Looking for the tutorial on the Imitation technique?
Unfortunately, I removed the tutorial.
Why? Because the Imitation technique taught in that video is out-of-date. I published that video a long time ago. Now I don’t think the steps are practical or beginner-friendly.
But don’t worry! I have simplified the technique to make it easier to practice. Watch the video below:
As you can see, this version of Imitation is much simpler. This is important because a complicated practice can confuse and overwhelm you. (Many people gave up for this reason.)
However, if you find the technique inconvenient and prefer my interactive lessons, check out my English fluency course below:
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What’s Wrong with The Original Technique?
Although the general idea of the original technique is great, there are some issues with it.
1. Imitating in the Third Person
This is imitating in the third person (what I taught in the original video):
- Speaker: “I go to the beach every day.”
- You: “He goes to the beach every day.”
- Speaker: “But my brother hates going to the beach.”
- You: “But his brother hates going to the beach.”
In the video, I told you to imitate in the third person. I thought it was more challenging than repeating after the speaker word for word. However, I don’t recommend doing that anymore because of the following reasons:
Reason #1: Imitating in the third person can cause you to make mistakes, especially if you’re a beginner. For example, you might say “He go to…” instead of “He goes to…”. So, it’s much better to just imitate the speaker word for word. This ensures that you will speak English like native speakers.
Reason #2: Turning a statement in the first person into a statement in the third person makes you think about grammar. For example, you might think, “Okay, the subject of this sentence is ‘he,’ so I must use ‘goes’ not ‘go’.” This kind of inner monologue is not good. If it happens a lot, you will develop the habit of focusing on grammar when speaking.
Because of these two problems, it’s better to imitate the speaker word for word:
- Speak: “I go to the beach every day.”
- You: “I go to the beach every day.”
- Speaker: “But my brother hates going to the beach.”
- You: “But my brother hates going to the beach.”
This simpler approach allows you to focus on meaning instead of grammar.
2. Imitating Whole Sentences Without Pauses
This is what I said in the video:
Start by imitating small portions of speech first, like phrases and short sentences, then move on to imitating larger portions of speech, like long sentences or even groups of sentences.
This advice is probably doable for advanced students, but for most learners, it’s impossible to follow.
Many students told me that it’s really hard to recall a complete sentence, especially if it’s a long one. They tend to forget the first words.
This is my fault. When I was making the video, I was already quite advanced, and I forgot what it was like to be a beginner. I forgot that it was really hard for beginners to practice the way I did.
So, my new suggestion is to pause several times when you imitate each sentence. After a few words are spoken, pause and repeat those words immediately. Don’t wait until the speaker completes the sentence (unless it’s a short one).
Once your spoken English has improved significantly, you can then challenge yourself and try to imitate entire sentences without pausing.
3. Delivering the Entire Speech
Here’s another thing I said in the video:
…And finally, try to deliver the entire speech on your own.
This is another piece of advice I gave that’s not practical.
The suggestion is impossible for most students because when they practice Imitation, they tend to memorize individual words, not the key points. (This is what I did in the beginning as well.)
Since we can only remember a small number of words at a time, it’s impossible to recall an entire speech with this strategy!
The reason I can remember an entire speech is not because I have an amazing memory, but because I memorize information differently.
When I practice, I don’t memorize individual words; I memorize meaning or main ideas, which are easier to remember. This is why I can comfortably recall most of the key information and express it in my own words.
So, please don’t try to memorize an entire speech or even a large portion of the speech. If you can recall one long sentence or 2-3 short sentences at once, that’s more than enough.
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