Shadowing Practice: A Day in our Office in Slow German - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “A Day in our Office in Slow German”. This video has 129 sentences and 749 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:51. The speaker talks slowly, about 85 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 35% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| package noun | /ˈpæk.ɪd͡ʒ/ | Something which is packed, a parcel, a box, an envelope. |
| delicious adjective | /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ | Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty. |
| euro noun | /ˈjʊɹoʊ/ | The currency unit of the European Monetary Union. Symbol: € |
| interactive adjective | /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/ | Interacting with or communicating with and reacting to each other; influencing or having an effect on each other; acting or capable of acting on each other or… |
| ditch noun | /dɪt͡ʃ/ | A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage. |
| holt noun | /hoʊlt/ | A small piece of woodland or a woody hill; a copse. |
| stool noun | /stuːl/ | A seat for one person without a back or armrests. |
| hallo verb | /həˈləʊ/ | To shout, or to call with a loud voice. |
| loach noun | /ˈləʊt͡ʃ/ | Any true loach, of the family Cobitidae. |
| dort verb | To become pettish; sulk. | |
| mâche noun | Valerianella locusta, a small dicot annual plant of the family Caprifoliaceae often cultivated as a salad green or herb. | |
| pssst | Elongated form of psst. | |
| seiðr noun | A form of magic originating in Viking society and revived by modern pagans, incorporating ritualistic, shamanistic, and divinatory elements. | |
| seine noun | /seɪn/ | A long net having floats attached at the top and sinkers (weights) at the bottom, used in shallow water for catching fish. |
| seinen noun | /ˈseɪ.nən/ | A kind of manga written for an older male audience, generally 18-30 years old (and older). |
Pronunciation to watch
- Long words — get the stress right: interactive /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/, ventilator /ˈvɛntɪleɪtə/
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 package, delicious, euro.
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.





























