Pratica di Shadowing: New Year's Eve and New Year's resolutions – Intermediate B1/B2 English Listening Practice - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

Creazione lezione...
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New Year's is a very important celebration in England.
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It's a time when people come together to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one with festivities,
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fireworks and traditional customs.
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The old year finishes on the 31st of December and the new year begins on the 1st of January.
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The 1st of January is called New Year's Day,
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whereas the 31st of December is called New Year's Eve.
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The main new year celebrations happen on the 31st of December.
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The main cities and towns across England light up with firework displays.
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You have probably seen the famous firework display in London when you've turned your tv on on the 1st of December.
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The people who live in London and enjoy this celebration would go to the centre of London to see this display.
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There are some parks and other areas where you can see the skyline of the city,
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so the shape of all of the famous buildings in London,
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and the fireworks in the sky, and it's beautiful.
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Other people go along the River Thames in London,
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or to the concert that is held right in front of the firework display.
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However, it can get very busy.
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So, if you are someone who doesn't enjoy being in crowded spaces,
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this is not the place or the time for you to visit.
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The firework display starts at 12 o'clock.
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so when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. People usually tune in to watch this live on TV.
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So you might be at a party or a family gathering and you would turn the TV on to watch the countdown.
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Parties and gatherings are one of the main events on New Year's Eve.
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Many people attend private parties which are hosted by friends and family,
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whereas others prefer to celebrate at pubs or clubs and other public events.
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Pubs and bars are open until very late on this special occasion.
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And people spend time together laughing, listening to music and dancing.
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Depending on how your year has been,
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you might be laughing and smiling because the year is over because it was a horrible year,
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or you might be celebrating the great moments that you have shared the past year.
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Many people drink a lot of alcohol at these parties and gatherings.
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Champagne and sparkling wine are the most common drinks.
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But people also eat too.
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The main tradition is to have a special New Year's Eve dinner,
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which is basically a roast dinner with roast meat, vegetables and then a dessert.
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People have the dinner, then they spend time having fun chatting,
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laughing and dancing until it is 12 o'clock when the bells strike.
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In case you didn't know,
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it is the chimes of Big Ben that we can hear when we watch the countdown.
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As you have probably seen in films, people usually kiss at midnight.
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Another important aspect of New Year's are New Year's resolutions.
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People usually reflect on the past year and set resolutions for the next one.
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These resolutions are normally about your personal goals, so things that you would like to improve.
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So for example, you might want to start improving your fitness.
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So you might say that you are going to go to the gym 3 times a week this year.
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Or you might just decide to have healthier habits such as eating healthier
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or using your mobile phone less or using less social media.
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And other people might set new career goals.
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Maybe they would like to receive a higher salary before the end of this year,
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spend less time working and more on their personal life,
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or get a promotion and become a boss, for example.
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Not everyone likes setting new year's resolutions,
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because a lot of people say that if you haven't started a new habit already,
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then it doesn't make sense to start doing it in January.
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For example, if you said in November that you wanted to start going to the gym three times a week,
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then it's the same as if you say that in January.
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I think that it doesn't harm anyone in setting goals and it could be a motivation for a lot of people.
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The new year is a reminder to reflect on what you have achieved in the past year and reconsider
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what point you are at.
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It makes you think whether you like your job, whether you think you are in good health,
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and whether you have healthy habits or a healthy lifestyle.
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And not everyone who sets these goals actually follows them throughout the year.
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In fact, they say that gyms have a lot of members in January,
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but by the time September comes they don't have so many clients because people don't follow their new year's resolutions.
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While new year's eve has lively celebrations,
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New Year's Day is a more relaxing day.
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People use this day to rest and recover from the celebrations of the previous night,
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as many people stay up until the early hours of the morning.
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In some families, they gather for a special New Year's Day meal and it is a roast dinner, like always.
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New Year's Day is a bank holiday in England,
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so people make the most of this day to start with their new year's resolutions.
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So they might go for a run to stay fit,
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they might have a healthy meal and they are generally a lot more motivated than usual.
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One thing that I would like to mention before we finish is that in recent years,
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firework displays have been replaced with drone displays.
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These drones are special and they have lights on them and they can change colour.
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They are programmed to make different shapes and pictures depending on the event.
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They are being used as a replacement for fireworks
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because of the fact that they are better for the environment
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and because of the safety hazards caused by fireworks which can easily create explosions.
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It is also better for pets, because if you have a cat or a dog,
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I'm sure that you will know that these animals get very scared when they hear normal fireworks.
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I find these drone displays quite interesting and very clever,
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but I'm not sure whether this is a fad,
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so just a fashion, or whether they are here to stay and to replace fireworks forever.
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If you have enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel.
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Thank you and I'll see you in the next video.

Informazioni su questa lezione

In questa lezione, gli studenti di inglese di livello intermedio (B1/B2) esploreranno la celebrazione del Capodanno nel Regno Unito e le tradizioni associate a questa festa. I partecipanti avranno l'opportunità di migliorare le loro abilità di ascolto e comprensione, analizzando il lessico e le espressioni chiave utilizzate in contesti come feste, fuochi d'artificio e propositi per il nuovo anno. La lezione include contenuti pratici per migliorare la pronuncia inglese e stimolare la conversazione.

Vocabolario e frasi chiave

  • New Year's Eve - La vigilia di Capodanno, il 31 dicembre.
  • New Year's Day - Il giorno di Capodanno, il 1 gennaio.
  • firework display - Spettacolo pirotecnico, tipico delle celebrazioni.
  • New Year's resolutions - Propositi per il nuovo anno, obiettivi personali da raggiungere.
  • roast dinner - Cena di arrosto, tradizionale per la vigilia di Capodanno.
  • countdown - conto alla rovescia, il momento in cui ci si prepara all'arrivo del nuovo anno.
  • champagne - Vino spumante, comunemente bevuto durante le celebrazioni.
  • gatherings - Raduni, eventi sociali per festeggiare insieme.

Consigli per la pratica

Per migliorare la tua pronuncia inglese e le tue capacità di parlare, prova a utilizzare tecniche di shadowspeak. Durante la visione del video, ascolta attentamente il modo in cui i relatori pronunciano le parole e le frasi. Ripeti immediatamente dopo di loro, cercando di imitare non solo le parole, ma anche il ritmo e l'intonazione. Questa pratica, nota come shadowing, è particolarmente efficace per chi cerca di migliorare la propria capacità di conversazione in inglese.

Quando il video prosegue, presta attenzione alla velocità del parlato; sembra moderata, quindi è un'ottima opportunità per esercitarsi senza sentirsi sopraffatti. Cerca di registrarti mentre pratichi; questo ti permetterà di confrontare la tua pronuncia con quella dell'originale. Riascolta le tue registrazioni e annota le aree in cui desideri migliorare. Non dimenticare di divertirti durante la pratica: celebra i tuoi piccoli successi e sii paziente con te stesso mentre migliori le tue abilità!

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?

Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.