Shadowing Practice: 5 Seconds of Summer - Amnesia - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “5 Seconds of Summer - Amnesia”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: fine, wish, dream, felt, amnesia. This video has 41 sentences and 457 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:43. The speaker talks at a steady 123 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| asleep adjective | /əˈsliːp/ | In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting. |
| beside | /bɪˈsaɪd/ | Next to; at the side of. |
| slip verb | /ˈslɪp/ | To lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction. |
| lonely adjective | /ˈloʊnli/ | Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people. |
| twist verb | /twɪst/ | To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. |
| amnesia noun | /ˌæmˈniʒə/ | Loss of memory; forgetfulness. |
| escape verb | /ɪˈskeɪp/ | To get free; to free oneself. |
| admit verb | /ədˈmɪt/ | To allow to enter; to grant entrance (to), whether into a place, into the mind, or into consideration. |
| dream verb | /ˈdɹim/ | To see imaginary events in one's mind while sleeping. |
| stupid adjective | /ˈstjuːpɪd/ | Lacking in intelligence. |
| wake verb | /ˈweɪ̯k/ | (often followed by up) To stop sleeping. |
| hurt verb | /hɝt/ | To cause (a person or animal) physical pain and/or injury. |
| memory noun | /ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/ | The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will. |
| wonder noun | /ˈwʌndɚ/ | A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise… |
| somewhere adverb | /ˈsʌm.wɛɹ/ | In an uncertain or unspecified location. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| leave behind verb | To abandon. |
| run down verb | To hit someone with a car or other vehicle and injure or kill them. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Are you somewhere feeling lonely even though he's right beside you?
- Sometimes I start to wonder, was it just a lie?
- If what we had was real, how could you be fine?
- It's like we never happened, was it just a lie?
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 | were leaving |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're doing · they're still living |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 19 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, didn't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 asleep, beside, slip.
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.