Shadowing Practice: 210826 BBC Points West, Evening News - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Thank you Clive.
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Good evening everyone and welcome to BBC Points West.
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It's Amanda with you tonight.
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Coming up on a busy Friday programme.
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A summer of high call-outs and challenging conditions, the fire service serving Somerset reflects on a sharp rise in demand.
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Around about 1,000 since the 1st of July have been directly linked to wildfires.
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So it's much higher than we would normally expect.
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In fact it's around about 25% higher than it was two years ago.
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We look at how the service plans to cope with increased pressure.
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Our other headlines this evening.
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We hear from parents after a review finds some weaknesses in the physiotherapy given to children in Bristol.
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New sales for a 200-year-old windmill near Marlborough.
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It'll soon be grinding grain once more.
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And the Crafting Club with members who've moved here from Hong Kong.
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They have each other in stitches.
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First tonight, the fire service in Somerset says it's seen a sharp rise in demand this summer.
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Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue says since the end of June, it's had four of its ten busiest days of emergency calls for the past decade.
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At one stage during the heatwave, they were dealing with an average of 108 incidents a day.
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Our reporter Ross Pollard has taken a look back at some of them.
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The fire service has been put to the test this summer to deal with many incidents.
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In Somerset, there have been wildfires, machinery in flames and businesses burnt to the ground.
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This was a large wildfire near Ilminster in July, tearing through trees, grasslands and even an electricity pylon.
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Four fire crews tackled the blaze using special equipment.
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I've been here all my life and we've never seen it as dry as this.
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Farmers have been worried about their land and their machinery.
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This was a combine harvester in flames near Wincanton.
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In Taunton, more than 200 tonnes of wood and wood chip went up.
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Crews were called in from across the county.
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And in Watchit, a large fire broke out at the old paper mill.
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The roof of the derelict building was destroyed.
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Sometimes the fires had been caused by thunderstorms.
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This care home in Glastonbury was struck by lightning and residents had to be evacuated.
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In the distance there was a flash of lightning and a great big boom.
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This was basically European gorse predominantly.
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It's completely burned to the ground in places.
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As the summer draws to a close, many are worried this year might be a sign of things to come in the future.
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Ross Pollard, BBC Points West, in Somerset.
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Well, earlier on I asked the service's assistant chief fire officer about some of the major incidents they've had to deal with.
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We've been exceptionally busy.
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We have received over 6,000 calls in July alone, of which we attended over 2,000 of those.
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Of that 2,000 since the 1st of July, that's been almost 1,000 outdoor fires or fires that are known as wildfires.
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Not only have we been doing that, we've also been supporting the wider fire community by sending resources across the country to Hampshire,
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Isle of Wight, Derbyshire, Cambridge and others to support the national effort national effort and what has been a really unprecedented summer.
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Of the fires you attend on open land, how many of those roughly have been down to human error?
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It's impossible to put an exact number on it, but we do know the conditions in the United Kingdom don't really support spontaneous fires starting in the open.
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It's much more likely to be due to some form of careless disposal of ignitable source, for example, cigarettes, something else,
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or unfortunately through deliberate fires.
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do still happen on a number of occasions
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so yeah unfortunately probably most are human interaction now there is
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a temporary ban on disposable barbecues would you like to see
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that become permanent the fact the barbecue itself is not going to be at risk
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if it's disposed of and used of in a safe way equally
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that that applies for any sort of open um naked flame for example candles cigarettes matches
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or anything like that can it can be as much of a risk as a barbecue
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but anything to help reduce the uh the burden we're feeling at the moment in the sector would be very welcome
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And just on a human level, there's been a lot of pressure put on crews.
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How are they doing?
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They're really good.
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I'm immensely proud every day of all of our operations.
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In fact, all of our staff across the whole piece.
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One of the things I love about the sector is people step up to the plate
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when it matters and really work hard to resolve what are some really technical and difficult operational incidents.
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Our role as a service is to make sure we look after the welfare of those people.
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So we put lots of control measures in place and ensure they're adequately rested.
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In fact, in a lot of occasions, our crews will always work above and beyond, so we were having to pull them back.
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Well, thank you all for everything you do.
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Darren McClatchy, many thanks for your time tonight.
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Now, police patrols are being increased after racist graffiti was repeatedly spray-painted at a popular nature reserve near Bristol.
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An offensive slur has appeared three times on a stone marker at Magpie Bottom in Hannam.
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South Gloucestershire Council has removed it and says it won't be tolerated.
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Bridgewater Town Council has completed a major clean-up of a public open space in Somerset.
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Following the departure of an unauthorised encampment, about 18 tonnes of waste has been removed from white gates,
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including household waste, abandoned items and fly-tipped rubbish, the cost of the clean-up hasn't yet been finalised.
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A review into the physiotherapy given to children in Bristol has
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identified significant weaknesses in the service provided by Sirona Care and Health.
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It was requested after parents raised concerns telling us their children's spines were getting worse because of a lack of specialist care.
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Our health correspondent Matthew Hill reports.
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Every day Claudia gives her nine-year-old physiotherapy at home.
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Mate has cerebral palsy, curvature of his spine and other complex physical disabilities.
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Keeping him moving is essential.
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Not so stiff now, which is great.
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Claudia says she spent months fighting to secure the physiotherapy her son needed.
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She challenged recommendations in his education, health and care plan because she felt they didn't properly address his needs.
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It was a huge battle.
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It was stressful.
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We got tired during this process.
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We also need to attend medical appointments.
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We also need to do physiotherapy ourselves, sometimes during the school run, and it's really tiredness.
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Claudia says an EHCP commissioned by the family was used to challenge the proposed provision.
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She says the final report included much more physiotherapy, but then it took several months for that to be put in place which means that I can't get...
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Claudia is one of several families I met a year ago who raised concerns about physiotherapy provided by Serona.
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It's for children attending Claremont Special School in Bristol.
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Some parents told me they feared inadequate therapy and postural support could lead to further deterioration in their children's conditions.
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All we've got is physio.
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That's all we've got stopping us from reaching a point where she's no longer happy and she's in pain.
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And so it's so important to us that the physio provision is there.
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Now an independent review commissioned in response has identified significant weaknesses within Sirona's children's therapy service.
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It says relationships with families were damaged and describes communication breakdowns as one of the deepest sources of mistrust.
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The review also found workforce losses had created risks around continuative care and specialist knowledge.
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The report recommends strengthening clinical leadership, improving specialist training and trust with families.
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In a statement, the not-for-profit company says, our focus throughout has been on listening, learning and improving.
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The organisation said it remains committed to being open about where it needs to do better
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while recognising the dedication of staff caring for children with complex needs.
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For Claudia, the report is an acknowledgement that things went wrong, but after months battling for support for her son,
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she says what matters now is making sure children and get the therapy they need before their condition deteriorates.
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Matthew Hill, BBC Points West.
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Well, you're watching Points West.
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Your weekend starts here.
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We've got lots more to share with you between now and seven.
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We're chatting to three local horse riders who are bringing it home for Britain from the Mounted Games in France.
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And there are some soggy clothes on my washing line.
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Ian's here with a tale of sunshine and showers.
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There won't be soggy clothes this weekend.
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Some pleasant weather through the course this weekend.
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Generally a good deal of sunshine around, actually getting warmer through the course of Sunday.
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I'll have the details later.
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I'll just leave them out there then.
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Next, a 200-year-old windmill in Wiltshire has been fitted with new sails for the first time in 50 years.
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Wilton Windmill near Marlborough is one of the last of its kind
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and the work means it can now start producing flour after a two-year break.
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Alastair McKee has been to see it in action.
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Now in the 19th century there would have been thousands of
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these across the country using the power of the wind to drive machinery
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that milled grain down into flour that would be used to make bread.
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Peter Wilson is the chairman of Wilton Windmill Society that restored this.
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Tell me what do we know about this windmill?
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Well we know it was built in 1821 on this site obviously it was built
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because the canal was built at that time was completed at
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that time and in doing that they diverted the local river
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and that put five water mills out of business
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so there was a need to mill local grain and they only had the wind so this was built.
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Then a hundred years after that it was it was retired why was that yeah
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because then with the advent of the industrial revolution the import
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of grain from the americas they built big factory mills
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that were steam driven which clearly pushed these out of business
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because they could do a lot more wheat a lot more quickly
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and more efficiently
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so small windmills like this in the middle of the countryside
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became obsolete you've been working really hard to to keep it milling it actually works it still mills flour
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and that's meant replacing all the sails.
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Why for you is that so important to do?
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Well I think it's important to keep it working
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so since it was fully restored in 1976 it's been in full working order.
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The sails were coming to the end of their life really.
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One of them snapped when we were milling a year
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or two ago
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so the decision was taken to replace all four rather than trying to patch up sails that were largely rotten.
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Unfortunately there isn't a breath of wind today
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so we can't see it actually working
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but don't you love the idea of using the power of
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the wind to drive machinery it's just the sort of thing
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we could do with today do you think it will ever catch on again
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Alistair thank you now local horse riders are celebrating being crowned
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Mounted Games world champions a sport where competitors carry out challenges on horseback
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and Rory Capel lives in minehead Seth Turkington from Gloucester Both of you represented Britain against defending champions France.
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They're here to tell us all about it.
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Welcome to you.
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Thank you.
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The victors.
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How does it feel?
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Oh, it's great.
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Yeah, it's exciting.
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We're still on the coming down from, we've only been home for a week.
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Yeah, I feel you on the high for sure.
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It's fast and furious, this sport, isn't it?
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Just paint the picture of what it involves.
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Well, it's a mixture of things, but predominantly jumping on and off our horses at very high speeds, picking things off the floor very high speeds and it's a team sport
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so we're handing over pieces of equipment at very high speed
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as well we know 30 miles an hour hear horses going
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in different directions whilst you're changing something over sort of yeah pretty crazy amazing
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and of course the ponies are essentially athletes as well yeah i mean they work really hard
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but you say they absolutely love it uh yeah they know
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their job they go out you can they watch the flag they hear the whistle
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and then they like even coming out the ring they're still
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still on a height as well just as much as us yeah 100% we have a starting flag
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when that flag goes up the ponies are watching it more than us
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so they're waiting for that flag to drop and boom we're gone yeah they love it yeah
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and how about the work that you have to put in to build
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that bond between between rider
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and oh yeah i mean i've been riding my pony pruso for more than 10 years
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and he was completely untrained in the sport before and then
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and you know over those years you have the bond
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and you trust them
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that they're gonna do exactly what you need them to do
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in a specific moment we're just looking at the moment now
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where you jump up on the podium in the number one position what was
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that moment like oh it was yeah so yeah
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so i think we got more adrenaline getting up on the
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podium than probably what we had going through for sure for sure just reaching
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that finishing point um there are lots of young riders already looking to you um for inspiration
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and competing at the moment i think we can see some pictures of 10 year old oakley from taunton you know
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He's representing Britain in the under-12s.
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He's looking good, right?
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Yeah, he's a really good kid.
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He was third in the World Individual Championships just two weeks ago, and I think they'll be looking to do well over there now in France, in the south of France.
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They are flying, I think, yeah.
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Just look at him go.
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What's your advice to young pony club members, riders, who see Oakley, see you, and think, I'd like to have a go at that?
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I think the thing is to definitely push yourself to getting involved.
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And the main thing is to really enjoy the sport, enjoy having that bond with your horse as well.
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Yeah, it's a lot of the courage to take that next step to the next level.
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And I think the thing is just never give up.
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I'm 30 this year and that's my first world title, it's taken me this long.
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So no matter what age you are, I'll just keep on pushing yourself.
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You're both really busy with other things too.
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You're in films.
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Yeah, sometimes yeah, I do a bit of work with the the horse work in the some movies and TV shows
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Which I was on earlier this week actually just yeah, so busy old life Rugby player as well.
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Well, I wouldn't quite say top
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Now I've got a twin he's all rugby
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and my side has been all the horses So that's kind of what I put my time and work into
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Thanks so much for coming and telling us all about it.
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Thank you very much Righty-ho, let's dip into a few of the local stories to be found on the BBC News website this evening, if you fancy a little read-through.
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Scientists are studying the changing needs of rare species living on grassland sites around the west.
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They're trying to prevent their extinction and protect them in future heat waves.
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Villagers in Wiltshire have helped to protect their ducks after the pond in Biddleston completely dried up for the first time ever.
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They're filling up paddling pools for them.
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And Birdland in Gloucestershire has been showing off the first King Penguin chick that's hatched in the UK since 2014.
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It's now being hand-reared very carefully by keepers.
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You can find all those stories and more on the BBC News app.
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Now, we may still be in summer mode, but the team at the Bristol Hippodrome are looking ahead to panto season.
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Oh, yes, they are.
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Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood will be appearing as the baddie.
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and earlier today on a proper breakfast, Bristol Breakfast with Joe Sims, he announced another big name for this year's show.
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There might be of someone of interest, darling, that I'm not sure has ever done pantomime, and it's a person I've not really heard of called Joe Sims.
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What?
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That's my mum's favourite actor.
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Really?
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I know he's got a fabulous history of fantastic parts in film and television, but yes, so I believe darling.
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Joe Simms might be appearing as the henchman.
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Your henchman?
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Yes, my little Raven sidekick darling.
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Joe you've got the job darling, you'll be brilliant.
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Get learning those lines.
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Now a women's football team that only formed a year ago will make its debut in the FA Cup this weekend.
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We've got Ali here with the sport, you can tell us all about it.
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Evening, yes a special weekend for Hartbury Women FC who will
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be playing in the preliminary round of the FA Cup against Sirencester on Sunday.
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Of course, Hartbury College is better known for its rugby team.
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They've been women's national champions in three of the last four years.
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But now the football programme there is hoping to make some headlines too.
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3, 2, 1, Murray!
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A special bit of silverware at training last night.
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Everyone looking straight at me.
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The Arpberry women are ready to make history.
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The players are all students at the college, combining their A-levels and degrees with playing football.
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And now they get to take part in the world's most famous knockout competition.
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Yeah, I think it's a really exciting opportunity to go
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and play in something that I've heard of growing up and hope we can go far.
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Like, do ourselves proud.
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Wow, pretty brilliant.
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I've never done it before, so it'll be a good challenge.
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analysis, bit of a tactic, so yeah, see if we can beat them.
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We're like that right now, we're facing our own goal, that doesn't help us does it?
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Many of the players are hoping for a career in sport or fitness.
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Alongside their studies they get to learn about professional coaching and analysis and use all other facilities.
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They train as if they're full-time athletes already, alongside their studies
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and that's where we're going to see the real development over the period of them being with us at Hartbury
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and if we can help support them, go on to bigger and better achievements, then we'll absolutely do that.
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Growing up, you see all the boys doing it.
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And it's only really recently that it's been really taking off, so it's really great to be a part of and to see as well.
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I just love playing football, and I want to do that for as long as possible, so it combines my studies in football so perfectly, really.
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OK, so back four, just keep dropping, keep dropping.
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The women's team started a year ago.
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They won promotion in their inaugural season, and this weekend is another special milestone.
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It's a really exciting opportunity for us.
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It's the FA Cup, I think it's just this trophy being beside me.
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Anything can happen.
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As long as players are developing, we can help support that pathway.
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The girls are learning, enjoying the programme.
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And yes, obviously we want to win and see how far we can get.
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And I think there is definitely a bright future ahead.
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Try and keep your distances!
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And they hope that begins against Sirencester on Sunday afternoon.
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Good finish.
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Now in the men's game we already have our first West Country derby of the season.
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All of these matches here kick off at 12.30 tomorrow apart from Swindon Town against Cheltenham at the county ground.
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That is three o'clock
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and it features two of the most experienced managers in the game with plenty of respect for each other.
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They'll be a very good team.
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Steve really does know what he's doing.
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They will look a threat to anybody.
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Some of the people he's added will definitely lift their level so we've got to be right at it.
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Bit of a bogey team here, I think, for us.
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We beat them at their place, but they beat us here, so we want to try and stop that and get off to a good start.
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Local derby, good game, good club.
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Yeah, it's a good game.
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We'll be looking forward to it.
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I'll be looking forward to seeing Oli as well.
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You know, I get on well with Oli, so they've got a good team.
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He's done a great job down there, and I'll be looking forward to seeing him as well on Saturday.
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Well, remember, you can keep up to date with all the news from City,
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Rovers, Swindon, Cheltenham, Forest Green and Yeovil on the club feeds on BBC Sounds.
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You'll find interviews with the managers and players there.
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And check out the news from your club on the BBC Sport app and website.
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And, of course, there's commentary on every single game on BBC Local Radio.
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It really is the complete service
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if you are a football fan don't miss out old standard
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Ali thank you very much indeed good to see now let's
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meet next a special group of people in Bristol who love nothing more than a crochet
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and a catch-up every member came to the UK from Hong Kong
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and now crafting smiles is ten times bigger than it was just a year ago Andy Howard been to meet him.
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Once every fortnight, this quiet corner of Bristol sounds like it's been transported 6,000 miles away.
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Everyone in this crafting group is originally from Hong Kong and has emigrated here.
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Like Joyce who came to Bristol with her family in 2020.
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Having lost her job as a flight attendant during Covid, they decided on a fresh start and to give their daughters an English education.
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For me, it's a big step.
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Uproot me and then put me in a new place.
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So for me, it's a very dramatic change.
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As it was for Rita, who arrived here five years ago with her husband and daughter Shireen,
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looking for a new experience with more freedom and a better work-life balance.
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For Joyce, Rita and all of their friends, the Crafting Smiles group has changed their lives.
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From the first moment I stepped foot here, a few months ago.
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I was so happy, I felt.
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It's like being back in Hong Kong, I can banter in Cantonese.
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How do you banter in Cantonese?
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I mean, what kind of thing are you talking about?
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When we are crocheting, we don't only talk about the technical aspect, like, OK, how many stitches, this and that.
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We would naturally talk about what's happening in Hong Kong, tips of living in the UK to go to any discounts
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and Wendy will give me a lot of tips on what kind of discounts.
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I will go home feeling really happy, really uplifted after having met up with them.
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But this club is not just about what the members get out of it, also what they can do for others.
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Since it launched last year, they've already made 1,200 remembrance poppies and dozens of baby hats and socks for an antenatal charity.
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They're doing things to help people.
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Like, they're also happy for that.
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Like, for example, we're doing lots of this hard just to give people in hospital.
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Hospital?
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Yeah.
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I can contribute something.
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It's not only I stay here, it's that I can give more to the local people.
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They know they're doing something really meaningful, and, like, every time when they finish one of them, you can see from their smile.
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They are crafting smiles.
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And this Cantonese crochet continues to hook more and more Hong Kongers in.
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Andy Howard, BBC Points West, in Bristol.
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A simple idea, but making such a difference.
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Love that.
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Now, before we join Ian, he's standing by, we'd like to say happy birthday to Ethel Caterham.
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Now, she is celebrating, get this, her 117th birthday today.
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She's now the oldest person in the world.
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We previously filmed with Ethel at her 112th birthday.
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When she was born, King Edward VII was on the throne and they'd just started building the Titanic.
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Ethel grew up in Tidworth and was married at Salisbury Cathedral.
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We'd like to wish you many happy returns from all of us here, Ethel, at Points West.
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And apparently she said the secret to a long and happy life was never argue with anyone.
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I listen, she says, and then I do exactly what I like.
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Philosophy that clearly works for her.
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OK, weather time, Ian, is here.
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And it's been a bit soggy out there, hasn't it?
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No bad thing.
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For some, yeah, there have been a few showers around.
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Mind you, not everywhere.
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Quite a pleasant scene, as you can see, overlooking Stroud earlier on this morning.
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And indeed, for many of you, that's effectively summing up how the day remained.
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But, yeah, a few showers again in the mix, as the radar suggests from earlier this morning initially had a
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cluster of those running their way down across parts of Somerset
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and beyond down towards Lyme Bay
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and then with time a few further showers as you could
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see breaking out on another trough just running its way southwards
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and there's been the odd sharper shower in amongst all of that
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but you can see they're pretty well scattered a few more
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just of late running down through parts of Gloucester towards the M4 corridor
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and that final trough will just complete its journey southwards
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and then we see a transition taking place with high pressure establishing overnight
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and more particularly through the course of Saturday from the west
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and it will drift its way eastward such
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that by Sunday it'll be centred across the British Isles as you can see
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that will ensure it will be a very fine day a
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pleasant day on Sunday the whole weekend will be decent mind you
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and then ultimately into Monday Tuesday it drifts
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that way a warmer flow starts to come in from the south southeast
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but low pressure will eventually become very dominant as we get
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further into next week with the likelihood of some pretty heavy showery rain and possibly some quite windy conditions as well.
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But for now as you saw on the radar a few showers still drifting their way southwards.
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Forecast model shows those decaying and fading as
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that strengthening pressure starts to build
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and then ultimately it'll be a very quiet night certainly by the end of it
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and it will be a noticeably cool slash chilly night.
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The temperatures certainly across some rural spots could be lower than
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the valleys you're seeing here as we head through into first light.
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However, tomorrow is looking odds-on to bring dry weather probably across the border, say probably there could just about be maybe a stray shower,
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say over the high ground of the west of Somerset, North Devon, somewhere like Exmoor,
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but elsewhere it's certainly looking dry and it's looking like a day of sunshine competing with varying amounts of cloud around, so light winds tomorrow.
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High UV still, the pollen count low mind you, and temperatures lifting up through the high teens into about the low 20s, so it will be feeling pleasantly warm under those conditions
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and indeed there will be something of a warming trend developing
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then as we head into Sunday aided by plentiful sunshine throughout the course of the day.
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A bit more cloud may be showing itself from the south eventually later through Monday
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but you see those temperatures are climbing up towards the mid-20s through that period
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and here we start to enter into this much more unsettled
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spell bringing some quite appreciable spells of rain potentially at times
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possibly thundery like I said the potential of it's been quite windy at times two.
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But a weekend we can make good use of.
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Ian, that's great.
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Thank you very much.
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And that's it from us all for the minute.
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I've enjoyed our time together.
396
Thank you for watching.
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One show next.
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It's the quarterfinals of Celebrity MasterChef, a bit later on as well, if you're following that.
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I'll be back with more to keep your company at half past 10.
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Have a super evening.
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Why This Video Is Great for English Speaking Practice
This BBC news clip is ideal for honing real-world English skills. The presenters use clear, conversational tones, while the interviews feature natural speech patterns—pauses, emphasis, and colloquial phrases—that mirror how native speakers communicate. It’s perfect for practicing shadowspeak, as the mix of formal news delivery and casual interviews helps you adapt to different speaking styles. Plus, the topic of wildfires and emergency services introduces practical vocabulary you might encounter in daily life or media.
Breaking Down Natural English Phrases
Let’s look at 3 key lines that sound authentic and why:
- “We’ve never seen it as dry as this.” This simple comparison (“as dry as this”) is common in spoken English. The contraction “We’ve” and the casual tone make it relatable—great for practicing fluency.
- “It's impossible to put an exact number on it, but…” The phrase “put an exact number on it” is a natural way to avoid precision. The transition “but” shows how speakers balance honesty with clarity, a skill to mimic in your own speech.
- “Crews were called in from across the county.” “Called in” is a phrasal verb that’s more conversational than “requested.” Using such phrases makes your English sound less formal and more native-like.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Improve Pronunciation
Use the shadowing technique with this video to boost your pronunciation and rhythm: 1. Watch a 10-second segment, focusing on the speaker’s mouth movements and stress. 2. Pause, then repeat the segment aloud immediately, matching the tone and speed. 3. Record yourself and compare it to the original—note where your pronunciation differs (e.g., “wildfires” vs. “wild-fires”). 4. Repeat with longer segments (20-30 seconds) as you get comfortable. This shadow speak practice trains your brain to process and reproduce English sounds quickly, making your speech more natural. Over time, you’ll notice improvements in intonation and fluency, key for sounding confident in English.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | we've also been supporting · you've been working · i've been riding |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been · who've moved · has taken |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | has been put · were called · was destroyed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | now, which is · place which means |
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.