Shadowing Practice: Unit 4 Family structures - Collins Listening For IELTS - Learn English Speaking with Video
Elige un modo de práctica
Cada modo abre una sala de práctica a pantalla completa.
159 oraciones
Si las oraciones son demasiado cortas o largas, haz clic en Editar para ajustarlas.
1
Collins English for exams.
2
Listening for IELTS.
3
HarperCollins Publishes 2011
4
Track 21.
5
My family isn't very big, there's just my son and me.
6
I'm a single parent.
7
For the last ten years I've been concentrating on looking after my son James, who's now fourteen, But now I've met someone special, and we've just got engaged.
8
My fiancé has four kids of his own, and we're gonna get married in July.
9
James is really excited about it.
10
He's looking forward to having brothers and sisters in his new stepfamily.
11
We live as one big extended family.
12
There are seven of us in our household.
13
Besides my husband and me and our children, there's my aunt and two of my cousins.
14
I stay at home and care for my mother because she's quite old and can't look after herself.
15
Obviously we suffer from a lack of space in the house, but we all get on well.
16
Track 22.
17
1. Firstly, I am going to talk about the role of the parent.
18
Secondly, I'll discuss the role of the child.
19
And lastly, we'll look at the family unit as a whole.
20
2. Parenting is a difficult job because no two children are ever the same.
21
3. Families are important because they form the basis for socialization.
22
Additionally, they educate and protect the next generation.
23
4. The family structure has varied greatly over time.
24
That is, different times have had different views of what a traditional family structure is.
25
5. Many argue that less traditional structures are not as effective.
26
However, there is little evidence to support this.
27
6. Many people are having families later in life.
28
Consequently, the rise in the number of single people may only be temporary.
29
7. Families in other parts of the world differ from the Western norm.
30
for instance in some cultures having multiple husbands or wives is the norm 8.
31
although there are many arguments for trying to keep the traditional family structure strong
32
I feel the key issue is the economic necessity of having a normal family structure.
33
Track 23.
34
As we have seen, changes in the structure of the family are constantly occurring,
35
extended to nuclear, patrifocal to a more equal footing between the sexes and dual parenting to single parenting.
36
However, a recent phenomenon in the UK, which is changing the traditional family,
37
is the increasing number of adults who continue to live with their parents until their 30s or sometimes even their 40s.
38
The UK has traditionally been a society where offspring leave the family home in their late teens
39
or early twenties to set up their own home and families.
40
But in the last 25 years, this has decreased.
41
Official statistics released by the Office of National Statistics show
42
that today 10 % of men in their early 30s still live with their parents.
43
This compares with 5 % of women in this age range.
44
The reasons for this are complex and varied.
45
It cannot be denied that some people are choosing to stay at home.
46
Living with parents can be an easy option.
47
Food is provided, heating and electricity are paid for, and rent, if any, is minimal.
48
However, a third of those surveyed claimed they are living with their parents
49
because it is too difficult to get on the property ladder.
50
House prices in the last few decades have risen dramatically, Property is now five times the average annual salary,
51
whereas it was only three times the average annual wage in the 1980s.
52
This fact, coupled with high unemployment amongst young people, makes it virtually impossible for a single person to buy a home or even rent.
53
The number of students going on to higher education has also been steadily increasing.
54
Many of these students return home after finishing their studies as a result of the student debt they have accumulated.
55
It can take many years to pay this off, and if the burden of rent or a mortgage is added to that, It can be just too much for a young adult's pocket.
56
However, help is now at hand.
57
The government is tackling some of the problems that cause people to remain with their parents with a new scheme.
58
The Affordable Housing Scheme
59
This aims to help people part -buy a house or flat by making housing more affordable for first -time buyers,
60
and possibly taking the strain away from elderly parents.
61
Track 24.
62
The family is a topic which we will look at in great detail this term.
63
For sociologists, the family is often seen as the beginning of socialization.
64
Indeed, it is the seed of society itself.
65
In recent decades, many old people have no longer been able to rely on their offspring for support, which was common 50 years ago.
66
Many children are brought up by only one parent, something virtually unheard of before the 1960s,
67
We can certainly say that during the last half century, we have seen an enormous change in traditional family structures.
68
The extended family lasted well into the early 1900s, and this kind of strong family unit was essential due to property ownership.
69
Housing often was scarce, and it was necessary for people to live with parents
70
and take over the property when their parents died.
71
Of course, people still benefit from their family line.
72
Still today, people generally inherit any money that their mother or father might have.
73
in the uk the last 50 years has also seen a decrease in the number of offspring parents have
74
whereas in the 1950s only 10 of offspring were only children This number has risen.
75
Nowadays, this is the case for just over a third of children.
76
track 25.
77
Thank you.
78
In Victorian times, the upper classes made up less than 3 % of the entire population of Britain.
79
Yet this class held more than ninety percent of the country's wealth, This shows the massive gap there was between rich and poor,
80
a gap which has shrunk considerably in the last century.
81
Today we're going to look at the wide differences in family life between rich and poor in Victorian times.
82
Let's begin with the upper classes.
83
The upper classes of the Victorian period were generally the nobility or the clergy.
84
Most of their servants were very poorly paid, but were always accommodated within the homes of upper -class Victorian families,
85
so they didn't have to pay for accommodation, food, and often clothing.
86
The money which they did earn, they normally send home to their families.
87
Many Victorian servants came from the countryside, where the effects of the Industrial Revolution had resulted in job losses.
88
Amongst these servants were cooks, housemaids, stable -hands and butlers.
89
The family would also employ a nanny, who, although employed by the family, was not traditionally seen as a servant.
90
A nanny's primary role was to care for the children.
91
She was responsible for teaching the children how to behave, looking after them when they were ill, and instilling discipline into them.
92
Nannies did not, however, educate the children.
93
Generally, children from wealthy families did not attend school outside the family home.
94
Tutors would come to the house to do this, and although on occasion mothers taught their children to read and fathers gave their children some instruction in Latin,
95
this was not a common occurrence.
96
Now, the Victorian upper classes had the reputation of being quite cruel, But this wasn't always the case.
97
They were also quite charitable.
98
Ragged schools were set up with funding from the upper classes so that poor children could have some form of education.
99
Additionally, most Victorian parents were very proud of their children, who were often seen as prized possessions.
100
this goes against the common idea that parents were very hard on their children In fact, the opposite was generally the rule.
101
However, The situation for lower -class families was very different.
102
In the lower classes, child labour was rife.
103
Children as young as eight earned a living as chimney sweeps for wealthy houses.
104
Now, Let's move on to looking at the lower class families in more detail.
105
You'll find that very often...
106
Track 26.
107
Section 4.
108
You will hear a lecture on changes in family structure.
109
First, you will have 20 seconds to look at questions 1 to 10.
110
Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 10.
111
We are all familiar with the nuclear family, which has been the dominant family structure in the UK for the last 60 years at least.
112
However, recent changes show that our idea of the traditional nuclear family as the cornerstone of British family life is changing.
113
There have been emerging patterns which are eroding this structure, namely the rise of step -families,
114
cohabitation, lone parenting and the rapid increase in those living alone.
115
We are going to explore these areas in turn and look at their effect in terms of the family.
116
Firstly, step -families are becoming more and more common.
117
Step -families are created when one or both partners have a child or children from a previous relationship.
118
In 1980, the percentage of children under 13 who were living with one parent and their new partner was just 4%.
119
In 2008, this figure had increased to 20%.
120
The USA has seen an even greater rise.
121
New statistics show that almost half of under -13s are living in a stepfamily.
122
Now, we can still call the stepfamily structure a nuclear family, as it does follow the structure of two parents and dependent children.
123
However, it also creates somewhat of a nuclear blur.
124
Step -brothers and sisters may belong to two family units, so where do we draw the line at which family they belong to?
125
Cohabitation, when partners do not marry yet live together as a family, has also increased.
126
In 2006, of the 17 .5 million families in Britain, nearly 3 million of these comprised unmarried couples.
127
What does this mean to the nuclear family?
128
Firstly, the traditional view of a nuclear family requires married parents, so we can't put these types of family under this umbrella.
129
Statistics show that even if cohabiting couples have children, they are more likely to separate than their married equivalents.
130
Lastly, we need to look at the rise of the DINX, which stands for Dual Income, No Kids.
131
As Clark and Henwood outline, many cohabiting couples are choosing a life without children, putting consumer spending first.
132
Lone parenting is a relatively recent family structure which has rapidly grown in the last half century.
133
In 1972, only one in 14 children lived in a lone parent family.
134
When we compare this with today's figure of 1 in 4, we can see that this is a rapid increase.
135
In the past, lone parenthood was overwhelmingly the result of a death of a parent, Nowadays, however, it is increasingly a choice.
136
Some sociologists argue that this increase is due to the outlook of women.
137
Where women once were willing to accept an unhappy or abusive marriage, now many will choose lone parenthood.
138
Often this can be just a transitory phase before they find a new partner, This view of women's attitudes and lone parenting is highly debated
139
because some figures show that the largest group of lone parents are mothers who have never married.
140
You can find counter -arguments for these ideas in Butler and Jones.
141
One difficulty for single parents is
142
that they are a social group who are much more likely to suffer from poverty and hardship.
143
They are more likely to live in rented accommodation and have childcare issues.
144
Lastly, an increasing number of people are choosing to live alone.
145
The number of people living alone in Britain has more than doubled in the last twenty years.
146
In 1990, just over four million people lived alone.
147
Now this figure has reached 8 .5 million, an incredibly rapid growth which has had enormous effects on the traditional nuclear family.
148
This number represents a great chunk of the population who either by choice or necessity are outside the traditional family unit.
149
Some think that these changes may not help the community.
150
In fact, there are many arguments
151
that this rise in alternative household structures will create a more isolationist and less community -based society.
152
where close bonds which are usually formed within the family have no place
153
Leaving aside whether or not the housing even exists for this boom,
154
an important factor which must be looked at is the disproportionate expense for those living on their own.
155
By this I mean the burden of all costs is shouldered by one wage instead of two,
156
and of course one person is using the energy which could be shared between a group, having a greater impact on the environment too.
157
However, on a more positive note, people, especially women, are proving to be extremely...
158
That is the end of the listening test.
159
In the exam, you will have half a minute to check your answers.
Descargar app
Todo lo que necesitas para hablar con fluidez
Pronunciación con IAEvalúa cada oración
Práctica de IPADomina cada sonido
VocabularioConstruye tu banco de palabras
Juego de vocabularioAprende mientras juegas
Mismo canal
A21
Dialogue 2 3 Asking Directions - Everyday Conversations English
Travel EnglishWorking Adults
A11
Unit 6 Bread and jam - English Pronunciation in Use Elementary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A2Unit 5 Dates - Tactics For Listening Basic
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A26
Unit 2 Describing People - Tactics for Listening Basic
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
Dialogue 1 2 Informal Greetings and Farewells - Everyday Conversations English
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A219
Unit 1 Names and Titles - Tactics for Listening Basic
Daily Conversation
B17
Unit 4 ASEAN and Viet Nam - Tiếng anh 11 Global success
Interview EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A219
Unit 3 Clothes - Tactics for Listening Basic
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B113
Unit 1 Life stories we admire - Tiếng anh 12 Global Success
Cambridge Exam PrepDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A2Unit 4 Routines - Tactics For Listening Basic
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
Unit 8 Sports and Exercise - Tactics For Listening Basic
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B13
Unit 1 The weekend - Tactics For Listening Developing
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B194
Unit 2 The generation gap - Tiếng anh 11 Global success
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A29
Unit 3 Clothes - Tactics For Listening Basic
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B111
Unit 5 Global warming - Tiếng anh 11 Global success
Daily ConversationHigh School Students
A218
Unit 13 Restaurants - Tactics For Listening Basic
KidsTravel EnglishTeens
A212
Dialogue 2 5 At the Supermarket - Everyday Conversations English
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A12
Unit 6 Sheep /iː/ - Tree And Three - Ann Baker
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2Unit 14 Small talk - Tactics For Listening Basic
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A23
Unit 5 Dates - Tactics for Listening Basic
KidsTravel EnglishTeens
FOR YOU
Recomendar Video
B26
154 oraciones
Collins Speaking for IELTS Unit 1 Track 1-7
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B2172 oraciones
IELTS Band 7+ Vocabulary Lesson 1: Family
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
![[VOL 5] IELTS Listening Test 1](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ipYvctIG4SA/mqdefault.jpg)
B24
259 oraciones
[VOL 5] IELTS Listening Test 1
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepHigh School Students
B21
80 oraciones
Cambridge IELTS 20 PART 3 TEST 1– #listeningielts20part3 #ielts20 #voduyquynh
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B25
105 oraciones
IELTS Speaking Forecast Quý 2/2026 | Part 1: Stages of Life 👶👵| Part 2&3: A Relaxing Place at Home 🏡
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B29
274 oraciones
Cambridge 20 Listening Test 2 with answers | HD 1440p |
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
![[Audio] Cambridge Vocabulary For Ielts With Answers - 03 1b](https://img.youtube.com/vi/idFNe55NWTI/mqdefault.jpg)
C15
29 oraciones
[Audio] Cambridge Vocabulary For Ielts With Answers - 03 1b
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B24
665 oraciones
Complete IELTS Bands 5 6 5 Workbook Mark Harrison
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
C17
24 oraciones
English vocabulary in use Advanced Unit 2
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
B26
223 oraciones
01 Collins Speaking For IELTS Unit 1
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B22
305 oraciones
CAMBRIDGE BOOK 20 LISTENING TEST 4 || RECENT LISTENING TESTS WITH ANSWERS 2025 ||
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B212
246 oraciones
Unit 1 | Growing up | Vocabulary for IELTS | All English 4U
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepHigh School Students
Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “Unit 4 Family structures - Collins Listening For IELTS”. Las palabras que más se repiten: parent, structure, families, traditional, nuclear. Este vídeo tiene 159 frases y 2108 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 16:05. El hablante mantiene un ritmo constante de unas 131 palabras por minuto, cómodo para el shadowing. El 84 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| lone adjetivo | /loʊn/ | solo |
| offspring sustantivo | /ˈɔfspɹɪŋ/ | descendencia, linaje |
| servant sustantivo | /ˈsɝvənt/ | sirviente, sirvienta f criado |
| stepfamily sustantivo | familia reconstituida | |
| lastly adverbio | /ˈlæstli/ | postreramente, postrimeramente |
| firstly adverbio | /ˈfɜɹstli/ | primeramente |
| cohabit verbo | /koʊˈhæbɪt/ | convivir, cohabitar |
| cohabitation sustantivo | /koʊhæbɪˈteɪʃən/ | cohabitación, arreglo |
| socialization sustantivo | socialización, sociabilización | |
| sociologist sustantivo | sociólogo, socióloga | |
| parenthood sustantivo | parentalidad | |
| necessity sustantivo | /nɪˈsɛsəti/ | necesidad, menester |
| educate verbo | /ˈɛd͡ʒ.əˌkeɪt/ | educar, instruir |
| norm sustantivo | /nɔːm/ | norma |
| employ verbo | /ɪmˈplɔɪ/ | emplear |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| bring up verbo | levantar, alzar | |
| leave aside verbo | pretermitir | |
| look forward to verbo | no ver la hora de, quedar a la espera de | |
| make up verbo | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | reponer, suplir |
| take over verbo | apoderarse, enseñorearse |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- Secondly, I'll discuss the role of the child.
- Let's begin with the upper classes.
- You'll find that very often...
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — una acción que empezó antes y continúa | I've been concentrating · have been emerging |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | I've met · has varied · have had |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | cannot be denied · is provided · is added |
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | support, which was · gap which has · patterns which are |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 15 contracciones y formas reducidas, como can't, I've, we're. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: cohabitation /koʊhæbɪˈteɪʃən/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, disproportionate /dɪs.pɹəˈpɔː.ʃə.nət/, hardship /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: cohabitation /koʊhæbɪˈteɪʃən/, necessity /nɪˈsɛsəti/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, accumulate /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: scarce /ˈskɛɚs/, steadily /ˈstɛdɪli/, sweep /swiːp/, strain /stɹeɪn/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: servant /ˈsɝvənt/, overwhelmingly /ˌəʊ.vəˈwɛl.mɪŋ.lɪ/, abusive /əˈbju.sɪv/, behave /bɪˈheɪv/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: transitory /ˈtɹæn.zɪˌtɔɹ.i/, comprise /kəmˈpɹaɪz/, collins /ˈkɑlɪnz/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Haz shadowing frase por frase a velocidad normal, repitiendo cada una hasta que tu ritmo coincida con el del hablante.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como lone, offspring, servant.
¿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.