Shadowing Practice: A Basket Case - Learn English Speaking with Video
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14 sentences
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1
Welcome to English in a Minute, where we teach you all about idioms in American English.
2
Sometimes, American English doesn't seem to make sense.
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Like this.
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Gloria has a lot of things going on in her life right now.
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Yes, she does.
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Her parents are sick, her car is not working, she's building a new house, and she just got a new job.
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Wow, that's a lot of stress.
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One more thing and she's gonna be a basket case.
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Will Gloria really become a container for baskets?
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I don't think so.
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If you experience a lot of stress or try to handle too many things at the same time, your life might become very difficult.
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The nervous strain or tension might wear you out and leave you with a sense of hopelessness.
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That's what a basket case means.
14
And that's English in a Minute.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “A Basket Case”. This video has 14 sentences and 144 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:55. The speaker talks at a natural 158 words per minute, close to everyday conversation.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 12 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| basket noun | /ˈbæskɪt/ | A lightweight woven container, generally round, open at the top, and tapering toward the bottom. |
| distress noun | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. |
| tension noun | /ˈtɛnʃən/ | The condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other. |
| strain noun | /stɹeɪn/ | A particular variety of a microbe, virus, or other organism, usually a taxonomically infraspecific one. |
| container noun | /kənˈteɪ.nəɹ/ | An item in which objects, materials or data can be stored or transported. |
| hopelessness noun | A lack of hope; despair. | |
| idiom noun | /ˈɪdiəm/ | A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people. |
| teach verb | /ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ | To pass on knowledge to. |
| welcome | /ˈwɛl.kəm/ | Greeting given upon someone's arrival. |
| wear verb | /wɛ(ə)ɹ/ | To carry or have equipped on or about one's body, as an item of clothing, equipment, decoration, perfume, etc. |
| sick adjective | /ˈsɪk/ | In poor health; ill. |
| handle noun | /ˈhæn.d(ə)l/ | The part of an object which is (designed to be) held in the hand when used or moved. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as doesn't, don't, gonna. 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.
- 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 basket, distress, tension.
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.