Shadowing Practice: A1 English Listening Practice - Cooking - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey everybody, and welcome to this A1 English listening practice video.
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I'm Tom, and today I'm going to talk about cooking.
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You can listen and practice your English with me.
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Are you ready?
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Let's begin.
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Cooking is something many people do every day.
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We cook at home, we cook for our family, and sometimes we cook for friends.
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Cooking can be simple or it can be difficult.
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But for me, cooking is a very important part of daily life.
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When you cook, you do not only make food, you also take care of your body and your health.
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Let's talk about why people cook.
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First, people cook because they need to eat.
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Food gives us energy.
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Without food, we feel tired and weak.
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When we cook at home, we can choose what we eat.
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We can choose fresh vegetables, meat, fish, or rice.
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This helps us stay healthy.
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Cooking at home is often cheaper than eating at a restaurant.
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It also helps us control how much salt, sugar, or oil we use.
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Many people say they are busy and do not have time to cook.
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They buy fast food or ready meals.
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Sometimes this is okay, but eating fast food every day is not very good for your health.
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Cooking does not need to take a long time.
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Some simple meals only take 15 or 20 minutes.
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For example, you can cook eggs, boil vegetables, or make a simple soup very quickly.
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Now, let's talk about cooking at home.
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When you cook at home, you usually need a kitchen.
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In the kitchen, you can find many tools.
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Common kitchen tools are a knife, a pan, a pot, a spoon, and a plate.
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A knife is used to cut food.
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A pan is used to fry food.
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A pot is used to boil food, like soup or noodles.
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These tools help us cook safely and easily.
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Before cooking, it is important to prepare.
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First, you wash your hands.
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Clean hands are very important when cooking.
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Next, you prepare your ingredients.
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Ingredients are the foods you use to cook, such as vegetables, meat, salt, or oil.
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You wash the vegetables, cut them into small pieces, and put them on a plate.
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When everything is ready, cooking becomes easier and faster.
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Let's talk about simple cooking methods.
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One common method is boiling.
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Boiling means cooking food in hot water.
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People boil rice, pasta, eggs, and vegetables.
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Boiling is easy and does not need much oil.
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Another method is frying.
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Frying means cooking food in a pan with oil.
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People fry eggs, meat, or fish.
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Fried food is tasty, but too much fried food is not good for your health.
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Baking is another method.
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Baking means cooking food in an oven.
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People bake bread, cakes, or chicken.
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Baking can be healthy because it uses less oil.
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Different countries have different foods and cooking styles.
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In many Asian countries, people eat rice every day.
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Rice is often cooked by boiling or using a rice cooker.
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In Italy, people love pasta and pizza.
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Pasta is boiled, and pizza is baked in an oven.
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In some countries, people eat a lot of bread.
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Bread is usually baked and eaten with butter, cheese, or soup.
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Cooking can also be fun.
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Some people cook to relax.
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After a long day of work or school, cooking can help you feel calm.
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You can listen to music while cooking.
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You can take your time and enjoy the process.
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When the food is ready, you feel happy because you made something cooking with your own hands.
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Cooking with family or friends is also very special.
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Parents can cook with their children.
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Children can learn how to cut vegetables, mix food, or clean the kitchen.
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This helps children learn important life skills.
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Cooking together is a good time to talk, laugh, and spend time with each other.
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Let's talk about breakfast.
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Breakfast is the first meal of the day.
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Many people say breakfast is very important.
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A simple breakfast can be bread, eggs, fruit, or milk.
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Some people eat rice or soup for breakfast.
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When you cook breakfast at home, you can choose healthy food and start your day with energy.
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Lunch is usually eaten in the middle of the day.
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Some people bring lunch from home.
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This is called a lunchbox.
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In a lunchbox, you can put rice, meat, vegetables, and fruit.
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Cooking lunch at home can save money and help you eat better food.
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Dinner is often eaten in the evening with family.
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Dinner is a good time to relax, talk, and enjoy a warm meal together.
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Sometimes cooking does not go well.
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Maybe the food is too salty.
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Maybe it is burned.
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This happens to everyone, especially beginners.
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When you make mistakes, do not worry.
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Cooking is a skill, and skills need practice.
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Every time you cook, you learn something new.
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Next time, you will do better.
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If you want to learn cooking, you can start with simple recipes.
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A recipe tells you what ingredients you need and how to cook the food step by step.
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You can find recipes in books, on the internet, or in videos.
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Read the recipe carefully before you start.
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Follow the steps slowly.
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There is no need to hurry.
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Cooking can also help you learn English.
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When you read recipes in English, you learn new words like cut, mix, boil, and bake.
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You can listen to cooking videos in English and practice listening.
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This is a fun way to learn language and life skills at the same time.
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In the end, cooking is more than just making food.
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Cooking is about health, family, culture, and happiness.
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You do not need to be a great chef.
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You only need to try.
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Start with simple food, cook with love, and enjoy your meals.
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Thank you for listening to this English practice about cooking.
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I hope you enjoyed it and learned some new words.
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Keep practicing your English and see you next time.
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Your progress doesn't end here.
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To continue advancing your English skills, click on the next video or explore the additional video that we thoughtfully selected for you.

About This Lesson

Welcome to this A1 English listening practice focused on the theme of cooking. In this lesson, you will listen to a conversation that highlights the importance of cooking in daily life. You will learn how cooking not only provides nourishment but also allows you to take care of your health. Throughout the lesson, you will practice your listening skills and begin to improve your English pronunciation by repeating phrases and sentences. This practice will also help you build your vocabulary related to food and cooking, making your English speaking practice more effective.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Cooking - The process of preparing food.
  • Ingredients - The foods used in cooking, such as vegetables and meat.
  • Boiling - A cooking method where food is cooked in hot water.
  • Frying - A method of cooking food in a pan with oil.
  • Kitchen tools - Items used for cooking, like a knife, pan, or pot.
  • Healthy - Good for your body, especially when referring to food choices.
  • Simple meals - Quick-to-cook dishes that require minimal ingredients.

Practice Tips

To gain the most from this English listening practice, carefully listen to the speaker's tone and pace. The speaker in this video adopts a calm and clear tone, suitable for A1 learners. Here are some tips to enhance your shadow speech practice:

  • Shadowing: As you listen, try to repeat what you hear, mimicking the sounds, rhythm, and intonation of the speaker. This is a great way to improve your English pronunciation.
  • Keep it slow: If the speed is too fast, pause the video and replay parts of the conversation. Speaking along with slower segments will help you catch every word.
  • Focus on vocabulary: Pay close attention to the cooking-related vocabulary. Write down new phrases you hear and use them in your own sentences later. This will enrich your english speaking practice.
  • Repeat multiple times: Consistent repetition is key. Try to listen and speak along several times, focusing on clarity and accuracy. This will help cement your learning and make speaking naturally easier during your IELTS speaking practice.

Remember, practice makes perfect, so enjoy learning English with YouTube videos like this one. By improving your listening and speaking skills, you can become more confident in your English abilities!

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.