Shadowing Practice: Do Brits Really Respect Their Mothers? - Learn English Speaking with Video

If you want to get to know the British people a little better

and pick up some proper intermediate to advanced vocabulary while you're at it, then this video is for you.

Because it's all about the relationship between mothers, and their children, how we show it,

how we don't, and whether the way British parents disciplined kids a generation ago actually made any difference at all.

I'd say a spoiler here is I had a firm opinion on this five years ago when I recorded this,

and I'm not sure I agree with myself anymore.

There's also some poetry near the end of this one, so yeah, brace yourself for that,

but to be clear, rerun from earlier in the show's history, but it's a good one and well worth revisiting. So enjoy.

So Mother's Day, formerly known as Mothering Sunday in the UK, is celebrated four Sundays before Lent.

And for those of you who aren't in the know of what Lent is, it is the preparation or the build -up to Easter.

And most people give something up in the UK for Lent.

Some people give up chocolate, some people give up sweets.

it would be a clever idea to say I'm giving up school for Lent but that didn't go down too well.

So Mother's Day usually falls in March.

I think it always comes in March.

But yeah, the date changes a lot as it is in relation to when Easter is, which varies depending on the cycle of the moon.

I could go into more detail, but...

It's a bite -sized one and I don't want to bore you too much.

Okay, so it's it's based on a religious event, but The younger generations of the UK,

we don't really see it as that, and yet we still take part in it.

Even though, yeah, the younger generations of the UK are becoming far less religious, and at the same time atheism is on the up.

is on the up something is on the up it's uh rising um

but yeah we don't really see mother's day as a day to celebrate only

because you're religious most people take part in it

and i certainly do um it's it's similar to father's day

or even um you know valentine's day pancake day

or even really easter sunday a lot of people nowadays we don't really think too much about the religious

kind of even similar to Christmas, but we are aware that we're doing that.

We take part in it through habits mostly, because it's usually a time to acknowledge a person or a relationship in your life,

Or regarding pancake day, I guess it's just to eat your weight in flour, baking powder and sugar.

Yeah.

Either way, it's a good time.

So yes, it's a day in the religious calendar, but most of the British people I know celebrate Mother's Day just to be a nice child.

Yeah.

Now, I'm not a perfect child with this one.

I've occasionally forgotten it, so I don't stick to it religiously.

Pardon the pun.

Let me pause you there quickly.

I'm using quite a bit of natural, slightly advanced English in this episode.

And I know from experience, it's very easy as a listener to just nod along

and not fully take in the vocabulary that I'm saying that could enhance your speaking skills.

than stopping this video every five seconds and turning this into just a vocabulary lesson, I've made a free PDF for you to grab right now.

It's got the key phrases,

simple explanations, proper examples, and a few exercises that will 3x your learning from today's episode.

So if you want to actually remember what you're hearing right now, then scan the QR code on screen or

in the description box show notes or comments section and

that link will open up the page

that video podcast viewers can see right now drop your name and email in there and then just like magic Voila!

The free worksheet will be waiting for you in your email inbox.

I do understand it's not magic.

I get it.

I think.

I mean, I don't get it, but I get it.

Grab that and let's carry on.

I don't stick to it religiously, pardon the pun.

And I blame that on my sisters.

I've noticed that a lot of my friends who have sisters, they rely on them to remind them it's Mother's Day soon.

It's naughty, I know.

We need to think for ourselves, and I probably have to now that my sisters have got kids, and they're far too busy to think about their forgetful younger brother.

And it's probably also because I've turned 30, so they might think, hang on.

He's a fully grown adult now.

No need to look after him.

He's on his own.

Either way, in my opinion, daughters are generally more thoughtful and better at planning ahead for Mother's Day and for most things.

And I'd be interested to know your take on this.

So do write in.

Is it about the gender differences or is it culturally impacting?

How I see that mothers and daughters can end up being really close friends as the daughter ages, whereas...

Sons in a heterosexual relationship, they tend to gravitate towards their female partner's family or what we call the in -laws.

Probably from how I see it, because the mother and daughter bond is often stronger than,

you know, a mother, son or a father and son.

The mother and daughter is something about it that seems to be quite special.

And I've heard lots of mothers or...

mothers -to -be saying, "Oh no, I really want a daughter.

and they're hoping that they'll one day be their best friend.

If it's different for your culture, let me know.

I'd love to hear.

OK, so Mother's Day is seven days away for me as I record this episode.

And yeah, no sign of a reminder from either of my sisters.

So I have to use my own initiative and think, what would I like to get my mother to do? to

symbolise my endless gratitude for her making me for her feeding me and giving me an upbringing worthy of a king, really.

And I've concluded that a card will probably suffice.

And so Moonpig .co .uk gets a spike of traffic and orders.

Moonpig is an online card designing and mailing service that started about 20 years ago in the UK.

Now it's in America and Australia.

And it's really user friendly.

And that's why it's the episode sponsor.

No, I'm joking.

Create a little card and send it to my mother It's also good for birthday cards and stuff But yeah,

Mother's Day They get a lot of business I imagine Um And then they always do this thing.

When you've designed the card, you've written it, you're sending it, and then they say...

Is that it?

Don't you want to give the person that created you like a cuddly toy or...

you know, at the bare minimum, a bouquet of flowers, which I often succumb to, not out of guilt, But out of feeling good about myself.

Good about myself for spending more than a couple of pounds on my mother, who is quite honestly the most selfless,

wonderful mother I've ever been a son to.

But I do love her endlessly.

And it makes me laugh that I think I've accomplished my task if I send her flowers and a card.

It's pathetic, really, in comparison to what she's done for me.

100

I don't think she'd prefer me to offer her my nipple for breakfast, lunch and tea for six to 12 months.

101

So what can be done? a token.

102

A token of love.

103

Sent on Mothering Sunday.

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A card and flowers.

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representing so much more.

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Hopefully.

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Now, Being on the opposite side of the world, I'm not expected, or I don't think I'm expected, to make the trip back for her for this day.

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Unlike, um...

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Christmas for example where we do tend to have an assumption

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of all returning to our families to spend you know this deepest,

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darkest, yet jolliest month of the year together in the UK.

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But when I was residing in the UK, I would spend the whole day with my family, being that bit more attentive and loving to the mother hen.

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And we'd go out somewhere for lunch, typically, and maybe have a walk together

114

and then go to the grandparents to let my mother wish her mother a happy Mother's Day.

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And I'm sure in the future, when we're all living to 200, this will be a rather humorous day of hopping from one generation of mothers to the next.

116

You know, it might even spill over to the next day.

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I have two days of this to allow for travel time between mothers.

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Oh, and I do also remember when I was a child, I remember attempting to prepare breakfast in bed for my mum.

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And bring it through with a smile on my face thinking,

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"I'm an actual legend of a son right now." legend.

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But yeah, coming to think of it, I believe it was just a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice on a tray.

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So yeah, I'm worried how easy it is to get legendary status in my mind.

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Imagine my movie title.

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Legendary tales of a living legend.

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Charlie and his breakfast in bed for his mum.

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Now, if we look beyond what my movie trailer might sound like and think about how us Brits treat our mothers, not just on Mother's Day,

127

but in general, I'd say that we don't really have a clear identity or idea on this area.

128

I hear of the Italians looking after their grandparents very well

129

and Koreans can't even take a sip of water in the direction of their seniors at a dinner table, apparently.

130

little towards our mothers.

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I feel comfortable saying that my parents' generation who grew up in the 60s and 70s,

132

they feared their parents' wrath a bit more so than my generation who grew up in the 90s and noughties.

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And yeah, we weren't.. hit very often.

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We would get occasional little smacks on the bum if we were out, if we really were naughty.

135

But they were, in my opinion at the time, they were, um, Acceptable.

136

No, at the time I hated it.

137

But now I think they were very acceptable and they were very far and few between.

138

But if we look at the youngest generation right now,

139

I think it's incredibly uncommon to see a parent hit or even smack a child on the bum if they were naughty. So, I wonder.

140

I wonder if it's something to do with that, whether, you know, the fear of physical force leads to respect. But...

141

I don't want this to encourage you to go out and smack your children.

142

I, um, I think nowadays we've got far more intelligent and psychological approaches to disciplining our children.

143

And, you know, installing fear in a child probably does a huge amount more problems than I'm not currently highlighting.

144

So, yeah, I definitely am anti -trail.

145

I'm definitely anti -smacking.

146

I'm anti -hitting kids.

147

There we go.

148

I've said it.

149

I'm anti -hitting kids.

150

Can we all agree on that?

151

Thank you.

152

Anyway, I'd say British people aren't particularly respectful of their mothers in comparison to other cultures.

153

I wouldn't be disrespectful of my mother.

154

I don't feel like I'm disrespectful.

155

But yeah, just again, comparing, I think...

156

I...

157

as a teenager and as my friends were, we would talk back to our mums occasionally.

158

We would challenge their authority, especially as teenagers.

159

But then when a son gets stronger, he might start to leave the mother alone

160

and instead turn his attention to challenging the father of the family to test his limits.

161

But before I start delving into the Oedipus complex, we will leave it there.

162

Although this has actually led me to think about how we treat our mother's as we age,

163

as we grow up, and how we are with the older generations.

164

But I've already run out of time on this Bite Size episode, so I will hold that thought for another mini episode in a couple of weeks.

165

And to end on a loving note for all the mothers out there, here are two poems to celebrate Mother's Day.

166

Right, time to get soppy.

167

Soppy.

168

Emotional.

169

A bit.

170

pathetic in a loving way.

171

Putting on the soppy voice now: "For all the times,

172

you gently picked me up when I fell down." For all the times you tied my shoes and tucked me into bed.

173

or needed something but put me first instead.

174

For everything we shared, The dreams, the laughter and the tears.

175

I love you with a special love that deepens every year.

176

And a slightly less soppy one.

177

You taught me to say please and thanks.

178

Because politeness is the way. So...

179

Please Can I borrow some money?

180

Thanks.

181

Just kidding.

182

Happy Mother's Day.

183

And those were both written by...

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unknown, a very well unknown poet in today's society online.

185

So yes, happy Mother's Day everyone.

186

Right, that's it for today's episode.

187

Now, before you go, a quick word on the Academy,

188

because I know a fair few of you listening are stuck in that same loop.

189

You understand loads when you're listening.

190

You can follow a podcast like this one without much bother.

191

But the second you open your mouth to actually speak, it all falls apart.

192

the words vanish, the confidence goes with them,

193

and you end up saying something far simpler than what you actually meant or nothing at all.

194

And that's the biggest thing I hear from my learners and it's exactly what the Academy, the Academy is built to fix.

195

It's not another app full of grammar drills you'll forget by lunchtime.

196

It's live classes, real feedback

197

and a proper community of people all getting unstuck from the same problem you are experiencing right now.

198

So if you want to join who are actually improving their spoken English each week,

199

then you can try the whole thing for just £5 for your first month right now.

200

So head over to the britishenglishpodcast .com slash academy,

201

have a nose at what's inside and come join me in my next Zoom class that I hold twice a week.

202

right that's all i have to say for now um i've

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been your host charlie of the british english podcast have a lovely week and i'll see you soon bye .

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze spreekles op niveau B2 is gebaseerd op de video “Do Brits Really Respect Their Mothers?”. Deze video bevat 203 zinnen en 2459 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 16:49. De spreker praat in een gelijkmatig tempo van ongeveer 146 woorden per minuut, prettig om te shadowen. 82% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:

Woord	Uitspraak	Betekenis
vocabulary zelfstandig naamwoord	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	woordenschat, vocabulaire
naughty bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈnɔːti/	stout, ondeugend
podcast zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈpɑdˌkæst/	podcast
grandparent zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈɡɹæn(d)pɛəɹənt/	grootouder
pancake zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈpæn.keɪk/	pannenkoek
disrespectful bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/dɪs.ɹɪˈspɛkt.fəl/	respectloos, oneerbiedig
token zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈtoʊkən/	teken
pardon zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈpɑːdn̩/	vergeving
teenager zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/	tiener, adolescent
pathetic bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/pəˈθɛtɪk/	meelijwekkend, zielig
nowadays bijwoord	/ˈnaʊ.ə.deɪz/	heden, momenteel
atheism zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈeɪ.θi.ɪ.zəm/	atheïsme
attentive bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/əˈtɛntɪv/	aandachtig, oplettend
bouquet zelfstandig naamwoord	/buːˈkeɪ/	boeket, ruiker
cuddly bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈkʌdli/	minzaam, hartelijk

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Woord	Betekenis
give up werkwoord	zich overgeven
end up werkwoord	belanden, terechtkomen
go out werkwoord	naar buiten gaan
fall apart werkwoord	uiteenvallen, uit elkaar vallen
go down werkwoord	afdalen
grow up werkwoord	opgroeien
pick up werkwoord	oppakken, optillen

Zinnen om te herhalen

Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:

I do understand it's not magic.
Grab that and let's carry on.
I don't stick to it religiously, pardon the pun.
If it's different for your culture, let me know.
Can we all agree on that?

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

Structuur	In de video
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt	I've made · I've noticed · I've turned
Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet	is celebrated · can be done · are stuck

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 69 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals I'm, don't, I've. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

De “th”-klanken: pathetic /pəˈθɛtɪk/, atheism /ˈeɪ.θi.ɪ.zəm/, wrath /ɹæθ/, thoughtful /ˈθɔːtfəl/
De klanken “sh” en “zh”: heterosexual /ˌhɛtəɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/, vanish /ˈvænɪʃ/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, assumption /əˈsʌm(p).ʃ(ə)n/, occasional /əˈkeɪʒ(ə)nəl/
Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, disrespectful /dɪs.ɹɪˈspɛkt.fəl/, atheism /ˈeɪ.θi.ɪ.zəm/, heterosexual /ˌhɛtəɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/

Zo oefen je met deze video

Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
Spreek zin voor zin na op normale snelheid en herhaal elke zin tot je ritme gelijk is aan dat van de spreker.
Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als vocabulary, naughty, podcast.

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Zinnen om te herhalen

Grammatica in deze video

Uitspraak om op te letten

Zo oefen je met deze video

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?