Shadowing Practice: 1000 English Collocations You Need to Know | Family & Relationships - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Lesson 1.
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Lesson 1.
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Family.
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Let's begin our study of collocations by learning some common expressions about the family.
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Your parents and siblings, brothers and sisters,
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are your immediate family, family,
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and your extended family includes all your relatives—uncles,
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cousins, great-aunts, etc. You can use a family tree to diagram the relationships among your family members.
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A person who is related to you by a long series of connections can be called a distant relative.
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If you're lucky, you have a loving family, or a close-knit family.
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These expressions refer to a family that has good relationships,
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where everyone loves each other and helps each other.
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If you were raised in a loving family,
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then you probably had a carefree childhood.
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That means you had nothing to worry about when you were young.
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On the other hand, a family in which the relationships are bad or unhealthy can be called a dysfunctional family.
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If the children experience abuse,
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poverty, or problems with the law,
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we can say they had a troubled childhood.
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Perhaps the parents went through a bitter divorce.
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That means a separation in which there were bad or angry feelings between the husband and wife.
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It's also possible to have a messy divorce,
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with a prolonged legal battle involving lots of conflicts about the separation of the former couple's assets,
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money and possessions.
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The decisions about the separation of assets are made in the divorce settlement.
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A family in which there are divorces or separations is sometimes called a broken home.
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Sometimes the mother and father fight over custody of the children.
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That refers to who has the primary responsibility of caring for the kids.
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A judge can grant joint custody.
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That means the ex-husband and ex-wife share the responsibility,
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or sole custody to only one parent.
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For example, a judge might award sole custody to the mother,
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and the father has to pay child support—regular payments to help with expenses for the kids.
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If it was a mutual divorce or separation—that means the ex-husband
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and ex-wife agreed to separate without fighting—then they will probably stay on good terms with each other,
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meaning to have a polite relationship without conflicts.
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If a woman gets pregnant without being married or in a relationship,
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then she will become a single mother.
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Some women in this situation choose to have an abortion,
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and others prefer to give the baby up for adoption.
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The time when the baby is planned to arrive is called the due date.
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You can also say the baby is due in mid-October, for example.
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After the woman has the baby or gives birth to the baby,
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the baby is given to the adoptive parents,
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who will raise the child or bring up the child as if it was their own.
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Sometimes when the adopted child is older,
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he or she tries to find their birth mother, biological mother.
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Lesson 2.
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Relationships.
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When you move to a new city,
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it can be hard to make friends.
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You'll probably have a number of casual acquaintances,
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people who you know on a basic level,
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but with whom you don't have a significant relationship.
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Over time, some of these may become good friends, or close friends.
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These collocations refer to friends with whom you have an especially strong relationship.
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Do you believe in love at first sight?
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That's when two people meet each other and immediately fall in love,
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perhaps because they have strong chemistry.
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This expression describes strong compatibility or connection between two possible romantic partners.
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Some people believe that their significant other,
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their boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife, is their soulmate.
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This is a poetic expression that means that two people are destined to be together.
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It's possible for one person to have feelings for another person.
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This expression is an indirect way to describe romantic feelings.
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But if the other person doesn't feel the same way,
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then the feeling is not mutual.
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The other person might say,
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he's just not my type,
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or she's just not my type,
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meaning that they are interested in people of a different type of personality or appearance.
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Ah, there's nothing sadder than unrequited love.
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Love that is not returned.
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Some people marry their childhood sweetheart,
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or high school or college sweetheart.
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This expression refers to a boyfriend or girlfriend from your childhood,
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teenage, or college years.
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Other couples are introduced by a mutual friend,
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one friend that the two people have in common.
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When the couple is ready to make a commitment,
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the man proposes to the woman.
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He asks her to marry him.
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If the marriage is good,
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then we say the couple is happily married.
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Unfortunately, not all love stories have a happy ending.
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Sometimes a husband or wife has an affair.
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They have sex with a different person.
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We can also say that they are cheating on their husband or wife.
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The expression, have an affair,
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is typically used only for married couples.
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And the expression, cheating on,
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can be used for married couples or for boyfriends and girlfriends.
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Let's practice the pronunciation of all the collocations in this lesson.
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Listen and repeat.
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Make friends.
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Casual acquaintances.
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Good friends.
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Close friends.
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Love at first sight.
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in love, strong chemistry, significant other,
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soulmate, have feelings for, the feeling is He's not mutual.
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He's just not my type.
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Unrequited love.
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Childhood sweetheart.
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High school sweetheart.
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College sweetheart.
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Mutual friend.
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Make a commitment.
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Proposes to the woman.
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Happily married. Has an affair.
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Cheating on their husband or wife.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice essential English collocations related to family and relationships. Understanding these expressions will enhance your english speaking practice, making your conversations more fluent and natural. You will learn the meanings of terms such as "dysfunctional family" and "joint custody," and how to use them in context. By diving into the language surrounding familial structures and relational dynamics, you'll be better equipped to discuss personal experiences and hypothetical situations in English.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Extended family - relatives beyond the immediate family, such as uncles, aunts, and cousins.
  • Loving family - a family characterized by affection and support among its members.
  • Dysfunctional family - a family with unhealthy and negative relationships.
  • Custody - the legal responsibility for the care of a child, which can be joint or sole.
  • Child support - financial payments made regularly by a non-custodial parent to assist with child-rearing costs.
  • Single mother - a woman raising a child without a partner or spouse.
  • Due date - the expected date a baby will be born.
  • Adoptive parents - parents who raise a child that is not their biological offspring.

Practice Tips

To effectively improve your speaking abilities, engage in shadow speech exercises with this video. First, listen carefully to the speaker's tone and pace, which is calm and clear. Aim to mimic the intonation and rhythm by practicing shadow speak as you follow along. Rewind sections as needed to catch any phrases that may be challenging. For example, when the speaker discusses complex ideas like a "broken home" or a "messy divorce," break them down into smaller parts. This will not only help you pronounce the phrases accurately but also deepen your understanding of their meanings.

Repeat after the speaker, focusing on matching their pronunciation and emotion. This method, often referred to as shadowspeak, will significantly boost your confidence while speaking English. Remember to practice regularly, and you will find yourself integrating these collocations naturally into your everyday conversations. Whether you are learning English with YouTube or through other mediums, consistency is key to mastering the language.

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.

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