teaching.
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He even started giving speeches to teenagers saying things like, Don't chase money.
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Chase learning.
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Don't fear failure.
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Learn from it.
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Don't try to be the best.
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Be the most unique.
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People began to call him the teacher billionaire.
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September 10, 2019 Jack's 55th birthday and Teacher's Day in China.
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He announced that he would retire from Alibaba.
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Not because he was tired.
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Not because he was bored.
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But because he believed.
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A good leader knows when to leave.
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If I stay too long, I become a boss.
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I want to leave as a friend.
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He organized a farewell like no other.
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More than 60 ,000 employees gathered in a stadium in Hangzhou.
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There were lights, music, tears, and dancing.
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Jack came on stage wearing a rock star outfit, leather jacket, guitar in hand, singing Chinese pop songs.
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He laughed, he cried, he danced.
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In his final speech he said, I was never smart.
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I failed many times, but I never gave up.
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If I can do it, you can too.
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Believe in yourself, love your dream, and remember, the best is yet to come.
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The crowd stood and clapped for ten minutes.
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That night, China cried with joy.
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Jack had left as he promised, not as a king, but as a friend.
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The mysterious disappearance.
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He spoke at universities.
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He explored Africa.
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He launched programs for rural teachers.
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He focused on philanthropy.
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But in late 2020, something strange happened.
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Jack gave a speech in Shanghai.
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He criticized the Chinese financial system and said it needed reform.
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Soon after that, Jack Ma disappeared from public view.
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No interviews, no speeches, no tweets, no sightings.
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For three full months, the world didn't know where he was.
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Rumors started flying.
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Was he arrested?
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Was he in house arrest?
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Was he warned by the government?
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Nobody knew.
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Even international media like CNN and BBC asked, Where is Jack Ma?
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Then one day, he reappeared in a short video, calm and smiling.
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But something had changed.
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He looked tired.
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His voice was soft.
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He said he was focusing on teaching and philanthropy now.
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Many believe he was forced to stay quiet after speaking against the system.
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But Jack never confirmed or denied anything.
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He simply stepped back, and that became part of his legend.
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Jack Ma's Net Worth and Wealth Jack Ma's net worth has changed over time due to stock market changes,
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government pressure, and his own choice to step away from business.
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At his peak, his net worth was around 65 to 70 billion dollars, making him the richest man in China.
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Even after stepping back, he still holds billions in assets, investments, and shares in Alibaba and Ant Group.
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But you know what's surprising?
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He doesn't live like a billionaire.
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He still wears simple clothes, avoids luxury cars, and lives quietly.
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Because to Jack Ma, success isn't about money.
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It's about making a difference.
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Jack Ma is married to Zhang Ying, his college sweetheart.
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They met at Hangzhou Normal University.
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She once said in an interview, He's not a handsome man, but I fell in love with his thinking.
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I knew he would do something great.
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They have three children, and Jack tries to keep his family life very private.
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He loves reading, traveling, and spending time with young students and teachers.
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After retirement, he started teaching again.
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Not in big universities, but in small rural schools, where the need is real.
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Because that's the Jack Ma way.
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Go where you are most needed, not most celebrated.
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Jack Ma is known for giving some of the most powerful motivational speeches ever.
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His speeches are simple, emotional, full of humor, and unforgettable.
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Here are a few of his life -changing quotes.
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If you don't give up, you still have a chance.
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Giving up is the greatest failure.
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Help young people, help small guys, because small guys will be big.
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Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up, they will change the world.
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Today is hard, tomorrow is harder, but the day after tomorrow is beautiful.
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His speeches have changed lives, inspired millions of students and brought hope to those who had nothing but a dream.
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He doesn't just motivate you.
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He teaches you how to believe in yourself when the world doesn't.
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You might be watching this video from a small town.
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Maybe you failed in school.
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Maybe people laugh at your dreams.
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Maybe you're scared that you're not good enough, smart enough, rich enough.
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But Jack Ma's story proves one thing.
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You don't need to be born rich.
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You don't need to be a genius.
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You don't need perfect English or big connections.
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All you need is a heart that refuses to give up.
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When Jack Ma was rejected by KFC, by jobs, by investors, by Harvard, he didn't stop.
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He just smiled, stood up, and tried again.
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Your rejection is not the end.
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It's a redirection.
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Your struggle is your superpower.
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Your pain will become your purpose.
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So dream big, start small, move fast, and never ever stop believing in yourself.
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One day the world will know your name.
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If you want to change your life, if this story gave you goosebumps, If you felt inspired, emotional,
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or even a little more powerful inside… then imagine learning something like this every single day.
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This channel is not just for videos.
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It's a home for dreamers, doers, warriors, and learners like you.
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So, hit that subscribe button right now, join our family, and remember,
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every day you learn something new is a day you get closer to your dream.
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We are here to grow with you.
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One story, one lesson, one powerful idea at a time.
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This is not the end.
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This is your beginning.
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Subscribe now.
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Because tomorrow, we rise together.
Learn English with Videos: Jack Ma's Story as Your Practice Tool
The video uses Jack Ma's inspiring journey—from rejection to building Alibaba—as a rich context for English learning with videos. This real-life narrative blends personal struggle, ambition, and cultural details, making it ideal for practicing listening, vocabulary, and even IELTS speaking practice. The story’s conversational tone and relatable themes help learners connect with the language, turning passive listening into active engagement.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Memorize
- "Planting seeds for the future" – A metaphor for long-term effort, perfect for discussing goals in speaking tasks.
- "Unbreakable hope" – A powerful phrase to describe resilience, useful in essays or debates about success.
- "Door-to-door" – A common collocation for direct sales or outreach, e.g., "They went door-to-door to promote the product."
- "Big moment" – A simple chunk to highlight pivotal events, as in "That was the big moment when everything changed."
- "Build culture" – A business collocation that works in personal contexts too, like "We need to build a culture of practice in our class."
Your Shadowing Challenge: Speak Like Jack Ma (Without the Accent!)
Shadowing—repeating audio immediately after hearing it—is a proven way to boost fluency. For this task, use the video’s first 2 minutes (where Jack’s early life is described). Play a 5-second clip, pause, and shadow speak it, mimicking tone and rhythm. Focus on phrases like "He woke up at 5 a.m." and "He wanted to connect with people"—notice how the speaker stresses "5 a.m." and "connect" for emphasis. Repeat 3 times, then try a 10-second clip. For extra practice, use a shadowing app to record yourself and compare. This exercise trains your brain to process and reproduce English quickly, a key skill for IELTS speaking practice. Remember: Jack Ma practiced English daily for 9 years—consistency beats perfection!
By learning English with videos and mastering shadowing, you’ll not only improve your speaking but also absorb natural collocations. Start small, stay curious, and let Jack’s "try again" mindset fuel your practice.
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.