Shadowing Practice: Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Dance -Radio Edit Video 2023) - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 44 sentences and 443 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:00. The speaker talks slowly, about 89 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

• smooth /smuːð/ (adjective) — Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
• knock /nɑk/ (verb) — To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood.
• bedroom /ˈbɛdˌɹum/ (noun) — A room in a house, apartment, hotel, or other dwelling where a bed is kept for sleeping.
• shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ (noun) — A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
• dust /dʌst/ (noun) — Fine, dry particles of matter found in the air and covering the surface of objects, typically consisting of soil lifted up by the wind, pollen, hair, fiber…
• carpet /ˈkɑɹ.pət/ (noun) — A fabric used as a complete floor covering.
• feminine /ˈfɛmɪnɪn/ (adjective) — Of or pertaining to the female gender.
• neighbour /ˈneɪbɚ/ (noun) — A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or…
• bamboo /bæmˈbu/ (noun) — Any of the fast-growing grasses of the Bambusoideae subfamily, characterized by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem.
• blush /ˈblʌʃ/ (noun) — An act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc.
• stoop /stup/ (verb) — To bend the upper part of the body forward and downward to a half-squatting position; crouch.
• strike /stɹaɪk/ (verb) — To delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate.
• joke /ˈd͡ʒoʊ̯k/ (noun) — An amusing story.
• bathroom /ˈbæθˌɹum/ (noun) — A room containing a shower or bathtub, and (typically but not necessarily) a toilet.
• lock /lɑk/ (noun) — Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• come into (verb) — To obtain (usually money or property), especially through inheritance.
• get back (verb) — Return to where one came from.
• run into (verb) — To enter by running.
• walk in (verb) — To come without an appointment to a place that would normally require one.
• find out (verb) — To discover, as by asking or investigating.
• knock down (verb) — To hit or knock (something or someone), intentionally or accidentally, so that it falls.
• sit down (verb) — To assume a sitting position from a standing position.
• strike down (verb) — To kill (someone or something); to cause to die suddenly.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, bathroom /ˈbæθˌɹum/
• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, blush /ˈblʌʃ/

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 smooth, knock, bedroom.

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