Shadowing Practice: Are exams necessary? – B1 English Listening Test - Learn English Speaking with Video
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32 oraciones
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1
It's been five years since I sat my university finals, and I still have nightmares about turning over a test paper and not knowing the answers.
2
It was the most stressful experience of my life.
3
After that, I promised I'd never do an exam again.
4
And I haven't.
5
I'll admit that passing those exams helped me land a decent job, but I have never needed to use any of the information I learned while working here.
6
Employers seem to think
7
that by hiring someone with a high level qualification they are getting a better worker but that's not strictly true either.
8
Some people at my workplace have amazing grades in their postgraduate qualifications
9
but they are no better at their job than anyone else.
10
Actually some of them are awful to work with.
11
People can be trained to do most jobs and the skills you need like having good people skills
12
of being creative and being able to respond effectively to different situations just can't be tested in exams.
13
When I was in school, I was always at the top of the class and aced my exams.
14
My teachers loved me and my classmates' parents wished their kids were more like me.
15
My classmates hated me, of course, but that didn't bother me, to be honest.
16
Doing well in exams gave me confidence and a sense of pride, although I confess I also felt I was better than everyone else, which I now realize is not true.
17
I simply have a better aptitude for that way of learning, I suppose.
18
Now I work with people whose grades aren't even close to mine, and they do better than me in the office.
19
You would think that would make me upset, but that's not true.
20
Although I haven't seen any real financial benefit from taking exams, they have made me a disciplined person who values knowledge,
21
and I still take them now for the hobbies I do in my spare time.
22
I think they are a valuable way to reflect on my progress and how well I'm doing.
23
Many people think that exams don't test anything except your ability to take exams, you know, how well you can memorise and recall information.
24
They think that students would learn better by doing projects based on their own interests, where what they learn isn't limited by an exam syllabus.
25
Well, that method might work for a few people.
26
But in my view, most people don't have enough motivation whereas an exam serves as a clear objective for students.
27
Plus, I personally think exams test all sorts of skills besides just your ability to remember stuff like your thought processes,
28
analytical ability, logic, intelligence and your application of knowledge.
29
Honestly, I wouldn't want anyone in a powerful position of responsibility who hadn't proved they had those skills.
30
So in that sense, exams are essential.
31
Of course, the design of the paper is critical.
32
A multiple choice paper isn't going to test those sorts of things.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B1 se basa en el vídeo “Are exams necessary? – B1 English Listening Test”. Las palabras que más se repiten: exam, skills, test, ability, paper. Este vídeo tiene 32 frases y 500 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 3:04. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 163 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 80 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| examination sustantivo | /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ | examen, examinación |
| classmate sustantivo | /ˈklæs.meɪt/ | compañero de clase, compañera de clase |
| qualification sustantivo | /ˌkwɑlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ | expertización |
| aptitude sustantivo | /ˈæptɪˌtud/ | aptitud, capacidad |
| memorize verbo | /ˈmɛm.əˌɹaɪ̯z/ | memorizar |
| postgraduate sustantivo | /ˌpəʊstˈɡɹædju.ət/ | postgraduado, estudiante de postgrado |
| syllabus sustantivo | /ˈsɪləbəs/ | temario, syllabus |
| confess verbo | /kənˈfɛs/ | confesar |
| stressful adjetivo | /ˈstɹɛsfəl/ | estresoso, estresante |
| hobby sustantivo | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | afición, hobby |
| workplace sustantivo | /ˈwɝkˌpleɪs/ | lugar de trabajo, curro |
| ace sustantivo | /ˈeɪ̯s/ | as |
| strictly adverbio | /ˈstɹɪktli/ | estrictamente, terminantemente |
| nightmare sustantivo | /ˈnaɪt.mɛɚ/ | pesadilla, mal sueño |
| motivation sustantivo | /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/ | motivación |
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | It's been · have never needed · haven't seen |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | can be trained · can't be tested |
| Comparativos -er than / more … than — comparar dos cosas | better than |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — algo que ocurre ahora o en estos días | are getting · I'm doing |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 14 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, haven't, isn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, qualification /ˌkwɑlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, qualification /ˌkwɑlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, postgraduate /ˌpəʊstˈɡɹædju.ət/, analytical /ˌæn.əˈlɪt.ɪ.kəl/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: stressful /ˈstɹɛsfəl/, strictly /ˈstɹɪktli/, spare /spɛɚ/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: exam /ɪɡˈzæm/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, memorize /ˈmɛm.əˌɹaɪ̯z/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como examination, classmate, qualification.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.