30-Day English Shadowing Challenge – Day 1 | Speak English More Naturally — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:05[music]
2. 0:08>> Hi everyone. Welcome back to the
3. 0:10Learning Lab where English is easy and
4. 0:13enjoyable. I'm James and as always I'm
5. 0:15here with my wonderful co-host Jenny.
6. 0:18And today
7. 0:19today is a big day. Like a really really
8. 0:22big day. We are starting something huge.
9. 0:25Something that could actually change the
10. 0:27way you speak English forever. But
11. 0:29first, if you are new here, please hit
12. 0:31that subscribe button right now.
13. 0:33Seriously, do it. Stop what you are
14. 0:35doing, move your finger to that button
15. 0:37and click it. It takes 2 seconds and it
16. 0:39means the world to us. Okay. Okay, I'm
17. 0:42calm. Jenny, are you ready for this?
18. 0:45>> [laughter]
19. 0:45>> I mean, James, you say every episode is
20. 0:48a big day. Last week you said learning
21. 0:50the word nevertheless was a big day.
22. 0:53>> It was a big day. That word is
23. 0:54incredible. Nevertheless. Say it with
24. 0:57me. Nevertheless.
25. 1:00Okay. Okay, I know. I know.
26. 1:02But Jenny, come on. Today really is
27. 1:04different. Tell them Tell them what
28. 1:06we're doing for the next 30 days.
29. 1:08>> Okay. Okay. So, for the next 30 days we
30. 1:11are going to practice something called
31. 1:13shadowing. And if you have never heard
32. 1:15of shadowing before, don't worry. That
33. 1:17is exactly why we are here today. We are
34. 1:20going to explain everything from the
35. 1:22very beginning, nice and slow, nice and
36. 1:25simple. So, just relax and let's learn
37. 1:27together.
38. 1:28>> Yes. And the best part is you don't need
39. 1:30a classroom, you don't need a teacher
40. 1:32sitting next to you, you don't need
41. 1:34expensive books or special tools. You
42. 1:36just need your ears, your mouth and a
43. 1:38little bit of courage. That's it. Three
44. 1:40things. Ears, mouth, courage. You
45. 1:43already have all three.
46. 1:44>> Well, maybe a phone or a computer, too,
47. 1:47to actually hear the audio.
48. 1:49>> Right. Right, yes. Okay, four things.
49. 1:52Ears, mouth, courage and a device. But
50. 1:55you already have that, too, because
51. 1:56you're watching this. So you're already
52. 1:58winning.
53. 1:59>> [laughter]
54. 2:00>> You know, James has this amazing ability
55. 2:02to make everything sound like you've
56. 2:04already won a prize just by showing up.
57. 2:07>> Because you have. Showing up is half the
58. 2:09battle, Jenny. Half the battle. Okay, so
59. 2:12let's get into it. Jenny, what exactly
60. 2:14is shadowing? Can you break it down for
61. 2:16us?
62. 2:17>> Of course. So shadowing is a language
63. 2:19learning technique and it's been around
64. 2:21for a long time actually. It was first
65. 2:23made popular by a language teacher named
66. 2:26Alexander Arguelles back in the 1990s.
67. 2:29And the idea is actually very simple.
68. 2:31You listen to someone speaking in your
69. 2:33target language, in our case English,
70. 2:36and you repeat what they say at almost
71. 2:38exactly the same time. Like like an echo
72. 2:41or like a shadow. That's why it's called
73. 2:43shadowing. You follow right behind the
74. 2:45speaker copying their voice, their
75. 2:47rhythm, their pronunciation, everything.
76. 2:50>> I love that. You're like their shadow.
77. 2:52You know how when you walk in the sun
78. 2:54and your shadow's right there behind you
79. 2:56copying every move you make? That's
80. 2:58exactly what you're doing with the
81. 2:59speaker's voice. You are the shadow of
82. 3:02their English. And honestly, when I
83. 3:04first heard about this technique, I was
84. 3:05like, wait, that sounds too simple. It
85. 3:07sounds almost like cheating. How can
86. 3:09just copying someone's voice actually
87. 3:11teach you a language?
88. 3:13>> And that is actually a really great
89. 3:14question, James. And I think a lot of
90. 3:16people feel the same way at first.
91. 3:18Because we're used to thinking that
92. 3:19learning a language means studying
93. 3:21grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary
94. 3:24lists, doing exercises in a workbook.
95. 3:26And all of those things have value. They
96. 3:28really do. But shadowing works
97. 3:31differently. It works more like the way
98. 3:34a child learns to speak.
99. 3:35>> Oh, oh, I love this. Okay, explain this
100. 3:38because I think this is so important.
101. 3:40>> Right. So think about a baby. A little
102. 3:42baby learning to speak for the first
103. 3:44time. Does that baby open a grammar
104. 3:46book? Does the baby study the difference
105. 3:48between I am and I was? No, the baby
106. 3:52listens. All day, every day, the baby is
107. 3:55just listening to the people around
108. 3:57them. And then slowly, the baby starts
109. 3:59to copy the sounds. And they get it
110. 4:01wrong at first. They say things in a
111. 4:03funny way, they mix up words, but nobody
112. 4:06gives them a grade. Nobody tells them
113. 4:08they failed. They just keep trying. And
114. 4:10slowly, slowly, slowly, it clicks. And
115. 4:13suddenly, the baby is talking.
116. 4:15>> And this is basically what shadowing
117. 4:17lets you do as an adult learner. It
118. 4:19gives your mouth a chance to feel the
119. 4:21language. Because here's something
120. 4:22people don't always think about.
121. 4:24Speaking a language is actually a
122. 4:26physical skill. Your mouth, your tongue,
123. 4:28your lips, they need to practice making
124. 4:30new sounds. And if you only ever study
125. 4:33English in your head, your mouth never
126. 4:35gets that practice. It's like reading
127. 4:37about how to ride a bicycle. You can
128. 4:39read every book about bicycles in the
129. 4:40world, but until you actually get on the
130. 4:42bike and start moving, you don't learn
131. 4:44how to ride.
132. 4:45>> That's a really good analogy, actually.
133. 4:48>> Thank you. I'm proud of that one.
134. 4:51>> So, the research on shadowing is
135. 4:52actually really interesting. There have
136. 4:54been several studies, especially in
137. 4:56Japan and South Korea, where a lot of
138. 4:58English learners have used this
139. 5:00technique, that show shadowing can
140. 5:02significantly improve pronunciation,
141. 5:04listening skills, and even speaking
142. 5:06fluency in a relatively short time. And
143. 5:0930 days is actually a solid amount of
144. 5:11time to start seeing real changes.
145. 5:13>> 30 days, which is why we're doing this
146. 5:16challenge. Every single day for 30 days,
147. 5:18we are going to practice together. And
148. 5:20each episode, just like today, is going
149. 5:23to be a session you can actually follow
150. 5:25along with. We'll explain, we'll model,
151. 5:27we'll shadow together. And by the end of
152. 5:2930 days, I genuinely believe your
153. 5:32English is going to sound different,
154. 5:34better, more natural, more confident.
155. 5:36>> And I want to be honest with you, it's
156. 5:38not magic. You do have to actually
157. 5:41practice. Watching the video is not
158. 5:43enough. You have to open your mouth. You
159. 5:45have to make the sounds. even if it
160. 5:48feels weird, even if it feels
161. 5:49embarrassing, even if you're sitting
162. 5:51alone in your room and you feel a little
163. 5:53bit silly talking to your phone. That is
164. 5:56totally normal, by the way.
165. 5:58>> Oh, completely normal. I still feel
166. 6:00silly sometimes, and English is my first
167. 6:02language.
168. 6:03Okay, so before we actually start our
169. 6:05first shadowing practice today, I want
170. 6:08to talk about how to shadow correctly,
171. 6:10because there's a right way to do it and
172. 6:12a wrong way to do it. Jenny?
173. 6:13>> Yes, so there are a few key things to
174. 6:16keep in mind. The first one, and this is
175. 6:19really important, is that you need to
176. 6:21shadow out loud, not in your head, not
177. 6:24in a whisper, out loud. Full voice, the
178. 6:27whole point is to train your mouth and
179. 6:29your ears together. So, give yourself
180. 6:31permission to be loud. Close the door if
181. 6:34you need to. Tell your family, "I'm
182. 6:36practicing English. Please don't come
183. 6:37in." Whatever you need to do, just get
184. 6:40that voice out.
185. 6:41>> Seriously, your neighbors might think
186. 6:43something is happening in your house,
187. 6:45but that's okay. You're learning
188. 6:46English. That's more important.
189. 6:49>> [laughter]
190. 6:50>> The second thing is don't worry about
191. 6:52understanding every single word at
192. 6:54first. This is really different from
193. 6:56normal studying. When we read or listen
194. 6:59to English usually, we try to understand
195. 7:01the meaning of everything. But with
196. 7:03shadowing, your first job is just to
197. 7:05copy the sounds, the rhythm, the melody
198. 7:08of the sentence. Meaning comes later.
199. 7:10Sound comes first.
200. 7:11>> This one was hard for me to accept when
201. 7:13I first started teaching shadowing
202. 7:16because students always want to stop and
203. 7:17ask, "Wait, what does that word mean?"
204. 7:19And I have to tell them, "Not yet. Keep
205. 7:22going. Just let the sounds come out of
206. 7:24your mouth. You can think about meaning
207. 7:26after. But when you're shadowing, stay
208. 7:28in the flow."
209. 7:28>> Right. And the third thing is start
210. 7:31slow. Don't try to shadow fast,
211. 7:33complicated native speech on day one.
212. 7:36That would be like trying to run a
213. 7:37marathon on the very first day of
214. 7:39exercise. You would hurt yourself. So,
215. 7:41we always start simple. Clear speech,
216. 7:44normal speed, common vocabulary. Exactly
217. 7:47what you're hearing right now, actually.
218. 7:49>> Which is actually perfect because the
219. 7:51way Jenny and I speak in this show, we
220. 7:53do it on purpose. We speak clearly, we
221. 7:55use simple words, we don't rush. So,
222. 7:58this podcast or video is actually a
223. 8:00great thing to practice shadowing with,
224. 8:02which is kind of the whole point of the
225. 8:03series, right?
226. 8:04>> Exactly. This whole 30-day series is
227. 8:07designed so that you can shadow right
228. 8:09along with us. Each episode is going to
229. 8:11have practice sections where we slow
230. 8:13things down even more and we give you
231. 8:15time to repeat after us. So, it's not
232. 8:18just listening, it's participating. You
233. 8:21are part of the show.
234. 8:22>> You are a star.
235. 8:23>> [laughter]
236. 8:24>> Okay, so let's talk about one more thing
237. 8:26before we do our first actual practice
238. 8:28and that is the mindset because I think
239. 8:30mindset is honestly the most important
240. 8:33part of any language learning journey.
241. 8:35And I want to say something to everyone
242. 8:37listening right now, especially if you
243. 8:39feel shy about your English or if you've
244. 8:41tried to improve before and it didn't
245. 8:43work or if you've given up in the past.
246. 8:45I want you to hear this clearly. It is
247. 8:48okay. It is completely okay. Learning a
248. 8:51language as an adult is genuinely hard.
249. 8:54It is one of the hardest things a human
250. 8:55brain can do and if you've struggled
251. 8:58before, that doesn't mean you're bad at
252. 8:59languages. It might just mean you
253. 9:01haven't found the right method yet.
254. 9:02>> And that's such an important point. A
255. 9:04lot of adult learners carry around this
256. 9:06feeling that they're just not good at
257. 9:08English. Like it's something fixed about
258. 9:11them, something they were born with or
259. 9:13without, but that's not how the brain
260. 9:15works. The brain is flexible. It can
261. 9:17learn new things at any age. What
262. 9:20matters most is consistency and the
263. 9:22right kind of practice and that is
264. 9:25exactly what we're building here
265. 9:26together over these 30 days.
266. 9:28>> 30 days of showing up. That's all we're
267. 9:30asking. You don't have to be perfect.
268. 9:32You don't have to get every sound right.
269. 9:34You just have to show up every day and
270. 9:36try. That's the deal.
271. 9:38>> All right. Are we ready to do our first
272. 9:40practice?
273. 9:40>> I am so ready. Okay, everyone, here's
274. 9:43what we're going to do. Jenny is going
275. 9:45to say some simple sentences, nice and
276. 9:48clear, nice and slow. And I want you,
277. 9:50yes you, to say them out loud right
278. 9:53after her. Don't wait, don't think too
279. 9:55much, just listen and repeat. Ready?
280. 9:58Jenny, go ahead.
281. 9:59>> Okay, I'll say each sentence two times.
282. 10:02You say it after me. Let's start.
283. 10:05I am learning English every day.
284. 10:08I am learning English every day.
285. 10:11>> Good. Now you say it. Say it out loud.
286. 10:14Don't be shy.
287. 10:15>> My English is getting better and better.
288. 10:18My English is getting better and better.
289. 10:21>> Oh, I love that one. Say it like you
290. 10:23mean it because it's true. It is getting
291. 10:25better. Keep going, Jenny.
292. 10:26>> I practice speaking English for 30
293. 10:29minutes every day.
294. 10:32I practice speaking English for 30
295. 10:34minutes every day.
296. 10:35>> Beautiful. Okay, how did that feel? Was
297. 10:38it a little weird? Was it uncomfortable?
298. 10:40Good. Weird and uncomfortable means your
299. 10:42brain is working. It means something new
300. 10:44is happening. That feeling is actually
301. 10:46the feeling of learning. So, if you felt
302. 10:49a little awkward just now,
303. 10:50congratulations, you are officially
304. 10:52learning.
305. 10:53>> [laughter]
306. 10:54>> I like that. Awkward means it's working.
307. 10:57That should be on a t-shirt.
308. 10:58>> I would wear that t-shirt every day.
309. 11:00Okay, let's do one more little practice
310. 11:02round and this time we're going to do
311. 11:04something slightly more advanced. We're
312. 11:06going to shadow a small paragraph.
313. 11:08Jenny, do you want to read it?
314. 11:09>> Sure. I'm going to read this slowly and
315. 11:11clearly and I want you to try to say it
316. 11:14along with me at the same time if you
317. 11:16can or just a tiny bit after me, like a
318. 11:18shadow. Here we go.
319. 11:21Every morning, I wake up and I practice
320. 11:24English.
321. 11:25I listen to words, I repeat them out
322. 11:28loud, and I try to to clearly.
323. 11:31It is not always easy.
324. 11:34Sometimes I make mistakes,
325. 11:37but I keep going because I know that
326. 11:39every day I am getting a little bit
327. 11:42better.
328. 11:42>> Wow. Okay, that was beautiful. Did you
329. 11:45do it? Did you actually say it out loud?
330. 11:48I hope you did because even if it felt
331. 11:50messy, even if you stumbled on some
332. 11:52words, that was practice. That was real
333. 11:55genuine English practice and you just
334. 11:56did it. Day one. Boom.
335. 11:58>> And I want to mention something about
336. 12:00that paragraph because I wrote it
337. 12:02intentionally. Did you notice the
338. 12:03sentences are short? Simple words,
339. 12:06nothing complicated. I wake up, I
340. 12:08practice English, I make mistakes, I
341. 12:11keep going. That kind of simple clear
342. 12:14English is actually perfect for
343. 12:16shadowing when you're starting out
344. 12:18because you can focus all your energy on
345. 12:20the sounds and the rhythm, not on
346. 12:22figuring out difficult vocabulary.
347. 12:24>> And as we go through the 30 days, the
348. 12:26sentences will slowly get a little
349. 12:28longer, a little more natural sounding,
350. 12:30a little faster, but never too fast.
351. 12:32We're going to grow together, nice and
352. 12:34steady.
353. 12:34>> Exactly. So, to wrap up today, let's go
354. 12:36over the three big things we learned.
355. 12:39Number one, what is shadowing? It's a
356. 12:41technique where you listen to someone
357. 12:43speaking English and you repeat what
358. 12:46they say almost at the same time,
359. 12:48copying their sounds, rhythm, and
360. 12:50pronunciation.
361. 12:52Number two, why does shadowing work?
362. 12:54Because it trains your mouth and your
363. 12:57ears together, the same way a baby
364. 12:59learns to speak through listening and
365. 13:01copying, not through memorizing rules.
366. 13:04And number three, how do you start? You
367. 13:07start simple, you speak out loud, you
368. 13:09don't worry about perfection, you just
369. 13:12keep going.
370. 13:13>> And number four, which Jenny didn't say
371. 13:14but I think is just as important, you
372. 13:17come back tomorrow. Day two is waiting
373. 13:19for you and the day after that and the
374. 13:21day [clears throat] after that. 30 days.
375. 13:23We are doing this together.
376. 13:25>> I was going to say that, James.
377. 13:27>> I know, I know. I just got excited. I
378. 13:28can't help it.
379. 13:30>> [laughter]
380. 13:31>> Okay, before we go, I do want to say one
381. 13:34more thing to anyone who is feeling
382. 13:36nervous about this challenge. It is okay
383. 13:39to be nervous. It is okay to feel
384. 13:41unsure. But I want you to think about
385. 13:43something. A year from now, you will
386. 13:46wish you had started today. Not
387. 13:48tomorrow, not next week, today. And the
388. 13:51good news is, you already started. You
389. 13:54watched this video. You made it to the
390. 13:56end. That means something. That means
391. 13:58you are serious about this.
392. 14:00>> And we are serious about helping you.
393. 14:02Jenny and I, we genuinely love this. We
394. 14:05love language, we love learning, and
395. 14:07most of all, we love this community.
396. 14:09Every comment you leave, every message
397. 14:11you send, it makes our day. So please,
398. 14:14after you watch this, leave a comment
399. 14:15below and tell us, did you try the
400. 14:17shadowing practice? How did it feel?
401. 14:19Were you shy? Were you brave? Were you a
402. 14:21little bit of both? We want to know.
403. 14:23>> And if you have any questions about
404. 14:25shadowing, anything at all, ask us in
405. 14:27the comments. We read every single one
406. 14:30and we answer as many as we can.
407. 14:32>> Also, and I'm going to say this again
408. 14:33because it really matters, if you
409. 14:35haven't subscribed yet, please do it
410. 14:37now. This 30-day series is going to be
411. 14:40incredible and you do not want to miss a
412. 14:42single day. Every episode builds on the
413. 14:44last one. So hit subscribe, hit the bell
414. 14:47notification, and we will see you
415. 14:48tomorrow for day two.
416. 14:50>> Day two is going to be really fun,
417. 14:52actually. We're going to focus on the
418. 14:54music of English, what we call the
419. 14:56rhythm of sentences. And I promise, once
420. 14:58you start hearing it, you'll never
421. 15:00listen to English the same way again.
422. 15:02>> Ooh, that gives me chills. I love that
423. 15:04one. Okay, thank you so much for being
424. 15:07here today, everyone. Seriously, from
425. 15:09the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Now
426. 15:11go practice those sentences one more
427. 15:13time, out loud, full voice, no excuses.
428. 15:16We believe in you.
429. 15:17>> We really do. See you tomorrow.
430. 15:19>> See you tomorrow. Bye, everyone.
431. 15:21>> Bye.