Shadowing Practice: A Summer Weekend in Cornwall, UK - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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It is so hot in the UK today.
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I think it's it's 24 degrees right here.
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I am going to go to the beach.
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I do have work I have to do today but honestly the weather is too nice.
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It's too nice So I'm going to make the most of it and yeah, get out there and enjoy.
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First, I need to really quickly pack my bag for the beach.
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This is my beach bag.
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I'm just going to bring a couple of things.
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So I'm going to bring my sun cream.
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I'm going to bring my sun cream and also a book, I think.
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Oh my God.
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Oh, fuck.
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Look, it's a wasp.
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Oh my god.
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Oh god, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.
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I'm back.
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I had to disappear for a minute.
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That was too much.
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I hate wasps.
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I hate bees.
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And actually, in my bedroom yesterday, a hornet came in.
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There was like a hornet that came into my bedroom.
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You know what those are?
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Like fucking big wasps.
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Horrible.
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What I was trying to say is I'm going to bring my Kindle because I like reading on my Kindle,
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especially when I'm reading in my second language because I can check the meaning of the words a bit easier.
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So I'm going to bring my Kindle as well.
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I'm in a bit of a rush because the beach I want to visit is only there at low tide.
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So when the sea is far away from the beach, I can explain the tides a bit more later
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but right now we've got to go we have to go
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there's not very much sand on the beach normally this beach is really sandy
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but there's not loads of sand which is weird
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but I'm still going to head down and um and chill for a little bit, read my book.
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Gonna head down these steps onto the beach.
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While I'm here I am going to be reading A Court of Thorns and Roses which is like a fantasy romance book.
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I'm reading it in Spanish because that's the language that I'm loving.
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Also today
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when i was about to leave the house remember the bee the wasp
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that was in my room i think that was like foreshadowing
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because as soon as i stopped filming a hornet came in like a massive hornet the same hornet as yesterday
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and i don't know why it's like continuously trying to be in my bedroom
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but i hate it i'm gonna stay down here until lunchtime so lunchtime is about one o'clock
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um at that point the tide is going to come in we have tides here in cornwall
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so we have low tide and high tide some beaches have this some beaches don't
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but what that means is at various times of the day the sea will be far out
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so there will be lots of beach
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and at other times of the day the tide will come in
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and there will not be a lot of beach
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so down here today high tide where the beach is smaller
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high tide is at about 2 pm this is a tidal beach
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so right now there is beach or rocks
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but later later there won't be so i'm going to enjoy it
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while there's still beach i think before the tide comes in
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i am going to go for a quick swim a quick dip in the sea
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I am now leaving the beach.
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The beach is just by me.
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I am going to go and meet my sister who is going to a different beach.
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There's so many beaches nearby where we live.
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So I'm going to head over there I was planning on working I think probably
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that can wait I haven't seen her in ages I I
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did go as well for a proper swim I put down my camera
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and uh yeah like went in I did not get my hair wet
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but it was so nice there's so many beautiful places here look
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look at this hotel and this this is the view
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that the hotel has and you can see over there is a small harbour as well
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but you can see the difference in the beach right
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because the tide has come in there is less beach
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so basically if if you do come to Cornwall you need to be careful
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not to get stuck on
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the rocks basically
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I just
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got back from the beach with my sister.
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It was so nice, but now I'm going to get ready
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because I have to teach a class at half four and it's now 20 to four.
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I just went downstairs to film me making a coffee before my class,
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which starts in 20 minutes.
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I've got an iced caramel latte, obviously.
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Or maybe not obviously, maybe you don't know me, but I always drink an iced latte.
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I was filming me make it, and then I realized that everything was in slow motion. So that's cool.
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That's cool that I can't use that clip.
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My plan now is I have one class today, just one class with one of my regular students who is super cool.
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He's the best.
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And then I'm probably going to sit in this office and edit this video that I'm working on right now.
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I sometimes think, I don't know if you get this, but warm weather makes me feel quite sleepy.
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I go to the beach and then I'm so tired like I'm
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so tired right now and it's four o'clock in the afternoon
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so I'm gonna have a coffee and hope
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that helps me get some energy
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and um yeah just do do some work good morning I am here with Wilson Wilson is a bit worried
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because it's another really really gorgeous sunny day.
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So we have the doors open in the house
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and they keep slamming shut and he doesn't like the noise so he's a bit nervous.
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This morning I have woken up and I've been working on a video.
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It's this one, my floor day video.
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I don't know if that's up, you'll see it.
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I've not had a coffee yet
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so have to edit the video today that's kind of my my main job
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and I also have a couple hours of classes to teach just like two two hours or so
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and Wilson is here
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we are now going to plant up one of these pots in the garden we being myself
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and Wilson who hopefully will sit with me
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while I do this we have a few different flowers
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which we are going to put in here
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and um this is a a trowel the first thing we're going to do is we are going to put
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this flower
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which is cosmos cosmos in the middle you can see here the roots on it as well okay
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and what we do is we dig a little hole not too deep
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and then just put it in the middle and cover it.
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What are these other ones?
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Calibra, Calibra Choa.
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Calibra Choa.
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We then have some other flowers to put around the outside as well.
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So I'm going to squidge the pot,
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squidge it like this, and then plant this one as well, just like this.
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I don't think I really need the trowel, to be honest.
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this one is like a foliage plant it's called goldilocks
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which i don't know if you know
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that child kind of like children's story it's um it's about like a girl who goes into a house with
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bears in it's common in the uk i don't know
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if you know the story she's called goldilocks because her locks are golden locks being being hair How the hell?
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There we go.
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Okay.
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I'm gonna put this one just here.
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Wilson is back helping me.
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And then we've just got two more.
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So there's this flower here, which is scented.
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So this one has a stronger smell.
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It's called Easter bonnet, which if you watched my spring video, you will have seen some Easter bonnets.
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a type of hat worn, type of hat worn in Easter time,
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like children make these kind of special Easter hats.
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Again, I squidge the pot to take it out and then cover it back over.
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And the last one is this purple petunia, which is going to go right here at the front.
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so again I squidge squidge the pot and there we go
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and everything is is planted the final the final look on the pot
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and this will grow um over by the table outside it's
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cute looks super cute not too bad of a way to spend my lunch hour
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it's a little bit later in the day um I have not filmed very much today
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because I feel a bit nervous well not nervous mostly really excited
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because this is how many subscribers I am on right now 99,933.
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Oh, it's just killing me.
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I want it to hit 100,000. So bad.
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So I keep, I keep watching it and not focusing on my work, which is not good.
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Me and Wilson just went for a walk and I was gonna film that and then I completely forgot my camera.
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I just feel, I feel a bit distracted today.
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I think I'm excited probably you can tell he he had
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a good walk I think now I I'm going to try
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and edit a video and not watch the counter too much
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but we'll see we will see if that works or not
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but um I'll check back in when I'm about to hit 100,000 subscribers it's gone up to
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it's now 35 99 935 just
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65 more people to
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go can you see oh my
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god yeah i can see it oh my god shut up Look at that.
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Shut up!
Context & Background
In this video, the speaker shares their excitement about a warm summer weekend in Cornwall, UK. As they prepare to head to the beach, they balance the desire to enjoy the beautiful weather with their responsibilities. Throughout the video, the speaker navigates their daily experiences, including packing their beach bag, discussing the tides, and addressing encounters with insects. The relatable and informal tone of the dialogue provides excellent insight into casual English conversations, making it a useful resource for those looking to improve their speaking skills.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “It’s so hot in the UK today.” – A simple way to express weather conditions, making it relevant for casual conversation.
- “I’m going to make the most of it.” – A phrase that conveys seizing an opportunity, useful in various contexts.
- “I had to disappear for a minute.” – A casual way to explain a brief absence, demonstrating natural speech patterns.
- “I hate wasps.” – Sharing personal feelings helps build connections in conversation.
- “I can explain the tides a bit more later.” – A transition phrase that keeps the flow of conversation going.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively practice your English speaking skills using this video, follow this shadowing guide:
- Listen Carefully: Play the video and listen closely to the speaker's tone, pace, and pronunciation.
- Pause and Repeat: After short phrases, pause the video and try to repeat what you heard. Focus on the specific sounds and inflection in the speaker's voice.
- Record Yourself: Record your voice as you repeat phrases. This will help you identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and intonation.
- Contextual Practice: Use the phrases in your daily conversations. For instance, discuss the weather or share your personal experiences about relaxing at a beach.
- Engage in IELTS Speaking Practice: Challenge yourself by discussing topics related to the video, such as summer experiences in different locations or preferences for beach activities.
By incorporating these techniques into your study routine, you can significantly enhance your shadow speech, improve English pronunciation, and develop a more natural speaking style. Practice consistently, and remember, the key to mastering spoken English is to shadow often with materials that resonate with your interests!
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.