Shadowing Practice: Vol 5 - test 1 - section 2 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Section 2 You will hear a radio programme about starting a business.
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First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.
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Good evening.
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My name is Arthur Jones.
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I'm very glad to have this opportunity to speak to you over the radio.
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The host asked me to give a talk about my experience of starting my own business.
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I can't say my business is successful, but there are some things that I want to share with you, which I think will be helpful if you want to start your own company.
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I've talked to many young people, and they told me that they are afraid of making mistakes when they start their business.
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What I want to say is that mistakes are very common, especially when you do something new.
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Mistakes can actually show you where you need to improve, so you can take actions about them
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and use the chance to learn new methods this is a
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very important attitude you should have besides most mistakes are not
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that fatal don't be too anxious
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when they occur next I want to go on to talk about self-confidence
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which is quite important in achieving business success being self-confident means
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that you can have faith in yourself and what you do self-confidence can be gained through hard work, even playing sports.
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However, sometimes self-confidence may make you ignore problems and even cause failure.
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Business leaders should remain calm and not take impulsive actions.
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I know that when people start their business, they have confusions.
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They don't know how they can be more professional.
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They read business journals or watch related videos, but these don't seem to help sometimes.
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My suggestion is that, instead of aimlessly trying many new things, they should always be committed to their goal.
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As long as they stick to it, they will not be easily distracted or confused by other things, and they are sure to get better.
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We will all meet difficulties, especially at the beginning.
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We can't always rely on ourselves to solve all the problems.
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I had a problem with marketing earlier this year.
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Luckily, I found an expert to help me deal with it.
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So there's always a way, but we should know how and when to seek help from these people.
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Business leaders have different kinds of styles.
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Some are very good at public speaking, others are very down to earth and have strong executive skills.
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But in general, they should be able to win the respect from their employees
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so that they can carry out their orders more easily.
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There are times when a company might face risks.
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During such times, leaders will need to take prompt actions and they can't always plan for distant future.
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Leaders should analyse and deal with the risks with caution.
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If they bear this in mind, there is always a way out.
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Before you hear the rest of the radio programme, you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20.
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Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.
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At the beginning of my business, I experimented with quite a few strategies, hoping to find out the best solution for my business.
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Here is what I found.
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At first, my company wanted to work out prices for the products and make them realistic.
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However, prices are always changing, so they can't be fixed.
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Another thing I always keep in mind is that leaders must stay committed to their jobs.
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Without enough commitment, you may easily give up when problems happen.
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I have some friends whose businesses didn't survive during difficult times.
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It wasn't because they were stupid, it was just a lack of commitment.
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I can't always be sure that my products or services are better than my competitors, but I pay attention to details and try to improve all the little things,
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as they can actually make a big difference.
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You might worry that you don't have a very clear and sophisticated business strategy.
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Personally, I don't think it's a problem, because you will be changing them all the time anyway.
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In terms of support, at any stage, we do need support from others to back up our business.
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The support can really make a difference.
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Before I started my business, my family helped me a lot, both financially and mentally.
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There were also people who gave me advice on how to run businesses successfully.
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However, these advice and ideas were not so practical to me, so I didn't really use them.
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Looking back, I felt lucky that I followed my own way of thinking.
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Also, I was short of funds back then, and I loaned money from the bank to start my company.
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I was grateful for that.
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That's what I want to share in today's program.
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If you have any questions for me, please send it to my email which is...
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That is the end of section 2.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Insights from a Business Startup Radio Talk

The video features a radio programme where entrepreneur Arthur Jones shares practical advice on starting a business. He discusses common challenges like fear of mistakes, building self-confidence, staying focused, seeking help, and leading through risks. His conversational tone and real-world examples make the dialogue ideal for English learners practicing listening and speaking skills.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "fatal mistake" – A serious error that could ruin a plan (e.g., "Don’t worry—this isn’t a fatal mistake; we can fix it").
  • "impulsive actions" – Decisions made quickly without thought (e.g., "Leaders should avoid impulsive actions during crises").
  • "down to earth" – Practical and realistic (e.g., "Her down-to-earth approach helps the team stay focused").
  • "prompt actions" – Quick, decisive steps (e.g., "Prompt actions are key to managing risks").
  • "sophisticated strategy" – A complex, well-planned approach (e.g., "You don’t need a sophisticated strategy to start—just focus on basics").

Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide for This Video

Shadowing (or "shadow speak") is a great way to improve English pronunciation and fluency. Here’s how to use this video:

  1. Listen first: Watch the video once to understand the main ideas. Note Jones’ calm, conversational pace.
  2. Break it down: Pause after 5-10 second clips. Repeat each line aloud, mimicking his tone and stress (e.g., emphasize "mistakes are common" to match his emphasis).
  3. Focus on connected speech: Notice how words link, like "take actions about them" (reduced to "take acshuns about ’em"). Use a shadowing app to slow down tricky parts if needed.
  4. Practice key phrases: Repeat the "Top 5 Phrases" until they feel natural. Record yourself and compare to the video to check pronunciation.
  5. Full run-through: Play the video and speak along in real time. This builds fluency and helps you keep up with natural speech patterns.

Consistent shadowing practice will help you sound more confident and natural in English, whether discussing business or daily topics.

¿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 →