Shadowing Practice: 20 Advanced Words For Speaking - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, and welcome to the Espresso English Podcast, where you can improve your English in just a few minutes a day.
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My name is Shaina, and I'm the teacher at Espresso English.
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Make sure to visit the website EspressoEnglish.net, where you can get online courses and e-books that will help you learn English even faster.
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Let's get started with today's lesson.
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We don't just speak in English.
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Instead, we yell, mumble, snap, whine, and more.
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Each of these words describes a different way of speaking, and learning them will really level up your vocabulary.
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So today, I'll teach you 20 different English words
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that describe the many and varied ways we communicate using our tone of voice, facial expression, and attitude.
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Make sure to download today's lesson PDF so you can easily review and remember these useful words.
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Click on the link in the video description, enter your email address, and I'll send the PDF right to you.
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First we'll look at some words for speaking loudly.
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Yell, shout, scream, shriek, and wail.
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You might do one of these if you are communicating with someone who is far away, usually yell or shout.
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For example, the soccer coach shouted instructions to the players on the field.
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Or if you are angry, we would usually use yell, shout, or scream.
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For example, my boss yelled at me after I missed an important deadline.
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If we are afraid, shocked, or surprised, we would scream or shriek.
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Barbara shrieked when she found a giant spider in her bed.
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If we're in pain, we would scream, shriek, or wail.
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For example, the little boy started screaming when he accidentally closed his finger in the car door.
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And when we are sad, that is usually wail.
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For example, you've never cared about me.
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She wailed.
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Scream and shriek can also refer to making loud vocal sounds that are not words, especially in the case of fear, surprise, or pain.
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And wailing can also mean simply crying very loudly.
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So you could say the baby was wailing until he got his bottle.
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A couple more words for loud speech are roar and bellow.
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These are often done when someone is very angry or in distress.
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And while scream and shriek imply a higher tone, roar and bellow, especially bellow, usually imply more of a deep voice.
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Roar is the same word we use for the sound a lion makes, and bellow can also be used for the sound of a bull.
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For example, what do you mean you crashed my new car?
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My father bellowed.
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To cheer means to yell or shout in a happy or excited way.
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People often cheer at sports games and after a great music or theater performance.
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For example, everyone cheered when the Brazilian team scored a goal.
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To whisper is to speak extremely quietly.
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This is an example of whispering.
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You would whisper in a movie theater so you don't disturb the other people
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or you would whisper when you don't want anyone else to hear what you're saying.
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If we hiss then we whisper or talk softly in an aggressive or angry way.
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Hiss is the same word we use for the sound a snake makes.
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For example, shut up, he hissed.
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Snarl and growl are two more words for speaking angrily but at normal volume.
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Again, these are words we also use for aggressive sounds by animals like dogs and bears, as well as for people who speak angrily.
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For example, that's the ugliest thing I've ever seen, she snarled.
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You'd better not come here again, he growled.
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And if someone is really, really angry, they might curse or swear, meaning to say bad words, which I'm not going to repeat here.
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So let's just see some example sentences.
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She swore at the driver who cut her off in traffic.
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He's verbally abusive, always cursing at his wife and kids.
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Getting back to words for speaking quietly, three more are mumble, mutter and murmur.
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To mumble is to speak quietly and not clearly without opening your mouth very much.
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People often mumble when they don't want to talk or when they're nervous, embarrassed, or have low confidence in general.
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For example, my son mumbled an apology to my daughter after breaking her favorite toy.
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When we mutter, we are usually complaining and saying negative things.
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Whereas murmur is neutral, just speaking in a quiet voice.
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For example, he left the store muttering about the terrible customer service.
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So he's saying negative things.
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My piano teacher murmured a few words of encouragement to me before I went on stage to perform.
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So she's just speaking softly.
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To whine is to complain in an annoying high-pitched voice.
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For example, my kids started whining when I told them they couldn't watch TV until they had finished their homework.
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So that would be like, but mom, that's not fair.
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I'll miss my favorite show.
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That's an example of whining.
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A similar word is moan, although this is usually complaining or expressing frustration in more of a normal or lower pitched voice.
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For example, the store is closed, she moaned.
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Now I'll have to wait till Monday to do the shopping.
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Whimper describes speaking in a soft and sad voice like you're crying a little bit while speaking.
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For example, what's wrong?
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I asked my daughter.
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I bumped my head on the wall, she whimpered.
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To ramble is to speak continuously for a long time with too many details, too many different topics.
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For example, you shouldn't ramble during a job interview.
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Try to keep your answers concise and relevant.
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To chat means to have an informal conversation.
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We can use chat for informal conversations both online and offline.
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For example, the teacher was chatting with a few students in the hallway.
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To stutter or stammer means to speak repeating some sounds.
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So if someone says, please don't do that, they are stuttering or stammering.
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Some people do this frequently because they have a speech problem
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and other people do it occasionally when they are extremely afraid or extremely nervous.
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To gossip is to talk about other people's lives, especially negative things or secret details.
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For example, my neighbor loves to gossip.
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I think she's got some dirt on everyone who lives in this apartment building.
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Dirt is a slang word here for some scandalous or secret information.
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And gossip is both a verb and a noun for this type of speaking.
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To snap at someone means to say a quick phrase in an annoyed or angry way.
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For example, when I asked my wife if dinner was ready, she snapped at me.
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So maybe she said something like, if you want dinner, make it yourself.
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The words beg and plead mean to ask with a lot of emotion.
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For example, please forgive me, he pleaded.
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She begged for an extension of the deadline.
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Now you know 20 more advanced words for different ways of speaking and communicating.
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Can you create your own example sentences?
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Go ahead and download the free lesson PDF by clicking on the link in the video description.
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I'm looking for some students who are serious about radically improving their vocabulary in the next six weeks.
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Are you one of them?
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If so, come join my Advanced Vocabulary and Collocations course, which is also linked in the video description.
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In the next 45 days, you'll add over a thousand high-level words to your vocabulary and practice using them.
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This course will help you sound impressively sophisticated in English.
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I hope to see you inside!
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If you want more great English lessons,
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visit EspressoEnglish.net, where you can sign up by email to receive a free ebook with 500 plus real English phrases.
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You'll also find online courses to help you improve your English fast, even if you don't have much time to study.
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Keep practicing your English, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “20 Advanced Words For Speaking”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: example, word, English, speaking, sound. This video has 107 sentences and 1326 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:12. The speaker talks at a natural 162 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| scream verb | /skɹiːm/ | To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek. |
| shriek verb | /ʃɹiːk/ | To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish. |
| wail verb | /weɪl/ | To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish. |
| yell verb | /jɛl/ | To shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement. |
| bellow verb | /ˈbɛloʊ/ | To make a loud, deep, hollow noise like the roar of an angry bull. |
| mumble verb | /ˈmʌmbəl/ | To speak unintelligibly or inaudibly; to fail to articulate. |
| whisper verb | /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/ | To speak softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration of the… |
| shout verb | /ʃaʊt/ | To utter a sudden and loud cry, as in joy, triumph, exultation or anger, or to attract attention, to animate others, etc. |
| whine verb | /ˈwaɪ̯n/ | To utter a high-pitched cry. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| hiss verb | /hɪs/ | To make a hiss, a sibilant sound of air escaping. |
| murmur noun | /ˈmɝ.mɚ/ | Any low, indistinct sound, like that of running water. |
| mutter verb | /ˈmʌtə/ | To utter words, especially complaints or angry expressions, indistinctly or with a low voice and lips partly closed; to say under one's breath. |
| roar verb | /ˈɹoɹ/ | To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. |
| gossip noun | /ˈɡɑsɪp/ | Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| shut up | /ʃʌt ʌp/ | Stop talking (usually in the form of making annoying, irrelevant, or false comments, during a period of peace and quiet, or when one is not allowed to talk)… |
| sign up verb | To add a name to the list of people who are participating in something. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Let's get started with today's lesson.
- First we'll look at some words for speaking loudly.
- For example, you've never cared about me.
- Can you create your own example sentences?
- Are you one of them?
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 you are angry, we would usually · If we're in pain, we would scream |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who is · people who speak · everyone who lives |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are often done · is closed · is also linked |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've never cared · I've ever seen |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 25 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'll, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shriek /ʃɹiːk/, shout /ʃaʊt/, frustration /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, facial /ˈfeɪ.ʃəl/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, encouragement [ɪnˈkʌɹɪd͡ʒmənt], continuously /kənˈtɪnjuəsli/, apology /əˈpɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
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 scream, shriek, wail.
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.