Shadowing Practice: #100 More or less? Talking about quantities | SBS Learn English - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Yeah, plenty of times.
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Learn English helped me to talk about quantities.
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Heaps!
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SPS acknowledges the traditional custodians of country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.
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This is a special episode for us.
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You know why?
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It's our 100th episode.
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To us, that's a big number.
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So we decided that for this episode, we will talk about numbers.
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Quantities, to be more precise.
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I'm Josipa and today I'm taking you to Claire's, who just entered.
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Pags of Christmas shopping in her hands.
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The thought of Christmas.
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I need to wrap these.
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Makes you smile.
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Claire puts some music on, makes herself a cup of tea, and is ready to start wrapping her presents when Alan arrives.
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There are a few presents waiting to be wrapped.
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Just a few?
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I saw loads of bags on the table.
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True, but for roughly half of them I'll use the same wrapping paper.
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That will speed things up.
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That's still plenty to wrap.
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There are a lot of English expressions for talking about quantities.
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And the words themselves are pretty simple.
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The key is knowing when to use each one.
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So today we are focusing on how much each phrase really means and when to use it.
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Let's begin.
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We will start small and get bigger.
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There are a few presents waiting to be wrapped.
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We use a few when we are referring to a small number of things that you can count.
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We say countable things.
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We use it when we want to say that there is a small quantity of whatever it is, but enough to matter.
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We can also use the phrase a couple of, which technically means only two,
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but can be used in some context for about two, if you're not exactly sure how many, but it is a small number.
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I bought a couple of different flavours, so you can choose.
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When it's a bit more than a few, we can use the word several.
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There are several questions I'd like to ask.
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But let's say we want to talk about a lot of something.
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We could use Alan's example.
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I saw loads of bags on the table.
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If you say you've got loads of something, you mean you have a lot, a big number or amount.
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It's a really common, informal way to talk about a quantity that you think is large or large enough.
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So you could say...
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Please stay for dinner.
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We've got loads of food.
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You could also say plenty of, which means pretty much the same thing.
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We've got plenty of time.
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Other casual phrases we can use to mean the same thing are heaps of or tons of.
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She's got heaps of clothes.
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We've got tons of work to do.
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So, we talked about a small, medium and large quantities.
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But what about if you want to describe a really, really, really big number?
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This is where English is fun, because you can use a made-up word like gazillion.
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There are gazillions of shops in that mall.
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You could also use zillion or bazillion.
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None of these are real numbers, but they do sound big, don't you think?
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Now, remember we said that a few refers to a very small countable number of something?
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Well, if we want to talk about a slightly larger amount, we can say quite a few, which actually means the opposite.
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There are quite a few presents on your table.
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We often use quite a few when we think the number is a little larger than we might expect.
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True, but for roughly half of them, I'll use the same wrapping paper.
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We can use roughly to describe an amount, number or time that is approximate, not exact.
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It's often used when you want to give a general idea rather than a precise measurement.
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For example, I've already spent roughly half of my budget for presents.
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And how about you?
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Do you have a lot of presents to buy at this time of the year?
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Some people buy heaps of presents when they go to visit their families, while others only buy a few.
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What about you?
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While you think about who you need to give presents to and when, let's hear the dialogue once again.
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There are a few presents waiting to be wrapped.
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Just a few?
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I saw loads of bags on the table.
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True, but for roughly half of them I'll use the same wrapping paper.
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That will speed things up.
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That's still plenty to wrap.
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It's time to practice.
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See if you remember the meaning before hearing the answer.
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When we say that we have a few of something,
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we have… When we say we have a few of something,
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we're talking about a small number, not many, but more than one.
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When we say we have quite a few of something, we have...
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When we say we have quite a few of something, we mean a noticeable or fairly large number, more than just a few, but not loads.
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Let's now practice saying that we have a lot of presents.
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I saw loads of bags on the table.
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She's got heaps of presents.
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I'm buying a ton of presents for my family.
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There are a few presents waiting to be wrapped.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 87 sentences and 888 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:57. The speaker talks at a steady 128 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
| quantity noun | /ˈkwɑn(t)ɪti/ | A fundamental, generic term used when referring to the measurement (count, amount) of a scalar, vector, number of items or to some other way of denominating… |
| roughly adverb | /ˈɹʌf.li/ | In a rough manner; without kindness, softness, or gentleness. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
| ton noun | /tʌn/ | The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each. |
| precise adjective | /pɹɪˈsaɪs/ | Both exact and accurate. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| dialogue noun | /ˈdaɪəˌlɑɡ/ | A conversation or other form of discourse between two or more individuals. |
| mall noun | /mɔːl/ | A pedestrianised street, especially a shopping precinct. |
| casual adjective | /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/ | Happening by chance. |
| continuous adjective | /kənˈtɪn.juː.əs/ | Without stopping; without a break, cessation, or interruption. |
| acknowledge verb | /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/ | To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in. |
| technically adverb | /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/ | Based on precise facts, which, however, may be contrary to common belief or casual terminology. |
| measurement noun | /ˈmɛʒ.ə.mənt/ | The act of measuring. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| make up verb | /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ | To constitute, to compose. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm, we've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, measurement /ˈmɛʒ.ə.mənt/
- Long words — get the stress right: continuous /kənˈtɪn.juː.əs/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, approximate /əˈpɹɑk.sə.mət/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like wrap, quantity, roughly.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be wrapped |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | start wrapping · practice saying |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will talk · I'll use · will speed |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm taking · is knowing · are focusing |
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.