Shadowing Practice: 01 Collins Speaking For IELTS Unit 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
Collins English for exams.
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Speaking for IELTS.
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Copyright HarperCollins Publishers 2011.
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CD 1.
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Track 1.
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The person I'm closest to in my family is definitely my mum, Kate.
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We've always got on and we hardly ever fall out.
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I know that's unusual.
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She's really outgoing and sociable.
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She's always going out with friends and colleagues.
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Everyone thinks she's good fun.
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I look up to her because she's so hard -working, she never sits still, and she works long hours.
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She can be a bit impatient, though.
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She gets annoyed when her colleagues aren't as efficient as her.
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I take after her in that.
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I'm impatient, too.
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And she's oversensitive, often getting offended for seemingly no reason.
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2. My cousin Kieran and I grew up together.
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We were inseparable.
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He was so creative, he'd always think of new games we could play, and make up these stories to make me laugh.
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I was constantly amazed by his open -mindedness as well.
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He was never judgmental.
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I wish I could be like that.
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Unfortunately, we grew apart, slowly but surely, and by the time we went to uni, we weren't in touch anymore.
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I haven't seen him for years.
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It's really sad.
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I would blame it partly on the fact that he's not very reliable.
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So, for example, if I email him, he won't respond.
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I'm not sure what he's up to these days.
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3. I know this is a cliché, but I don't get on with my in -laws, especially my mother -in -law, Jane.
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She's so nosy, always wanting to know what we're doing and who we're with,
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and she's terribly blunt, which means she quite often upsets us with things she comes out with.
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and then she can be quite stingy.
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When we go out for a meal with her and my father -in -law, she never offers to pay, even though they're much better off than us.
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I must say, though, She's extremely clever and I do respect her for that.
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She set up her own business five years ago and it's gone from strength to strength.
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She's so self -assured and ambitious too, which I suppose is why she's so successful in business.
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Colin's English for exams, speaking for IELTS.
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Copyright HarperCollins Publishers 2011.
40
CD 1.
41
Track 1.
42
The person I'm closest to in my family is definitely my mum, Kate.
43
We've always got on and we hardly ever fall out.
44
I know that's unusual.
45
She's really outgoing and sociable.
46
She's always going out with friends and colleagues.
47
Everyone thinks she's good fun.
48
I look up to her because she's so hard -working, she never sits still, and she works long hours.
49
She can be a bit impatient, though.
50
She gets annoyed when her colleagues aren't as efficient as her.
51
I take after her in that.
52
I'm impatient, too.
53
And she's over -sensitive, often getting offended for seemingly no reason.
54
2. My cousin Kieran and I grew up together.
55
We were inseparable.
56
He was so creative.
57
You'd always think of new games we could play and make up these stories to make me laugh.
58
I was constantly amazed by his open -mindedness as well.
59
He was never judgmental.
60
I wish I could be like that.
61
Unfortunately, we grew apart, slowly but surely, and by the time we went to uni, we weren't in touch anymore.
62
I haven't seen him for years.
63
It's really sad.
64
I would blame it partly on the fact that he's not very reliable.
65
So, for example, if I email him, he won't respond.
66
I'm not sure what he's up to these days.
67
3. I know this is a cliché, but I don't get on with my in -laws, especially my mother -in -law, Jane.
68
She's so nosy, always wanting to know what we're doing and who we're with,
69
and she's terribly blunt, which means she quite often upsets us with things she comes out with.
70
And then she can be quite stingy.
71
When we go out for a meal with her and my father -in -law, she never offers to pay, even though they're much better off than us.
72
I must say, though, She's extremely clever and I do respect her for that.
73
She set up her own business five years ago and it's gone from strength to strength.
74
She's so self -assured and ambitious too, which I suppose is why she's so successful in business.
75
Colin's English for exams, speaking for IELTS.
76
Copyright HarperCollins Publishers 2011.
77
CD 1 Track 1.
78
The person I'm closest to in my family is definitely my mum, Kate.
79
We've always got on and we hardly ever fall out.
80
I know that's unusual.
81
She's really outgoing and sociable.
82
She's always going out with friends and colleagues.
83
Everyone thinks she's good fun.
84
I look up to her because she's so hard -working, she never sits still, and she works long hours.
85
She can be a bit impatient, though.
86
She gets annoyed when her colleagues aren't as efficient as her.
87
I take after her in that.
88
I'm impatient, too.
89
And she's oversensitive, often getting offended for seemingly no reason.
90
2. My cousin Kieran and I grew up together.
91
We were inseparable.
92
He was so creative, he'd always think of new games we could play, and make up these stories to make me laugh.
93
I was constantly amazed by his open -mindedness as well.
94
He was never judgmental.
95
I wish I could be like that.
96
Unfortunately, we grew apart, slowly but surely, and by the time we went to uni, we weren't in touch anymore.
97
I haven't seen him for years.
98
It's really sad.
99
I would blame it partly on the fact that he's not very reliable.
100
So, for example, if I email him, he won't respond.
101
I'm not sure what he's up to these days.
102
3. I know this is a cliché, but I don't get on with my in -laws, especially my mother -in -law, Jane.
103
She's so nosy, always wanting to know what we're doing and who we're with,
104
and she's terribly blunt, which means she quite often upsets us with things she comes out with.
105
and then she can be quite stingy.
106
When we go out for a meal with her and my father -in -law, she never offers to pay, even though they're much better off than us.
107
I must say, though, She's extremely clever and I do respect her for that.
108
She set up her own business five years ago and it's gone from strength to strength.
109
She's so self -assured and ambitious too, which I suppose is why she's so successful in business.
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Track 2.
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Tell me something about your family.
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What do you like doing most with your family?
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Who are you close to in your family?
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In what way is your family important to you?
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Sample answers.
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Tell me something about your family.
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Although I live abroad now, my mum's family is from Paris and my dad's family is from Toulouse,
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so I'm from a very French family.
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Um, I would say I come from quite a small family, really.
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For example, I just have one older sister and four cousins, but it's true that my extended family is fairly big.
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What do you like doing most with your family?
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Err, I like having nice long meals with good food and good wine, and a few jokes for dessert.
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Who are you close to in your family?
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In my family?
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Well, I'm close to my Uncle Jacques.
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He's a chef.
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He's hilarious, always telling jokes.
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And he's very enthusiastic about everything he does.
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We spent a lot of time together when I was growing up.
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In fact, he helped to bring me up.
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In what way is your family important to you?
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My family is everything to me.
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They are my best friends.
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They support me when things aren't going well, and when things are going well.
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I know they'll always be there for me, no matter what.
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Track 3.
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One of my best friends is a guy called Raul.
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I met him at uni in Barcelona where we were in the same study group.
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When was that?
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I suppose it was over ten years ago now, so yes, we've known each other for a good decade.
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We got to know each other on the tennis courts
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because the first few days of our course were so boring that we both decided we'd be better off outside playing tennis.
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'What kind of person is he?
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He's very active, a sporty type, involved in hiking and mountainbiking,
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a bit of an adrenaline junkie.' He's also a very determined person, When he gets into something, he gives 100%.
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and he changes passions often.
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That makes him a bit of a self -absorbed person actually, which I'd say is a drawback.
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And I think he comes across as full of himself sometimes.
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I'm a bit too sure of his own opinions.
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As for why I like him, well, he's actually quite different from me.
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At uni, he'd often suggest doing something and I'd go along with it, and because I'm laid back, I never felt overwhelmed by him.
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We've never fallen out or anything.
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How often do you see your friend?
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Well...
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Because we live in different countries, we don't see each other that often.
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But we try to catch up on a fairly regular basis, say, three times a year.
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Track 4.
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one.
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Can I have a cup of tea?
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2. We met at uni.
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3. I've known him for ten years.
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Four.
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I'm from Dubai.
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5. It's quarter to ten.
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Track 5.
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1. 2.
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Ta.
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2. of of.
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3. at.
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ut.
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4. From. from, 5.
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Four.
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F. Track 6.
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One.
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Has she been waiting for long?
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2. What are you looking at?
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3. The present's not from Mark, it's for Mark.
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4. I want to go.
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Track 7 Modern families.
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In what ways have families changed in the last hundred years?
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Should we rely heavily on our families, or is it better to try to be independent?
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The elderly are sometimes considered the wisest members of society.
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What do you think we can learn from them?
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Friendship What do you expect from a good friend?
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Are friends as important to you as family?
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Do you think friendships change as we get older?
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How?
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Sample answers.
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In what ways have families changed in the last hundred years?
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In Western countries, I would say families have become more widely dispersed and less close,
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People travel more and then end up living far away from their families.
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I think this is a shame because it means there is a breakdown of communities.
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I also think that, because families are spread over a wider geographical area,
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elderly people tend to be forgotten and usually live on their own.
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Should we rely heavily on our families, or is it better to try to be independent?
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'People seem to like living independently from each other these days,
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but I do wonder if that's the best way.' Relying on people is seen as a weakness by some, I think.
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However, having family nearby is invaluable when you have children, in my opinion.
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Who else can be called on to babysit at a moment's notice?
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The elderly are sometimes considered the wisest members of society.
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What do you think we can learn from them?
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Oh, an immense amount.
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They're our living link with the past - of a family, a region, a country.
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They're the keepers of local traditions, for example, and they provide a sense of identity to younger generations.
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Sample answers.
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What do you expect from a good friend?
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For me, a good friend has to be reliable.
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I can't stand being stood up or having my emails and texts ignored.
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As well as that, a friend should be someone you can have good fun with, There are many things in life to be serious about,
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but friendship shouldn't be one of them.
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I also believe that opposites attract - in friendships just as in romance,
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so a good friend will most likely be very different from you in many ways.
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Are friends as important to you as family?
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"Hmm, no, I wouldn't say so.
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Friends come and go, but family are always there, whether you like it or not.
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You can even be rude to your family, er, not that it's advisable, of course, and they will forgive you.
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But sometimes you've known a friend for so long, they can become like a family member, you can really be yourself with them,
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and you may even argue quite often, er, like siblings do.
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'Do you think friendships change as we get older?' Well, I definitely find that I have less in common with some friends than I used to,
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I sometimes wonder what we used to find to talk about.
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And so you often grow apart from old school friends or old colleagues.
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"The people I feel I have most in common with are friends I met at university.
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I'm not sure why, but we somehow always have lots to talk about.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “01 Collins Speaking For IELTS Unit 1”. This video has 222 sentences and 2148 words to shadow. The speech runs for 18:01. The speaker talks at a steady 119 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
colleague noun/ˈkɒliːɡ/A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate.
impatient adjective/ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/Restless, short of temper, and intolerant of delays.
amaze verb/əˈmeɪz/To fill (someone) with surprise and wonder; to astonish, to astound, to surprise.
annoy verb/əˈnoɪ̯/To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
inseparable adjective/inˈsɛ.p(ə).ɹə.bl/Unable to be separated; bound together permanently.
judgmental adjective/ˌd͡ʒʌd͡ʒˈmɛnt(ə)l/Of or relating to judgment.
mindedness nounThe state of being minded in a particular way (as in narrow-mindedness, absent-mindedness).
nosy adjective/ˈnoʊzi/Prying, inquisitive or curious in other’s affairs; tending to snoop or meddle.
sociable adjective/ˈsoʊʃəbəl/Tending to socialize or be social.
stingy adjective/ˈstɪnd͡ʒi/Unwilling to spend, give, or share; ungenerous; mean.
offend verb/əˈfɛnd/To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
outgoing adjective/aʊtˈɡəʊɪŋ/Extroverted: talkative, friendly, and social, especially with respect to meeting new people easily and comfortably; outgiving.
blunt adjective/blʌnt/Having a thick edge or point; not sharp.
terribly adverb/ˈtɛɹ.ɪ.bli/Very; extremely.
ambitious adjective/æmˈbɪʃ.əs/Having or showing ambition; wanting a lot of power, honor, respect, superiority, or other distinction.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
fall out verbTo come out of something by falling.
grow up verbTo mature and become an adult.
come out with verbTo say (something) unexpectedly.
get on with verbTo proceed with; to begin or continue, especially after an interruption.
grow apart verbTo gradually become estranged.
look up to verbTo show respect or admiration for (someone); to see (someone) as a role model.
make up verb/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/To constitute, to compose.
set up verb/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/To make ready for use.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

  • What do you like doing most with your family?
  • Who are you close to in your family?
  • In what way is your family important to you?
  • How often do you see your friend?
  • Can I have a cup of tea?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its resultif I email him, he won't respond
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhaven't seen · we've known · We've never fallen
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itare sometimes considered · are spread · be forgotten
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingblunt, which means

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 61 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: impatient /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/, sociable /ˈsoʊʃəbəl/, ambitious /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/, assure /əˈʃʊɹ/
  • Long words — get the stress right: inseparable /inˈsɛ.p(ə).ɹə.bl/, adrenaline /əˈdɹɛnəlɪn/, invaluable /ɪnˈvælju(ə)bl̩/, enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/, independently /ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəntli/

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 colleague, impatient, amaze.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →