Pratique du Shadowing: What is Happiness? - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 6 sentences and 107 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:30. The speaker talks fast, about 213 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 92% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
9 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- happiness /ˈhæpinɪs/ (noun) — The emotion of being happy; joy; elation.
- principle /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ (noun) — A fundamental assumption, fundamental law or guiding belief.
- conjunction /kənˈd͡ʒʌŋk.ʃn̩/ (noun) — The act of joining, or condition of being joined.
- critically /ˈkɹɪt.ɪ.kə.li/ (adverb) — In a critical manner; with, or in terms of, criticism.
- guest /ɡɛst/ (noun) — A recipient of hospitality, especially someone staying by invitation at the house of another.
- teach /ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To pass on knowledge to.
- ourselves /aʊɚˈsɛlvz/ — Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject.
- speaker /ˈspikɚ/ (noun) — One who speaks.
- healthy /ˈhɛl.θi/ (adjective) — Enjoying good health; free from disease or disorder.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like happiness, principle, conjunction.
Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?
Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.












