Shadowing Practice: 24k - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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This is a story from a recent past.
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In a city, there lived a little beautiful girl.
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It was New Year's Eve, and the girl was walking on the roadside with bundles of matches in her hands.
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She had a few of them in the pockets of her apron too.
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There was snowfall which had covered her hair and the beautiful curls around her neck.
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She was walking since the morning but couldn't sell a single matchbox.
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She approached people walking on the road
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but nobody purchased a single match from her as everybody was enjoying the eve out there.
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Walking through the footpath, the girl saw many shops full of cakes and various foods.
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She saw many restaurants with people eating different foods with candles
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burning on their tables The girl too was very hungry as she had had nothing since morning
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She ignored the sight and walked ahead.
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She was shivering as it was night and the cold was quite piercing
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She was unable to walk properly as she was barefoot
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During daytime when she was at home sitting beside her ill grandmother Mary,
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would you please go out today to sell the matches?
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We could get some food if you could sell a few of them.
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No, Mother.
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It's too cold out there.
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Go, you silly girl.
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Go and sell all those matches by evening.
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And don't come home unless you sell them all.
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Oh, go, dear.
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Or else he will hit you again.
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I feel so sorry to have such a cruel son.
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Don't cry, Grandma.
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I'll go.
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Mary put some matches in her apron, wore her mother's slippers, and left.
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She tried her best, approaching people to buy the matches from her, but no one responded.
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It was getting dark, and Mary was very hungry, But she remembered her father's threat
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and she started walking again at the corner of the road She bumped on a group of people.
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Oh Sorry I'm fine.
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Would you like to purchase any matches?
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Sorry little angel.
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I don't need any and
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They went on Mary then felt that she is barefoot She realized that one of her slippers is broken
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She searched for another one and found it in the gutter.
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She couldn't take it out from there.
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Mary decided to walk barefoot.
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Before moving on, she checked if her matches were safe.
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She met many people but failed to sell any match.
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Tired, she found a corner between two houses and decided to sit there for a while.
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The cold was getting bitterer.
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The girl with the matches in her hands thought, If I burn a matchstick, I can get some warmth.
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Again, a thought came in her mind.
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If father came to know about it, he would be very angry.
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But the shivering forced her to think.
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How would he know if I burnt just one stick?
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She dared to take out a matchstick and burn it on a wood stick nearby.
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And what a surprise!
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The matchstick turned into an iron stove!
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The girl felt warm.
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She put her hand near the iron stove
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and tried to grasp the warmth she was very happy
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but soon in a few moments a snowdrop fell on the matchstick
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and the flame went out she was very disappointed in a while she started shivering again.
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She thought for a moment and took out the matchbox.
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She picked out another matchstick and burnt it against the wall adjacent to her.
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Ah, to her surprise, the wall turned transparent.
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She could see through the wall now.
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The house was very beautiful and well decorated.
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There was fire and light as many candles were burning.
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The family living there was having their food.
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She could see ample food
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and cakes kept on the dining table where the family members were chatting and discussing something sitting around the table.
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Mary saw a roasted goose kept in a plate on the table.
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All of a sudden, the goose started staring at Mary.
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She was surprised again.
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The very next moment, she saw the goose coming towards her.
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As she was very hungry, she felt happy to see the goose coming to her.
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The goose came near the wall.
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Mary was about to insert her hand in the wall and hold the goose.
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Just then, the flame of the matchstick went off, and everything vanished at once.
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Now there wasn't any transparent wall anymore.
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Mary was very disappointed.
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She looked at the sky, pleading God to help her.
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Oh, God!
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Please take me out of the situation.
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Just then, she saw a star falling down.
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A thought struck her mind.
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They say, when a star falls, someone dies.
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My grandma is very sick.
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Does it mean that I've lost my grandma?
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Oh, she loved me the most.
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Crying, she took out another matchstick and burnt it.
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She was not surprised to see her grandmother standing in front.
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Oh, Grandma, you're here?
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Yes, my child.
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I'm here for you.
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Mary was pleased to see her grandmother, but got scared the next moment.
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She thought her grandmother also will disappear.
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She took out more sticks from the match and put them on the burning stick.
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And there was a light, a light as bright as the sunlight.
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In that hour of night, there was a bright sunlight around Mary and her grandmother.
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Mary looked upon at her grandmother grandmother.
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She was looking very beautiful in her new white gown.
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Grandmother was looking at Mary, smiling.
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Grandma, I am too scared to stay here anymore.
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Please take me with you, please.
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Yes dear, I'll take you with me.
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Give me your hand.
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The grandmother held Mary's hand and lifted her in her arms.
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They both started flying upwards.
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Mary was so pleased that she started clapping.
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How are you feeling now, my little angel?
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Now, Grandma, I don't feel hungry or cold or scared anymore.
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I'm feeling very light.
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The grandmother smiled at her, and they both flew to the heaven.
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There was an innocent smile on Mary's face, and the sun rays lightened her face in the morning.
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There were many people gathered around her.
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All of them were watching Mary, lying down in the corner, between the two houses.
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They all felt pity for her.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Mary, grandmother, matches, matchstick, goose. This video has 112 sentences and 1050 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:36. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| grandmother noun | /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/ | A mother of someone's parent. |
| grandma noun | /ˈɡɹænmɑː/ | Grandmother. |
| goose noun | /ɡus/ | Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and… |
| hungry adjective | /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ | Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| angel noun | /ˈeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəl/ | An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes. |
| disappointed adjective | /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/ | Defeated of expectations or hope; experiencing disappointment; let down. |
| flame noun | /fleɪm/ | The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat. |
| transparent adjective | /tɹænsˈpæɹənt/ | See-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly. |
| candle noun | /ˈkæn.dəl/ | A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin. |
| sunlight noun | /ˈsʌnˌlaɪt/ | All the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun; especially, that in the visible spectrum and that bathes the Earth. |
| warmth noun | /wɔɹmθ/ | A moderate degree of heat; the sensation of being warm. |
| stove noun | /stoʊv/ | A heater, a closed apparatus to burn fuel for the warming of a room. |
| ignore verb | /ɪɡˈnɔː/ | To deliberately not listen or pay attention to. |
| pocket noun | /ˈpɑ.kɪt/ | A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| take out verb | To remove. | |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. | |
| fall down verb | /fɔl ˈdaʊn/ | To fall to the ground. To collapse. |
| go off verb | To explode. | |
| pick out verb | To remove by picking. | |
| see through verb | To perceive visually through something transparent. | |
| sit around verb | To spend time sitting idly, not doing anything important. | |
| walk through verb | To explain (something) to (someone), step by step. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Would you like to purchase any matches?
- How would he know if I burnt just one stick?
- Does it mean that I've lost my grandma?
- Yes dear, I'll take you with me.
- How are you feeling now, my little angel?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was walking · was enjoying · was shivering |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started walking · started shivering · started staring |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will hit · I'll go · will disappear |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/, warmth /wɔɹmθ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, footpath /ˈfʊtˌpæθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shiver /ˈʃɪvɚ/, vanish /ˈvænɪʃ/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like grandmother, grandma, goose.
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.