Shadowing Practice: A1 English Listening Practice - Chores - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hey everybody!
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Welcome to this A1 English listening practice video.
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You can use this video to practice your listening and comprehension as I speak.
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And remember to sign up for our $1 listening practice seminars at polyglossa.com and download our free Listening Time podcast so you can practice your listening skills.
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So today I'm going to talk about chores.
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What are chores?
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These are routine tasks that you have to do.
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And usually when we say chores, we're talking about tasks you have to do at home.
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People need to do many chores at home every week.
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Adults do chores and many kids do chores too.
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This isn't the funnest topic but it's an important one and you'll probably learn some new words in this video.
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So when I was a kid I did a few different chores at home.
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I was lucky because I didn't have to do a lot.
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Some of my friends did many chores.
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I remember that my neighbor did many different tasks for hours every weekend.
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He cleaned many parts of his house, his front yard, and his back yard.
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I didn't do that much.
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But for example, I had to clean my room often.
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This is one chore that most children need to do.
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We're responsible for our bedroom.
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We have to organize things and put things away.
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The phrase put things away means that you put things where they belong, like the closet, dresser, or desk.
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When I was a kid, I liked keeping my room organized.
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I never left my toys or clothes on the floor.
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Another chore that I did was take the trash out.
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When the trash bags were full, I took them to our big trash bins.
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These are the big containers where you put trash.
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In the U.S., the garbage truck comes once a week to collect your trash.
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So I had to take the trash bins to the curb the night before.
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The curb is the edge of the sidewalk next to the street.
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Nowadays, I still take the trash out every week.
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I don't mind this chore.
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It's easy for me.
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But one chore I don't like is cleaning the bathroom.
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This was the worst thing I had to do when I was young.
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I'm not good at things like this and it always took me a long time to finish.
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In particular, I hated cleaning the toilet.
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I always thought this was a little gross or disgusting.
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How about you?
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Do you like cleaning the bathroom?
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The easiest chore that I did as a kid was bringing the newspaper inside.
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Every morning, I went out to get the newspaper, which was always on the ground in front of our house.
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I always brought it inside for my parents.
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But nowadays, fewer people read physical newspapers, so it's not the same.
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I don't see many newspapers in front of people's houses.
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One other chore that I had to do was skim the pool.
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Skim the pool means to clean the surface or top of the water.
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My family had a pool in the backyard and it got pretty dirty.
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There were always leaves, bugs, and other things, so I had to skim the pool.
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Okay, so one other important thing about chores is that children usually earn an allowance when they do them.
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An allowance is money that parents give to their children.
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Usually, if children do all their chores, they get this reward.
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I earned a little allowance when I was a kid.
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I used this money to buy things that I wanted.
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Many parents like giving their children an allowance because it teaches them that hard work pays off.
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This means that if you work hard, you'll get a reward afterwards.
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It also teaches children that everyone has to work if they want to make money.
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You can't earn money if you don't do anything.
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So with chores and allowance, children learn responsibility and they learn how to work hard.
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In the future, I want my kids to do chores so they can learn these lessons too.
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Alright, now I'm going to ask you some questions about the video to see if you understood.
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Write your answers in a comment down below.
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So, number one, what's one chore that I don't like?
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Number two, what does skim the pool mean?
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And number three, what does it mean when we say that hard work pays off?
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Okay, before we go, remember to sign up for our $1 listening practice seminars and download the free Listening Time podcast so you can practice your listening skills.
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And of course, subscribe to the channel, click on the bell, and follow us on Instagram.
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I'll see you next time.
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About This Lesson

In this A1 English listening practice lesson, you will enhance your listening comprehension skills by focusing on the topic of chores. Chores are essential routine tasks often performed at home, and this lesson will help you understand both their significance and the vocabulary related to them. As you listen to the provided content, pay close attention to the context in which these tasks are discussed, as well as the personal experiences shared. This will not only improve your listening skills but also aid in your speaking ability when discussing everyday activities.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Chores: Routine tasks, especially those performed at home.
  • Put things away: To store items in their proper place, like a closet or desk.
  • Take the trash out: To remove garbage from inside the house to trash bins outside.
  • Curb: The edge of the sidewalk next to the street where trash bins are placed.
  • Skim the pool: To clean the surface of the pool water by removing debris such as leaves.
  • Allowance: Money given to children for completing chores.
  • Cleaning the bathroom: A specific chore that involves maintaining hygiene in a bathroom.

Practice Tips

To get the most out of this listening practice, consider using the technique of shadowspeak. This involves listening to the audio and repeating what you hear in real-time. Start by focusing on short segments of the video. It’s advisable to pause after each sentence to practice speaking at the same pace as the speaker. If the speed feels fast, try adjusting your shadow speech by slowing down until you become more comfortable.

As you practice, pay attention to the intonation and phrasing used by the speaker. Mimicking the natural rhythm will enhance your fluency and pronunciation. You can even incorporate a shadowspeaks app that allows you to record your voice while shadowing. This way, you can listen to your own pronunciation and identify areas for improvement. Shadowing can significantly boost your speaking skills, allowing you to communicate more effectively about everyday topics like chores. Happy practicing!

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.

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