Shadowing Practice: A Day in My Life 8: Making Spaghetti for Dinner - Learn English Speaking with Video

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24 sentences

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It's seven o'clock, and I'm hungry.

Tonight, I'm making spaghetti with tomato sauce!

First, I wash my hands.

I fill a big pot with water.

I put it on the stove and add some salt.

Now I wait for the water to boil.

While I'm waiting, I chop an onion.

Oh, my eyes! Onions always make me cry.

Then I cut the tomatoes into small pieces.

I heat some oil in a frying pan.

I cook the onion until it's soft.

Then I add the tomatoes and stir.

Mmm, my kitchen smells amazing!

Look, the water is boiling!

I put the spaghetti into the pot.

It cooks for about ten minutes.

I stir it, so it doesn't stick.

I taste one piece. Ouch, it's hot!

But it's perfect. Not too hard, not too soft.

I drain the water and add the sauce.

Dinner is ready!

I put some cheese on top.

It's not a restaurant, but it's delicious.

And there's enough for lunch tomorrow!

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Lesson

A Day in My Life

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “A Day in My Life 8: Making Spaghetti for Dinner”. This video has 24 sentences and 164 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:24. The speaker talks at a steady 117 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 70% 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
tomato noun	/təˈmeɪ.toʊ/	A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
stir verb	/stɝ/	To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.
onion noun	/ˈʌn.jən/	A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
boil verb	/bɔɪ(ə)l/	To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.
hungry adjective	/ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/	Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
delicious adjective	/dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/	Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty.
drain noun	/dɹiːn/	A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
fry verb	/fɹaɪ/	To cook (something) in hot fat.
chop verb	/t͡ʃɑp/	To cut into pieces with short, vigorous cutting motions.
stove noun	/stoʊv/	A heater, a closed apparatus to burn fuel for the warming of a room.
soft adjective	/sɔft/	Easily giving way under pressure.
cook verb	/kʊk/	To prepare food for eating, typically by heating it, combining it with other ingredients, seasoning it, preparing it for serving, etc.
restaurant noun	/ˈɹɛst(ə)ˌɹɑnt/	An eating establishment in which diners are served food, usually by waiters at their tables but sometimes (as in a fast food restaurant) at a counter.
lunch noun	/lʌnt͡ʃ/	A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.
kitchen noun	/ˈkɪt͡ʃ(ə)n/	A room or area for preparing food.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

It's seven o'clock, and I'm hungry.
Tonight, I'm making spaghetti with tomato sauce!
While I'm waiting, I chop an onion.
I cook the onion until it's soft.
I stir it, so it doesn't stick.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, doesn't. 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 tomato, stir, onion.

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: A Day in My Life 8: Making Spaghetti for Dinner - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Getting Up

Brushing My Teeth and Taking a Shower

Getting Dressed

Making Eggs and Toast

Leaving the House

Taking the Bus

Shopping for Groceries

Making Spaghetti for Dinner

Doing the Dishes

Going to Bed

Making My Bed

Making Tea and Coffee

Walking to the Park

Coming Home

Riding My Bike

Taking the Train

Making a Salad

Doing the Laundry

Cleaning the House

Walking Mrs. Lee's Dog

Taking a Taxi

Taking Care of My Cat

Cooking Rice

Watching TV

Using the Internet

A Day in My Life 1: Getting Up

A Day in My Life 24: Watching TV

Fast and Slow: The Big Race

Discipline Beats Motivation

A Day in My Life 19: Cleaning the House

Can You Swim? What Can You Do?

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A Day in My Life 21: Taking a Taxi

A Day in My Life 9: Doing the Dishes

A Day in My Life 5: Leaving the House

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First Day Nerves at the Café

Why a Song Gets Stuck in Your Head

Hide and Seek in Maple Wood

SEtalk: Sleep Is Not a Waste of Time

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Sentences worth repeating

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?