Shadowing Practice: 2Pac - Dear Mama - Learn English Speaking with Video

When I was pregnant in jail, I thought I was gonna have a baby and the baby would never be with me, but I was acquitted a month and three days before Tupac was born.

I was real happy because I had a son.

When I was young, me and my mama had beef.

Seventeen years old, kicked out on the streets.

Though back at the time, I never thought I'd see her face.

Ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place.

I'm spending from school, I'm scared to go home.

I was a fool with the big boys breaking all the rules.

I said cheers with my baby sister, over the years we was bored and other little kids And even though we had different daddies,

the same drama when things went wrong we blamed Mama, I reminisce on the stress I caused,

it was hell, hugging on my mama from a jail cell And who thinkin' elementary, hey, I see the penitentiary One day,

runnin' from the police, that's right Mama cashed me, put a whooping to my backside And even as a crack fiend,

mama You always was a black queen, mama I finally understand, for a woman it ain't easy Trying to raise a man

You always was committed A poor single mother on welfare Tell me how you did it, there's no way I can pay you back

But the plan is to show you that I understand You all appreciate it Sweetie, don't you know we love you,

sweetie Dear mama Please know what I'm above you, sweetie

Sweetie, don't you know we love you Now ain't nobody tell

us it was fair No love for my daddy cause the coward wasn't there He passed away

and I didn't cry Cause my anger wouldn't let me feel for a stranger They say I'm wrong

and I'm heartless But all along I was looking for a father, he was gone I hung around with the thugs,

and even though they sold drugs They showed a young brother love I moved off, started really hanging I needed money of my own,

so I started slanging I ain't guilty cause even though I

sell rocks It feels good putting money in your mailbox I

love paying rent with the rents too I hope you got the diamond necklace

that I sent to you Cause when I was low, you was dead for me You never left me alone

because you cared for me

And I can see you coming home after work late You're in the kitchen trying to fix us a hot plate

You're just working with the scraps you was giving And mama made miracles every Thanksgiving But now the road got rough,

you're alone Trying to raise two bad kids on your own

And there's no way I could pay you back

But my plan is to show you that I understand You all appreciate me Don't you know we love you,

sweetie Please know what I'm above you,

sweetie Don't you know we love you, sweetie Oh, I say liquor

and I reminisce Cause through the drama I can always depend on my mama

And when it seems that I'm hopeless You say the words that can get me back in focus

When I was sick as a little kid To keep me happy, there's no limit to the things you did

And all my childhood memories I'm full of all the sweet things you did for me

And even though I act crazy I gotta thank the Lord

that you made me There are no words that can express how I feel You never kept a secret, always stayed real And I appreciate how you raised me

And all the extra love

that you gave me I wish I could take the pain away If you can make it through the night,

there's a brighter day Everything will be alright if you hold on It's a struggle every day, gotta roll on And there's no way I can pay you back

But my plan is to show you that I understand You all appreciate it Don't you know we love you,

sweetie Dear mama Place no one above you,

sweetie Made it, don't you know when I'm just made it

Made it, made it

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40 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “2Pac - Dear Mama”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mama, lady, sweet, appreciated, Dear. This video has 4 sentences and 738 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:30. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
mama noun	/ˈmɑmə/	Synonym of mother (“a female parent”).
daddy noun	/ˈdædi/	Also used as a term of address: a father; one's father.
everyday adjective	/ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/	Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions.
welfare noun	/ˈwɛlˌfɛɚ/	Health, safety, happiness and prosperity; well-being in any respect.
anger noun	/ˈæŋɡə/	A strong and unpleasant feeling of displeasure, hostility, or antagonism, usually combined with an urge to yell, curse, damage or destroy things, or harm…
diamond noun	/ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/	A glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron.
crack noun	/kɹæk/	A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
tear verb	/tɛɹ/	To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
commit verb	/kəˈmɪt/	To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto.
elementary adjective	/ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/	Relating to the basic, essential or fundamental part of something.
beef noun	/bif/	The meat from cattle or other bovines; especially, that from adults.
depend verb	/dɪˈpɛnd/	To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
miracle noun	/ˈmɪɹ.ə.kəl/	An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin.
scare verb	/skɛɚ/	To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
liquor noun	/ˈlɪk.ɚ/	A liquid obtained by cooking meat or vegetables (or both).

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
move out verb	To leave one's present location; to leave somewhere for another place.
pass away verb	To die.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was acquitted · was committed
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was looking · was giving
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	started slanging · love paying
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	I'm spending · You're just working

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 25 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, ain't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

Long words — get the stress right: elementary /ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/, penitentiary /ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəɹi/

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 mama, daddy, everyday.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 2Pac - Dear Mama - Learn English Speaking with Video

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