Shadowing Practice: 1000 collocations - lesson 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
Lesson 1 Family Let's begin our study of collocations by learning some common expressions about the family.
2
Your parents and siblings, brothers and sisters, are your immediate family, and your extended family includes all your relatives,
3
uncles, cousins, great-aunts, etc. You can use a family tree to diagram the relationships among your family members.
4
A person who is related to you by a long series of connections can be called a distant relative.
5
If you're lucky, you have a loving family, or a close-knit family.
6
These expressions refer to a family that has good relationships, where everyone loves each other and helps each other.
7
If you were raised in a loving family, then you probably had a carefree childhood.
8
That means you had nothing to worry about when you were young.
9
On the other hand, a family in which the relationships are bad or unhealthy can be called a dysfunctional family.
10
If the children experience abuse, poverty, or problems with the law, we can say they had a troubled childhood.
11
Perhaps the parents went through a bitter divorce.
12
That means a separation in which there were bad or angry feelings between the husband and wife.
13
It's also possible to have a messy divorce,
14
with a prolonged legal battle involving lots of conflicts about the separation of the former couple's assets, money, and possessions.
15
The decisions about the separation of assets are made in the divorce settlement.
16
A family in which there are divorces or separations is sometimes called a broken home.
17
Sometimes the mother and father fight over custody of the children.
18
That refers to who has the primary responsibility of caring for the kids.
19
A judge can grant joint custody.
20
that means the ex-husband and ex-wife share the responsibility, or sole custody to only one parent.
21
For example, a judge might award sole custody to the mother, and the father has to pay child support,
22
regular payments to help with expenses for the kids.
23
If it was a mutual divorce or separation, that means the ex-husband and ex-wife agreed to separate without fighting,
24
then they will probably stay on good terms with each other, meaning to have a polite relationship without conflicts.
25
If a woman gets pregnant without being married or in a relationship, then she will become a single mother.
26
Some women in this situation choose to have an abortion, and others prefer to give the baby up for adoption.
27
The time when the baby is planned to arrive is called the due date.
28
You can also say the baby is due in mid-October, for example.
29
After the woman has the baby or gives birth to the baby, the baby is given to the adoptive parents,
30
who will raise the child or bring up the child as if it was their own.
31
Sometimes when the adopted child is older, he or she tries to find their birth mother, biological mother.
32
Now take the quiz for Lesson 1, Collocations About Family.

Master Family Collocations: Your First Step to Fluent English

Ready to boost your English speaking skills with real-world phrases? This lesson dives into 100+ family collocations—common word pairs native speakers use daily. You’ll learn to talk about relationships, childhoods, and life events like divorce or adoption, making your speech sound natural and confident. Perfect for english speaking practice, this video is your key to sounding less like a learner and more like a pro.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases to Master

  • Immediate family: Parents, siblings, and other close relatives you live with.
  • Close-knit family: A family with strong, loving relationships.
  • Bitter divorce: A separation filled with anger and conflict.
  • Child support: Regular payments to help raise a child after divorce.
  • Give up for adoption: To legally place a child with another family.

Practice Tips: Use the Shadowing Technique to Shine

The video’s warm, conversational tone makes it ideal for shadowing technique practice. Here’s how: Play a 5-second clip, pause, and repeat it aloud—mimic the speed, stress, and intonation. Focus on how words like “dysfunctional” or “joint custody” flow in sentences. For tricky phrases, slow the video down (most platforms let you do this!) and practice until you match the rhythm. This isn’t just about pronunciation—it’s about training your brain to think in English. Use a shadowing site to record yourself and compare it to the video; you’ll be amazed at how quickly your english pronunciation improves. Remember, consistency is key—spend 10 minutes daily, and you’ll soon use these collocations without thinking. You’ve got this!

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itis related · were raised · can be called
Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or predictionwill probably stay · will become · will raise

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 →