Shadowing Practice: Frank Sinatra - My Funny Valentine - Learn English Speaking with Video

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My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine,
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you make me smile with my heart.
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Your looks are laughable Unphotographable Yet you're my favorite work of art
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Is your figure less than Greek?
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Is your mouth a little weak When you open it to speak?
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Are you smart?
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But don't change your hair for me Not if you care for me Stay,
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little Valentine's Day Each day is Valentine's Day
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Is your figure less than Greek?
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Is your mouth a little weak?
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When you open it to speak Are you smart?
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But don't change your hair for me Not if you care for me
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Stay,
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little valentine Stay, each day is Valentine's Day.

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 14 sentences and 111 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:16.

Key vocabulary in this video

9 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
valentine noun/ˈvaləntaɪn/An expression of affection, especially romantic affection, usually in the form of greeting card, gift, or message given the object of one's affection…
comic noun/ˈkɑmɪk/A comedian.
laughable adjective/ˈlæfəbl̩/Worthless; worthy of contempt or derision.
weak adjective/wi(ː)k/Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
smile verb/ˈsmaɪl/To have (a smile) on one's face.
favourite adjective/ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.)
mouth noun/maʊθ/The front opening of a creature through which food is ingested.
smart adjective/smɑɹt/Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
sweet adjective/swit/Tasting of sugars.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like valentine, comic, laughable.

¿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.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →