Shadowing Practice: Mindmap U9 - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 26 sentences and 241 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:21. The speaker talks slowly, about 103 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

• costume /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/ (noun) — A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.
• meal /ˈmiːl/ (noun) — Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
• relative /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv/ (noun) — Someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption; someone in the same family.
• flower /ˈfloʊɚ/ (noun) — A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not be used for sexual…
• relax /ɹɪˈlæks/ (verb) — To make something loose.
• lion /ˈlaɪən/ (noun) — A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
• folk /foʊk/ (noun) — People, persons.
• parade /pəˈrɑd/ (noun) — Synonym of military parade: A show of troops, an assembly of troops as a show of force, to receive orders, or especially for inspection at set times.
• meaningful /ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/ (adjective) — Having meaning, significant.
• easter /ˈi.stəɹ/ (noun) — An easterly wind (a wind blowing from the east); especially, a strong one; a storm of such winds.
• enjoyable /ɛnˈd͡ʒɔɪ.ə.bl̩/ (adjective) — Pleasant, capable of giving pleasure.
• colorful /ˈkʌl.əɹ.fl̩/ (adjective) — Possessing prominent and varied colors.
• lantern /ˈlæ̝ntɚn/ (noun) — A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its surroundings.
• tulip /ˈtulɪp/ (noun) — A type of flowering plant, genus Tulipa.
• decorate /ˈdɛkəɹeɪt/ (verb) — To furnish with decorations.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• get together (verb) — To meet, to gather together, to congregate.
• talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.

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 costume, meal, relative.