Shadowing Practice: 280926 BBC London, Evening News - Learn English Speaking with Video
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A very warm welcome to BBC London coming up tonight.
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It's been debated for years.
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Now a date is finally set for part of Oxford Street to be pedestrianised.
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Shoppers tell us what they think.
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I think it's good.
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I do like it.
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I think it's going to make it less busy.
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And I do think that it's going to give opportunities for smaller businesses to thrive and everything.
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But I am worried about how I'm going to get to and from one end to the other.
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That's my biggest thing.
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Also on the programme.
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London.
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The best city in the world.
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What a start, what a start.
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From number 10 in the north, we ask the Prime Minister about London and the issues that matter most in the capital.
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Counting the cost of fuel here in London, we look at the impact and advice for motorists plus.
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We're high above Liverpool Street Station where a The vast refurbishment project is entering its final stages.
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Hello and good evening to you.
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We will, of course, bring you what we know
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and any developments on the five men from London who were
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arrested on suspicion of terror offences near an RAF base in Gloucestershire later during the programme.
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First, to the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.
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It's controversial and has been talked about and debated for years.
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Well, tonight, a date has finally been announced for part of the famous shopping street to go traffic -free, and it's next month.
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However, some say there are still questions to be answered.
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Victoria Hollins has more.
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the usual mix of buses bikes taxis and pedestrians on oxford street today
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but come the 26th of october all but the pedestrians will be gone
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when it will go traffic free it's welcome news to the
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mayor of london who's made it one of his flagship projects it's really important why
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because we've seen good quality retail leaving oxford street we've seen bad quality shops come to oxford street
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And this is our nation's high street, contributes billions of pounds towards our economy, willing to flourish and thrive.
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So we worked really hard with businesses, with shopkeepers, with retail and with the council.
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A stretch of almost one kilometre between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street in the east will be closed to traffic, creating a huge new pedestrian zone.
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There'll still be access on adjoining roads crossing north to south.
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And crucially, emergency vehicles will still also have access.
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I work in one of the stores down the street, and it does get busy, so I guess it'll do good for stores and for shops, especially during the busy times, and you'll actually be able to walk more.
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Well, from my point of view, it's a good idea because it's too much traffic and people.
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In the end, I'll finish up going home.
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You've got the whole aspect of air quality improving.
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I mean, this London, it's really busy also.
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And then also, you know what?
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The pavements are really busy all the time.
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The idea is that this makes Oxford Street much more appealing in the crucial pre -Christmas period.
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Supporters say it will make the area safer, it will make the air cleaner.
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But those opposed to the idea say
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that actually this will disadvantage those with additional needs and will just push the traffic elsewhere.
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There's been years of disagreement with both Labour and Conservative administrations at Westminster Council,
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which said today it still has many questions and black cab drivers also have reservations.
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It's a renders idea, people coming out of shops with bags and they need to get onto public transport, whether it's buses or taxis.
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Tadiq Khan says the buses are only going to be delayed by one minute on every journey.
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I think that's a bit far -fetched.
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Also, a lot of the local residents didn't want it, but they've been overruled.
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You won't get one cab driver, anyone with any common sense.
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It's a professional driver to say that's a good idea, not really.
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The newly formed Oxford Street Development Corporation will monitor how people use the space.
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That will then shape the design of permanent changes in the future.
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And Victoria's on Oxford Street now.
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Fair to say this has been a long time coming.
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Yeah, Riz, it was back in 1971 when something called the Oxford Street Action Committee called for a ban on traffic.
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The first car -free day here was back in 2008.
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And then it was in 2016 when Sir Sadiq Khan became Mayor of London
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that he formally proposed the idea of Oxford Street becoming traffic -free.
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Westminster City Council have not looked on these plans particularly favourably over the years, it's fair to say.
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Let's find out more details about why from Deputy Leader, Councillor Tim Barnes.
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Thanks for joining us this evening.
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So we're here today, the 26th of September.
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What do you make of that?
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Well, it's great that we've finally got a date in public from the Mayor for when traffic -free Oxford Street will commence,
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but we're still really worried about many of the.. issues of management of the street
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and for the area around which really haven't been solved.
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A lot of businesses have been pretty positive about this they say
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that you know the fortunes need changing of this street but you've got some real practical concerns haven't you?
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I think we can all agree
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that Oxford Street has needed investment for a long time
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and indeed before Sadiq Khan announced this plan there already was
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a plan to invest about 120 million half from the private
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sector half from the public sector to rejuvenate the street unfortunately 20 million pounds of
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that had been spent by the time that he started and that money was just wasted.
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We need to have a plan that works for everywhere, and that's not just the street itself, but the area around the street.
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There's vastly more economic activity around the street than just the retail on it, and taking the traffic off the street and pushing it to the streets on the side is going to endanger that.
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Now, the Oxford Street Development Corporation say they're going to monitor with real -time data what happens during this period.
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What do you most want them to look out for?
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I want them to look at that whole area, not just the street itself.
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We're going to have to look at everything from the number of jobs and the amount of office space that's available, the amount of retail space that's available, as well as elements like air pollution.
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All along the street there are issues of management that will need to be taken care of.
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We still don't know adequately who's going to clean it, what the policing is going to be looking like, how the blue light services will make their way down or, as you might be able to see behind me,
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who's even going to be able to take care of the pot plants on the street.
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Lots of questions still to be answered.
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Thank you very much indeed for your time tonight.
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So, as much as we know, so far, the 26th of September is going to look very different here indeed.
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I'm sorry, 26th of October is going to look very different here indeed, Chris.
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I was just about to say that, Victoria.
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Thank you.
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Thanks for being with us this Monday.
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Lots more ahead, including...
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We take you to the top of London's busiest railway station, where a major roof refurb is almost complete.
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It is the greatest capital city, the words of the Prime Minister speaking to our political editor Carl Mercer at Number 10 North about London.
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It comes as Andy Burnham attends the Labour Party's annual conference for the first time as leader and PM.
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Carl is there in Liverpool and has sent us this report.
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So everywhere you look at conferences, there's the banner saying hope again, the slogan of the conference.
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And I have to say, the mood here is pretty optimistic, certainly compared to the last time I was here last year when Keir Starmer was the Labour leader.
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But Labour do have an issue in London.
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Cast your mind back just to the May elections and the party had a disastrous result, losing half of their councils, about a third of their councillors.
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So when I caught up with the Prime Minister on Friday, I put it to him that London might be falling out of love with Labour.
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We never take anyone's support for granted, and I certainly don't do that as Prime Minister.
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I'll work every single day to justify people's support.
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So what am I doing, you might then say.
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Well, next week, VAT will come off people's electricity bills across the capital.
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That is something that will help.
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I'm not going to claim to you it's everything, but it's a sign that I am doing what I can to help people as quickly as I can.
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They'll be worried about housing in London as well, and possibly because it's fallen off a cliff, the number of houses being built.
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The number of affordable homes in London, 4 ,500 last year, instead of 26 ,000 the year before.
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Is that indicative of a mayor who is working with the Labour government who are both failing?
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Well, I think your analysis is a bit off -beam there,
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to be honest, because I recently have agreed with Mayor Sadiq Khan a huge package of housing funding,
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particularly to see the biggest wave of council house building across London than we've seen in many, many, many a year.
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And I've agreed that since coming into office.
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I think your question is unfair to Sadiq Khan as well as it's unfair to the government
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because we've just agreed that and it will make a massive difference.
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And actually, I've faced pressure from other parts of the country saying that, you know, why is London getting all of this money?
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And I'll tell you why, because the housing crisis is felt in London more keenly than anywhere else.
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And it's right that I do that to support Sadiq
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and the councils in London who've brought forward plans to address the housing crisis.
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Do you want Sadiq to be your candidate for mayor at the next level?
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I'd always support him.
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I think he's done a great job as the mayor of London.
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And I'm happy to say that it is the greatest capital city and it will always have my support.
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You know, Sadiq has done bold things in relation to air quality, improving the health of Londoners.
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The quality of transport in London continues to improve.
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I'm somebody who works very closely with him and he has done more, I think, to address the housing crisis than any of his predecessors.
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he's got my full support and backing in whatever he decides to do.
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How important is the upcoming by -election in Hoban and St Pancras for your position nationally, but also for the party in London and what it says about where Labour's now standing in London?
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It is an important by -election, make no mistake about it.
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And, you know, we're not complacent in any way, shape or form.
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We've got to justify people's support.
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And I think some of the things I have done show that I am listening to people and their concerns.
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Interesting to hear the Prime Minister there saying that the Hoban and St Pancras by -election will be difficult for Labour, particularly given those results of the May elections.
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But he also alluded to, didn't he, in that interview about Sadiq Khan's future.
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There's room for some of the candidates who want to replace
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him to get round the back rooms of the conference and hold their own events.
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People like Dawn Butler, the Brent MP.
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Look at these pictures.
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Here's her last night at her big Jamaica event where she was pressing a lot of flesh.
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So much going on in the back rooms and everyone waiting to see what the mayor's going to do about his future.
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That was our political editor, Karl Mercer, in Liverpool.
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And you can read the full interview with Prime Minister Andy Burnham on our website.
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Turning now to a round -up of some of the day's other news stories.
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Thousands of residents across five south London boroughs
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and two areas in Surrey woke up to no water or low pressure this morning after a major leak.
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Thames Water says it delivered water to some areas and engineers were sent to fix the burst water main.
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It says supplies have now been restored, but some customers may still experience low water pressure.
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And a 45 -year -old man who strangled his mother before calling police to confess has been jailed for life
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and will serve a minimum of 22 years.
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The Old Bailey heard Richard Clayton had a long history of stealing from family members, including his mother, to fund his drug habit.
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Now, as we've been hearing, diesel prices in London have hit an all -time high of just under £2 a litre, with some fuel stations charging more than that.
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Petrol prices are also still rising as the continuing Iran war has severely disrupted oil production across the region.
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It's adding to the cost of living for Londoners and having a big impact on businesses in and around the capital.
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Aisha Baksh has been getting reaction and advice.
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well fuel costs are at an all -time high mainly
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because oil supplies have been affected by ongoing international conflicts
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and without doubt it's impacting people living and working across london
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and the home counties now before the war began the average
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price in the uk of unleaded petrol was nearly 133 pence per liter
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and diesel was just over 142 pence Now the average cost here across the UK is nearly £2 for diesel
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and petrol comes in at around 174 pence per litre.
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But here in London we found places selling diesel for nearly £2 .10 pence and petrol at 185 pence per litre.
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Now what can we do?
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Well some people are switching to electric vehicles, perhaps using their car less or even getting public transport
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but many drivers say they can't do this and they need their cars, vans and motorbikes for their businesses and everyday transport.
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Use a fuel price comparison checker.
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CarWow has one on its website.
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And also use other methods.
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You know, you can do things like eco -driving, for example, which is all about driving very smoothly, avoiding harsh acceleration and braking.
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You can reduce your load, for example, take off roof racks and keep your car in good condition, you know, keep it serviced,
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keep tyres at the correct pressure, you know, every little helps, basically.
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So will it get better?
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Will prices at the pump continue to stay high?
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Well, conflicts overseas show sadly no sign of being resolved.
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And even if you don't drive, high fuel prices inevitably affect us all.
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Often businesses, both small and large, may potentially have to pass on their extra costs to their customers.
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Ayesha Bhaksh there, reporting on rising fuel costs.
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Next, residents in Brentford have raised concerns about dead animals reportedly washing up in the river there.
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Those doing water sports, including children, say they've spotted various species, which authorities believe is due to a combination of factors.
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I should warn you that some of you may find parts of Gemma O 'Reilly's report distressing.
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It's an area used for water sports,
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canal boats and local wildlife but residents did not expect to find scenes like this and it's not the first.
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Paul Kane has seen dozens of dead animals in Brentford waterways this summer
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while coaching local children in water sports
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and he says he's raised the issue with local authorities but now has had to take it into his own hands.
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You can obviously see from here that like with kids coming up
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and trying to do activities it's actually hard to try and operate and make people enjoy their time.
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I saw like a dead mouse slowly floating to the lock and a cat now I think it was Hallows Bridge.
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I felt quite uncomfortable and sad and it really put me off kayaking near that area.
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The hot summer has meant bacteria like E .coli and toxins like botulism can spread faster and impact local wildlife.
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The water quality can also be impacted by misconnections when household sewage ends up in waterways, something Ben has been working to stop.
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We need to see much, much better inspections and regulation of plumbing and drainage on our properties throughout the capital.
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And until we've got that done, we're still going to have this sewage pollution going into these rivers.
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There are multiple organisations with responsibilities when it comes to water management.
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It's about sitting around, coming up with an action plan, which I know that Paul Keane has called for
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and I think it's important that we support that and make sure that everyone's working together and cooperating on this.
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In a statement, the Canal and River Trust said, we understand just how distressing it is for local people to find dead animals
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and aim to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.
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Thames Water said, the area is prone to issues with misconnections and we are working closely with partners to tackle them to improve water quality.
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The Environment Agency said the area is still experiencing drought from the summer
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and we will continue to work to investigate reports of pollution to help protect the river environment.
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My plan which I put forward for councillors today
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and I'm happy to sit down with the board with the
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Canal River Trust is to get something in place for next year so we're not back here.
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So if we're back here in September again
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and other algae specifically blue green algae that shuts down our provision
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and with next summer also expected to be hot the future of water sports
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and wildlife here remains unclear jem o'reilly bbc london more now on
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that news of five men in their 20s from london who
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were arrested yesterday morning in connection with a suspected plot to attack an air base in gloucestershire
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and have been released on police bail the investigation is continuing at RAF Fairford, which has been used by the US military in its war against Iran.
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Our UK affairs correspondent, Daniel Sanford, is at Scotland Yard with the latest.
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Daniel.
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Yes, so it emerged earlier this morning
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that the five men who'd been arrested in connection with the
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events in RAF Fairford earlier on Sunday morning were all from London, all men in their 20s, they were aged between 23 and 25,
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and were all British nationals.
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And that obviously brought the focus quite quickly to the capital
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and to the fact that the capital had quite a strong connection to events at IRF Fairford over the weekend.
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But then came news this afternoon that all five men who'd been arrested had been released, albeit under very strict bail conditions,
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leaving the possibility that they were maybe unconnected to any act of terrorism or any active possession of explosives,
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which were the charges that they were being held under.
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But the head of counterterrorism policing, Lawrence Taylor, did make it quite clear that the investigation wasn't over, that the men were on stringent bail conditions,
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and that officers, as he put it, would be looking at every angle of the case,
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including the possibility that somebody might have been working either knowingly or even unknowingly on behalf of a foreign power.
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And of Of course, a lot of the speculation over the last 36 hours has been about whether this is somehow linked to Iran
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because of the fact that US bombers had taken off from Aria Fairford towards Iran.
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So this case has taken a couple of big twists today.
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We haven't heard of any addresses in London being searched, but clearly London is to a degree at the focus, but also at the focus at something of a mystery.
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OK, Daniel, with the latest there from Scotland Yard.
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Thank you.
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to paralympic gold medalist lizzie jordan now from guildford who's written
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to the chancellor calling for tandem bikes to qualify for an exemption for the vat for adaptive bicycles saying
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It's like a disability lottery as to who can benefit.
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Lizzie, who's visually impaired, says it's incredible what tandem cycling has given her.
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Juliet Parkin has the story.
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This one here is my most recent medal that I won at the Commonwealth Games in the summer in the velodrome.
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Cycling has given Lizzie Jordan medals, titles and even an MBE.
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This one up here I won in Rio last year on the track as well.
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But more than anything, she says, freedom.
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What's really lovely for someone that's visually impaired
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or blind on the back of a tandem is we spend
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a lot of our life being physically guided by someone at quite a slow pace, being quite hesitant, worrying what's ahead of us.
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But on a tandem, I just feel totally free.
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I don't have to worry about anything but enjoying the wind rushing past me, the thrill of getting up to higher speeds.
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It's just absolutely fantastic compared to the normal life that I normally lead.
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Now Lizzie wants to make sure everyone gets a taste of that.
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I am campaigning to ensure that every blind
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and partially sighted person in our country has the right to access something as simple as a bike.
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Lizzie wants tandems to be recognised as adaptive bicycles when purchased by someone with sight loss.
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This would bring them in line with other bikes designed for disabled people and make them VAT exempt, lowering therefore the financial barrier.
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So I just think it's a total injustice to visually impaired people
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that it's come down to a disability lottery as to who can benefit from VAT exemption.
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Lizzie says her campaign, backed by British Cycling, is not about elite performance, but about equality.
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Tandems are not a leisure luxury for people with a visual impairment.
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They are the only safe way with a sighted pilot
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that people with a visual impairment can experience the joy and freedom that cycling brings.
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Lizzie Jordan has made a name for herself in paracycling, winning gold in Paris, multiple world titles and Commonwealth bronze this summer.
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Steering a Paralympic champion around the Surrey Hills means a lot to her training partner too.
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It's an honour.
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It's always a privilege.
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I enjoy riding tandems anyway, so to be able to do it with Lizzie is absolutely fantastic.
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Lizzie's written to the Chancellor calling for the change and hopes it will be passed in the autumn budget.
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Although few will become World and Paralympic champions, Lizzie hopes that this change will make tandem cycling accessible to all.
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Juliet Park in there.
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Now let us take you to a part of London's Liverpool Street Station, the busiest in the UK, which you don't normally get to see up close and personal.
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A major refurbishment of the roof, which has taken over two years, is nearing completion.
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Thankfully, our reporter Alper has a head for heights and sent us this.
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Over two years, a massive renovation project at the UK's busiest station has been in full flow,
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replacing the station's discoloured, cracked and weather -damaged roof.
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Anyone who's been commuting into this station for the last few years, what difference will they see?
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I guess it's what they really now see with the light coming through.
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So if you came here two years ago, it was very dark and dingy.
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I mean, personally, as a sort of passenger or a person coming through, I kind of wondered how the station actually would operate at that sort of light level.
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But maybe people didn't recognise actually the difference between what they've got today.
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When we started to replace the panels, we saw the light really coming into the station by the time we got to the end, it's a different station.
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From below, it's difficult to imagine how vast this project is.
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Thousands of glazing panels have been replaced, the equivalent of nine Olympic -sized swimming pools,
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to let in more light and protect this Victorian landmark.
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There was some disruption, with much of the most complicated work taking place during Christmas and weekend closures.
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Now two years on,
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the roof's drainage system has been improved to reduce leaks and 800 wooden timbers renewed from the decorative valance,
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all giving new life to this 150 -year -old Grade II listed building.
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So it's really critical that we future -proof it.
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Last year, our busiest day was 450 ,000 people, which is an immense size.
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It's almost the size of Edinburgh.
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So you can really appreciate the volume of passengers that we're seeing
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and by 2041 I believe we're scheduled to go up to
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153 million passengers a year by making it a lot safer with the drainage they're obviously able to travel through seamlessly
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So you're done and dusted?
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It really does feel like we're sweeping up
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and going out the back door right at the moment
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so yeah when you consider the amount of temporary work scaffolding we've had
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and now we really are leaving how we come in.
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So if you're passing through Liverpool Street Station the departure boards aren't the only thing worth looking at.
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Above them a lighter brighter view is waiting.
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Alba Battelle BBC London.
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Okay here's Kay with the weather.
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Good evening we've been flipping between summer
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and autumn for the last few days we've been up
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and down like a really haven't we we had autumn this morning we had a little bit of
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that shallow mist around in the suburbs and in rural spots
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and also temperatures dropped down into single figures for some as well
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but this afternoon we got the sun shining once again a bit of cloud around this afternoon turning
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that sunshine a little bit hazy
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but all in all it's been a decent day the winds have been fairly light as well
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and things are about to get warmer we've got a warm
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front that's gonna be pushing its way up from the south bringing a few showers through tonight
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and tomorrow morning but what it will also do is bring in some very warm
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and muggy air all the way up from the south.
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You can see the isobars there are quite close together.
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It's going to be quite breezy as well.
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For the time being though we've got that cloud now starting to thicken up
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and there will be some rain pushing its way in as we go through this evening.
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Overnight though it will tend to clear away to the north keeping quite a bit of clouds tonight
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and the winds will start to pick up towards the early hours of the morning
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and the temperatures are rising so 14 to 16 degrees our minimum temperatures
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so tomorrow morning we start off with quite a bit of
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cloud a few shells perhaps across the west for a time through the morning
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but that will clear away and then the cloud will break up
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so we'll get
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that lovely sunshine returning through the afternoon tomorrow blue sky throughout
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the day the winds will be a bit stronger though
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and just look at these temperatures they are back up to around 24 to 25 degrees
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so we're back up into the mid -20s once again.
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Now here's a snapshot of Wednesday morning.
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This is Tuesday night going into Wednesday.
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We're looking at temperatures not much lower than 17 or 18 degrees but you can see what's there.
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We've got some rain.
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That's a cold front which will zoom its way in through Wednesday bringing some fairly wet
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and breezy conditions and also cooling things down a little bit.
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So a one hit wonder for Tuesday with temperatures up into the mid -20s.
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After that some sunshine temperatures more like the low 20s
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that is it on our website the harrow school girl who's
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become the youngest player in history to become a woman grand master have a lovely evening Bye -bye.
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20 sentences
Urbanisation and the growth of global cities
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “280926 BBC London, Evening News”. This video has 340 sentences and 4717 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:37. The speaker talks at a natural 171 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| tandem noun | /ˈtændəm/ | A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing pulling power but only the animal in… |
| cloud noun | /ˈklaʊ̯d/ | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. |
| penny noun | /ˈpɛni/ | In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p. |
| diesel noun | /ˈdisəl/ | A fuel derived from petroleum (or other oils) but heavier than gasoline/petrol. Used to power diesel engines which burn this fuel using the heat produced when… |
| petrol noun | /ˈpɛt.ɹəl/ | A fluid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, primarily consisting of octane, commonly used as a motor fuel. |
| passenger noun | /ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒɚ/ | One who rides or travels in a vehicle, but who does not operate it and is not a member of the crew. |
| wildlife noun | /ˈwaɪldlaɪf/ | undomesticated animals, especially mammals, birds, and fish, which live in the wild. |
| autumn noun | /ˈɔtəm/ | Traditionally the third of the four seasons, when deciduous trees lose their leaves, and temperatures and daylight hours decrease; typically regarded as… |
| canal noun | /kəˈnæl/ | An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation. |
| pollution noun | /pəˈluʃən/ | Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc. |
| sunshine noun | /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/ | The direct rays, light or warmth of the sun. |
| bail noun | /beɪl/ | Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial. |
| drainage noun | /ˈdɹeɪnəd͡ʒ/ | A natural or artificial means for the removal of fluids from a given area by its draining away. |
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| visually adverb | /ˈvɪzju.əli/ | By means of sight. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. |
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. |
| bring forward verb | To call up for consideration. |
| clear away verb | To tidy up, to remove mess or obstacles from a place to make it neat. |
| close together adjective | Near each other in time or space. |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. |
| come off verb | To become detached. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I think it's going to make it less busy.
- In the end, I'll finish up going home.
- You've got the whole aspect of air quality improving.
- I think that's a bit far -fetched.
- What do you make of that?
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 been hearing · has been getting · has been working |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | It's been debated · has been talked · has finally been announced |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been debated · is finally set · has been talked |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | somebody who works · man who strangled · example, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 73 contractions and reduced forms, such as we've, we're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pollution /pəˈluʃən/, sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/, exemption /ɪɡˈzɛm(p).ʃən/, wash /wɑʃ/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/
- Long words — get the stress right: visually /ˈvɪzju.əli/, disability /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/, temporary /ˈtɛmp(əˌɹ)ɛɹi/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, electricity /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/
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 tandem, cloud, penny.
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.