Shadowing Practice: "A Problem at School" – A1 Basic English Listening Practice Story - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
91 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Fabulang!
2
Learn English with stories.
3
A problem at school.
4
A story for learners of English at A1 level.
5
It is dark.
6
There is no moon in the sky.
7
Two people walk quickly towards the school.
8
It is an old building made of stone.
9
It looks almost like a castle.
10
They stop at the main entrance.
11
Third door, the man says.
12
He is scared.
13
He can't speak.
14
You're safe here, says the woman.
15
The man breathes.
16
Go through the main hall.
17
Then it's the third door on the left.
18
The man offers her a torch.
19
Take this.
20
She pushes it away.
21
But it's dangerous, Miss Steele.
22
The previous person who...
23
I can't use it.
24
In my profession, headmaster, I must work in the dark.
25
My tools are in my bag.
26
The man's face is white.
27
I don't want to know what's in there, he says.
28
Please just solve our problem.
29
Just send the second payment on time, says Miss Steele.
30
Then she steps inside the school.
31
The door swams behind her.
32
There is no light at all.
33
She can't see anything.
34
She touches the walls with her hands.
35
The stone is cold.
36
She walks forwards.
37
Her footsteps are loud.
38
They are the only sound.
39
She holds her bag close to her chest.
40
On the other side of the main hall, there is a long, narrow corridor.
41
There are many doors on her left and right.
42
She counts the doors.
43
One, two, three.
44
She stops.
45
She holds her breath.
46
Under the third door she can see some light.
47
The light is very dim with a pale purple colour.
48
She listens.
49
There is a tapping, scraping sound.
50
She enters the classroom.
51
The door creaks loudly.
52
The room is large with many tables and chairs.
53
A little boy is sitting in one of the chairs.
54
The purple light is coming from him.
55
Slowly, Miss Steele walks closer.
56
She stands behind the boy.
57
He is writing on a slate with a piece of chalk.
58
She can see the white writing through the boy's back.
59
She needs to be closer.
60
Can I sit with you? she asks quietly.
61
The boy doesn't respond.
62
The chalk taps and scrapes.
63
Slowly, Miss Steel sits down.
64
The boy is very cold.
65
She can feel it.
66
Are you another ghost killer?
67
says the boy suddenly.
68
I can hurt you too.
69
I don't want to hurt you, says Miss Steele quickly, too quickly.
70
Five hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and forty -six, says the boy.
71
He is looking at the slate.
72
There are numbers all over it.
73
Divided by 42 ,812 You're doing maths.
74
I'm bad at maths, the boy cries.
75
So the professor punished me.
76
He gave me this question.
77
He said, you can't leave until you solve it.
78
517 ,000 And you're still trying?
79
How long?
80
I don't know.
81
The candle is still...
82
Oh, where's the candle?
83
The boy looks around for the candle.
84
He isn't looking at Miss Steel.
85
Silently, Miss Steel opens her bag.
86
Watching the boy, she searches inside her bag.
87
Slowly, she takes out a small black object.
88
She puts it on the table.
89
What's that? says the boy suddenly.
90
It's called a calculator.
91
End
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B1"Under the Bed" – B1 Intermediate English Listening Practice Story
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
"The Fox's Trap" – A2 Basic English Listening Practice Story
KidsDaily Conversation
B2"A Table for Three" – B2 Intermediate English Listening Practice Story
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B12
"The Dancers' Statue" – B1 Intermediate English Listening Practice Story
Travel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B12
"The Brothers' Choice" – B1 Intermediate English Listening Practice Story
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
A12
191 sentences
They Found a Hidden Room Under the School! | Easy English Story (A1)
KidsDaily Conversation
A18
8 sentences
English Listening Practice – Doing Homework| Short English Story with Subtitles
KidsDaily Conversation
A21
25 sentences
#shadowingenglishspeakingpractice #listeningpractice #learnenglish #learnenglishthroughstory
KidsDaily Conversation
A11
41 sentences
VIVA EDU - All Aboard Reading / Truyện: In A Dark Dark House
KidsDaily Conversation
A129
52 sentences
Global success 5 - HK1 - Unit 8 - Where's my school bag?
KidsDaily Conversation
A27
42 sentences
Learn English Through Story | 4000 Essential English Words | Book 1 | Unit 2
KidsDaily Conversation
A29
504 sentences
Will the Brother Save Her? | Slow English Listening Practice for Beginners (A2 Level)
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2192 sentences
School Day | Beginner English Podcast | Listening For A1-A2 English
KidsDaily Conversation
![[Subject] What's your favorite subject? - Easy Dialogue - Role Play](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8wZi38lF28E/mqdefault.jpg)
A15
45 sentences
[Subject] What's your favorite subject? - Easy Dialogue - Role Play
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
699 sentences
Lumi Hid in Kavin’s Backpack..Then the Whole Class Started Floating! 😱👽| Easy English Listening (A2)
KidsDaily Conversation
A14
157 sentences
One Small Mistake. One Big Lesson | A1 Shadowing Practice
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
133 sentences
The Boy Who Worked Before School | Family Story English | Learn English with Fun
KidsDaily Conversation
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “"A Problem at School" – A1 Basic English Listening Practice Story”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: boy, door, Miss, Steele, bag. This video has 91 sentences and 526 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:55. The speaker talks slowly, about 89 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 83% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| candle noun | /ˈkæn.dəl/ | A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin. |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| purple noun | /ˈpɝ.pl̩/ | A colour between red and blue; violet, though often closer to magenta. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| chalk noun | /t͡ʃɔk/ | A soft, white, powdery limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃). |
| killer noun | /ˈkɪlɚ/ | One who or that which kills. |
| castle noun | /ˈkɑːsəl/ | A large residential building or compound that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king. Also, a house or… |
| ghost noun | /ɡoʊst/ | A disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death. |
| entrance noun | /ˈɛn.tɹəns/ | The action of entering, or going in. |
| narrow adjective | /ˈnæɹəʊ/ | Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth. |
| forty adjective | /ˈfoɹti/ | Resembling or characteristic of a fort. |
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| quietly adverb | /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/ | Producing little or no noise. |
| profession noun | /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/ | A promise or vow made on entering a religious order. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
| stand behind verb | To support; express one's support for, especially despite opposition; to stick with a decision. |
| take out verb | To remove. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You're safe here, says the woman.
- Can I sit with you?
- I'm bad at maths, the boy cries.
- He said, you can't leave until you solve it.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is sitting · is coming · is writing |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | must work · needs to be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: profession /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/, punish /ˈpʌnɪʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, calculator /kæl.kjə.leɪ.tɚ/
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 candle, solve, purple.
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.