Shadowing Practice: KidsBox Starter Unit3 Story video - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 36 sentences and 131 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:40. The speaker talks slowly, about 49 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

8 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• colours (noun) — Flag denoting the nationality of a vessel, flown from the stern.
• pencil /ˈpɛnsəl/ (noun) — A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper.
• mouse /maʊs/ (noun) — Any mammal of the many rodent families (especially Muridae) that have a small body and a long tail.
• colour (noun) — Commonwealth and Ireland standard spelling of color.
• yellow /ˈjɛloʊ/ (adjective) — Of a yellow hue.
• favourite /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/ (adjective) — Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.)
• color /ˈkʌl.ə/ (noun) — The spectral composition of visible light.
• wake /ˈweɪ̯k/ (verb) — (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• wake up /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ (verb) — To stop sleeping; to awake.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, they'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 colours, pencil, mouse.