Shadowing Practice: 100 YouTubers Cooked For Me - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 1368 sentences and 11866 words to shadow. The speech runs for 51:46. The speaker talks fast, about 229 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 229 of its 1368 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tier noun | /ˈtɪɚ/ | A row or range, especially one at a higher or lower level than another. |
| fry verb | /fɹaɪ/ | To cook (something) in hot fat. |
| onion noun | /ˈʌn.jən/ | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| butter noun | /ˈbʌtɚ/ | A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk). |
| chef noun | /ʃɛf/ | The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household. |
| knife noun | /ˈnaɪ̯f/ | A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge… |
| cookie noun | /ˈkʊki/ | A small, flat, baked good which is either crisp or soft but firm. |
| steak noun | /steɪk/ | Beefsteak: a slice of beef, broiled or cut for broiling. |
| pasta noun | /ˈpɑ.stə/ | Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating. |
| gosh | /ɡɑːʃ/ | A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm. |
| taco noun | /ˈtɑkoʊ/ | A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft- or hard-shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables, and salsa. |
| pizza noun | /ˈpi.tsə/ | A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| flavor noun | /ˈfleɪvə/ | The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect. |
| tomato noun | /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come on in verb | Synonym of come in (“to enter”). | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. | |
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. | |
| cut up verb | To cut upward. | |
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| cut through verb | To take a shortcut through. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How do you even make a fried chicken sandwich?
- Did you just hit yourself with chicken?
- You're gonna break it apart?
- Do you know what I'm wearing right now?
- Don't you like the smell of that?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if I were you, I'd try |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've also broken · have trusted · haven't baked |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be ranked · was based · be cut |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | here, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 539 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, gonna, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, thick /θɪk/, broth /bɹɔθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: chef /ʃɛf/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, dish /dɪʃ/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, shrimp /ʃɹɪmp/
- Long words — get the stress right: ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, carbonara /ˌkɑɹbəˈnɑɹə/, avocado /ˌɑvəˈkɑdoʊ/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like tier, fry, onion.
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.





























